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Selected Verse: Psalms 65:5 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Ps 65:5	Strong Concordance	By terrible things [03372] in righteousness [06664] wilt thou answer [06030] us, O God [0430] of our salvation [03468]; who art the confidence [04009] of all the ends [07099] of the earth [0776], and of them that are afar off [07350] upon the sea [03220]:
	King James	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:

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
terrible things--that is, by the manifestation of justice and wrath to enemies, accompanying that of mercy to His people (Psa 63:9-11; Psa 64:7-9). the confidence--object of it. of all . . . earth--the whole world; that is, deservedly such, whether men think so or not.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

terrible things--that is, by the manifestation of justice and wrath to enemies, accompanying that of mercy to His people (Psa 63:9-11; Psa 64:7-9).

the confidence--object of it.

of all . . . earth--the whole world; that is, deservedly such, whether men think so or not.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us - That is, By things suited to inspire us and all people with awe, or with a deep sense of thy majesty, thy power, and thy glory. The answer to their prayers would be in such a manner as deeply to impress their minds and hearts. God's judgments on his foes, and the manner of his manifesting his favor to his people, would be such as to impress the mind with a deep sense of his own greatness. Yet all this would be in righteousness; in the infliction of a just sentence on the wicked; in direct interposition in favor of the righteous. The judgments of God on guilty people have been always such as to keep the world in awe; such as were adapted deeply to impress mankind with a sense of his own majesty and glory. O God of our salvation - The God on whom our salvation, or our safety depends. Who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth - Of all parts of the earth, the word "ends" being used on the supposition that the earth is a plain having appropriate limits. This allusion is often found in the Scriptures, the sacred writers speaking, as all men do, as things appear to be. Thus all philosophers, as well as other people, speak of the sun as rising and setting, which is, in itself, no more strictly accurate than it is to speak of the earth as if it had limits or boundaries. The word confidence as used here means that God is the source of trust, or, that all proper reliance, by all people, in all parts of the earth and on the sea, must be in him; that is, that there is no other on whom people can properly rely. It does not mean that all people actually repose such confidence in him, which would not be true - but that he is the only true source of confidence. And of them that are afar off upon the sea - That is, of all men on sea and land. The seaman has no other source of security amidst the dangers of the deep than God. Compare Psa 107:23-30. The language does not mean that all mariners actually do put their trust in God, but that they cannot confide in the winds and the waves - in the strength of their vessel - or their own power or skill in managing it - but that the true and only ground of trust is God.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us - That is, By things suited to inspire us and all people with awe, or with a deep sense of thy majesty, thy power, and thy glory. The answer to their prayers would be in such a manner as deeply to impress their minds and hearts. God's judgments on his foes, and the manner of his manifesting his favor to his people, would be such as to impress the mind with a deep sense of his own greatness. Yet all this would be in righteousness; in the infliction of a just sentence on the wicked; in direct interposition in favor of the righteous. The judgments of God on guilty people have been always such as to keep the world in awe; such as were adapted deeply to impress mankind with a sense of his own majesty and glory.

O God of our salvation - The God on whom our salvation, or our safety depends.

Who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth - Of all parts of the earth, the word "ends" being used on the supposition that the earth is a plain having appropriate limits. This allusion is often found in the Scriptures, the sacred writers speaking, as all men do, as things appear to be. Thus all philosophers, as well as other people, speak of the sun as rising and setting, which is, in itself, no more strictly accurate than it is to speak of the earth as if it had limits or boundaries. The word confidence as used here means that God is the source of trust, or, that all proper reliance, by all people, in all parts of the earth and on the sea, must be in him; that is, that there is no other on whom people can properly rely. It does not mean that all people actually repose such confidence in him, which would not be true - but that he is the only true source of confidence.

And of them that are afar off upon the sea - That is, of all men on sea and land. The seaman has no other source of security amidst the dangers of the deep than God. Compare Psa 107:23-30. The language does not mean that all mariners actually do put their trust in God, but that they cannot confide in the winds and the waves - in the strength of their vessel - or their own power or skill in managing it - but that the true and only ground of trust is God.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The praise of God on account of the lovingkindness which Israel as a people among the peoples has experienced. The future תּעננוּ confesses, as a present, a fact of experience that still holds good in all times to come. נוראות might, according to Psa 20:7, as in Psa 139:14, be an accusative of the more exact definition; but why not, according to Sa1 20:10; Job 9:3, a second accusative under the government of the verb? God answers the prayer of His people superabundantly. He replies to it גוראות, terrible deeds, viz., בּצדק, by a rule which stringently executes the will of His righteousness (vid., on Jer 42:6); in this instance against the oppressors of His people, so that henceforth everywhere upon earth He is a ground of confidence to all those who are oppressed. "The sea (ים construct state, as is frequently the case, with the retention of the ) of the distant ones" is that of the regions lying afar off (cf. Psa 56:1). Venema observes, Significatur, Deum esse certissimum praesidium, sive agnoscatur ab hominibus et ei fidatur, sive non (therefore similar to γνόντες, Rom 1:21; Psychol. S. 347; tr. p. 408). But according tot he connection and the subjective colouring the idea seems to have, מבטח וגו is to be understood of the believing acknowledgment which the God of Israel attains among all mankind by reason of His judicial and redemptive self-attestation (cf. Isa 33:13; Ch2 32:22.). In the natural world and among men He proves Himself to be the Being girded with power to whom everything must yield. He it is who setteth fast the mountains (cf. Jer 10:12) and stilleth the raging of the ocean. In connection with the giant mountains the poet may have had even the worldly powers (vid., Isa 41:15) in his mind; in connection with the seas he gives expression to this allegorical conjunction of thoughts. The roaring of the billows and the wild tumult of the nations as a mass in the empire of the world, both are stilled by the threatening of the God of Israel (Isa 17:12-14). When He shall overthrow the proud empire of the world, whose tyranny the earth has been made to feel far and wide, then will reverential fear of Him and exultant joy at the end of the thraldom (vid., Isa 13:4-8) become universal. אותת (from the originally feminine אות = ăwăjat, from אוה, to mark, Num 34:10), σημεῖα, is the name given here to His marvellous interpositions in the history of our earth. קצוי, Psa 65:6 (also in Isa 26:15), out of construction is קצות. "The exit places of the morning and of the evening" are the East and West with reference to those who dwell there. Luther erroneously understands מוצאי as directly referring to the creatures which at morning and evening "sport about (webern), i.e., go safely and joyfully out and in." The meaning is, the regions whence the morning breaks forth and where the evening sets. The construction is zeugmatic so far as בּוא, not יצא, is said of the evening sun, but only to a certain extent, for neither does one say נבוא ערב (Ewald). Perret-Gentil renders it correctly: les lieux d'o surgissent l'aube et le crepuscule. God makes both these to shout for joy, inasmuch as He commands a calm to the din of war.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

The praise of God on account of the lovingkindness which Israel as a people among the peoples has experienced. The future תּעננוּ confesses, as a present, a fact of experience that still holds good in all times to come. נוראות might, according to Psa 20:7, as in Psa 139:14, be an accusative of the more exact definition; but why not, according to Sa1 20:10; Job 9:3, a second accusative under the government of the verb? God answers the prayer of His people superabundantly. He replies to it גוראות, terrible deeds, viz., בּצדק, by a rule which stringently executes the will of His righteousness (vid., on Jer 42:6); in this instance against the oppressors of His people, so that henceforth everywhere upon earth He is a ground of confidence to all those who are oppressed. "The sea (ים construct state, as is frequently the case, with the retention of the ) of the distant ones" is that of the regions lying afar off (cf. Psa 56:1). Venema observes, Significatur, Deum esse certissimum praesidium, sive agnoscatur ab hominibus et ei fidatur, sive non (therefore similar to γνόντες, Rom 1:21; Psychol. S. 347; tr. p. 408). But according tot he connection and the subjective colouring the idea seems to have, מבטח וגו is to be understood of the believing acknowledgment which the God of Israel attains among all mankind by reason of His judicial and redemptive self-attestation (cf. Isa 33:13; Ch2 32:22.). In the natural world and among men He proves Himself to be the Being girded with power to whom everything must yield. He it is who setteth fast the mountains (cf. Jer 10:12) and stilleth the raging of the ocean. In connection with the giant mountains the poet may have had even the worldly powers (vid., Isa 41:15) in his mind; in connection with the seas he gives expression to this allegorical conjunction of thoughts. The roaring of the billows and the wild tumult of the nations as a mass in the empire of the world, both are stilled by the threatening of the God of Israel (Isa 17:12-14). When He shall overthrow the proud empire of the world, whose tyranny the earth has been made to feel far and wide, then will reverential fear of Him and exultant joy at the end of the thraldom (vid., Isa 13:4-8) become universal. אותת (from the originally feminine אות = ăwăjat, from אוה, to mark, Num 34:10), σημεῖα, is the name given here to His marvellous interpositions in the history of our earth. קצוי, Psa 65:6 (also in Isa 26:15), out of construction is קצות. "The exit places of the morning and of the evening" are the East and West with reference to those who dwell there. Luther erroneously understands מוצאי as directly referring to the creatures which at morning and evening "sport about (webern), i.e., go safely and joyfully out and in." The meaning is, the regions whence the morning breaks forth and where the evening sets. The construction is zeugmatic so far as בּוא, not יצא, is said of the evening sun, but only to a certain extent, for neither does one say נבוא ערב (Ewald). Perret-Gentil renders it correctly: les lieux d'o surgissent l'aube et le crepuscule. God makes both these to shout for joy, inasmuch as He commands a calm to the din of war.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Righteousness - By virtue of thy faithfulness, and goodness. Wilt thou - Thou wilt graciously answer our prayers. The confidence - Thou art the stay and support of all mankind, by thy powerful and gracious providence.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
By terrible things in righteousness - The Vulgate joins this clause to the preceding verse: "Thy holy temple is wonderful in right eousness: thou wilt hear us, O God of our salvation." But the psalmist may refer to those wonderful displays of God's providence in the change of seasons, and fertilization of the earth; and, consequently, in the sustenance of all animal beings. The confidence of all the ends of the earth - Thou art the hope of thy people scattered through different parts of the world, and through the isles of the sea. This passage is also understood of the vocation of the Gentiles.

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⁷ But God [0430] shall shoot [03384] at them with an arrow [02671]; suddenly [06597] shall they be wounded [04347].
⁸ So they shall make their own tongue [03956] to fall [03782] upon themselves: all that see [07200] them shall flee away [05074].
⁹ And all men [0120] shall fear [03372], and shall declare [05046] the work [06467] of God [0430]; for they shall wisely consider [07919] of his doing [04639].

⁹ But those that seek [01245] my soul [05315], to destroy [07722] it, shall go [0935] into the lower parts [08482] of the earth [0776].
¹⁰ They shall fall [05064] by the sword [03027] [02719]: they shall be a portion [04521] for foxes [07776].
¹¹ But the king [04428] shall rejoice [08055] in God [0430]; every one that sweareth [07650] by him shall glory [01984]: but the mouth [06310] of them that speak [01696] lies [08267] shall be stopped [05534].

²³ They that go down [03381] to the sea [03220] in ships [0591], that do [06213] business [04399] in great [07227] waters [04325];
²⁴ These see [07200] the works [04639] of the LORD [03068], and his wonders [06381] in the deep [04688].
²⁵ For he commandeth [0559], and raiseth [05975] the stormy [05591] wind [07307], which lifteth up [07311] the waves [01530] thereof.
²⁶ They mount up [05927] to the heaven [08064], they go down [03381] again to the depths [08415]: their soul [05315] is melted [04127] because of trouble [07451].
²⁷ They reel to and fro [02287], and stagger [05128] like a drunken man [07910], and are at their wits [02451]' end [01104].
²⁸ Then they cry [06817] unto the LORD [03068] in their trouble [06862], and he bringeth them out [03318] of their distresses [04691].
²⁹ He maketh [06965] the storm [05591] a calm [01827], so that the waves [01530] thereof are still [02814].
³⁰ Then are they glad [08055] because they be quiet [08367]; so he bringeth [05148] them unto their desired [02656] haven [04231].

¹⁵ Thou hast increased [03254] the nation [01471], O LORD [03068], thou hast increased [03254] the nation [01471]: thou art glorified [03513]: thou hadst removed it far [07368] unto all the ends [07099] of the earth [0776].

⁶ Which by his strength [03581] setteth fast [03559] the mountains [02022]; being girded [0247] with power [01369]:

¹⁰ And ye shall point out [0184] your east [06924] border [01366] from Hazarenan [02704] to Shepham [08221]:

⁴ The noise [06963] of a multitude [01995] in the mountains [02022], like as [01823] of a great [07227] people [05971]; a tumultuous [07588] noise [06963] of the kingdoms [04467] of nations [01471] gathered together [0622]: the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635] mustereth [06485] the host [06635] of the battle [04421].
⁵ They come [0935] from a far [04801] country [0776], from the end [07097] of heaven [08064], even the LORD [03068], and the weapons [03627] of his indignation [02195], to destroy [02254] the whole land [0776].
⁶ Howl [03213] ye; for the day [03117] of the LORD [03068] is at hand [07138]; it shall come [0935] as a destruction [07701] from the Almighty [07706].
⁷ Therefore shall all hands [03027] be faint [07503], and every man's [0582] heart [03824] shall melt [04549]:
⁸ And they shall be afraid [0926]: pangs [06735] and sorrows [02256] shall take hold [0270] of them; they shall be in pain [02342] as a woman that travaileth [03205]: they shall be amazed [08539] one [0376] at another [07453]; their faces [06440] shall be as flames [03851].

¹² Woe [01945] to the multitude [01995] of many [07227] people [05971], which make a noise [01993] like the noise [01993] of the seas [03220]; and to the rushing [07588] of nations [03816], that make a rushing like the rushing [07582] of mighty [03524] waters [04325]!
¹³ The nations [03816] shall rush [07582] like the rushing [07588] of many [07227] waters [04325]: but God shall rebuke [01605] them, and they shall flee [05127] far off [04801], and shall be chased [07291] as the chaff [04671] of the mountains [02022] before [06440] the wind [07307], and like a rolling thing [01534] before [06440] the whirlwind [05492].
¹⁴ And behold at eveningtide [06256] [06153] trouble [01091]; and before the morning [01242] he is not. This is the portion [02506] of them that spoil [08154] us, and the lot [01486] of them that rob [0962] us.

¹⁵ Behold, I will make [07760] thee a new [02319] sharp [02742] threshing [04173] instrument having [01167] teeth [06374]: thou shalt thresh [01758] the mountains [02022], and beat them small [01854], and shalt make [07760] the hills [01389] as chaff [04671].

¹² He hath made [06213] the earth [0776] by his power [03581], he hath established [03559] the world [08398] by his wisdom [02451], and hath stretched out [05186] the heavens [08064] by his discretion [08394].

²² Thus the LORD [03068] saved [03467] Hezekiah [03169] and the inhabitants [03427] of Jerusalem [03389] from the hand [03027] of Sennacherib [05576] the king [04428] of Assyria [0804], and from the hand [03027] of all other, and guided [05095] them on every side [05439].

¹³ Hear [08085], ye that are far off [07350], what I have done [06213]; and, ye that are near [07138], acknowledge [03045] my might [01369].

²¹ Because [1360] that, when they knew [1097] God [2316], they glorified [1392] him not [3756] as [5613] God [2316], neither [2228] were thankful [2168]; but [235] became vain [3154] in [1722] their [846] imaginations [1261], and [2532] their [846] foolish [801] heart [2588] was darkened [4654].

¹ To the chief Musician [05329] upon Jonathelemrechokim [03128], Michtam [04387] of David [01732], when the Philistines [06430] took [0270] him in Gath [01661]. Be merciful [02603] unto me, O God [0430]: for man [0582] would swallow me up [07602]; he fighting [03898] daily [03117] oppresseth [03905] me.

⁶ Whether it be good [02896], or whether it be evil [07451], we will obey [08085] the voice [06963] of the LORD [03068] our God [0430], to whom we [0580] send [07971] thee; that it may be well [03190] with us, when we obey [08085] the voice [06963] of the LORD [03068] our God [0430].

³ If he will [02654] contend [07378] with him, he cannot answer [06030] him one [0259] of a thousand [0505].

¹⁰ Then said [0559] David [01732] to Jonathan [03083], Who shall tell [05046] me? or what if thy father [01] answer [06030] thee roughly [07186]?

¹⁴ I will praise [03034] thee; for I am fearfully [03372] and wonderfully made [06395]: marvellous [06381] are thy works [04639]; and that my soul [05315] knoweth [03045] right well [03966].

⁷ Some trust in chariots [07393], and some in horses [05483]: but we will remember [02142] the name [08034] of the LORD [03068] our God [0430].