The Magnitude of Salvation Revealed in Psalm 65

　　God’s salvation is not only about “atonement for sin”; it also involves the transformation of life, the shaping of communities, and the realization of God’s Kingdom on earth. This is what the apostle Paul says about salvation in Romans 5:1: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Through this statement, Paul advances his concept of “being justified by faith” which he develops in earlier chapters, and so Paul describes our lives as “being united with God” in chapters 6-8. After that, he further discusses the interactions of different ethnic groups in Christ from the perspective of shaping communities, as well as how the Kingdom of God manifests in history and contemporary times (Rom 9-15).

　　The magnitude of salvation is vast, including not just “atonement for sin”; salvation is also not only a New Testament concept but one consistent with many concepts in the Old Testament (such as the emphasis on the covenant and the hope for the Kingdom). I think a close reading of the ingenious parallelism and movements found in the verses of Psalm 65 can help us understand the magnitude of salvation as a gift from God.

Movements and Echoes

　　If we consider Paul’s discourse on salvation to be based on logical reasoning, advancing his ideas step by step from “being justified by faith” to “being united with God,” then in the Book of Psalms, the psalmists often present the whole picture through literary parallelism, as well as movements and echoes in the parallel verses. For example, in Psalm 19:1 the psalmist says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” These two cola have a parallel relationship. But they are not just repetition; there is a movement within them from the first colon to the second and echoes between them. The God of Israel has not only unparalleled “glory” but also more practical and direct means (“his handiwork”) to influence people because He is in charge of history. If we see His “glory,” we would more readily see “his handiwork.” Conversely, if we know more about “his handiwork” in history and practical life, we would bow down in worship before His “glory.”

　　Similarly, there are movements and echoes in the parallel lines of Psalm 65. We can divide the psalm into three strophes: verses 1-4, 5-8, and 9-13. To begin with, the first strophe shows a very similar movement as in Romans 5:1. In verses 2-3 of the first strophe, the psalmist describes himself as a human sinner. He comes to God who hears prayers and atones for his sin. Then, in verse 4 the psalmist says he dwells peacefully in the house of God and enjoys himself in His temple, where he comes near God and is satisfied with the good things there. Moreover, the movement in the first strophe is not only similar to that in Romans 5:1; each of the two elements that constitute the movement in the first strophe, namely “atonement for sin” and “coming near to God in His temple,” also echoes the subsequent strophes (vv. 5-8 and 9-13) respectively. The echoes found in the entire psalm can help us explore the nature and magnitude of salvation.

God’s Initiative of Salvation

　　Many commentators have noticed that the scene in the psalm suddenly changes in verse 5. All of a sudden, the psalmist is not in the temple but goes out to the farthest seas, is among the mountains, and at the ends of the earth. In the vast expanse of nature, the psalmist describes the God of Israel who arms Himself with great strength, calms the mountains, stills the seas, and instills awe in the hearts of the inhabitants at the ends of the earth. The abrupt change of scene between verses 1-4 and verse 5 makes people think about the relationship between the scenes described in the first and second strophes. Indeed, these two scenes complement each other; they are mutually explanatory and cross-referencing. Through one of them, we can know more about the other.

　　First, these two pictures show complementary directions. The picture in the first strophe shows humans (“all flesh”) coming to the temple, while the direction reverses in the second strophe: God Himself comes to the created world. The first strophe is about the atonement for human sins, but the second is about God’s calming of the entire creation. Not only does God calm the mountains, but He also stills the roaring seas and even the tumult of the nations. It is as if the sinful thoughts of human hearts and the tumult of the nations, just like the rest of the creation, are all quieted before God.

　　In other words, the second strophe (vv. 5-8) leads us to rethink verses 2 to 3. God’s salvation is not only about humans coming to God to seek salvation but also about God Himself coming to a fallen world to redeem those oppressed by sin, as well as the whole creation that groans in labor.

Cosmic Salvation

　　Secondly, the movement from the first strophe to the second strophe shows us salvation is cosmic. As the Book of Romans says, not only humans groan in our mortal bodies, but the whole creation has been groaning together in labor (8:22). In Psalm 65, the psalmist obtains atonement for his transgressions in verses 2-3, and in verse 4, he says he is satisfied to be with God in the temple. But at the moment of his contentment, the psalmist suddenly sees that God is the One who comes to the troubled world in person and whose deeds are all over the earth. Then, the psalmist’s vision opens up, and he sees the magnitude of God’s salvation.

　　We may say that being satisfied in the presence of God, the psalmist is meditating in the temple and realizes the magnitude of salvation, making him feel like he is in a vast universe. Yet, we may also say, conversely, that the psalmist is in the midst of worldly turmoil and experiencing the mighty deeds of God, hence gaining a deeper understanding of His salvation and presence. He may have been caught up in mundane problems, setbacks, troubles, and worldly commotion before experiencing God’s mighty salvation and finding himself in “his handiwork” which the sky above proclaims. All of a sudden, the psalmist feels like being no longer in the world but in the presence of God.

　　From exactly which direction do the echoes come? Is it that the psalmist suddenly finds himself in the fullness of the universe while worshipping in the temple? Or is it that he is in the midst of worldly commotion only to be calmed by the mighty power of God and enter into His presence in peace? Regardless of the direction, these two types of echoes are worth experiencing. These two pictures complement each other and mutually evolve, provoking us to think deeply.

Nature of Salvation

　　We know that the grace of forgiveness is like a judicial verdict, similar to acquitting a guilty person in a court of law. That is why in verse 4, a human sinner, like the psalmist David, can enjoy the presence of God even though he has committed numerous transgressions because verse 3 says all his sins have been forgiven.

　　However, the first strophe of the psalm already mentions that David is not merely a man who has sinned; the problem is not just about all those transgressions. David in verse 3 describes himself as a man who is “prevailed against” by iniquities. He is not simply a person who has sinned in the past; the fundamental problem is that he is weak, a man of flesh and blood who cannot overcome sins and is overwhelmed by them. He needs more than a declaration of forgiveness; instead, he needs further salvation. He needs the almighty God who can save him from his sins.

　　Hence, the second strophe (vv. 5-8) broadens our knowledge of God not only through the depiction of nature and the created world but also with an emphasis on His mighty power that stills the roaring waves of the seas and calms the tumult of the nations, showing us another dimension of God’s salvation. That is: God not only forgives our past sins but also enters our hearts with His power as if He were entering the created world to calm all the tumult and disturbances that are against Him.

　　This type of forceful, conquering imagery is also often used in the New Testament to describe the gospel. The four gospels describe Jesus’ good news as the Kingdom and power of God. The holy power brought by Jesus is in confrontation with the power of evil.

　　After driving out the unclean spirit from a person, Jesus said nobody could enter the strong man’s house to plunder his goods; the strong man (Satan) needed to be tied up before his house could be plundered (Mt 12:29). This kind of forceful, conquering imagery is necessary because all of us are overwhelmed and controlled by sins. Paul also says he has the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out and thus feels wretched (Rom 7:13-24)! We need a more powerful force to enter our hearts to deliver us from our sins and save us. We need God who is more powerful to be our lord, displacing sin as our master so that we will no longer be slaves to sin; we will become servants of God.

Rule of Grace

　　This brings us to the parallelism and echoes in the last strophe. As the psalm moves from the second strophe (vv. 5-8) to the third (vv. 9-13), the psalmist opens before us an imagery of a bountiful harvest. This imagery is full of peace and grace: showers of blessing fall from the sky, and the river beds and the furrows of the earth are filled with water, while the land is full of life; even the paths we tread on are dripping with fats and oils. The psalm moves from the forceful, conquering imagery in the second strophe to the rich, grace-filled imagery in the third strophe. It shows us not only that God’s salvation can defeat the forces of sin that hold us hostage but also that God’s rule can allow our lives to flourish and thrive in it.

　　If there is only conquest and calming of tumult, it can hardly be called the gospel. Only the rule of grace is the gospel. After driving out the unclean spirit from the person, Jesus said that if the person walked away after the unclean spirit had been driven out and did nothing more, before long the unclean spirit would return and bring with him seven other spirits even more wicked than itself to inhabit that person’s body. Then the situation would be much worse than it was before (Mt 12:45).

　　The third strophe seems to demonstrate the ultimate manifestation of God’s salvation. God’s dominion of grace not only appears in our hearts but in every creation. In the second strophe, God arms Himself with “strength” and forms the mountains with His power. Thanks to the power that forms the mountains, when it comes to the third strophe, “the hills gird themselves with joy”, and “the meadows clothe themselves with flocks.” All things shout for joy and sing.

　　Verses 2-3 in the first strophe correspond to the second strophe (vv. 5-8), and verse 4 corresponds to the third strophe (vv. 9-13). These echoes tell us that we should come to God, get near Him more often, and rejoice in Him only. In doing so, we can experience God’s works and grace in all things in the universe, and better appreciate His rule of grace. As with the case of Jesus’s casting out of the unclean spirit, grace must point to an abundant life. If one does not come under His rule of grace, the unclean spirit will eventually return. We will ultimately be ruled by some kind of authority, but all we need is God’s rule of grace.

　　God’s grace is ultimately a cosmic rule. At first, the psalmist is satisfied with being in the temple, but suddenly his eyes are wide open, seeing the magnitude of grace. God’s salvation and rule are like what Paul says in Colossians 1:13: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” First, salvation; then, rule. Concerning this beloved Son, Paul also says: “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (1:19). No wonder, the psalmist is suddenly delighted to discover the fullness of the whole universe because salvation is not only about our coming to the temple or Christ; it is more about God sending His beloved Son to the world and bringing about the Kingdom of His beloved Son, as well as Christ bringing all the fullness into our lives.

Experiencing Multidimensional Grace

　　Have we experienced the various dimensions of God’s grace? This psalm not only shows us God’s initiative of salvation but also leads us to broaden our vision, extending it from the inner to the outer, and from the individual to the community and the church. It also leads us from meditating in the temple to rejoicing with all the things in the universe. In the process, we would do well to remember that we need to first experience salvation which will quell the tumult. This kind of salvation is like the case of Jesus driving out the unclean spirit, and it is through the power of God which makes us submit ourselves to God and understand that His authority is a new authority that replaces sin—an authority of greater power. We must learn to be quiet before God’s authority. Quietude and submission like this are good because the one to whom we submit is none other than our Creator, who can shower us with blessings, making us shout for joy and sing. He has all the rich treasures hidden in Jesus Christ.

____________________________________________

^* All Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV.