Psalm 65:4

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.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) Blessed.—The ellipse of the relative is common enough (see Psalm 34:8, &c), but here the antecedent is wanting as well. Perhaps we ought to read, He whom thou choosest and bringest near shall dwell, &c

Courts.—From a root meaning to wall round; especially applied to the open space within the outer fence of the Tabernacle, or to the different courts of the Temple (Exodus 27:9; 1Kings 6:36; 1Kings 7:12).

We shall be satisfied.—Better, Let us be refreshed.

Thy holy temple.—Literally, The holy of thy temple, which might mean “the holiness of thy temple.”

Benson Commentary

Psalm 65:4. Blessed is the man — The particular person, how poor and mean soever; whom thou choosest — To be one of thy peculiar people; and causest — That is, permittest and commandest; and by the disposal of thy providence, and the influence of thy grace, inclinest and enablest, to approach unto thee — To draw near to thee in thy house and ordinances, by prayer and praise, and other acts of communion with thee. That he may dwell in thy courts — In the courts of thy house; may frequently resort thither, and wait upon thee there, at all opportunities, among thy people. He mentions courts, because the people were permitted to go no further into God’s house. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house — We shall enjoy solid satisfaction, such as all men desire, but which only thy true and genuine people obtain, in those spiritual and everlasting blessings there conferred upon them, namely, thy grace, and favour, and fellowship with thee. Observe, reader! remission of sins, renovation of heart and life, the knowledge of God and of ourselves, and of our duty and true interest, joy and peace through believing, with well-grounded hopes of eternal life, are the blessings included in the goodness of God’s house, or holy temple, which is here mentioned, in comparison of which all the enjoyments of this world are but dross and dung.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

65:1-5 All the praise the Lord receives from this earth is from Zion, being the fruit of the Spirit of Christ, and acceptable through him. Praise is silent unto thee, as wanting words to express the great goodness of God. He reveals himself upon a mercy-seat, ready to hear and answer the prayers of all who come unto him by faith in Jesus Christ. Our sins prevail against us; we cannot pretend to balance them with any righteousness of our own: yet, as for our transgressions, of thine own free mercy, and for the sake of a righteousness of thine own providing, we shall not come into condemnation for them. Observe what it is to come into communion with God in order to blessedness. It is to converse with him as one we love and value; it is to apply ourselves closely to religion as to the business of our dwelling-place. Observe how we come into communion with God; only by God's free choice. There is abundance of goodness in God's house, and what is satisfying to the soul; there is enough for all, enough for each: it is always ready; and all without money and without price. By faith and prayer we may keep up communion with God, and bring in comfort from him, wherever we are. But it is only through that blessed One, who approaches the Father as our Advocate and Surety, that sinners may expect or can find this happiness.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest - That is, Happy is the man; or, "Oh, the happiness of the man whom thou dost thus permit to approach thee." The construction here in the Hebrew is the same as in Psalm 1:1. See the notes at that passage. The word choosest refers to the fact that true piety regards all such blessings as the result of the divine favor; the fruit of his electing grace and love. Compare the notes at Ephesians 1:3-4; notes at 1 Peter 1:2-3. We approach God with confidence, with the spirit of true worshippers, with the spirit of his children, only as he inclines us to him, and calls us to partake of his favor. Compare John 6:44.

And causest to approach unto thee - That is, that he may worship thee. The idea is here recognized in the word "causest," that it is only by a divine influence that people are led to worship God. The cause - the efficient reason - why any man worships his Maker at all, is to be found in God himself. This idea is fairly implied in the form of the word as it is used in the Hebrew.

That he may dwell in thy courts - That is, either temporarily for the purpose of worship; or permanently, that he may serve thee in the sanctuary. See Psalm 23:6, note; Psalm 27:4, note. Compare Psalm 15:1. The word "courts" refers properly to the area around the tabernacle or the temple, and not to the tabernacle or temple itself. The worship of the people was offered in those courts, and not in the tabernacle or temple. See the notes at Matthew 21:12.

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house - Our souls will find thus what they need; what they long for. See the notes at Psalm 36:8. It is the nature of religion to satisfy the mind; that is, the soul finds in religion what meets its needs, for religion leaves no necessity of its nature unsupplied. It may be added that nothing else will do this but religion. The word "house" here denotes a place where God dwells, and it might be applied to the temple, as it often is in the Scriptures (compare Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 56:7; Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19: John 2:16; et al.); or to the tabernacle, before the temple was reared. Psalm 42:4; Matthew 12:4; Judges 18:31; Judges 20:18, Judges 20:26, Judges 20:31. The reference here is to the tabernacle or tent which David reared on Mount Zion, and where the worship of God was celebrated before the temple was built. "Even of thy holy temple." The word "temple" is most commonly applied in the Scriptures to the structure which Solomon built for the worship of God; and it is on the ground that the Word is usually so applied, that DeWette and others have argued that this psalm could not have been written by David, but that it was composed after the temple was reared. But the word rendered "temple" - היכל hêykâl - is a word of so general a character that it may be applied to any house erected for the worship of God. It is not unfrequently applied to the tabernacle. See the notes at Psalm 5:7. This psalm, therefore, may have been composed while the tabernacle was standing, and before the temple was built, and hence, may have been composed by David, as the title intimates.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4. dwell in thy courts; … [and] satisfied with the goodness … temple—denote communion with God (Ps 15:1; 23:6; compare Ps 5:7). This is a blessing for all God's people, as denoted by the change of number.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Thou choosest, out of the lump of mankind, to be one of thy peculiar people.

Causest, i.e. permittest and commandest, and by the disposal of thy providence, and the influences of thy grace, procurest and orderest.

To approach unto thee; to draw near to God in his house and ordinances by prayer and praises, and other acts of acquaintance and communion with him.

In thy courts; in the courts of thy house. He mentioneth courts, because the people were permitted to go no further into God’s house.

Shall be satisfied; for they only get that solid satisfaction which all men desire, but no other persons or people can find elsewhere.

With the goodness of thy house; with the spiritual and everlasting blessings there conferred upon thy people, the grace, and favour, and fellowship of God, remission of sins, renovation of heart and life, the knowledge of God, and of ourselves, and of our duty and true interest, joy, and peace, and well-grounded hopes or assurance of eternal life; in comparison whereof all the enjoyments of this world are but dross and dung.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest,.... In eternity; both to grace and glory; for such have true faith in Christ given them, called the faith of God's elect, and shall never perish: they are effectually called by the grace of God, and are justified by the righteousness of Christ, and shall be glorified; or in time, for there is a choice in time, as the fruit, effect, and evidence of the eternal choice, and is no other than effectual calling; see John 15:19, 1 Corinthians 1:26; and happy are those who are both chosen and called; both election and the effectual calling are to grace and glory, and spring from the good will and pleasure of God; and the Targum in the king of Spain's Bible is,

"blessed is the man in whom thou art well pleased;''

and causest to approach unto thee; the same Targum supplies,

"unto the fear of thee;''

or unto thy fear and worship. The persons whom God has chosen for himself are, in their state of nature, at a distance from him by reason of sin; and through the blood and sacrifice of Christ, by which atonement is made, they are brought nigh to him; and in the faith of Christ the Mediator, their hearts are engaged to approach unto God, and come with boldness to his throne, and ask grace and mercy of him; and through the grace of Christ they have nearness to him, and communion with him, Ephesians 2:18;

that he may dwell in thy courts; or "he shall dwell" (l); the man that is chosen of God, and brought nigh by Christ; he shall not only come into the house of God, and tread in his courts, but he shall dwell there, ever abide, and never go out;

we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house; even all that are like this man, chosen by the grace of God, redeemed by the blood of Christ, brought into the house of God, and have a place and a name there, better than that of sons and daughters of men: by "the house" of God we are to understand the church of God; and by "the goodness" of it the provisions of grace in it, the word and ordinances, and the blessings of grace held forth in them, and especially Christ the bread of life, whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed; of which true believers may eat, and do to full satisfaction; and blessed are they that have such food, and appetites for it, and are filled with it. The Targum paraphrases it,

"the righteous shall say, we shall be satisfied with the goodness of shy house.''

It follows,

even of thy holy temple: which means the same as the house of God; namely, the church; see Ephesians 2:21. Some, as Aben Ezra observes, interpret it, "thou Holy One in thy temple"; as if it was an address to God, and a description of him as in his temple.

(l) "habitabit", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Musculus.

Geneva Study Bible

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.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. Blessed &c.] Or, Happy is he whom thou choosest, as in Psalm 1:1; &c. The language is that which is used of the priests who were ‘chosen,’ and ‘brought near’ to God (Numbers 16:5; cp. Jeremiah 30:21; Zechariah 3:7). Here however it is not limited to the sons of Aaron, but applied to all the nation as ‘a kingdom of priests’ (Exodus 19:6). They are God’s guests in His house, members of the ‘household of God.’ The visit to the Temple was for the devout Israelite a sacrament of his membership in God’s household, and the sacred feasts symbolised the spiritual blessings prepared by God for His people in fellowship with Him. Cp. Psalm 15:1; Psalm 23:5 f; Psalm 27:4 f; Psalm 36:8; Psalm 63:5.

we shall be satisfied] Or, O let us be satisfied. Cp. Psalm 17:15; Psalm 22:16; Psalm 63:5.

even of thy holy Temple] Better, as R.V., the holy place of thy temple. See Psalm 46:4; and cp. Psalm 63:2.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - Blessed is the man whom thou choosest. The "choosing" intended is certainly not that of the seed of Aaron (Leviticus 8:1), or of the seed of Levi (Numbers 18:21-23), but that act by which God "chose" Israel out of all the nations of the earth to be "a special people unto himself" (Deuteronomy 7:6), and gave them a distinct position, and peculiar privileges. And causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. Among the peculiar privileges, one of the greatest was that of approaching God's presence in his holy temple, and entering his "courts" and worshipping there. This all Israelites were not only permitted, but commanded to do, at least three times in the year, while the dwellers in Jerusalem, privileged above the rest, had constant opportunities of attending, and using to the full the means of grace provided for them in the sanctuary. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. In "the goodness of God's house" the psalmist includes, not only the delights there experienced, but also all the blessings which God gives to those who devoutly worship him there - "from the forgiveness of sins to outward, temporal mercies" (Hengstenberg). Psalm 65:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The praise of God on account of the mercy with which He rules out of Zion. The lxx renders σοὶ πρέπει ὕμνος, but דּומיּה, tibi par est, h. e. convenit laus (Ewald), is not a usage of the language (cf. Psalm 33:1; Jeremiah 10:7). דּמיּה signifies, according to Psalm 22:3, silence, and as an ethical notion, resignation, Psalm 62:2. According to the position of the words it looks like the subject, and תּהלּה like the predicate. The accents at least (Illuj, Shalsheleth) assume the relationship of the one word to the other to be that of predicate and subject; consequently it is not: To Thee belongeth resignation, praise (Hengstenberg), but: To Thee is resignation praise, i.e., resignation is (given or presented) to Thee as praise. Hitzig obtains the same meaning by an alteration of the text: לך דמיה תהלּל; but opposed to this is the fact that הלּל ל is not found anywhere in the Psalter, but only in the writings of the chronicler. And since it is clear that the words לך תהלה belong together (Psalm 40:4), the poet had no need to fear any ambiguity when he inserted dmyh between them as that which is given to God as praise in Zion. What is intended is that submission or resignation to God which gives up its cause to God and allows Him to act on its behalf, renouncing all impatient meddling and interference (Exodus 14:14). The second member of the sentence affirms that this praise of pious resignation does not remain unanswered. Just as God in Zion is praised by prayer which resigns our own will silently to His, so also to Him are vows paid when He fulfils such prayer. That the answers to prayer are evidently thought of in connection with this, we see from Psalm 65:3, where God is addressed as the "Hearer or Answerer of prayer." To Him as being the Hearer and Answerer of prayer all flesh comes, and in fact, as עדיך implies (cf. Isaiah 45:24), without finding help anywhere else, it clear a way for itself until it gets to Him; i.e., men, absolutely dependent, impotent in themselves and helpless, both collectively and individually (those only excepted who are determined to perish or despair), flee to Him as their final refuge and help. Before all else it is the prayer for the forgiveness of sin which He graciously answers. The perfect in Psalm 65:4 is followed by the future in Psalm 65:4. The former, in accordance with the sense, forms a hypothetical protasis: granted that the instances of faults have been too powerful for me, i.e., (cf. Genesis 4:13) an intolerable burden to me, our transgressions are expiated by Thee (who alone canst and also art willing to do it). דּברי is not less significant than in Psalm 35:20; Psalm 105:27; Psalm 145:5, cf. 1 Samuel 10:2; 2 Samuel 11:18.: it separates the general fact into its separate instances and circumstances. How blessed therefore is the lot of that man whom (supply אשׁר) God chooses and brings near, i.e., removes into His vicinity, that he may inhabit His courts (future with the force of a clause expressing a purpose, as e.g., in Job 30:28, which see), i.e., that there, where He sits enthroned and reveals Himself, he may have his true home and be as if at home (vid., Psalm 15:1)! The congregation gathered around Zion is esteemed worthy of this distinction among the nations of the earth; it therefore encourages itself in the blessed consciousness of this its privilege flowing from free grace (בחר), to enjoy in full draughts (שּבע with בּ as in Psalm 103:5) the abundant goodness or blessing (טוּב) of God's house, of the holy (ἅγιον) of His temple, i.e., of His holy temple (קדשׁ as in Psalm 46:5, cf. Isaiah 57:15). For for all that God's grace offers us we can give Him no better thanks than to hunger and thirst after it, and satisfy our poor soul therewith.