1 {To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David: a Song.} Praise waiteth for thee in silence, O God, in Zion; and unto thee shall the vow be performed.
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of Jehovah. I will perform my vows unto Jehovah, yea, before all his people,
and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to Jehovah, because his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; and with them, [with] Heman and Jeduthun, trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud; and the musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were at the gate.
And David and the captains of the host separated for the service those of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun who were to prophesy with harps and lutes and cymbals; and the number of the men employed according to their service was: of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asharelah, the sons of Asaph under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied at the direction of the king. Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Isaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, [and Shimei] six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the harp, to give thanks and to praise Jehovah. Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkijah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth: all these were sons of Heman the king's seer in the words of God, to exalt his power; and God had given to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. All these were under the direction of their fathers Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman, for song in the house of Jehovah, with cymbals, lutes and harps, for the service of the house of God, under the direction of the king. And the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of Jehovah, all of them skilful, was two hundred and eighty-eight. And they cast lots with one another over the charges, the small as well as the great, the teacher with the scholar. And the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph; to Gedaliah the second: he and his brethren and his sons were twelve. The third to Zaccur; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The fourth to Jizri; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The fifth to Nethaniah; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The sixth to Bukkijah; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The seventh to Jesharelah; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The eighth to Isaiah; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The ninth to Mattaniah; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The tenth to Shimei; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The eleventh to Azareel; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The twelfth to Hashabiah; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The thirteenth to Shubael; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The fourteenth to Mattithiah; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The fifteenth to Jeremoth; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The sixteenth to Hananiah; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The seventeenth to Joshbekashah; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The eighteenth to Hanani; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The nineteenth to Mallothi; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The twentieth to Elijathah; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The twenty-first to Hothir; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The twenty-second to Giddalti; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The twenty-third to Mahazioth; his sons and his brethren, twelve. The twenty-fourth to Romamti-ezer; his sons and his brethren, twelve.
But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved; And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever.
Not unto us, O Jehovah, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the nations say, Where then is their God?
And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing upon mount Zion, and with him a hundred [and] forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written upon their foreheads. And I heard a voice out of the heaven as a voice of many waters, and as a voice of great thunder. And the voice which I heard [was] as of harp-singers harping with their harps; and they sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song save the hundred [and] forty-four thousand who were bought from the earth.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 65
Commentary on Psalms 65 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 65
Ps 65:1-13. This is a song of praise for God's spiritual blessings to His people and His kind providence over all the earth.
1. Praise waiteth for thee—literally, "To Thee silence praise," or (compare Ps 62:1), To Thee silence is praise—that is, Praise is waiting as a servant; it is due to Thee. So the last clause expresses the duty of paying vows. These two parts of acceptable worship, mentioned in Ps 50:14, are rendered in Zion, where God chiefly displays His mercy and receives homage.
2. All are encouraged to pray by God's readiness to hear.
3. God's mercy alone delivers us from the burden of iniquities, by purging or expiating by an atonement the transgressions with which we are charged, and which are denoted by—
Iniquities—or, literally, "Words of iniquities."
4. dwell in thy courts; … [and] satisfied with the goodness … temple—denote communion with God (Ps 15:1; 23:6; compare Ps 5:7). This is a blessing for all God's people, as denoted by the change of number.
5. terrible things—that is, by the manifestation of justice and wrath to enemies, accompanying that of mercy to His people (Ps 63:9-11; 64:7-9).
the confidence—object of it.
of all … earth—the whole world; that is, deservedly such, whether men think so or not.
6-13. God's great power and goodness are the grounds of this confidence. These are illustrated in His control of the mightiest agencies of nature and nations affecting men with awe and dread (Ps 26:7; 98:1, &c.), and in His fertilizing showers, causing the earth to produce abundantly for man and beast.
8. outgoings of … rejoice—all people from east to west.
9. visitest—in mercy (compare Ps 8:4).
river of God—His exhaustless resources.
11. thy paths—ways of providence (Ps 25:4, 10).
12. wilderness—places, though not inhabited by men, fit for pasture (Le 16:21, 22; Job 24:5).
pastures—is literally, "folds," or "enclosures for flocks"; and in Ps 65:13 it may be "lambs," the same word used and so translated in Ps 37:20; so that "the flocks are clothed with lambs" (a figure for abundant increase) would be the form of expression.