Psalm 65:8-13

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 65:9

Thou visitest the earth - God seems to come down that he may attend to the needs of the earth; survey the condition of things; arrange for the welfare of the world which he has made; and supply the needs of those whom he has created to dwell upon it. See the notes at Psalms 8:4.And waterest it - Margin, After thou hadst made it to desire rain. This difference between the translations in the text and in the margin can be accounted for by the various meanings of the original word. The Hebrew term... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 65:10

Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly - Or rather, its furrows, for so the Hebrew word properly means. Job 31:38; Job 39:10. The allusion is to the furrows made by the plow, which are filled with water by the rains.Thou settlest the furrows thereof - Or rather, thou beatest down the ridges thereof. Literally, thou makest them to descend. That is, The rain - falling on them - beats them down, so that the ground becomes level.Thou makest it soft with showers - Margin, thou dissolvest it.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 65:11

Thou crownest the year with thy goodness - Margin, the year of thy goodness. The Hebrew is literally the year of thy goodness - meaning a year remarkable for the manifestation of kindness; or a year of abundant productions. But the Hebrew will admit of the other construction, meaning that God crowns or adorns the year, as it revolves, with his goodness; or that the harvests, the fruits, the flowers of the year are, as it were, a crown set on the head of the year. The Septuagint renders it,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 65:12

They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness - The waste places, or the waste parts of the land; the uncultivated places, the places of rocks and sands. The word wilderness in the Scriptures does not mean, as with us, a tract of country covered with trees, but a place of barren rocks or sands - an uncultivated or thinly inhabited region. See the notes at Matthew 3:1; notes at Isaiah 35:1. In those wastes, however, there would be valleys, or places watered by springs and streams that would... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 65:13

The pastures are clothed with flocks - The flocks stand so thick together, and are spread so far, that they seem to be a clothing for the pasture; or, the fields are entirely covered with them.The valleys also are covered over with corn - With grain. That is, the parts of the land - the fertile valleys - which are devoted to tillage. They are covered over, or clothed with waving grain, as the pasture-fields are with flocks.They shout for joy, they also sing - They seem to be full of joy and... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 65:8

Psalms 65:8. They also that dwell in the uttermost parts Namely, of the earth; are afraid at thy tokens Hebrew, מאותתיךְ , meothotheicha, at thy signs, at the great and terrible judgments which thou inflictest upon wicked men, and particularly on the enemies of thy people. Or rather, at such occurrences as extraordinary thunders, lightnings, and meteors in the air, comets in the heavens, or volcanic eruptions and earthquakes on the earth; all which are the works of God, whatever... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 65:9-10

Psalms 65:9-10. Thou visitest In mercy, or with thy favour, the earth, and waterest it The whole earth, which is full of thy bounty. So understood, he continues to speak of the general providence of God over all people. Or, he may mean, Thou visitest the land Namely, the land of Israel; and so he proceeds, from God’s general providence over all places and nations, to his particular and special providence over his people in the land of Canaan, whereof he gives one eminent and... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 65:11-12

Psalms 65:11-12. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness Thou, by thy powerful goodness, dost enrich and adorn all the seasons of the year with their proper fruits and blessings. And thy paths Either, 1st, Thy clouds, (as the word מעגליךְ , is rendered in the Liturgy version,) upon which God is frequently said to walk or ride, and which drop fatness upon the earth; or the outgoings, or ways of the divine goodness. Wherever God goes, speaking after the manner of men, or works, he... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 65:13

Psalms 65:13. The pastures Which were bare before; are clothed with flocks As they are with grass. They are so well stocked that they seem covered over with sheep and cattle, feeding or resting in them; the valleys also are covered with corn So that the face of the earth cannot be seen for the abundance of it. He mentions valleys, or low grounds, as being generally most fruitful, but does not intend to exclude other places. Such are some of the good effects of these refreshing,... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Psalms 65:1-13

Psalms 65:0 Praise for harvest, fields and flocksAs they approach God, the worshippers are aware of their failures through sin. They realize that forgiveness is necessary before they can enjoy fulness of fellowship with God in his house (1-4). They recall his great acts, both in the events of history and in the natural creation, and see these as a reason for all people, from east to west, to shout for joy (5-8).Coming closer to home, the worshippers see God’s provision in the well-watered... read more

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