Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts! We are filled with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple. Blessed is the one You chooseThis phrase emphasizes the divine initiative in the relationship between God and humanity. The Hebrew root for "blessed" is "אַשְׁרֵי" (ashrei), which conveys a sense of happiness or fortunate state. In the context of ancient Israel, being chosen by God was a profound honor and privilege, reflecting God's sovereign will and grace. This choice is not based on human merit but on God's loving purpose, echoing themes found throughout Scripture, such as in Ephesians 1:4, where believers are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. and bring near
The act of being brought near signifies intimacy and access to God's presence. The Hebrew verb "קָרַב" (qarav) means to approach or draw near, often used in the context of worship and sacrifice. In the ancient Near Eastern context, approaching a deity was a significant act, often reserved for priests or those in a covenant relationship. This phrase highlights God's desire for closeness with His people, a theme that resonates with the New Testament teaching of believers being brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13). to live in Your courts!
Living in God's courts implies a continual dwelling in His presence, akin to the priests and Levites who served in the temple. The term "courts" (חֲצֵרוֹת, chatzerot) refers to the temple precincts, a place of worship and divine encounter. Historically, the temple was the center of Israel's religious life, symbolizing God's dwelling among His people. This imagery foreshadows the New Testament reality where believers are described as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), living in constant communion with God. We are filled with the goodness
The phrase "filled with the goodness" speaks to the abundant blessings and satisfaction found in God's presence. The Hebrew word for "goodness" is "טוּב" (tov), which encompasses well-being, prosperity, and moral goodness. In the biblical narrative, God's goodness is a recurring theme, reflecting His character and the blessings He bestows upon His people. This fullness is not merely material but spiritual, pointing to the ultimate satisfaction found in a relationship with God. of Your house
"Your house" refers to the temple, the dwelling place of God on earth. In ancient Israel, the temple was not only a physical structure but a symbol of God's covenantal presence and faithfulness. The house of God was a place of worship, prayer, and divine revelation. For Christians, this concept is expanded to include the body of believers as the spiritual house of God (1 Peter 2:5), where His presence dwells collectively and individually. of Your holy temple
The "holy temple" underscores the sacredness and set-apart nature of God's dwelling. The Hebrew word for "holy" is "קָדוֹשׁ" (qadosh), meaning sacred or consecrated. The temple was the epicenter of holiness in Israel, where God's glory was manifest. This holiness is a call to reverence and purity, reminding believers of their call to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16). The temple imagery also points to the ultimate fulfillment in Christ, who is the true temple, and in whom believers find their holiness and access to God. Persons / Places / Events 1. The Chosen OneRefers to those whom God selects to draw near to Him. This can be seen as a reference to believers who are called into a relationship with God. 2. God's CourtsSymbolic of the place where God dwells, often associated with the temple in Jerusalem. It represents the presence of God and the privilege of being close to Him. 3. God's HouseRefers to the temple, a place of worship and communion with God. It signifies the spiritual blessings and abundance found in God's presence. 4. The Holiness of God's TempleRepresents the purity and sacredness of being in God's presence. It underscores the reverence and awe due to God. Teaching Points Divine Selection and GraceGod’s choice is an act of grace, not based on human merit. Believers should respond with gratitude and humility, recognizing the privilege of being chosen. The Privilege of NearnessBeing brought near to God is a profound blessing. Christians are encouraged to cultivate a close relationship with God through prayer, worship, and obedience. Experiencing God's GoodnessThe goodness of God's house is available to all who seek Him. Believers should actively pursue the spiritual nourishment found in God's presence. Holiness in God's PresenceThe holiness of God's temple calls for a life of purity and reverence. Christians are urged to live holy lives, reflecting the character of God. Bible Study Questions 1. How does understanding that you are chosen by God impact your daily life and relationship with Him? 2. In what ways can you draw nearer to God and experience the blessings of His presence more fully? 3. Reflect on a time when you felt filled with the goodness of God's house. How can you seek that experience regularly? 4. How does the concept of holiness influence your actions and decisions as a believer? 5. What other scriptures reinforce the idea of being chosen and brought near to God, and how do they deepen your understanding of Psalm 65:4? Connections to Other Scriptures Ephesians 1:4-5This passage speaks about being chosen by God before the foundation of the world, highlighting the theme of divine selection and predestination. Hebrews 10:19-22Discusses the confidence believers have to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, connecting to the idea of drawing near to God. Psalm 84:10Expresses the psalmist's longing to dwell in the courts of the Lord, emphasizing the joy and blessing of being in God's presence. People David, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Approach, Blessed, Bring, Bringest, Cause, Causest, Choose, Choosest, Courts, Drawest, Dwell, Filled, Full, Goodness, Happiness, Happy, Holy, Inhabiteth, O, Resting-place, Satisfied, Selection, TempleDictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 65:4 1065 God, holiness of
5270 court
6622 choice
6636 drawing near to God
6640 election, privileges
8297 love, for God Psalm 65:1-5 8609 prayer, as praise and thanksgiving Library Sin Overcoming and Overcome
'Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, Thou shalt purge them away.'--PSALM. lxv. 3. There is an intended contrast in these two clauses more pointed and emphatic in the original than in our Bible, between man's impotence and God's power in the face of the fact of sin. The words of the first clause might be translated, with perhaps a little increase of vividness, 'iniquities are too strong for me'; and the 'Thou' of the next clause is emphatically expressed in the original, 'as …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScripturePraises and Vows Accepted in Zion
In fulfillment of this ancient type, we also "have an altar whereof they have no right to eat that serve the tabernacle." Into our spiritual worship, no observers of materialistic ritualism may intrude; they have no right to eat at our spiritual altar, and there is no other at which they can eat and live for ever. There is but one altar Jesus Christ our Lord. All other altars are impostures and idolatrous inventions. Whether of stone, or wood, or brass, they are the toys with which those amuse themselves …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871 Daily Bread.
(Harvest Thanksgiving.) PSALM lxv. 9. "Thou preparest them corn." "Come, ye thankful people, come," and let us thank God for another harvest. Once more the Father, the Feeder, has given bread to strengthen man's heart, and we turn from the corn stored in the garner, to God's own garner the Church, where He has stored up food for our souls. And first of all, my brothers, let us be honest with ourselves. Are we quite sure that we are thankful to God for the harvest? We have decorated God's House …
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2 Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving
"Dr. A. J. Gordon describes the impression made upon his mind by intercourse with Joseph Rabinowitz, whom Dr. Delitzsch considered the most remarkable Jewish convert since Saul of Tarsus: We shall not soon forget the radiance that would come into his face as he expounded the Messianic psalms at our morning or evening worship, and how, as here and there he caught a glimpse of the suffering or glorified Christ, he would suddenly lift his hands and his eyes to heaven in a burst of adoration, exclaiming …
Edward M. Bounds—The Essentials of Prayer Aron, Brother of Moses, 486, 487.
Abba, same as Father, [3]381; St. Paul uses both words, [4]532. Abel, [5]31, [6]252, [7]268, [8]450. Abimelech, [9]72, [10]197. Abraham, seed of, faithful Christians also, [11]148, [12]149, [13]627; servant's hand under his thigh, [14]149, [15]334; poor in midst of riches, [16]410. Absalom, David's son, [17]4, [18]5; type of Judas the traitor, [19]4, [20]20. Absolution granted by the Church, [21]500. Abyss, or deep, of God's judgments, [22]88; of man's heart, [23]136. Accuser, the devil the great, …
St. Augustine—Exposition on the Book of Psalms "O Thou, that Hearest Prayer!" --Ps. Lxv. 2
"O Thou, that hearest Prayer!"--Ps. lxv. 2. Thou, God, art a consuming fire, Yet mortals may find grace, From toil and tumult to retire, And meet Thee face to face. Though "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord!" Seraph to seraph sings, And angel-choirs, with one accord, Worship, with veiling wings;-- Though earth Thy footstool, heaven Thy throne, Thy way amidst the sea, Thy path deep floods, Thy steps unknown, Thy counsels mystery:-- Yet wilt Thou look on him who lies A suppliant at Thy feet; And hearken to …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns Question of the Active Life
I. Do all Acts of the Moral Virtues come under the Active Life? II. Does Prudence pertain to the Active Life? III. Does Teaching belong to the Active or to the Contemplative Life? IV. Does the Active Life continue after this Life? I Do all Acts of the Moral Virtues come under the Active Life? S. Isidore says[407]: "In the active life all the vices are first of all to be removed by the practice of good works, so that in the contemplative life a man may, with now purified mental gaze, pass to the …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life But in Order that we Fall not Away from Continence...
10. But in order that we fall not away from Continence, we ought to watch specially against those snares of the suggestions of the devil, that we presume not of our own strength. For, "Cursed is every one that setteth his hope in man." [1838] And who is he, but man? We cannot therefore truly say that he setteth not his hope in man, who setteth it in himself. For this also, to "live after man," what is it but to "live after the flesh?" Whoso therefore is tempted by such a suggestion, let him hear, …
St. Augustine—On Continence If, Therefore, You had not as yet Vowed unto God Widowed Continence...
23. If, therefore, you had not as yet vowed unto God widowed continence, we would assuredly exhort you to vow it; but, in that you have already vowed it, we exhort you to persevere. And yet I see that I must so speak as to lead those also who had as yet thought of marriage to love it and to seize on it. Therefore let us give ear unto the Apostle, "She who is unmarried," saith he, "is careful about the things of the Lord, to be holy both in body and spirit; but she who is married is careful about …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood. Prayer
But I give myself unto prayer.' Psa 109: 4. I shall not here expatiate upon prayer, as it will be considered more fully in the Lord's prayer. It is one thing to pray, and another thing to be given to prayer: he who prays frequently, is said to be given to prayer; as he who often distributes alms, is said to be given to charity. Prayer is a glorious ordinance, it is the soul's trading with heaven. God comes down to us by his Spirit, and we go up to him by prayer. What is prayer? It is an offering …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Malachy's Pity for his Deceased Sister. He Restores the Monastery of Bangor. His First Miracles.
11. (6). Meanwhile Malachy's sister, whom we mentioned before,[271] died: and we must not pass over the visions which he saw about her. For the saint indeed abhorred her carnal life, and with such intensity that he vowed he would never see her alive in the flesh. But now that her flesh was destroyed his vow was also destroyed, and he began to see in spirit her whom in the body he would not see. One night he heard in a dream the voice of one saying to him that his sister was standing outside in the …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh Religion Pleasant to the Religious.
"O taste and see how gracious the Lord is; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him."--Psalm xxxiv. 8. You see by these words what love Almighty God has towards us, and what claims He has upon our love. He is the Most High, and All-Holy. He inhabiteth eternity: we are but worms compared with Him. He would not be less happy though He had never created us; He would not be less happy though we were all blotted out again from creation. But He is the God of love; He brought us all into existence, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII The Sovereignty of God in Operation
"For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be the glory for ever. Amen" (Romans 11:36). Has God foreordained everything that comes to pass? Has He decreed that what is, was to have been? In the final analysis this is only another way of asking, Is God now governing the world and everyone and everything in it? If God is governing the world then is He governing it according to a definite purpose, or aimlessly and at random? If He is governing it according to some purpose, then …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Psalm 65:4 NIVPsalm 65:4 NLTPsalm 65:4 ESVPsalm 65:4 NASBPsalm 65:4 KJV
Psalm 65:4 Commentaries
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