Commentary - Psalm 65:5-8

Bird's-eye view

This portion of Psalm 65 is a dense celebration of God's sovereign power, displayed both in His awesome acts of salvation and in His absolute command over the created order. The psalmist moves seamlessly from God's personal answer to prayer in righteousness to His global reputation as the only true object of trust. This is a God who is not a localized tribal deity; He is the confidence of all the ends of the earth. His strength is not abstract but is visibly demonstrated in the establishment of mountains and the calming of chaotic seas. Crucially, the psalmist connects the calming of the natural world with the calming of the political world, the "tumult of the peoples." The passage concludes by showing that God's power is so manifest that it evokes two responses from humanity and creation: fear and joy. His signs are terrifying to those at the ends of the earth, and yet the daily rhythm of His created order, sunrise and sunset, is a perpetual shout of joy.

In short, these verses teach us that the God who saves us is the same God who holds the cosmos together. His righteousness is fearsome, His strength is foundational, and His rule is absolute, extending over both the raging waves and the raging nations. The response He elicits is therefore appropriately twofold: a holy fear on account of His signs and an uncontainable joy on account of His good and beautiful governance.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 65 is a psalm of David, designated for the choir director. It begins as a hymn of praise in Zion, acknowledging God as the one who hears prayer and atones for sin (vv. 1-3). It then celebrates the blessings of being chosen to dwell in God's courts (v. 4). Our passage (vv. 5-8) forms the central pivot of the psalm, shifting the focus from God's saving work for His people in Zion to His sovereign power over all creation and all nations. This section provides the foundation for the subsequent verses (vv. 9-13), which detail God's providential care for the land, providing rain and bountiful harvests. The flow is logical: the God who can establish mountains and still the seas is more than capable of watering the furrows of the fields. The awe-inspiring power described in our text is the necessary predicate for the tender providence described later. He is not just the God of the temple; He is the God of the cosmos.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 5 By fearsome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;

The psalmist begins with the character of God's answers to prayer. They are not tame, predictable, or manageable. He answers "by fearsome deeds." The word here points to things that are awesome, terrible, and awe-inspiring. When God intervenes in history on behalf of His people, it is not a small thing. Think of the plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the tumbling of Jericho's walls. These are not comfortable interventions. They are righteous, yes, but they are also terrifying. This is because our God is holy, and His righteousness is a consuming fire to sin. We pray for deliverance, and He brings it, but He does so in a way that reminds us who He is. He is the God of our salvation, but this salvation is a serious business, accomplished through earth-shaking power. And this God is not just our local protector. He is the "trust of all the ends of the earth." There is nowhere to run from Him, and so He is the only one to run to. Whether you are in the heart of civilization or on the "farthest sea," He is the only stable reality, the only one worthy of ultimate trust.

v. 6 Who establishes the mountains by His strength, Being girded with might;

How do we know He is trustworthy? The psalmist points to the mountains. Look at them. They are symbols of permanence, of unmovable strength. And God set them there. He "establishes the mountains by His strength." This was not an act of struggle for Him. He is "girded with might." This is an anthropomorphic picture, like a warrior putting on his belt before battle. God's might is not something He has to summon from afar; it is His very attire. He wears His power. The stability of the created order is a direct reflection of the omnipotence of the Creator. Men who worry about political instability or cultural chaos need to lift their eyes to the hills. The God who set those mountains in place is not wringing His hands over the latest news cycle.

v. 7 Who stills the rumbling of the seas, The rumbling of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples.

From the stability of the mountains, the psalmist turns to the chaos of the seas. The sea in Scripture is often a symbol of chaos, disorder, and rebellion. Its "rumbling" and the roaring of its waves represent the untamed forces that threaten God's order. But God "stills" them. He speaks, and the chaos subsides. Jesus demonstrated this very authority on the Sea of Galilee. But notice the brilliant parallel the psalmist draws. God stills the roaring of the seas, and He also stills "the tumult of the peoples." The Hebrew word for tumult is the same idea of a noisy, chaotic crowd. The raging of the nations, the political upheavals, the mobs in the streets, the angry parliaments, all of it is, to God, no more difficult to handle than a stormy sea. He can quiet them with a word. This should be a profound comfort to the believer and a stark warning to the rebellious. Your political rage is but a wave crashing against the Rock of Ages.

v. 8 They who inhabit the ends of the earth are in fear on account of Your signs; You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.

The display of such power has a global effect. Those who live at the "ends of the earth," the remotest peoples, see God's "signs" and are put in fear. These signs are His mighty acts in creation and redemption, the storms, the earthquakes, the deliverances of His people. A proper response to the revelation of God's power is fear, a holy dread. But this is not the only response. God's governance is not merely terrifying; it is also beautiful. "You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy." The daily, orderly procession of day and night is not a silent, mechanical routine. It is a symphony of praise. The morning and evening are personified as leading a choir. God's power is so complete and His rule so good that the very structure of time and creation erupts in joyful celebration. The God who is feared for His awesome deeds is also the God who orchestrates the daily beauty that makes life joyful. He is the source of both awe and gladness.

Application

The truths in this passage are intensely practical. First, when we pray, we should not expect God to act according to our small-minded and comfortable scripts. He is the God of "fearsome deeds." We should be prepared for answers that awe us, and perhaps even frighten us a little, because they will reveal His holiness and righteousness, not just His desire to make us comfortable.

Second, our confidence must be rooted in God's creative power. When we are tempted to despair over the "tumult of the peoples", the political insanity, the cultural decay, the rage of the heathen, we must remember the God who establishes the mountains and stills the seas. The problems that seem insurmountable to us are nothing to Him. Our trust should not be in princes or political solutions, but in the God who girds Himself with might. He is the God of salvation for all the ends of the earth, and that includes our little corner of it.

Finally, we must cultivate both fear and joy in our worship. We should look at God's signs in the world and in Scripture and respond with a holy fear. We must not domesticate Him. At the same time, we must learn to see His hand in the daily rhythms of His creation. We should let the sunrise and the sunset lead us in joyful praise. The Christian life is one that walks in the fear of the Lord, and because of that, is liberated to experience true, deep-seated joy in the goodness of His rule.