Psa 65:2 | KingComments | STEP | Prophetically, the psalm speaks of the “period of restoration of all things, about which God spoke by the mouths of His holy prophets from ancient times” ( ). This psalm has to do with the fulfillment of the day of atonement ( ) and the Feast of Ingathering, or the Feast of Booths ( ). Once every fifty years is the year of jubilee ( ). This year of jubilee is announced on the day of atonement, which is a preparation for the Feast of Booths. The year of jubilee is prophetically the period of the restoration of all things ( ). Psalm 65 and Psalm 66 are the songs of thanksgiving that the upright will sing. They spoke of this in the last verse of the previous psalm ( ). For “for the choir director” ( ) see at Psalm 4:1. For “a Psalm of David” see at Psalm 3:1. This psalm is called “a song”. The lamenting ( ) has ended and the singing has begun. It is similar to the people of Israel singing the song of salvation after their deliverance from Egypt, the first song we hear in the Bible ( ). Psalm 65 is the first psalm in a row of four psalms so named ( ). Like a psalm, a song is an expression of gratitude for experienced goodness. We might call it a song of praise. The psalm begins with “praise” ( ). However, it is a praise in “silence”. The reason is that injustice still reigns on earth. Also, the remnant itself does not yet know the forgiveness of their iniquities. Before the day of atonement, there is – in the Jewish tradition – a period of ten days of humbling oneself. Those ten days begin on the Feast of the blowing of the Trumpets, which is the Jewish secular New Year’s Day, and last until the day of atonement, which is particularly marked by humility. During that period of humiliation, the people must contemplate their own situation before they, represented by the high priest, will meet with God. The “silence” is the rest and trust in God of the remnant that we have seen and discussed before ( ). We can read it in such a way that the peace and trust in God sound like a song of praise to God! It can also be read as the ‘silence’ of worship. Not a silence of emptiness, but a silence filled with Him, making words inadequate. It is, however, a song of praise “before You, … in Zion, O God”. Faith turns to God, Who dwells in Zion ( ). The remnant, though still suffering from oppression and persecution, looks forward to the time when they will be able to perform the vow they have made. Their vow is that they will praise God when He delivers them from their tribulation. They trust that He will rise up and judge their oppressors. With them is the deep conviction that God hears the prayer they have prayed ( ). He is ‘the Hearer of prayer’. How often have we experienced it ourselves that God has answered prayer. The remnant knows that He will deliver them. Then not only will they go to Him, but “all men”, literally “all flesh”, that is all people ( ; ; cf. ), will come to Him. This will happen in the realm of peace ( ). Then every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord ( ; ). It extends even beyond the realm of peace. It is about all creation, which includes the dead beneath the earth. They will bow their knee when they stand before the great white throne after the realm of peace and will be judged. Before this can occur, something else must happen. The remnant must first be delivered from the burden of their iniquities that weighs upon them ( ). The God-fearing acknowledges that those iniquities have prevailed over him. We also hear the Lord Jesus speak here when He bears on the cross as the substitutionary sacrifice the sins for all those who believe in Him. On this basis the sinner can confess his sins and receive reconciliation. The God-fearing speaks in the singular, “against me”. There is no question of him hiding behind a general confession, as we sometimes hear, ‘all men are sinners’. With a sincere confession someone speaks only about himself: ‘I have sinned.’ Then someone sees only his own sins. He sees himself in the light of God. However, when he speaks of the forgiveness of transgressions, he speaks in the plural, “our transgressions”. He knows himself to be associated with all who share in the forgiveness. That is the believing remnant here. He also knows that forgiveness is not the result of his prayer, or of the sacrifices he has made, but that forgiveness is the work of God alone. “You” therefore has the emphasis. Prophetically, we see in the singular “against me” and “You” that it is about the Lord Jesus as the atoning sacrifice, as the guilt offering of Isaiah 53 ( ). The plural “our transgressions” is about the remnant. Here is fulfilled what we read in Daniel 9, that transgression is finished, sin is ended, and iniquity is atoned ( ; cf. ). Forgiveness is the part of each one whom God “chooses”. The election concerns the election of those who may draw near to God. They may dwell in God’s courts; they are chosen to be priests. No one takes for himself the honor of being a priest, but one is called (chosen) by God, as is Aaron ( ; ; ). Aaron and his children sinned with the golden calf. By taking refuge behind the blood of the day of atonement, they were chosen by God to be priests, to be able to draw near to God. He who is forgiven is so because he has been chosen by God for it (cf. ). Therefore, he will not be able to boast of that. What he will do is recognize that he is “blessed” ( ; cf. ). Those who partake of God’s forgiveness and election are thrilled and delighted. He cannot help but praise and give thanks to God for His great mercy that He has bestowed upon him. There was only a right to hell. Now he is forgiven by God by virtue of His election. Everything is grace. It is a tremendous blessing to be delivered from the burden and penalty of sin and forgiven by God, but it does not stop there. There are many other blessings attached to forgiveness and election. When God gives, He gives according to the riches of His grace. Whoever is elected by God, He “brings near” to Him. Such a person may come to Him, enter into His presence. This drawing near to God is also not limited to visiting Him now and then. Whoever is chosen by God and whom He causes to draw near, “may dwell in Your courts”. By “courts” we can think of the dwellings of the priests (cf. ; ; ). A priest may dwell in God’s presence to praise and give thanks to Him day and night for His great grace. This is the privilege of all who know the God of Zion as their God. All who are in this privileged position “will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house”. “The goodness” corresponds to dwelling in God’s courts, which means enjoying His nearness and fellowship. This is also expressed by the fact that “the goodness” is represented as “the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple”, which is reminiscent of the offerings that, as peace offerings, form the basis of fellowship with God at His altar. The peace offering is a fellowship offering, of which first God, second the priests, and finally the offerors, enjoy their portion at the meal at His altar. In God’s house the blessings are piled high. Those who dwell there may eat of them to satisfaction. This involves enjoying all blessings in fellowship with God. God Himself is the goodness of “Your holy temple”. In His temple He enthrones and reveals His righteousness. Everything in His temple is holy; what is in it is there for Him and speaks of Him. That is what the God-fearing may feed on. He does this by looking to the Giver through the blessing. Then he sees Who God is in His love and His holiness. This is the true food of the believer. Israel receives all these blessings on earth and temporarily, while for the church these blessings are heavenly and eternal. Israel receives the fullness of them in the realm of peace, while we already possess the fullness of them now. We do not approach in an earthly temple, but we form “the household of God, which is the church of the living God” ( ) for all eternity. We have access to the Father and are of God’s household now and forever ( ). The priests may dwell in the courts of an earthly temple. We will be in the Father’s house forever ( ). There we will have fellowship with the Father and the Son and with each other for all eternity through eternal life, which we are already experiencing ( ). We are children of God now and forever by virtue of our personal election by God adopted as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ ( ).

‏ Psalms 65:2

Introduction

Prophetically, the psalm speaks of the “period of restoration of all things, about which God spoke by the mouths of His holy prophets from ancient times” (Acts 3:21). This psalm has to do with the fulfillment of the day of atonement (Psa 65:2) and the Feast of Ingathering, or the Feast of Booths (Exo 23:16). Once every fifty years is the year of jubilee (Lev 25:10-13). This year of jubilee is announced on the day of atonement, which is a preparation for the Feast of Booths. The year of jubilee is prophetically the period of the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21).

Psalm 65 and Psalm 66 are the songs of thanksgiving that the upright will sing. They spoke of this in the last verse of the previous psalm (Psa 64:10).

Song of Praise for God’s Goodness

For “for the choir director” (Psa 65:1a) see at Psalm 4:1.

For “a Psalm of David” see at Psalm 3:1.

This psalm is called “a song”. The lamenting (Psa 64:2) has ended and the singing has begun. It is similar to the people of Israel singing the song of salvation after their deliverance from Egypt, the first song we hear in the Bible (Exo 15:1).

Psalm 65 is the first psalm in a row of four psalms so named (Psa 65:1 ; Psa 66:1 ; Psa 67:1 ; Psa 68:1). Like a psalm, a song is an expression of gratitude for experienced goodness. We might call it a song of praise.

The psalm begins with “praise” (Psa 65:1b). However, it is a praise in “silence”. The reason is that injustice still reigns on earth. Also, the remnant itself does not yet know the forgiveness of their iniquities. Before the day of atonement, there is – in the Jewish tradition – a period of ten days of humbling oneself. Those ten days begin on the Feast of the blowing of the Trumpets, which is the Jewish secular New Year’s Day, and last until the day of atonement, which is particularly marked by humility. During that period of humiliation, the people must contemplate their own situation before they, represented by the high priest, will meet with God.

The “silence” is the rest and trust in God of the remnant that we have seen and discussed before (Psa 62:1b ; 5). We can read it in such a way that the peace and trust in God sound like a song of praise to God! It can also be read as the ‘silence’ of worship. Not a silence of emptiness, but a silence filled with Him, making words inadequate.

It is, however, a song of praise “before You, … in Zion, O God”. Faith turns to God, Who dwells in Zion (Psa 78:68b ; Psa 132:13-14). The remnant, though still suffering from oppression and persecution, looks forward to the time when they will be able to perform the vow they have made. Their vow is that they will praise God when He delivers them from their tribulation. They trust that He will rise up and judge their oppressors.

With them is the deep conviction that God hears the prayer they have prayed (Psa 65:2). He is ‘the Hearer of prayer’. How often have we experienced it ourselves that God has answered prayer. The remnant knows that He will deliver them. Then not only will they go to Him, but “all men”, literally “all flesh”, that is all people (Isa 40:5; Joel 2:28; cf. Rev 15:4), will come to Him. This will happen in the realm of peace (Isa 2:2-3). Then every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil 2:10-11; Isa 45:23). It extends even beyond the realm of peace. It is about all creation, which includes the dead beneath the earth. They will bow their knee when they stand before the great white throne after the realm of peace and will be judged.

Before this can occur, something else must happen. The remnant must first be delivered from the burden of their iniquities that weighs upon them (Psa 65:3). The God-fearing acknowledges that those iniquities have prevailed over him. We also hear the Lord Jesus speak here when He bears on the cross as the substitutionary sacrifice the sins for all those who believe in Him. On this basis the sinner can confess his sins and receive reconciliation.

The God-fearing speaks in the singular, “against me”. There is no question of him hiding behind a general confession, as we sometimes hear, ‘all men are sinners’. With a sincere confession someone speaks only about himself: ‘I have sinned.’ Then someone sees only his own sins. He sees himself in the light of God.

However, when he speaks of the forgiveness of transgressions, he speaks in the plural, “our transgressions”. He knows himself to be associated with all who share in the forgiveness. That is the believing remnant here. He also knows that forgiveness is not the result of his prayer, or of the sacrifices he has made, but that forgiveness is the work of God alone. “You” therefore has the emphasis.

Prophetically, we see in the singular “against me” and “You” that it is about the Lord Jesus as the atoning sacrifice, as the guilt offering of Isaiah 53 (Isa 53:6). The plural “our transgressions” is about the remnant. Here is fulfilled what we read in Daniel 9, that transgression is finished, sin is ended, and iniquity is atoned (Dan 9:24; cf. Zec 13:1).

Forgiveness is the part of each one whom God “chooses”. The election concerns the election of those who may draw near to God. They may dwell in God’s courts; they are chosen to be priests. No one takes for himself the honor of being a priest, but one is called (chosen) by God, as is Aaron (Heb 5:4-5; Exo 28:1; Num 16:5). Aaron and his children sinned with the golden calf. By taking refuge behind the blood of the day of atonement, they were chosen by God to be priests, to be able to draw near to God.

He who is forgiven is so because he has been chosen by God for it (cf. Jn 15:16). Therefore, he will not be able to boast of that. What he will do is recognize that he is “blessed” (Psa 65:4; cf. Psa 1:1 ; Psa 32:1-2 ; Psa 41:2). Those who partake of God’s forgiveness and election are thrilled and delighted. He cannot help but praise and give thanks to God for His great mercy that He has bestowed upon him. There was only a right to hell. Now he is forgiven by God by virtue of His election. Everything is grace.

It is a tremendous blessing to be delivered from the burden and penalty of sin and forgiven by God, but it does not stop there. There are many other blessings attached to forgiveness and election. When God gives, He gives according to the riches of His grace. Whoever is elected by God, He “brings near” to Him. Such a person may come to Him, enter into His presence.

This drawing near to God is also not limited to visiting Him now and then. Whoever is chosen by God and whom He causes to draw near, “may dwell in Your courts”. By “courts” we can think of the dwellings of the priests (cf. 1Sam 3:3; 2Chr 4:9; Psa 23:6b ; Psa 84:10). A priest may dwell in God’s presence to praise and give thanks to Him day and night for His great grace. This is the privilege of all who know the God of Zion as their God.

All who are in this privileged position “will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house”. “The goodness” corresponds to dwelling in God’s courts, which means enjoying His nearness and fellowship. This is also expressed by the fact that “the goodness” is represented as “the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple”, which is reminiscent of the offerings that, as peace offerings, form the basis of fellowship with God at His altar. The peace offering is a fellowship offering, of which first God, second the priests, and finally the offerors, enjoy their portion at the meal at His altar.

In God’s house the blessings are piled high. Those who dwell there may eat of them to satisfaction. This involves enjoying all blessings in fellowship with God. God Himself is the goodness of “Your holy temple”. In His temple He enthrones and reveals His righteousness. Everything in His temple is holy; what is in it is there for Him and speaks of Him. That is what the God-fearing may feed on. He does this by looking to the Giver through the blessing. Then he sees Who God is in His love and His holiness. This is the true food of the believer.

Israel receives all these blessings on earth and temporarily, while for the church these blessings are heavenly and eternal. Israel receives the fullness of them in the realm of peace, while we already possess the fullness of them now. We do not approach in an earthly temple, but we form “the household of God, which is the church of the living God” (1Tim 3:15) for all eternity. We have access to the Father and are of God’s household now and forever (Eph 2:18-22).

The priests may dwell in the courts of an earthly temple. We will be in the Father’s house forever (Jn 14:1-3). There we will have fellowship with the Father and the Son and with each other for all eternity through eternal life, which we are already experiencing (1Jn 1:3-4). We are children of God now and forever by virtue of our personal election by God adopted as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ (Eph 1:3-7).