Psalm 65

This is the first of four psalms (65–68) that focus on praising the Lord for His manifold blessings in nature and for His gracious dealings with His people. He is the God of creation and the God of the covenant. The psalm acknowledges our total dependence on the Lord to provide our spiritual and material needs. The phrase “crown the year” (v. 11 niv) suggests a harvest festival in October, the first month of Israel’s civil year. (The religious calendar opened with Passover; Ex. 12:2.) Perhaps verse 3 suggests the annual Day of Atonement that ushered in the Feast of Tabernacles, a harvest festival (Lev. 17; 23:26-44). The early rains usually began in late October, softening the hard soil and enabling the farmers to plow the ground and sow their seed (vv. 9-13). Perhaps God had disciplined His people by sending drought and famine (Lev. 26:3-6; Deut. 11:8-17) and allowing other nations to threaten Israel (v. 7). This discipline brought them to repentance, and they anticipated the promised rains and a blessed harvest from the Lord. David’s unusual experience involving the Gibeonites might have been the occasion (2 Sam. 21:1-14). Whatever the historical setting, the psalm helps us to worship our great God and glorify Him for who He is and what He does for us.