Praises Waiting in Line – Psalm 65

“To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song. Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion. And to You the vow shall be performed. O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come.” Psalm 65:1-2

The imagery I see is of David telling the Heavenly Father that he has the people of Jerusalem singing praises to Him. David has them worshipping the Lord together. They are grateful for all God has done for them. They want to do what they vowed to do for God.

Psalm 134:1-2 says, “Behold, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who by night stand in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord.”

Matthew Henry wrote, “The Levites by night stood in the house of the Lord, ready to sing their songs of praise at the hour appointed, and thus their praise waited for Him.”

God let David know that all flesh will come before Him. In Revelation 7:9-10, God gave to John a vision of a great multitude which “no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” People from every land and generation were there.

Even the “goats” whom the Shepherd separates from the sheep, shall have their moment to appear before Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:10, “At the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth.”

David appreciates the Father for hearing his prayers. In Ephesians 3:20, Paul wrote that the Lord “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” In Hebrews 4:16, Paul urged us to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

“Iniquities prevail against me. As for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them.” Psalm 65:3

Iniquities prevail as long as we try to balance them with any righteousness of our own.

In Psalm 49:6-8, David wrote, “Those who trust in their wealth and boast in the multitude of their riches, none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him—for the redemption of their souls is costly.”

David wrote that God would provide atonement for our transgressions. He did! Ephesians 1:7 says that in Christ we “have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” 1 John 1:7 says that “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 Peter 1:18-19 says that “you were redeemed... with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” The only atoning work that God honors is His Son’s. We must bring our sins to Jesus and ask that He apply His atoning blood to them to wash them away.

“Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple.” Psalm 65:4

“Blessed is the man” that God chooses to approach Him. In John 6:44, Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” In Hebrews 4:7, Paul wrote, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” It is a great blessing when Jesus turns to you and says, “Come, follow Me.”

At this point, we don’t have the privilege of physically dwelling in God’s courts or in His house. However, God does bless us with His presence by His Spirit and Word. It is God’s presence that makes His courts and house so wonderful. David experienced the presence of the Lord and we can as well as we worship and serve Him.

“By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of the far-off seas.” Psalm 65:5

God takes care of His people. He is the confidence of saints all over the world. God gives us His Spirit and Word to remain online with us. Before there were telephones or internet, God was already able to maintain open line communications with any person at anytime and anywhere.

“You who established the mountains by His strength, being clothed with power.” Psalm 65:6

God’s strength established the mountains. Have you ever stood at the foot of a mountain and looked up its rocky side? Tons and tons of rock sustain its towering peak. Yet, Jesus said that by something as invisible and light weight as faith, God would cast that mountain down before us.

“You who still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples.” Psalm 65:7

In Psalm 2, the nations are raging. Kings and rulers are against the Lord and His anointed. God is in heaven laughing. His Son will always be above them. God commands them to be wise and be instructed. “Serve the Lord with fear!” “Kiss the Son, lest you perish in the way.”

God stills sounds of stormy citizens as easy as He stills stormy seas. In Mark 4:37-39, a great wind storm was blowing on the Sea of Galilee. The boat in which the disciples were traveling began to fill with water. It appeared to the disciples that they were going to die, but then, Jesus arose, and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “’Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.”

“They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs. You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.” Psalm 65:8

God’s miraculous signs are not confined to people of Israel. Throughout the earth, God Almighty displays His power through whirlwinds, lightning, thunder, hail, floods, famines, earthquakes, fires and pestilences. Those who do not know Him fear these destructive signs. But then, God also makes mornings and evenings in which people rejoice due to the beauty of them. In Matthew 5:45, Jesus said, “Your Father in heaven makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Matthew Henry wrote, “It is hard to say which is more welcome to us, the light of the morning, which befriends the business of the day, or the shadows of the evening, which befriend the repose of the night. Does the watchman wait for the morning? So does the hireling earnestly desire the shadow.” [1]

“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 ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth.” Psalm 65:9-10

In Acts 14:17, Paul told Lystrans (people of modern day Türkiye), that God “did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” In John 15:1, Jesus compared His Father to a vinedresser who cares for those who are in His vineyard. His goal is to help us live and produce good fruit.

“Our hearts are dry and barren unless God himself be as the dew to us and water us.” The rivers of God’s blessings enrich the earth. “We might live well enough without silver and gold, but not without corn and grass.” [2]

“You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance. They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks. The valleys also are covered with grain. They shout for joy, they also sing.” Psalm 65:11-13

As one’s head is honored by wearing a golden crown, so a land is honored when it is abundantly watered by God. [3] Flocks can gather in it and enjoy green pastures. The hills rejoice on every side because streams of water flow down from them and water the crops that people are growing. The hills and fields are adorned with trees and flowers, as well as with singing birds and playful bunnies hopping. The valleys are shouting and singing with joy of the Lord.

It is easy to take God’s rich blessings for granted if you have never been without them. Once, I shared a room at a camp with a minister from Kenya. When he took a shower, he shut the water off in between soaping and rinsing. I could hear what he was doing from outside the bathroom. When I told him that he did not need to do that, he explained to me that due to drought in Kenya, he often had to walk for miles to get water. Water was considered very precious. He was in the practice of not wasting it. He told me that the ground where he lived was like chocolate powder because the land was so dry. When he saw the trees that surrounded the park, he said to me that they would all be turned into fuel for fire in his land. The people where he lived had to rely on wood for cooking. Cutting down trees and turning the wood into kindling was also a way to make money for survival.

In Psalm 65:1, David wrote, “Praise is awaiting You, O God.” May our praises unto God flourish and become abundant, so much so, that they are like people waiting patiently in line to be the next one to say to Him, “Praise the Lord!”



[1] Matthew Henry’s Commentary
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid