Psalm 65:5-8

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,

6 who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength,

7 who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.

8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.

Psalm 65:5-8 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. S Deuteronomy 4:34; S Psalms 45:4; Psalms 106:22; Isaiah 64:3
• 2. Psalms 18:46; Psalms 68:19; Psalms 85:4
• 3. S Psalms 48:10
• 4. Psalms 107:23
• 5. Amos 4:13
• 6. S Psalms 18:1; Psalms 93:1; Isaiah 51:9
• 7. Psalms 89:9; Psalms 93:3-4; Psalms 107:29; S Matthew 8:26
• 8. Deuteronomy 32:41; Psalms 2:1; Psalms 74:23; Psalms 139:20; Isaiah 17:12-13
• 9. Psalms 100:2; Psalms 107:22; Psalms 126:2; Isaiah 24:16; Isaiah 52:9