Psalm 65:1-5

For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.

1 ^[a]Praise awaits^[b] you, our God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled.

2 You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.

3 When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave^[c] our transgressions.

4 Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.

5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas,

Psalm 65:1-5 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, A Psalm [and] Song of David. Some copies of the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions read "a song of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, "sung" by the people of the captivity, when they were about to come out;" and some copies have "Haggai": but though it is possible it might be sung upon that occasion, it is certain it was not then composed, but was written by David, as the genuine title shows: as for Jeremiah; he was not carried captive to Babylon, and Ezekiel died before the return of the people from it; nor is there anything in the psalm relating to that captivity. The title of it, indeed, in the Arabic version, is concerning the captivity of the people; which it seems to have taken from some Greek copy; and Kimchi and Arama interpret it of the captivity of the people of the Jews; but then they mean their present captivity, and their deliverance from it. According to the title of it in the Syriac version, the occasion of it was the bringing up of the ark of God to Sion; and Aben Ezra is of opinion that David composed the psalm at that time; or that one of the singers composed it at the building of the temple, and which he thinks is right, and perhaps is concluded from Psalm 65:1; and who also says it was composed in a year of drought; but it rather seems to have been written in a year of great plenty, as the latter part of it shows; and the whole seems to respect the fruitful, flourishing, and happy state of the church in Gospel times, for which it is a song of praise.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 2:6
• 2. S Deuteronomy 23:21; Psalms 116:18
• 3. Psalms 86:9; Isaiah 66:23
• 4. S Psalms 40:12; Psalms 38:4
• 5. Psalms 79:9; Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:14
• 6. S Psalms 4:3; Psalms 33:12
• 7. S Numbers 16:5
• 8. S Psalms 36:8
• 9. S Deuteronomy 4:34; S Psalms 45:4; Psalms 106:22; Isaiah 64:3
• 10. Psalms 18:46; Psalms 68:19; Psalms 85:4
• 11. S Psalms 48:10
• 12. Psalms 107:23

Footnotes

• [a] In Hebrew texts 65:1-13 is numbered 65:2-14.
• [b] Or "befits" ; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
• [c] Or "made atonement for"