Psa 65:9 | KingComments | STEP | These verses describe the blessed consequence of God’s awesome deeds in righteousness ( ). It is a description of the abundant blessing in the millennial realm of peace (cf. ; ). Then creation will be set free from the “futility” to which it was subjected by man’s sin ( ) and will bring forth an abundance of fruit. The land owes this time of blessing to God’s visiting it ( ). In “visit” lies the thought of taking care of someone who is in need, thinking of him, looking at him and providing for his needs. This is what God is doing with the land He has chosen for His people to live in and enjoy what it produces. The abundance that the land produces is His work. He “causes it to overflow”. He not only provides what is needed, but gives in abundance. God is a God of overflow (cf. ; ). He “enriches” the land. All lack is past time. There is a great wealth of food. It is a paradisiacal condition. The earthly blessings of God’s covenant with His people are enjoyed in full measure. This is due to “the stream of God” which is “full of water”. By “the stream of God” are meant the great reservoirs of water in the clouds (cf. ). At God’s command they pour out their water on the land, so that the wheat can grow in rich abundance. God “prepares their grain”. The restored Israel will acknowledge this wholeheartedly and with great gratitude: “For thus You prepare the earth.” In a spiritual sense, it refers to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on “all flesh” when God’s people are restored to their relationship with God ( ; cf. ; ). For us, this is already reality ( ). God may wondrously make something grow ( ), but His usual way is that He gives growth in accordance with the laws He has placed in creation. The farmer does have to work the land. He plows the earth. But God waters that plowed earth ( ). He waters its furrows and soaks it with raindrops. The crop that comes forth is blessed by God, it grows under His blessing. It is clear that God and no one else gives this growth, this abundance, this rich yield of the land. This is also a description of the way God brings a sinner to repentance and causes him to grow spiritually ( ). The Spirit, through the Word of God, convicts the heart of the sinner of his sins. He plows the ground, as it were, through which iniquity is seen and confessed. Then Word and Spirit drench the heart and work the new life in him ( ). The teaching of God’s Word then soaks like a gentle rain and like raindrops that new life making it grow and bear fruit ( ). Throughout the year, God has given His care to the land, demonstrating His bounty ( ). The crowning glory is that rich harvest. In what comes forth from the earth’s soil, we see, as it were, His “paths” that “drip [with] fatness”. It gives the picture of God walking through the land in successive seasons, and everywhere He walks fertility, beauty and abundance appear. The magnificent vineyards, cornfields and olive trees adorn the land like a crown adorns the head. It is the crown that God puts on the land. The dry wilderness is crowned with pastures ( ; ). His footsteps bedevil the pastures so that they continue to produce abundant fertile grass. The fertility and abundance cause joy. “The hills”, which are presented as persons, “gird themselves with rejoicing”. The green splendor around the hills seems to be a girdle that radiates joy. The flocks in the meadows are so large that they seem like a covering for those meadows ( ). The valleys also have a covering: they are covered with grain. As a result, the meadows and the valleys are full of expressions of joy: “They shout for joy, yes, they sing.” All nature is full of the bounty of God and is a testimony to His happiness and His beauty ( ). This description is an exhortation to the New Testament believer to testify full of joy to the spiritual blessings he has received in Christ.

‏ Psalms 65:9

Abundance of Blessing

These verses describe the blessed consequence of God’s awesome deeds in righteousness (Psa 65:5). It is a description of the abundant blessing in the millennial realm of peace (cf. Deu 11:10-15 ; 21; Eze 36:33-38). Then creation will be set free from the “futility” to which it was subjected by man’s sin (Rom 8:20-21) and will bring forth an abundance of fruit.

The land owes this time of blessing to God’s visiting it (Psa 65:9). In “visit” lies the thought of taking care of someone who is in need, thinking of him, looking at him and providing for his needs. This is what God is doing with the land He has chosen for His people to live in and enjoy what it produces.

The abundance that the land produces is His work. He “causes it to overflow”. He not only provides what is needed, but gives in abundance. God is a God of overflow (cf. Deu 28:11 ; Deu 30:9; Jn 10:10). He “enriches” the land. All lack is past time. There is a great wealth of food. It is a paradisiacal condition. The earthly blessings of God’s covenant with His people are enjoyed in full measure.

This is due to “the stream of God” which is “full of water”. By “the stream of God” are meant the great reservoirs of water in the clouds (cf. Job 26:8 ; Job 38:37-38). At God’s command they pour out their water on the land, so that the wheat can grow in rich abundance. God “prepares their grain”. The restored Israel will acknowledge this wholeheartedly and with great gratitude: “For thus You prepare the earth.” In a spiritual sense, it refers to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on “all flesh” when God’s people are restored to their relationship with God (Joel 2:28; cf. Eze 47:1-12; Zec 14:8). For us, this is already reality (Jn 7:37-39).

God may wondrously make something grow (Jona 4:6), but His usual way is that He gives growth in accordance with the laws He has placed in creation. The farmer does have to work the land. He plows the earth. But God waters that plowed earth (Psa 65:10). He waters its furrows and soaks it with raindrops. The crop that comes forth is blessed by God, it grows under His blessing. It is clear that God and no one else gives this growth, this abundance, this rich yield of the land.

This is also a description of the way God brings a sinner to repentance and causes him to grow spiritually (1Cor 3:6). The Spirit, through the Word of God, convicts the heart of the sinner of his sins. He plows the ground, as it were, through which iniquity is seen and confessed. Then Word and Spirit drench the heart and work the new life in him (Jn 3:5). The teaching of God’s Word then soaks like a gentle rain and like raindrops that new life making it grow and bear fruit (Deu 32:2).

Throughout the year, God has given His care to the land, demonstrating His bounty (Psa 65:11). The crowning glory is that rich harvest. In what comes forth from the earth’s soil, we see, as it were, His “paths” that “drip [with] fatness”. It gives the picture of God walking through the land in successive seasons, and everywhere He walks fertility, beauty and abundance appear. The magnificent vineyards, cornfields and olive trees adorn the land like a crown adorns the head. It is the crown that God puts on the land.

The dry wilderness is crowned with pastures (Psa 65:12; Isa 35:1-2). His footsteps bedevil the pastures so that they continue to produce abundant fertile grass. The fertility and abundance cause joy. “The hills”, which are presented as persons, “gird themselves with rejoicing”. The green splendor around the hills seems to be a girdle that radiates joy.

The flocks in the meadows are so large that they seem like a covering for those meadows (Psa 65:13). The valleys also have a covering: they are covered with grain. As a result, the meadows and the valleys are full of expressions of joy: “They shout for joy, yes, they sing.” All nature is full of the bounty of God and is a testimony to His happiness and His beauty (Zec 9:16-17).

This description is an exhortation to the New Testament believer to testify full of joy to the spiritual blessings he has received in Christ.