Psalms 65:5, commentary and pictures

God is the God of salvation who answers His people in righteousness and is the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of those afar off upon the sea, whom Israel joyfully praised in complete dependence for daily mercies while His power establishes the mountains, stills the seas and the tumult of peoples, and fills morning and evening with joy.
His terrible answers are fearful acts in righteousness by which He vindicates His insulted authority and His downtrodden law, judging the wicked and protecting the righteous when human stewardship, justice, and family discipline fail.
That judgment reveals His hatred of sin and His wrath against persistent disloyalty and transgression, yet long delay does not make punishment less certain, for He is not a man that He should lie, and the present remains the day of salvation through Jesus' sacrifice for redemption and forgiveness.
He also answers prayers for humility and guidance with awe-inspiring acts that humble self-exaltation and lead His people step by step through conflict to victory under Christ as Captain of salvation.
When workers surrender all to Him, He works mightily for them, convicting of defects of character and vain inventions, and instructing and comforting them until they plant truth in fortresses held by Satan.

God of Universal Confidence

God is the God of salvation who responds in righteousness, and He is the confidence of people throughout the whole earth, even of those who are far off upon the sea. His answering in righteousness belongs together with His saving character, so that trust in Him reaches to the ends of the earth and across the waters.

He was Israel's source of salvation, joyfully praised by the people as they acknowledged utter dependence on Him for daily mercies. His power is seen in establishing the mountains by strength and in quieting the roaring seas and the tumult of peoples. That same care makes the outgoings of morning and evening rejoice and crowns the year with goodness.

Terrible Answers in Righteousness

By terrible things in righteousness God answers to vindicate His insulted authority when His divine statutes are set aside. That fearful answer falls upon strange ways and upon unwise stewardship in His work, including the unwise, kingly exercise of human authority by those entrusted with His work and His flock. It is a marvel that such deserved judgment has not already fallen, and the certainty of it proves that God is not a man that He should lie.

The terrible yet righteous acts are His vindication of His people and His upholding of the authority of His downtrodden law. He answers their prayers in His own time through righteous acts of power, bringing judgment on the wicked and protection to the righteous. The long delay of those judgments does not make the punishment of the guilty any less certain.

Those terrible acts in righteousness include His wrath against those who persist in disloyalty and transgression of His law. Against that warning stands the present day of salvation, in which through the sacrifice of Jesus people may receive redemption and forgiveness and need not come under that wrath. God, who does not lie, answers with fearful acts to show His hatred of sin, especially the sin of a leader who has brought great sin upon Israel.

That answer is retributive justice for specific guilt, as the adultery of David and his causing the death of Uriah were met in humiliation and exile. Though the merited judgment is long delayed it is certain, for sin will find the sinner out. He answers those who have offended Him by revealing Himself not only as merciful and forgiving and long forbearing but as One who keeps His word because He is not a man that He should lie.

This answer comes when the Holy Spirit convicts ministers and workers of defects of character, of vain human inventions, and of defeat in their entrusted work. The Spirit presents before them the One they have offended and presses them to see their lives as represented in the Word of God. God takes justice into His own hand when men in authority pervert it, when fathers fail to correct wrong in their families and magistrates and rulers fail to punish the guilty with promptness and decision.

When bribery lets the guilty pass unpunished, and atrocious crimes like licentiousness and robbery and murder are lightly regarded and left uncondemned, He Himself acts with terrible righteous deeds. So He cleansed the antediluvian world of violence and crime by a flood and judged Sodom. He will likewise bring retributive justice and unmixed wrath upon nations that permit such crimes to pass unheeded.

Leading and Humbling People

God may answer a prayer for humility with severe dealings carried out in righteousness, so the one who asks to be humbled should humble himself instead of waiting to be humbled in that fearful way. Self-exaltation leads astray, and if it is not overcome it leads to ruin. Trust in one's own strength ends in overthrow when the Spirit of God is withdrawn.

God answers His people with mighty, awe-inspiring acts of righteous power, displaying His power as He leads them step by step through the conflict. He is their Savior and the confidence of people everywhere, and He teaches them these acts as they advance from apparent retreat to victory. Christ as Captain of salvation gives support to His soldiers, instructs them in these acts, and urges them to press on until victory is gained.

God answers workers who surrender all to Him by working mightily for them, instructing and comforting them through awe-inspiring righteous acts while they bear the scars of battle. He enables them to plant the standard of truth upon fortresses held by Satan and to take possession of them with shouts of victory. He leads them on conquering and to conquer.