Embrace the Word for Wednesday, May 20, 2026

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Psalms 65 and 66 each express exuberant praise to the LORD. Psalms 65 and 66 as well as Psalms 67 and 68 seem to form a sub collection within the Psalter. The superscription of each of these four Psalms share the description “A Song.” While Psalms 65 and 68 explicitly are identified as Davidic, it seems fitting to link Psalms 66 and 67 with David as well, even though it is not stated. As Psalms 61 through 64 are linked together by their shared theme of longing for the LORD, Psalms 65 through 68 are linked together by their shared theme of joyous praise in response to the LORD’s victorious conquest. All four Psalms in this sub collection pertain to the reign of the king.

Psalm 65 and Psalm 66 share many common links, chief of which seems to be the emphasis upon the whole world (65:5,8; 66:1,4,7-8). But among other shared links, there are the references to the unruly or rebellious peoples (65:7; 66:3,7); the testimony of abundance or satisfaction (65:4,9-13; 66:12); the language of paying vows (65:1; 66:13-15); and the confidence that God hears prayers (65:2; 66:20). While there is much more to glean from Psalm 66, the remainder of this reflection will focus upon Psalm 65. A significant connection between Psalm 64 and Psalm 65 is that the description of the defeat of the enemy at the end of Psalm 64 (64:7-8), becomes the basis for the celebration and praise that opens and runs through Psalm 65. Psalm 65 begins with multiple terms related to the praise of God in the place of public worship (65:1-4), then moves to declare the awesome power that the LORD shows (65:5-8), before concluding by proclaiming the abundant provision the LORD supplies (65:9-13).

Psalm 65 opens with expressing how fitting it is to praise the LORD: “Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed” (65:1). David is back in Zion. In fact, this is the first mention of Zion or Jerusalem since Psalm 53. Back at the place of public worship, David expresses the propriety of fulfilling whatever vows of praise that he has made while away from Zion. Noticing the footnote in the ESV, verse 1 might literally be rendered “Praise waits for you in silence.” The idea conveyed in this word construction is not so much the absence of sounds or words, but the presence of an inner attitude of a quiet and peaceful heart.

Certainly a quieted heart might express fitting praise to the LORD with a hushed reverence, but a quieted heart can also verbalize what God has done to deserve praise: “O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come” (65:2). David praises the LORD because He is the God who hears. One of the immutable traits of the LORD is that He has always heard the prayers of His people, currently hears the prayers of His people, and in the future forever hears the prayers of His people. In light of the Lord Jesus Christ, God receives prayer on the basis of Christ (See John 15:7; 1 John 5:14-15). It is in and through Christ that “all flesh” shall approach the throne of God (See Hebrews 4:14-16). What prevents our prayers from being heard is our sins (See Isaiah 59:1-2). But the LORD makes provision for our sins through sacrifice: “When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions” (65:3). We cannot deal with our sin on our own; we are natively powerless to overcome it. But the LORD can and does “atone for our transgressions.” The atonement that God provides for our sin prevails over our sin: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (See Leviticus 17:11). God’s grace is always greater than our sin (See Romans 5:20).

Ultimately, it was not the sacrificial system outlined in the Old Covenant and performed in Jerusalem that would prove to be the remedy for our sin. Those sacrifices pointed forward to Jesus, who is the blessed man that David speaks of: “Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!” (65:4). “Blessed” is only used here in Book 2 of the Psalter. Its the same term that the first Psalm began with: “Blessed is the man” (See Psalm 1:1a). The blessed Man is the One chosen by God and thus the One through whom sinners can draw near to God. Any and all who belong to the blessed Man are the people of the blessed Man and thus qualified to come into God’s presence where satisfaction is found (See Psalm 16:11).

David spoke of God as the One who hears prayers (65:2), and now elaborates on the way God answers His people’s prayers: “By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation” (65:5a). On behalf of His people, in conjunction with their prayers, the LORD does incredible, awe-stimulating acts of rescue and deliverance that express His just nature. God always does right by His people no matter where they are on the earth: “the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas” (65:5b). The LORD’s strength to do right by His people never wanes or weakens: “the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples” (65:6-7). Seemingly immoveable mountains and purportedly raging seas are no match for the LORD. We are dealing with a God who simply needs to say to natural storms: “Peace! Be still!” (See Mark 4:39). Such a God can also calm and quiet, “the tumult of the people.” And the LORD not only stills a heart to be quiet, He can incite a heart to happily shout throughout all the world: “so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy” (65:8).

Even as the LORD cares for His people, He cares for them through His provision from the earth: “You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth” (65:9-10). The LORD pours out His blessings upon the land. God cares for the land because He cares for His people. In particular, God’s care is illustrated by His control of the waters that help produce the grain. God even showers that land with rain to enrich the field that feed the flocks. As a result, God ensures a bountiful harvest: “You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy” (65:11-13). The harvest is bountiful as God crowns the year with abundance. In fact, the abundance is so great that the wagons are heavily overloaded, as even the wilderness—where nothing much is thought to grow—is said to overflow. The imagery of these verses from this section have a flavor of Eden in them. The current state of the whole earth groaning as in the wilderness (See Romans 8:22), will one day pass away. While the LORD may provide glimpses of Eden at present, there is a sure Word that notions of Eden will become a full and complete reality once again (See Revelation 21). When such a time unfolds, joy will be the universal standard as “the hills gird themselves with joy,” and meadows and valleys will “shout and sing together for joy.” 

As we reflect on Psalm 65, we can consider the range of implications of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (See John 1:29). This proclamation of John the Baptist highlights the atoning nature of Jesus’ work. Jesus was God in the flesh, and He died as a sacrifice for His people to cover or wipe away our sin. Jesus did this through a work on the Cross that is substitutionary in nature: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (See 2 Corinthians 5:21). Through substitution, God reconciled a sinful world to Himself: “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (See 2 Corinthians 5:19). But as amazing as Christ’s atoning work is as it pertains to our sins, Christ not only reconciles sinners to Himself through faith, He also reconciles all things: “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (See Colossians 1:20). This “all things” includes the renewal of all creation as God’s people will dwell in His presence when all things are made new and right: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people” (See Revelation 21:1-2).

That’s all for Embrace the Word for Wednesday, May 20, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Friday, May 22, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 67.