John Calvin Commentary Psalms 65:1

"Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion; And unto thee shall the vow be performed." — Psalms 65:1 (ASV)

Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion. Literally, it reads, Praise is silent to thee, but the verb דמיה, dumiyah, has been metaphorically rendered first, to be at rest, then to wait. The meaning of the expression is that God’s goodness to his people is such that it constantly provides new reasons for praise.

It is diffused over the whole world but especially shown to the Church. Besides, others who do not belong to the Church of God, however abundantly benefits may be showered upon them, do not see from where they come, and revel in the blessings which they have received without any acknowledgment of them.

But the main thing the Psalmist means to convey is that thanksgiving is due to the Lord for his goodness shown to his Church and people. The second clause of the verse is to the same effect, where he says, unto thee shall the vow be performed; for while he engages on the part of the people to render due acknowledgment, his language implies that there will always be remaining and new grounds for praise.

With the verse we have just been considering, the one that follows is closely connected, asserting that God hears the prayers of his people. This forms a reason why the vow should be paid to him, since God never disappoints his worshippers but crowns their prayers with a favorable answer.

Thus, what is stated last is first in the natural order of consideration. The title here given to God carries with it a truth of great importance: that the answer to our prayers is secured by the fact that in rejecting them, he would, in a certain sense, deny his own nature.

The Psalmist does not say that God has heard prayer in this or that instance, but gives him the name of the hearer of prayer, as what constitutes an abiding part of his glory, so that he might as soon deny himself as shut his ear to our petitions. If we could only impress this upon our minds, that it is something peculiar to God, and inseparable from him, to hear prayer, it would inspire us with unfailing confidence.

He can never lack the power to help us, so nothing can stand in the way of a successful outcome of our supplications. What follows in the verse is also well worthy of our attention, that all flesh shall come unto God. None could venture into his presence without a persuasion that he is open to entreaty; but when he anticipates our fears and comes forward declaring that prayer is never offered to him in vain, the door is thrown wide for the admission of all.

The hypocrite and the ungodly, who pray under the constraint of present necessity, are not heard. For they cannot be said to come to God when they have no faith founded upon his word, but only a mere vague expectation of a chance outcome.

Before we can approach God acceptably in prayer, it is necessary that his promises should be made known to us, without which we can have no access to him, as is evident from the words of the apostle Paul (Ephesians 3:12), where he tells us that all who would come to God must first be endowed with such a faith in Christ as may animate them with confidence.

From this we may infer that no right rule of prayer is observed in the Papacy, when they pray to God in a state of suspense and doubt.

Invaluable is the privilege we enjoy by the Gospel: free access to God.

When the Psalmist uses the expression all flesh, he intimates by these few words that the privilege which was then peculiar to the Jews will be extended to all nations. It is a prediction of Christ’s future kingdom.