Psalm 65

What a marvelous, encouraging Psalm.  Praise awaits God in Zion, He who is the confidence of all the earth.  Blessing from His house satisfies the one He has caused to come and worship Him.  What joy, what fullness there is for mankind, to be found in a relationship with their Creator!

Note several things of importance.

·         The blessing is offered “to all flesh” (v2) who come to God in Zion.  No matter how you consider it this is the case.  Today God’s blessing is extended to those who have come to the cross of Christ, the altar on which He was sacrificed for the sins of the world.  In the Messianic Kingdom all flesh will find their fulfillment in the One who sits on David’s throne in Zion.  By His own sovereign plan, the God of all the earth is the God of Israel.

·         Blessing is defined as being satisfied with the goodness of Your house.  To be satisfied is to be filled.  In the New Testament believers find this emphasis on fulfillment especially in Colossians.  Believers are complete in Christ.  This is true satisfaction of the soul.  Of your house means we experience God’s goodness by a relationship with Him.  His holy temple in Zion was where the people of Israel made pilgrimage, so as to fellowship with God.  Today, for believers, our bodies are the temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19-20).  God dwells there.  But in both cases that relationship is only through Christ whose blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat of heaven.  There is NO OTHER WAY (Jn. 14:6).  David knew and believed in this: as for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them  (65:3).

·         God is the confidence of all the ends of the earth.  While God is the God of Israel, and Zion is critical to the story, He is the confidence of the whole earth.  God’s blessings in this Psalm (v6-13) are described in terms of the land.  He sends rain, visiting the earth (paying attention to earth), crowning the year (every season) with His goodness.  This fits the setting of Old Testament Israel (and of the future earthly kingdom of Christ).  Every spiritual blessing of believers today (Eph. 1:3) is dependent on God as our confidence.  Confidence is critical in the story of Job.  As Job suffers terribly the question keeps coming up.  Is his confidence in himself? Or in his own righteousness?  Or in gold or silver?  These are confidences that do not satisfy the soul!  They are like a spiders web that will not hold (Job 8:14; 31:24).  Solomon said, “in the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence” (Prov. 14:26).  That is the point of Psalm 65. 

David rejoiced in this song of Zion.  Praise to God for the atoning (satisfying) work of Christ.  Is your soul satisfied in the Confidence of the whole earth?