Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 65:3

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 65:3. Iniquities prevail against me — This is no just rendering of the original, דברי עונת גברו מני dibrey avonoth gaberu menni; "iniquitous words have prevailed against me," or, "The words of iniquity are strong against me." All kinds of calumnies, lies, and slanders have been propagated, to shake my confidence, and ruin my credit.

Our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. — Whatsoever offences we have committed against thee, thou wilt pardon; תכפרם tecapperem, thou wilt make atonement for them, when with hearty repentance and true faith we turn unto thee. This verse has been abused to favour Antinomian licentiousness. The true and correct translation of the former clause will prevent this.

The old Scottish Version of this verse, in their singing Psalms, is most execrable: -

"Iniquities, I must confess,

Prevail against me do:

And as for our trans-gres-si-ons

Them purge away wilt thou."

O David, if thou art capable of hearing such abominable doggerel substituted for the nervous words thou didst compose by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, what must thou feel, if chagrin can affect the inhabitants of heaven!

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 65:0 Praise for harvest, fields and flocks

As 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 ground, the flowing streams, the full harvest and the flourishing countryside before them (9-10). They view the scene as if God is driving through the land in his chariot to inspect its richness; and the pastures, harvest and flocks join in joyously shouting their welcome to their divine provider (11-13).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

PRAISING GOD FOR WHAT HE DOES FOR HIS PEOPLE

“Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion; And unto thee shall the vow be performed. O thou that hearest prayer, Unto thee shall all flesh come. Iniquities prevail against me: As for our transgressions, thou wilt forgive them. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causeth to approach unto thee, That he may dwell in thy courts: We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, Thy holy temple. By terrible things wilt thou answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, Thou that art the confidence of the ends of the earth, And of them that are afar off upon the sea.”

God is here praised:

(a)    because He hears prayers (Psalms 65:2)

(b)    because He forgives sins (Psalms 65:3)

(c)    because He provides fellowship with Himself for His people “in His courts,” that is, in His presence in heaven, (Psalms 65:4), and

(d)    because He delivers His people from their enemies (Psalms 65:5).

“Praise waiteth for God… vows shall be performed” It may seem strange that “praise” and “vows” should thus be mentioned together, but McCaw’s explanation is excellent.

“The vows of Old Testament religion were not techniques of putting pressure on God or driving a bargain with him. They were a recognition that prayer for God’s blessing must go hand in hand with consecration, and that thanksgiving can never be merely verbal, but must receive concrete expression in lives and goods. Thus, both `praise’ and `vows’ are abundantly due to a bountiful God.”The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 490.

“O thou that hearest prayer” (Psalms 65:2). There is nothing more wonderful that can be known about God than this very fact that he answers our prayers. The Scriptures strongly emphasize the Christian’s duty to pray. “Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you”: “Men ought always to pray and not to faint”; “Whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he will give you”; “Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full”; “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” All of these commandments are the precious words of the New Testament.

“Unto thee shall all flesh come” Some would restrict this mention of “all flesh” to mean “all Israel,” but it appears to us that, coupled with, “the ends of the earth” (Psalms 65:5) and the “uttermost parts” (Psalms 65:8), there is an echo here of the promise to Abraham that “all the families of the earth” were to be blessed in the Seed Singular of that patriarch, even in Jesus Christ.

Leupold cited these words, “As an obvious protest against an unwholesome exclusivism into which Israel of old might have been in danger of falling.”H. C. Leupold, p. 474. Indeed it was such an exclusivism that led to the Jewish hatred of Paul and his mission to the Gentiles, and which was also the key element in their violent rejection of Christianity.

“Iniquities… thou wilt forgive them” These words also are a prophecy of a time yet future when the psalmist wrote; because the forgiveness of sins was given by Jeremiah as one of the distinctive elements of the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-35).

“Iniquities prevail against me… our transgressions” Note the “me” and “our” pronouns here, also that forgiveness was not given to the psalmist until it was simultaneously bestowed upon him and the nation. The truth behind this is that the actual expiation for sins did not occur in the Old Testament at all but at the Cross of Jesus Christ. Whatever “forgiveness” was available to God’s saints under the Old Covenant, it was tentative and not final. “There was a remembrance made of sins year by year” (Hebrews 10:3). All sins, both those of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, were removed by the Atonement of Christ on Calvary, where he died, “for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

It was in the spirit of prophecy alone that the psalmist could have written these words.

“Blessed is the man whom thou choosest” The psalmist here was probably thinking of the choice of Israel to be the Chosen People and to bring in the Messiah for the salvation all men, but the words are unlimited in their application. “Not only, `blessed is the nation’ (Psalms 33:12), but `blessed is the man,’ the particular man, how mean soever, whom God chooses, and causes him to approach God. Such a man is the happiest of mortals; he shall dwell in the courts of God, for he has been assured of divine favor and has received the pledge and the earnest of everlasting bliss.”Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Vol. III, p. 475.

“By terrible things in righteousness” This verse is a sequel to Psalms 65:2; and what is referred to is, “The terrible acts of God’s righteous judgments upon the enemies of Israel.”The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8-B, p. 29. In God’s dealings with Israel, there were many occasions which fit this description. The destruction of Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea and the death of Sennacherib’s army of 185,000 men in a single night are two examples.

“Thou that art the confidence of all the ends of the earth” There is no way to avoid the application of these words to the entire human race. The God of Israel is indeed the God of all men, the only hope of salvation that our poor world has ever had, or ever shall have.

The inspired author of these words might have been trying in such words as these to awaken Israel to their God-given mission of enlightening all the world with the knowledge of the One God, a mission which, it seems, was never any big concern of the Chosen People, who stubbornly held to the conceit that they alone were the object of God’s love and concern.

The words of Psalms 65:5 here flatly declare that the only hope and confidence of the remotest man on earth is only in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Iniquities prevail against me - Margin, as in Hebrew, Words, or matters of iniquities. The literal meaning is words; and the idea may be that words spoken in iniquity, or slanderous words spoken by others, prevailed against him. The phrase, however, is susceptible of the interpretation which refers it to iniquity itself; meaning the matter of iniquity - the thing - iniquity itself - as if that overcame him, or got the mastery of him. The psalmist here, in his own name, seems to represent the people who thus approached God, for the psalm refers to the worship of an assembly or a congregation. The idea is, that when they thus came before God; when they had prepared all things for his praise Psalms 65:1; when they approached him in an attitude of prayer, they were so bowed down under a load of transgression - a weight of sin - as to hinder their easy access to his throne. They were so conscious of unworthiness; their sin had such an effect on their minds; it rendered them so dull, cold, and stupid, that they could not find access to the throne of God. How often do the people of God find this to be the case!

As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away - That is, In reference to these very transgressions or iniquities that now press us down, thou wilt remove them. The language expresses the rising confidence and hope of the worshippers that God would not allow those transgressions so to prevail as to prevent their worshipping God acceptably. Heavy as was the burden of sin, and much as the consciousness of guilt tended to impede their worship, yet they felt assured that God would so remove their transgressions that they might have access to his mercy-seat. The word rendered “purge away” - כפר kâphar - is the word which is commonly rendered “to atone for,” or which is used to represent the idea of atonement. See the notes at Isaiah 43:3. The word has here the sense of cleansing or purifying, but it always carries with it, in the Scriptures, a reference to that through which the heart is cleansed - the atonement, or the expiatory offering made for sin. The language here expresses the feeling which all may have, and should have, and which very many do have, when they approach God, that, although they are deeply conscious of sin, God will so graciously remove the guilt of sin, and lift off the burden, cleansing the soul by his grace, as to make it not improper that we should approach him, and that he will enable us to do it with peace, and joy, and hope. Compare the notes at Psalms 51:2.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

3Words of iniquity have prevailed against me ⁽⁴⁴⁷⁾ He does not complain of the people being assailed with calumny, but is to be understood as confessing that their sins were the cause of any interruption which had taken place in the communication of the divine favor to the Jews. The passage is parallel with that,

“The ear of the Lord is not heavy that it cannot hear, but our iniquities have separated betwixt us and him.” — Isaiah 59:1

David imputes it to his own sins and those of the people, that God, who was wont to be liberal in his help, and so gracious and kind in inviting their dependence upon him, had withdrawn for a time his divine countenance. First, he acknowledges his own personal guilt; afterwards, like Daniel 9:5, he joins the whole nation with himself. And this truth is introduced by the Psalmist with no design to damp confidence in prayer, but rather to remove an obstacle standing in the way of it, as none could draw near to God unless convinced that he would hear the unworthy. It is probable that the Lord’s people were at theft time suffering under some token of the divine displeasure, since David seems here to struggle with some temptation of this kind. He evidently felt that there was a sure remedy at hand, for no sooner has he referred to the subject of guilt, than he recognises the prerogative of God to pardon and expiate it. The verse before us must be viewed in connection with the preceding, and as meaning, that though their iniquities merited their being cast out of God’s sight, yet they would continue to pray, encouraged by his readiness to be reconciled to them. We learn from the passage that God will not be entreated of us, unless we humbly supplicate the pardon of our sins. On the other hand, we are to believe firmly in reconciliation with God being procured through gratuitous remission. Should he at any time withdraw his favor, and frown upon us, we must learn by David’s example to rise to the hope of the expiation of our sins. The reason of his using the singular number, in the confession which he makes of sin, may be, that as king he represented the whole people, or that he intended, like Daniel, to exhort them each to an individual and particular examination and confession of his own guilt. We know how apt hypocrites are to hide their personal sin, under a formal acknowledgement of their share in the general transgression. But David, from no affectation of humility, but from deep inward conviction, begins with himself, and afterwards includes others in the same charge.

(447) In our English Bible it is, “Iniquities prevail against me;” and on the margin, “Words or matters of iniquity,” etc. Calvin gives the same meaning which is naturally suggested by our English version, although from his translating the Hebrew text by words of iniquity, we would at first view be apt, to suppose that he would explain them as referring to the evil reports, the calumnies and slanders, which David’s enemies propagated against him to ruin his reputation. Dr Adam Clarke understands the words in this sense, and gives a translation equivalent to Calvin’s “Iniquitous words have prevailed against me,” or, “The words of iniquity are strong against me.” — He thinks the reading of our English Bible “Is no just rendering of the original;” observing, that “this verse has been abused to favor Antinomian licentiousness;” and that “the true and correct translation of the former clause will prevent this.” But we cannot see how the verse, as it stands in our English Bible, can with justice be viewed as tending to give encouragement to sin, it being no more than the confession of a repentant sinner, accompanied with hope in the mercy of God, founded on the glad tidings announced in the Gospel, that God is willing to pardon the most guilty who believe in his Son, and repent of their sins. The old Scottish, version of this verse —

“Iniquities, I must confess,
Prevail against me do:
And as for our transgressions.
Them purge away wilt thou,”

which this learned author terms “most execrable” and “abominable doggerel” — and at hearing which he supposes David would feel chagrin, if such a feeling could affect the inhabitants of heaven — is, it must be admitted, ill expressed, feeble, and easily susceptible of an Antinomian sense. But not so, we think, the revised version, now in very general use in Scotland, which, by the alteration of a single word in the beginning of the third line, has made the verse at the same time more correct and more nervous: —

“ Butas for our transgressions,
Them purge away shalt thou:”

thus implying at once a deep sense of the evil of sin, and a confident reliance on the forgiving mercy of God — two subjects on which it is of the highest importance for us to entertain just views in drawing near to God in prayer.

Dr Morrison gives the following rendering: —

“ Our iniquities prevail against us;
But thou art he who blotteth out our transgressions.”

Horsley’s version is: —

“The account of iniquities is too great for me:
Thou shalt expiate our crimes.”

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 65:1-13

Psalms 65:1-13 is another psalm of David and this psalm looks forward to the glorious Kingdom Age when Jesus is reigning upon the earth. And so this is a prophetic psalm, going on in to the next age that is fast approaching.

Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed. O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come ( Psalms 65:1-2 ).

"Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father" ( Philippians 2:10-11 ). "Unto thee all flesh shall come."

Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causes to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. By terrible things ( Psalms 65:3-5 )

And the word terrible here is an old English word that has lost or changed its meaning through time, so that now terrible to us has a whole different implications than it had when it was first translated. The word would better be translated now in our English word as awesome. So, because we think of terrible of something that is horrible and all, it doesn't give us the true idea of the Hebrew word. So wherever you read terrible, "His terrible acts," if you would translate that, "His awesome," it'll give you a much better indication of the Hebrew.

By awesome things in righteousness will you answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all of the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea: Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains: being girded with power: Which stilleth the noise of the seas, and the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people. They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with a river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. When thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessed the springing thereof. You crowned the year with thy goodness; and thy paths dropped fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; and the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shall shout for joy, they also sing ( Psalms 65:5-13 ).

So the glorious Kingdom Age when the earth again is bringing forth abundantly to the glory of God. When Christ is reigning there in Zion and praise is being offered unto Him in the courts of His holy temple there in Jerusalem. How God, by His awesome work, has brought righteousness upon the earth, and now is filling the earth with fruit. The kingdom has come. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. God’s forgiveness 65:1-4

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 65

This communal song of thanksgiving celebrates God blessing His people with a bountiful land (cf. Psalms 66-68). Other communal or community psalms of thanksgiving are 66, 107, 118, 124, and 129. The element that distinguishes a communal psalm of thanksgiving from an individual psalm of thanksgiving is "the use of plural pronouns or some other clear indicator that the congregation of Israel, rather than the individual, has gone through the crisis." [Note: Bullock, p. 163.] David explained that God hears prayer and atones for sin. This results in bounty for His people. God also helps them by His supernatural power.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

A great national sin seems to have been the psalmist’s concern, and he was grateful for the Lord’s forgiveness (cf. Romans 5:1). Those whom God forgives can approach Him and experience His blessing-even in His earthly habitation (cf. Romans 5:2; 2 Corinthians 9:8). The Hebrew word hekal (temple) is a synonym for tabernacle. It means a magnificent house and does not describe Solomon’s temple necessarily (cf. Psalms 5:7).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Iniquities prevail against me,.... Or, "are mightier than I" h; this may be understood either of the iniquities of others, his enemies; their "words of iniquities" i or iniquitous words, as in the Hebrew text; their calumnies, reproaches, false charges, and accusations, which prevailed against David in Saul's court; or rather his own iniquities, inward lusts, indwelling sins, as well as open transgressions, which he considers as his enemies, as numerous and powerful, too mighty for him, which warred against him, and sometimes got the better of him, and threatened him with utter ruin and destruction; but amidst all this he spies atonement and pardon through the blood and sacrifice of Christ, as follows;

[as for] our transgressions, thou shall purge them away; not only his own, but others, which Christ has done by the sacrifice of himself; and when his blood is applied to the conscience of a sensible sinner, it purges it from all his sins, Hebrews 1:3; it may be rendered, "thou shall expiate them", or "make atonement for them" k; which Christ, our propitiation, has done: this was the work appointed him, which he undertook, came into the world to do, and has performed, Daniel 9:24 Hebrews 2:17; or "thou shalt cover them"; with the blood and righteousness of Christ; or forgive them for the sake of them,

Psalms 32:1.

h מני "prae me", Muis, Michaelis. i דברי עונת "verba iniquitatum", Montanus, Vatablus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth. k תכפרם "propitiaberis", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "expiabis", Vatablus, Gejerus, Michaelis.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

To the chief musician. A psalm and song of David.

      1 Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.   2 O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.   3 Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.   4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.   5 By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:

      The psalmist here has no particular concern of his own at the throne of grace, but begins with an address to God, as the master of an assembly and the mouth of a congregation; and observe,

      I. How he gives glory to God, Psalms 65:1; Psalms 65:1. 1. By humble thankfulness: Praise waiteth for thee, O God! in Zion, waits till it arrives, that it may be received with thankfulness at its first approach. When God is coming towards us with his favours we must go forth to meet him with our praises, and wait till the day dawn. "Praise waits, with an entire satisfaction in thy holy will and dependence on thy mercy." When we stand ready in every thing to give thanks, then praise waits for God. "Praise waits thy acceptance" the Levites by night stood in the house of the Lord, ready to sing their songs of praise at the hour appointed (Psalms 134:1; Psalms 134:2), and thus their praise waited for him. Praise is silent unto thee (so the word is), as wanting words to express the great goodness of God, and being struck with a silent admiration at it. As there are holy groanings which cannot be uttered, so there are holy adorings which cannot be uttered, and yet shall be accepted by him that searches the heart and knows what is the mind of the spirit. Our praise is silent, that the praises of the blessed angels, who excel in strength, may be heard. Let it not be told him that I speak, for if a man offer to speak forth all God's praise surely he shall be swallowed up,Job 37:20. Before thee praise is reputed as silence (so the Chaldee), so far exalted is God above all our blessing and praise. Praise is due to God from all the world, but it waits for him in Zion only, in his church, among his people. All his works praise him (they minister matter for praise), but only his saints bless him by actual adorations. The redeemed church sing their new song upon Mount Zion, Revelation 14:1; Revelation 14:3. In Zion was God's dwelling-place, Psalms 76:2. Happy are those who dwell with him there, for they will be still praising him. 2. By sincere faithfulness: Unto thee shall the vow be performed, that is, the sacrifice shall be offered up which was vowed. We shall not be accepted in our thanksgivings to God for the mercies we have received unless we make conscience of paying the vows which we made when we were in pursuit of the mercy; for better it is not to vow than to vow and not to pay.

      II. What he gives him glory for.

      1. For hearing prayer (Psalms 65:2; Psalms 65:2): Praise waits for thee; and why is it so ready? (1.) "Because thou art ready to grant our petitions. O thou that hearest prayer! thou canst answer every prayer, for thou art able to do for us more than we are able to ask or think (Ephesians 3:20), and thou wilt answer every prayer of faith, either in kind or kindness." It is much for the glory of God's goodness, and the encouragement of ours, that he is a God hearing prayer, and has taken it among the titles of his honour to be so; and we are much wanting to ourselves if we do not take all occasions to give him his title. (2.) Because, for that reason, we are ready to run to him when we are in our straits. "Therefore, because thou art a God hearing prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come; justly does every man's praise wait for thee, because every man's prayer waits on thee when he is in want or distress, whatever he does at other times. Now only the seed of Israel come to thee, and the proselytes to their religion; but, when thy house shall be called a house of prayer to all people, then unto thee shall all flesh come, and be welcome," Romans 10:12; Romans 10:13. To him let us come, and come boldly, because he is a God that hears prayer.

      2. For pardoning sin. In this who is a God like unto him?Micah 7:18. By this he proclaims his name (Exodus 34:7), and therefore, upon this account, praise waits for him, Psalms 65:3; Psalms 65:3. "Our sins reach to the heavens, iniquities prevail against us, and appear so numerous, so heinous, that when they are set in order before us we are full of confusion and ready to fall into despair. They prevail so against us that we cannot pretend to balance them with any righteousness of our own, so that when we appear before God our own consciences accuse us and we have no reply to make; and yet, as for our transgressions, thou shalt, of thy own free mercy and for the sake of a righteousness of thy own providing, purge them away, so that we shall not come into condemnation for them." Note, The greater our danger is by reason of sin the more cause we have to admire the power and riches of God's pardoning mercy, which can invalidate the threatening force of our manifold transgressions and our mighty sins.

      3. For the kind entertainment he gives to those that attend upon him and the comfort they have in communion with him. Iniquity must first be purged away (Psalms 65:3; Psalms 65:3) and then we are welcome to compass God's altars, Psalms 65:4; Psalms 65:4. Those that come into communion with God shall certainly find true happiness and full satisfaction in that communion.

      (1.) They are blessed. Not only blessed is the nation (Psalms 33:12), but blessed is the man, the particular person, how mean soever, whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts; he is a happy man, for he has the surest token of the divine favour and the surest pledge and earnest of everlasting bliss. Observe here, [1.] What it is to come into communion with God, in order to this blessedness. First, It is to approach to him by laying hold on his covenant, setting our best affections upon him, and letting out our desires towards him; it is to converse with him as one we love and value. Secondly, It is to dwell in his courts, as the priests and Levites did, that were at home in God's house; it is to be constant in the exercises of religion, and apply ourselves closely to them as we do to that which is the business of our dwelling-place. [2.] How we come into communion with God, not recommended by any merit of our own, nor brought in by any management of our own, but by God's free choice: "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and so distinguishest from others who are left to themselves;" and it is by his effectual special grace pursuant to that choice; whom he chooses he causes to approach, not only invites them, but inclines and enables them, to draw nigh to him. He draws them, John 6:44.

      (2.) They shall be satisfied. Here the psalmist changes the person, not, He shall be satisfied (the man whom thou choosest), but, We shall, which teaches us to apply the promises to ourselves and by an active faith to put our own names into them: We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. Note, [1.] God's holy temple is his house; there he dwells, where his ordinances are administered. [2.] God keeps a good house. There is abundance of goodness in his house, righteousness, grace, and all the comforts of the everlasting covenant; there is enough for all, enough for each; it is ready, always ready; and all on free cost, without money and without price. [3.] In those things there is that which is satisfying to a soul, and with which all gracious souls will be satisfied. Let them have the pleasure of communion with God, and that suffices them; they have enough, they desire no more.

      4. For the glorious operations of his power on their behalf (Psalms 65:5; Psalms 65:5): By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation! This may be understood of the rebukes which God in his providence sometimes gives to his own people; he often answers them by terrible things, for the awakening and quickening of them, but always in righteousness; he neither does them any wrong nor means them any hurt, for even then he is the God of their salvation. See Isaiah 45:15. But it is rather to be understood of his judgments upon their enemies; God answers his people's prayers by the destructions made, for their sakes, among the heathen, and the recompence he renders to their proud oppressors, as a righteous God, the God to whom vengeance belongs, and as the God that protects and saves his people. By wonderful things (so some read it), things which are very surprising, and which we looked not for, Isaiah 64:3. Or, "By things which strike an awe upon us thou wilt answer us." The holy freedom that we are admitted to in God's courts, and the nearness of our approach to him, must not at all abate our reverence and godly fear of him; for he is terrible in his holy places.

      5. For the care he takes of all his people, however distressed, and whithersoever dispersed. He is the confidence of all the ends of the earth that is, of all the saints all the world over and not theirs only that were of the seed of Israel; for he is the God of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews, the confidence of those that are afar off from his holy temple and its courts, that dwell in the islands of the Gentiles, or that are in distress upon the sea. They trust in thee, and cry to thee, when they are at their wits' end, Psalms 107:27; Psalms 107:28. By faith and prayer we may keep up our communion with God, and fetch in comfort from him, wherever we are, not only in the solemn assemblies of his people, but also afar off upon the sea.