A manual of the book of Psalms · Martin Luther
PSALM LXV.
_David praiseth God for his grace.—The blessedness of God’s chosen by reason of benefits._ To the chief Musician. A Psalm and Song of David. 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 shalt purge them away. 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. _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: Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; _being_ girded with power: Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people. They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid of 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 the river of God, _which is_ full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.
Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly; thou settlest the furrows thereof; thou makest it soft with showers; thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. They drop _upon_ the pastures of the wilderness; and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn: they shout for joy, they also sing. This is a remarkable Psalm of thanksgiving; (and all productions of this kind were formed by the prophet out of the First Commandment,) wherein thanks are rendered unto God, because he preserves among his people (to whom he has given his word against Satan, heretics, and all adversaries) the true religion, and the true worship of God; and because he preserves also political peace, and guards the state from all seditions, wars and tumults; and dispels all the storms of the counsels of war, slaughter and bloodshed. For war is nothing less than a horrible storm and tempest, which hurls into confusion all things divine and human; and throws them into a perturbation, like as when the waves of the sea rage with violence.
The Psalmist gives thanks to God that he preserves peace;—(in which one thing are contained all the treasures of good;) that he gives rain from heaven and fruitful seasons; and that he crowns the year with his goodness: that is, that during the revolution of the year, he accomplishes and performs, as it were, a certain round of divine blessing and goodness. For, in the spring, there first appear the blossoms; and then, shortly after, the strawberries and cherries; and then, ere long, plums, apples, and berries of various juice and virtue; (to say nothing about the perpetual verdure of the herbs which flourishes all the while, and is continually revived with fresh supplies of dew). To these we are to add, the infinite variety of herbs and odours. And then, at the time of harvest, our barns are filled with wheat, rye, barley, and corn, and grain of every kind. In the autumn, our presses overflow with wine of an infinite variety of taste and fragrance, and our vats are filled to the brim. Thus the Lord fills the whole revolution of the year, and every part of it, with his overflowing and infinite goodness: and indeed every single fruit is, as it were, a fund, and a world of the goodness of God. But how few are there, in general, who think about these numberless and valuable blessings, and render thanks unto God for them? Alas! we have innumerable examples of the impious manner in which the noble, the powerful, and the rich, have abused the saving doctrine of faith and Christian liberty, and also that peace which God has hitherto miraculously preserved to us:—we have numberless examples, I say, of the manner in which they have abused these great blessings, to their own lusts, as Sodom and Gomorrah did:—but they shall be visited with Sodom and Gomorrah’s judgment. You see, therefore, that those in the kingdom of David, and among the people of Israel who composed these Psalms, were excellent and great men. For these are spiritual and truly divine poems. No poems ever equalled these. No poets, not even Homer himself, ever equalled these poets, who thus speak of God, his works, and his creatures. These Psalms contain the greatest and most weighty things, in a marvellous brevity of expression!
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.