Psalms 65: The God of the sanctuary waters the furrows

Psalm 65 begins in Zion with praise, vows, prayer, forgiveness, and the gift of nearness to God's courts. It then widens rapidly. Mountains stand by divine strength, seas are stilled, peoples' tumult is restrained, and the farthest inhabitants live beneath signs of the same authority. After reaching the edges of the earth and the edges of the day, the psalm bends down over ridges, furrows, showers, and grain. That change of scale is the point rather than a change of subject. The God whose power is not confined to the sanctuary is also attentive to the ordinary processes by which fields become fruitful. By the end, pastures wear flocks and valleys wear grain. The praise that waited in Zion has spread into the landscape until the cultivated earth itself seems to sing.