Psalms 65:8

They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens,.... The tokens of his wrath and displeasure at wicked men, seen in the punishments inflicted on them, which cause them to fear and tremble.

By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea: -The manifestations

The uttermost parts, to wit, of the earth, which is added to this word, . Thy tokens, or signs; either, 1. At the sun, and moon, and stars, which are called signs, . But these are not matter of terror, but of delight to men; and the commonness and constancy of their courses makes most men neither fear nor much regard them. Or, 2. At the great and terrible judgments which God inflicts upon wicked men, and particularly upon the enemies of his people. Or rather, 3. At those terrible thunders, and lightnings, and earthquakes, and comets, or other strange meteors or works of God in the air; for he is here speaking of the natural works of God. The outgoings of the morning and evening; by which he understands, either, 1. The east, from whence the morning, or the sun, the cause of it, goeth forth, as it is expressed, ; and the west, from whence the evening or night is poetically supposed to come forth. So the meaning is, that God gives all the people of the world, from east to west, occasion to rejoice in the effects of his bounty and goodness to them. But if the psalmist had meant this, it is not probable that he would have expressed it in such a dark and doubtful phrase, which is never used in that sense; but rather by those known and usual expressions, from east to west, or, from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof, which phrase he useth 113:3. Or rather, 2. The successive courses of the morning and evening; or of the sun and moon, which go forth at those times, thereby making the morning and evening; both which are said to rejoice poetically, because they give men occasion of rejoicing, which the sun or the morning doth, because it gives them opportunity for the despatch of business, and for the enjoyment of manifold recreations and delights; and the moon or evening doth so, because it invites men to that rest and sleep which is both refreshing and necessary for them. Thus this whole verse speaks of the natural works of God; the former clause of such as are extraordinary and terrible, the latter of such as are ordinary and delightful.

Psalms 65:8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.Ver. 8. They also that dwell in the uttermost parts, &c.] And are, therefore, Duri, horridi, immanes, latrociniis dediti, omnium denique pessimi, not farther distant from the sun than from all humanity, except the Sun of righteousness shine upon them, as he hath done upon us here in England. Are afraid at thy tokens] Thy notable works, thine executions. Thou makest the outgoings of the morning, &c.] That is, the inhabitants of east and west, or the vicissitudes of day and night, whereby men are occasioned to praise and glorify God. See Jeremiah 31:35. The Jews at this day, as they are bound to say over a hundred benedictions every day, so these two among the rest: when they go forth in a morning they say, Blessed be he who hath created the greater lights; and in the evening they say, Blessed be he who causeth the darkness of the night (R. Solom. in loc.).

(8) They also . . .—Or, So they.The outgoings . . .—A pregnant expression for the rising of the morning and setting of the evening sun. East and west. To rejoice.—Better, to sing for joy. The whole earth from one utmost bound to the other is vocal with praise of the Creator and Ruler of the universe. So the morning stars sang together at the creation (Job 38:7).

Verse 8. Are afraid at thy tokens] Thunder and lightning, storms and tempests, eclipses and meteors, tornadoes and earthquakes, are proofs to all who dwell even in the remotest parts of the earth, that there is a Supreme Being who is wonderful and terrible in his acts. By these things an eternal power and Godhead become manifest even to the most barbarous. From this verse to the end of the Psalm there is a series of the finest poetic imagery in the world. The outgoings of the morning, &c.] The rising and setting sun, the morning and evening twilight, the invariable succession of day and night, are all ordained by thee, and contribute to the happiness and continuance of man and beast. Or, All that fear thee praise thee in the morning, when they go to their work, and in the evening, when they return home, for thy great goodness manifested in the continuance of their strength, and the success of their labour.

8. They also &c.] Better, So that they who dwell in the ends of the earth are afraid at thy signs. These mighty works impress them with awe, as ‘signs’ of the irresistible power of God. the outgoings of the morning and evening] The term outgoings which strictly speaking is appropriate to the east only (Psalms 19:5 f.) is applied, by a kind of zeugma, to the west also. From the furthest east to the furthest west He makes earth with all its inhabitants to shout for joy (Psalms 5:11; Psalms 67:4). Awe gives place to triumph as they watch the downfall of their tyrants and welcome the establishment of God’s kingdom of peace (Psalms 46:9 f), and all nature sympathises with them.

They also that dwell in the utter-most parts - That is, Those who dwell in the remotest regions; far from civilized lands; far from those places where people are instructed as to the causes of the

8. Uttermost parts—The boundaries, the whole compass. The full phrase occurs Isaiah 40:28, “The ends,” or compass, “of the earth.” So Job 28:24.