Psalm 65 [MT 66]

"For You a hymn is meet, O God, in Sion" [Psalm 65:1]. That fatherland is Sion: Jerusalem is the very same as Sion; and of this name the interpretation ye ought to know. As Jerusalem is interpreted vision of peace, so Sion Beholding, that is, vision and contemplation. Some great inexplicable sight to us is promised: and this is God Himself that has built the city. Beauteous and graceful the city, how much more beauteous a Builder it has! "For You a hymn is meet, O God," he says. But where? "In Sion:" in Babylon it is not meet. For when a man begins to be renewed, already with heart in Jerusalem he sings, with the Apostle saying, "Our conversation is in the Heavens." [Philippians 3:20] For "in the flesh though walking," he says, "not after the flesh we war." [2 Corinthians 10:3] Already in longing we are there, already hope into that land, as it were an anchor, we have sent before, lest in this sea being tossed we suffer shipwreck. In like manner therefore as of a ship which is at anchor, we rightly say that already she has come to land, for still she rolls, but to land in a manner she has been brought safe in the teeth of winds and in the teeth of storms; so against the temptations of this sojourning, our hope being grounded in that city Jerusalem causes us not to be carried away upon rocks. He therefore that according to this hope sings, in that city sings: let him therefore say, "For You a hymn is meet, O God, in Sion."...

Exposition on Psalm 65

The soul has to depart from the tortuousness of this life and the defilements of the earthly body. It must hasten to those heavenly gatherings, although it is granted to the saints alone to reach them. There it shall sing praise to God. For in the lesson taken from the prophet we hear of those singing praise to God to the accompaniment of their harps, “Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God almighty, just and true are your ways, O King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and magnify your name? For you only are holy: for all nations will come and worship before you.” And it shall see your marriage feast, O Lord Jesus, wherein the bride is led from earthly to heavenly dwellings, as all sing in joyous accord, “All flesh shall come to you,” now no longer subject to the world but espoused to the Spirit, and shall look on bridal chambers adorned with linen, roses, lilies and garlands. For whom else are the nuptials so adorned? For they are adorned with the purple stripes of confessors, the blood of martyrs, the lilies of virgins and the crowns of priests.

On the Death of Satyrus 2.132

"Hearken," he says, "to my prayer, unto You every flesh shall come" [Psalm 65:2]. And we have the Lord saying, that there was given to Him "power over every flesh." [John 17:2] That King therefore began even now to appear, when there was being said, "Unto You every flesh shall come." "To You," he says, "every flesh shall come." Wherefore to Him shall "every" flesh come? Because flesh He has taken to Him. Whither shall there come every flesh? He took the first-fruits thereof out of the womb of the Virgin; and now that the first-fruits have been taken to Him, the rest shall follow, in order that the holocaust may be completed. Whence then "every flesh"? Every man. And whence every man? Have all been foretold, as going to believe in Christ? Have not many ungodly men been foretold, that shall be condemned also? Do not daily men not believing die in their own unbelief? After what manner therefore do we understand, "Unto You every flesh shall come"? By "every flesh" he has signified, "flesh of every kind:" out of every kind of flesh they shall come to You. What is, out of every kind of flesh? Have there come poor men, and have there not come rich men? Have there come humble men, and not come lofty men? Have there come unlearned men, and not come learned men? Have there come men, and not come women? Have there come masters, and not come servants? Have there come old men, and not come young men; or have there come young men, and not come youths; or have there come youths, and not come boys; or have there come boys, and have there not been brought infants? In a word, have there come Jews (for thence were the Apostles, thence many thousands of men at first betraying, afterwards believing [Acts 2:41]), and have there not come Greeks; or have there come Greeks, and not come Romans; or have there come Romans, and not come Barbarians? And who could number all nations coming to Him, to whom has been said, "Unto You every flesh shall come"?

Exposition on Psalm 65

"The discourses of unjust men have prevailed over us, and our iniquities You shall propitiate" [Psalm 65:3]....Every man, in whatsoever place he is born, of that same land or region or city learns the language, is habituated to the manners and life of that place. What should a boy do, born among Heathens, to avoid worshipping a stone, inasmuch as his parents have suggested that worship? From them the first words he has heard, that error with his milk he has sucked in; and because they that used to speak were elders, and the boy that was learning to speak was an infant, what could the little one do but follow the authority of elders, and deem that to be good which they recommended? Therefore nations that are converted to Christ afterwards, and taking to heart the impieties of their parents, and saying now what the prophet Jeremias himself said, "Truly a lie our fathers have worshipped, vanity which has not profited them" [Jeremiah 16:19] — when, I say, they now say this, they renounce the opinions and blasphemies of their unjust parents....There have led us away men teaching evil things, citizens of Babylon they have made us, we have left the Creator, have adored the creature: have left Him by whom we were made, have adored that which we ourselves have made. For "the discourses of unjust men have prevailed over us:" but nevertheless they have not crushed us. Wherefore? "Our impieties You shall propitiate," is not said except to some priest offering somewhat, whereby impiety may be expiated and propitiated. For impiety is then said to be propitiated, when God is made propitious to the impiety. What is it for God to be made propitious to impiety? It is, His becoming forgiving, and giving pardon. But in order that God's pardon may be obtained, propitiation is made through some sacrifice. There has come forth therefore, sent from God the Lord, One our Priest; He took upon Him from us that which He might offer to the Lord; we are speaking of those same first-fruits of the flesh from the womb of the Virgin. This holocaust He offered to God. He stretched out His hands on the Cross, in order that He might say, "Let My prayer be directed as incense in Your sight, and the lifting up of My hands an evening sacrifice." As ye know, the Lord about eventide hung on the Cross: [Matthew 27:46] and our impieties were propitiated; otherwise they had swallowed up: the discourses of unjust men had prevailed over us; there had led us astray preachers of Jupiter, and of Saturn, and of Mercury: "the discourses of ungodly men had prevailed over us." But what will You do? "Our impieties You will propitiate." You are the priest, You the victim; You the offerer, You the offering. [Hebrews 9:7] ...

Exposition on Psalm 65

What indeed is lacking to the one who possesses the good and has virtue always as his companion and ally? In what role of life is he not most powerful? In what poverty is he not rich? In what lowly status is he not noble? In what leisure not industrious? In what weakness not vigorous? In what infirmity not strong? In what quiet of sleep not active? Even when he is asleep, his own virtue does not forsake him. In what solitude is he not in a crowd? The happy life surrounds him, grace clothes him, the garment of glory makes him radiant. He is no less happy when at leisure than when he works, no less filled with glory when he sleeps than when he is awake, because he is no less safe and sound when sleeping than when he is awake. Now when can he appear to be on holiday? His mind is always at work. When can he appear to be alone? He is always with that good of which the psalmist says, “We shall be filled with the good things of your house.” When can he appear to be downcast? “His citizenship is in heaven.” When can he appear not to be handsome? He conforms himself to the likeness of the beautiful and only good; although weak in his members, he is strong in his spirit.

On Jacob and the Blessed Life, Book 1

"Blessed is he whom You have chosen, and hast taken to You" [Psalm 65:4]. Who is he that is chosen by Him and taken to Him? Was any one chosen by our Saviour Jesus Christ, or was Himself after the flesh, because He is man, chosen and taken to Him?...Or has not rather Christ Himself taken to Him some blessed one, and the same whom He has taken to Him is not spoken of in the plural number but in the singular? For one man He has taken to Him, because unity He has taken to Him. Schisms He has not taken to Him, heresies He has not taken to Him: a multitude they have made of themselves, there is not one to be taken to Him. But they that abide in the bond of Christ and are the members of Him, make in a manner one man, of whom says the Apostle, "Until we all arrive at the acknowledging of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ." [Ephesians 4:13] Therefore one man is taken to Him, to which the Head is Christ; because "the Head of the man is Christ." [1 Corinthians 11:3] The same is that blessed man that "has not departed in the counsel of ungodly men," and the like things which there are spoken of: the same is He that is taken to Him. He is not without us, in His own members we are, under one Head we are governed, by one Spirit we all live, one fatherland we all long for....And to us He will give what? "He shall inhabit," he says, "in Your courts." Jerusalem, that is, to which they sing that begin to go forth from Babylon: "He shall inhabit in Your courts: we shall be filled with the good things of Your House." What are the good things of the House of God? Brethren, let us set before ourselves some rich house, with what numerous good things it is crowded, how abundantly it is furnished, how many vessels there are there of gold and also of silver; how great an establishment of servants, how many horses and animals, in a word, how much the house itself delights us with pictures, marble, ceilings, pillars, recesses, chambers:— all such things are indeed objects of desire, but still they are of the confusion of Babylon. Cut off all such longings, O citizen of Jerusalem, cut them off; if you will return, let not captivity delight you. But have you already begun to go forth? Do not look back, do not loiter on the road. Still there are not wanting foes to recommend you captivity and sojourning: no longer let there prevail against you the discourses of ungodly men. For the House of God long thou, and for the good things of that House long thou: but do not long for such things as you are wont to long for either in your house, or in the house of your neighbour, or in the house of your patron....

Exposition on Psalm 65

I want to stress what I think that we (or at least I) need more; the joy and delight in God which meet us in the Psalms, however loosely or closely, in this or that instance, they may be connected with the Temple. This is the living centre of Judaism. These poets knew far less reason than we for loving God. They did not know that He offered them eternal joy; still less that He would die to win it for them. Yet they express a longing for Him, for His mere presence, which comes only to the best Christians or to Christians in their best moments. They long to live all their days in the Temple so that they may constantly see 'the fair beauty of the Lord' (27:4). Their longing to go up to Jerusalem and 'appear before the presence of God' is like a physical thirst (Ps. 42). From Jerusalem His presence flashes out 'in perfect beauty' (50:2). Lacking that encounter with Him, their souls are parched like a waterless countryside (63:2). They crave to be 'satisfied with the pleasures' of His house (65:4). Only there can they be at ease, like a bird in the nest (84:3). One day of those 'pleasures' is better than a lifetime spent elsewhere (84:10).

Reflections on the Psalms, Chapter 5: The Fair Beauty of the Lord

"Hearken to us, O God, our Saviour" [Psalm 65:5]. He has disclosed now Whom he names as God. The "Saviour" specially is the Lord Jesus Christ. It has appeared now more openly of Whom he had said, "Unto You every flesh shall come." That One Man that is taken unto Him into the Temple of God, is both many and is One. In the person of One he has said, "Hearken, O God, i.e., to my hunger:" and because the same One of many is composed, now he says, "Hearken to us, O God, our Saviour." Hear Him now more openly preached: "Hearken to us, O God, our Saviour, the Hope of all the ends of the earth and in the sea afar." Behold wherefore has been said "Unto You every flesh shall come." From every quarter they come. "Hope of all the ends of the earth," not hope of one corner, not hope of Judæa alone, not hope of Africa alone, not hope of Pannonia, not hope of East or of West: but "Hope of all the ends of the earth, and in the sea afar:" of the very ends of the earth. "And in the sea afar:" and because in the sea, therefore afar. For the sea by a figure is spoken of this world, with saltness bitter, with storms troubled; where men of perverse and depraved appetites have become like fishes devouring one another. Observe the evil sea, bitter sea, with waves violent, observe with what sort of men it is filled. Who desires an inheritance except through the death of another? Who desires gain except by the loss of another? By the fall of others how many men wish to be exalted? How many, in order that they may buy, desire for other men to sell their goods? How they mutually oppress, and how they that are able do devour! And when one fish has devoured, the greater the less, itself also is devoured by some greater....Because evil fishes that were taken within the nets they said they would not endure; they themselves have become more evil than they whom they said they could not endure. For those nets did take fishes both good and evil. The Lord says, "The kingdom of Heaven is like to a sein cast into the sea, which gathers of every kind, which, when it had been filled, drawing out, and sitting on the shore, they gathered the good into vessels, but the evil they cast out: so it shall be," He says, "in the consummation of the world." [Matthew 13:47-49] He shows what is the shore, He shows what is the end of the sea. "The angels shall go forth, and shall sever the evil from the midst of the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Ha! You citizens of Jerusalem that are within the nets, and are good fishes; endure the evil, the nets break ye not: together with them you are in a sea, not together with them will you be in the vessels. For "Hope" He is "of the ends of the earth," Himself is Hope "also in the sea afar." Afar, because also in the sea.

Exposition on Psalm 65

"Preparing mountains in His strength" [Psalm 65:6]. Not in their strength. For He has prepared great preachers, and those same He has called mountains; humble in themselves, exalted in Him. "Preparing mountains in His strength." What says one of those same mountains? "We ourselves in our own selves have had the answer of death, in order that in ourselves we should not trust, but in God that raises the dead." [2 Corinthians 1:9] He that in himself does trust, and in Christ trusts not, is not of those mountains which He has prepared in His strength. "Preparing mountains in His strength: girded about in power." "Power," I understand: "girded about," is what? They that put Christ in the midst, "girded about" they make Him, that is on all sides begirt. We all have Him in common, therefore in the midst He is: all we gird Him about that believe in Him: and because our faith is not of our strength, but of His power; therefore girded about He is in His power; not in our own strength.

Exposition on Psalm 65

"That troublest the bottom of the sea" [Psalm 65:7]. He has done this: it is seen what He has done. For He has prepared mountains in His strength, has sent them to preach: girded about He is by believers in power: and moved is the sea, moved is the world, and it begins to persecute His saints. "Girded about in power: that troublest the bottom of the sea." He has not said, that troublest the sea; but "the bottom of the sea." The bottom of the sea is the heart of ungodly men. For just as from the bottom more thoroughly all things are stirred, and the bottom holds firm all things: so whatsoever has gone forth: by tongue, by hands, by various powers for the persecution of the Church, from the bottom has gone forth. For if there were not the root of iniquity in the heart, all those things would not have gone forth against Christ. The bottom He troubled, perchance in order that the bottom He might also empty: for in the case of certain evil men He emptied the sea from the bottom, and made the sea a desert place. Another Psalm says this, "That turns sea into dry land." All ungodly and heathen men that have believed were sea, have been made land; with salt waves at first barren, afterwards with the fruit of righteousness productive. "That troublest the bottom of the sea: the sound of its waves who shall endure?" "Who shall endure," is what? What man shall endure the sound of the waves of the sea, the behests of the high powers of the world? But whence are they endured? Because He prepares mountains in His strength. In that therefore which he has said "who shall" endure he says thus: We ourselves of our own selves should not be able to endure those persecutions, unless He gave strength.

Exposition on Psalm 65

"The nations shall be troubled" [Psalm 65:8]. At first they shall be troubled: but those mountains prepared in the strength of Christ, are they troubled? Troubled is the sea, against the mountains it dashes: the sea breaks, unshaken the mountains have remained. "The nations shall be troubled, and all men shall fear." Behold now all men fear: they that before have been troubled do now all fear. The Christians feared not, and now the Christians are feared. All that did persecute do now fear. For He has overcome that is girded about with power, to Him has come every flesh in such sort, that the rest by their very minority do now fear. And all men shall fear, that inhabit the ends of the earth, because of Your signs. For miracles the Apostles wrought, and thence all the ends of the earth have feared and have believed. "Outgoings in morning and in evening You shall delight:" that is, You make delightful. Already in this life what is there being promised to us? There are outgoings in morning, there are outgoings in the evening. By the morning he signifies the prosperity of the world, by the evening he signifies the trouble of the world....At first when he was promising gain, it was morning to you: but now evening draws on, sad you have become. But He that has given you an outgoing in the morning, will give one also in the evening. In the same manner as you have contemned the morning of the world by the light of the Lord, so contemn the evening also by the sufferings of the Lord, in saying to your soul, What more will this man do to me, than my Lord has suffered for me? May I hold fast justice, not consent to iniquity. Let him vent his rage on the flesh, the trap will be broken, and I will fly to my Lord, that says to me, "Do not fear them that kill the body, but the soul are not able to kill." [Matthew 10:28] And for the body itself He has given security, saying, "A hair of your head shall not perish." [Luke 21:18] Nobly here he has set down, "You will delight outgoings in morning and in evening." For if you take not delight in the very outgoing, you will not labour to go out thence. You run your head into the promised gain, if you are not delighted with the promise of the Saviour. And again you yield to one tempting and terrifying, if you find no delight in Him that suffered before you, in order that He might make an outgoing for you.

Exposition on Psalm 65

9–11

Only let us recognize the purpose of the evil. Why have the crops withered, our storehouses been emptied, the pastures of our flocks failed, the fruits of the earth been withheld and the plains been filled with shame instead of such fatness? Why have valleys lamented and not abounded in corn, the mountains not dropped sweetness, as they shall do hereafter to the righteous, but been stripped and dishonored and received on the contrary the curse of Gilboa? The whole earth has become as it was in the beginning, before it was adorned with its beauties. “You visited the earth and made it to drink,” but the visitation has been for evil and the draught destructive.

On His Father’s Silence, Oration 16:17

"You have visited the earth, and hast inebriated it" [Psalm 65:9]. Whence hast inebriated the earth? "Your cup inebriating how glorious it is!" "You have visited the earth, and hast inebriated it." You have sent Your clouds, they have rained down the preaching of the truth, inebriated is the earth. "You have multiplied to enrich it." Whence? "The river of God is filled with water." What is the river of God? The people of God. The first people was filled with water, wherewith the rest of the earth might be watered. Hear Him promising water: "If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink: he that believes in Me, rivers of living water from his belly shall flow:" [John 7:37-38] if rivers, one river also; for in respect of unity many are one. Many Churches and one Church, many faithful and one Bride of Christ: so many rivers and one river. Many Israelites believed, and were fulfilled with the Holy Spirit; from thence they were scattered abroad through the nations, they began to preach the truth, and from the river of God that was filled with water, was the whole earth watered. "You have prepared food for them: because thus is Your preparing." Not because they have deserved of You, whom You have forgiven sins: the merits of them were evil, but You for Your mercy's sake, "because thus is Your preparing," thus "You have prepared food for them."

Exposition on Psalm 65

9–13

They belong to a nation chiefly of peasants. For us the very name Jew is associated with finance, shopkeeping, money-lending, and the like. This, however, dates from the Middle Ages when the Jews were not allowed to own land and were driven into occupations remote from the soil. Whatever characteristics the modern Jew has acquired from millennia of such occupations, they cannot have been those of his ancient ancestors. Those were peasants or farmers. When even a king covets a piece of his neighbour's property, the piece is a vineyard; he is more like a wicked squire than a wicked king. Everyone was close to the land; everyone vividly aware of our dependence on soils and weather... The Psalmists, who are writing lyrics not romances, naturally give us little landscape. What they do give us, far more sensuously and delightedly than anything I have seen in Greek, is the very feel of weather—weather seen with a real countryman's eyes, enjoyed almost as a vegetable might be supposed to enjoy it. "Thou art good to the earth . . . thou waterest her furrows . . . thou makest it soft with the drops of rain . . . the little hills shall rejoice on every side . . . the valleys shall stand so thick with corn that they shall laugh and sing" (65:9–14).

Reflections on the Psalms, Chapter 8: Nature

"The furrows thereof inebriate You" [Psalm 65:10]. Let there be made therefore at first furrows to be inebriated: let the hardness of our breast be opened with the share of the word of God, "The furrows thereof inebriate You: multiply the generations thereof." We see, they believe, and by them believing other men believe, and because of those others believe; and it is not sufficient for one man, that having become himself a believer, he should gain one. So is multiplied seed too: a few grains are scattered, and fields spring up. "In the drops thereof it shall rejoice, when it shall rise up." That is, before it be perchance enlarged to the bulk of a river, "when it shall rise up, in its drops," that is, in those meet for it, "it shall rejoice." For upon those that are yet babes, and upon the weak, are dropped some portions of the sacraments, because they cannot receive the fullness of the truth. Hear in what manner he drops upon babes, while they are rising up, that is, in their recent rising having small capacities: the Apostle says, "To you I could not speak as if to spiritual, but as if to carnal, as if to babes in Christ." [1 Corinthians 3:1] When he says, "to babes in Christ," he speaks of them as already risen up, but not yet meet to receive that plenteous wisdom, whereof he says, "Wisdom we speak among perfect men." [1 Corinthians 2:6] Let it rejoice in its drops, while it is rising up and is growing, when strengthened it shall receive wisdom also: in the same manner as an infant is fed with milk, and becomes fit for meat, and nevertheless at first out of that very meat for which it was not fit, for it milk is made.

Exposition on Psalm 65

"You shall bless the crown of the year of Your goodness" [Psalm 65:11]. Seed is now sowing, that which is sown is growing, there will be the harvest too. And now over the seed the enemy has sown tares; and there have risen up evil ones among the good, false Christians, having like leaf, but not like fruit. For those are properly called tares, which spring up in the manner of wheat, for instance darnel, for instance wild oats, and all such as have the first leaf the same. Therefore of the sowing of the tares thus says the Lord: "There has come an enemy, and has sown over them tares;" [Matthew 13:25] but what has he done to the grain? The wheat is not choked by the tares, nay, through endurance of the tares the fruit of the wheat is increased. For the Lord Himself said to certain workmen desiring to root up the tares, "Suffer ye both to grow unto the harvest." [Matthew 13:30] ...Conquer the devil, and you will have a crown. "You shall bless the crown of the year of Your goodness." Again he makes reference to the goodness of God, lest any one boast of his own merits. "Your plains shall be filled with abundance."

Exposition on Psalm 65

For the fact that each of the four rows worn on the chest contains three stones corresponds to the sequence of the yearly cycle, which is divided into four seasons of three months each. Now in the Scriptures the entire year is designated as the time of our salvation, in which we strive for an eternal reward. As the Savior bears witness, he was sent in accordance with the saying of Isaiah to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of recompense. The psalmist also sings to him concerning the same year, saying, “You bless the crown of the year with your goodness.” For in the present time he gives them the goodness of right faith and works, and on the day of recompense he will give the crown of everlasting blessing.

On the Tabernacle 3:6

"The ends of the desert shall grow fat, and the hills shall be encircled with exultation" [Psalm 65:12]. Plains, hills, ends of the desert, the same are also men. Plains, because of the equality: because of equality, I say, from thence just peoples have been called plains. Hills, because of lifting up: because God does lift up in Himself those that humble themselves. Ends of the desert are all nations. Wherefore ends of the desert? Deserted they were, to them no Prophet had been sent: they were in like case as is a desert where no man passes by. No word of God was sent to the nations: to the people Israel alone the Prophets preached. We came to the Lord; the wheat believed among that same people of the Jews. For He said at that time to the disciples, "You say, far off is the harvest: look back, and see how white are the lands to harvest." There has been therefore a first harvest, there will be a second in the last age. The first harvest was of Jews, because there were sent to them Prophets proclaiming a coming Saviour. Therefore the Lord said to His disciples, "See how white are the lands to harvest:" [John 4:35] the lands, to wit, of Judæa. "Other men," He says, "have laboured, and into their labours you have entered." [John 4:38] The Prophets laboured to sow, and you with the sickle have entered into their labours. There has been finished therefore the first harvest, and thence, with that very wheat which then was purged, has been sown the round world; so that there arises an other harvest, which at the end is to be reaped. In the second harvest have been sown tares, now here there is labour. Just as in that first harvest the Prophets laboured until the Lord came: so in that second harvest the Apostles laboured, and all preachers of the truth labour, even until at the end the Lord send unto the harvest His Angels. Aforetime, I say, a desert there was, "but the ends of the desert shall grow fat." Behold where the Prophets had given no sound, the Lord of the Prophets has been received, "The ends of the desert shall grow fat, and with exultation the hills shall be encircled."

Exposition on Psalm 65

"Clothed have been the rams of the sheep" [Psalm 65:13]: "with exultation" must be understood. For with what exultation the hills are encircled, with the same are clothed the rams of the sheep. Rams are the very same as hills. For hills they are because of more eminent grace; rams, because they are leaders of the flocks...."They shall shout:" thence they shall abound with wheat, because they shall shout. What shall they shout? "For a hymn they shall say." For one thing it is to shout against God, another thing to say a hymn; one thing to shout iniquities, another thing to shout the praises of God. If you shout in blasphemy, thorns you have brought forth: if you shout in a hymn, you abound in wheat.

Exposition on Psalm 65