Psalms 65:7

Psa 65:7 Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.

Ver. 7. Which stilleth the noise of the seas] Making a calm at his pleasure; he hath the sea itself, that brutish creature, at his beck and check; so hath he also devils, and masterless men, who seek to subvert civil government, and to lay all level. Hence it followeth,

The noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people] When they are in hurly-burly, and contentions among themselves (Virg. Æneid).

- Saevitque animis ignobile vulgus,

Iamque faces et saxa volant, furor arms ministrat.

Now it is God only that can assuage these tumults; others may stir strife, but God only can stint it, saith Pindarus, Rαδιον πολιν σεισαι και του τυχοντος, αλλ αυθις καθισταναι μονου θεου θερας. It is he alone

Qui terram inertem, qui mare temperat

Ventosum, et urbes regnaque tristia,

Divosque mortalesque turbas

Imperio regit unus aequo.

(Horat. Od. 4, lib. 3.)

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_65:7

Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.

Gods providence displayed in the suppression of popular tumults

I. The body of the people, like the body of waters, is never absolutely at rest; and when it is most so, it is always disposed to become otherwise.

1. Dissatisfactions with measures of government are most easily conceived; and, when they begin to operate, are extremely productive of those murmurs and rumours amongst the people, which are the forerunners of troubles, and sure signs of approaching tempests in the State.

2. They are further subject to be moved either by affluent, or by desperate, circumstances in their private fortunes. It should seem strange that two so directly opposite causes should concur in producing the same bad effect; but so it does happen, that the very prosperity of those who mistake the use of it, instead of begetting in their minds that content and thankfulness which one should expect as its most natural consequence, is apt to excite in them those turbulent and unruly passions, from whence wars arise.

3. It must be confessed with regret, since it cannot be denied with truth, that the sacred name of religion, which one might have hoped would have contributed to allay these troubles, has but too frequently conspired to foment them.

4. The discontents which arise from these different causes are excellent instruments in the hands of factious and ambitious men, who, under the profession of seeking public interest, are better able to promote, while they conceal, their own.

5. A very superficial view of human nature may serve to convince us, that any one passion adds wings to a man in the progress he makes towards accomplishing his end. It is natural, therefore, to suppose, that when all these different and even contradictory impulses to action, like so many boisterous and contrary winds, have raised the ferment in a people, it must be like the troubled sea when it cannot rest.

II. And this might have been, must inevitably have been, our case; if the almighty, who alone can govern the rage of the sea, and the madness of the people, had not providentially prescribed the same rule to one, which he has, naturally, prescribed to the other. Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.

1. Let us learn to distinguish, as much as we can, between our own preservation and the destruction of our enemies; and though we cannot ever be sufficiently thankful for one, let us not show an unmanly triumph in rejoicing over the other.

2. Since, by the good providence of God, we are now entirely free from the danger, let us not be weak enough to imagine that we never were in any.

3. As we now commemorate a day which the Lord hath, undoubtedly, made, we ought, indisputably, to rejoice and be glad in it; but let not that gladness be shown in a giddy round of mirth and wantonness, in successive scenes of intemperance and excess and riot; but in a sober and modest complacency, in the consciousness of having had God for our protector; in contemplating His adorable power; in addressing our thanks to Him for His unmerited goodness, and in supplicating the continuance of His protection to us.

4. Let not our gratitude end with the day; let it live as long as we have hearts to conceive, and breath to express it. (T. Ashton, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. (Psa 65:7). Stilling the roar of seas, the roar of their waves, the tumult of nations. The sentence is continued from the foregoing verse. God not only formed the material universe at first, but still controls it. There is here a beautiful transition from the literal to the figurative use of the same language. It is true, in the strict use, that God stills the raging of the seas; but it is also true that he subdues the commotion of human societies and states, of which the sea is a natural and common emblem. See above, on Psa 46:2-3. Hence he adds in express terms, the tumult of nations.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He showeth that there is no part nor creature in the world which is not governed by God’s power and providence.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 7. Stilleth the noise of the seas] Thou art Sovereign over all the operation of sea and land. Earthquakes are under thy control: so are the flux and reflux of the sea; and all storms and tempests by which the great deep is agitated. Even the headstrong multitude is under thy control; for thou stillest the madness of the people.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) Tumult.—Here we see the literal passing into the figurative. From the raging seas the poet’s thought goes to the anarchies arising from the wild passions of men, for which in all literature the ocean has furnished metaphors. (Comp. Isa_17:12.) In a well-known passage, the Latin poet Virgil reverses the simile, likening the sudden calm which succeeds the storm that wrecked Æneas to the effect produced by a leader of men in a seditious city. (Virgil, Æn. i. 148.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. Who stilleth the roaring of the seas,

The roaring of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples.

He controls alike the turbulent elements of nature (Jer_5:22), and the tumultuous hosts of the nations which they symbolise. Cp. Psa_46:2 f, 6; Isa_17:12-14.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves,.... By a word speaking; as our Lord did when here on earth, and which was a proof and evidence of his eternal power and Godhead. These figurative expressions are interpreted by the next clause;

and the tumult of the people: of wicked men, who foam and rage against the people of God, and are like a troubled sea that cannot rest; but God can say to these proud waters, which threaten to go over their souls, Peace, be still; he can stop their opposition, quell their insurrections, restrain their wrath, and make them peaceable and quiet; wherefore the saints have no reason to be afraid of them, Psa 46:2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Which stilleth the noise of the seas - He calms the seas when they have been agitated by the storm. He causes the mighty waves to settle down, and the whole surface of the ocean becomes calm and smooth. The storm subsides at his command, and the sea is still. It was the manifestation of this power which demonstrated so clearly the divinity of the Lord Jesus, when he said to the troubled waves, “Peace, be still, and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Mar 4:39. Compare Psa 107:29.

The noise of their waves - The loud roar of the waters, so that they are still.

And the tumult of the people - The raging; the fury; the excitement of assembled multitudes, resembling the raging waves of the ocean. This comparison is very common. See Isa 17:12-13. Compare the notes at Rev 19:6. This is perhaps a more striking and wonderful exhibition of the power of God than that of calming down the waves of the ocean. In the one case, it is the exertion of mere power on nature, acting through its established laws, and where there is no resistance of will; in the other, it is power exerted over the will; power over agents conscious that they are free, and where the worst passions meet and mingle and rage.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The noise of their waves, when the sea is tempestuous, and threatens to swallow up ships and men that are in it, or to overflow the earth. And the tumult of the people; and as he stills the natural, so also he quiets the metaphorical seas, tumultuous and unruly people; for multitudes of people are oft called seas in prophetical writings, as Isa 17:12,13; Jer 51:42; Rev 17:15.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 7. Which stilleth the noise of the seas. His soft breath smooths the sea into a glass, and the mountainous waves into ripples. God does this. Calms are of the God of peace; it needs not that we look for a hurricane when it is said that he cometh. He walked of old in the garden in the cool of the day; he is resting even now, for his great seventh day is not yet over, and he is always "the Lord and giver of peace." Let mariners magnify the God who rules the waves.

The noise of their waves. Each separate brawler amid the riot of the storm is quieted by the divine voice.

And the tumult of the people. Nations are as difficult to rule as the sea itself, they are as fitful, treacherous, restless, and furious; they will not brook the bridle nor be restrained by laws. Canute had not a more perilous seat by the rising billows than many a king and emperor has had when the multitude have been set on mischief, and have grown weary of their lords. God alone is King of nations. The sea obeys him, and the yet more tumultuous nations are kept in check by him. Human society owes its preservation to the continued power of God: evil passions would secure its instant dissolution; envy, ambition, and cruelty would create anarchy tomorrow if God did not prevent; whereof we have had clear proof in the various French revolutions. Glory be unto God who maintains the fabric of social order, and checks the wicked, who would fain overthrow all things. The child of God is seasons of trouble should fly at once to him who stills the seas: nothing is too hard for him.

Ver. 7. The Lord, the giver, creator, and preserver of peace.

Psalms 65:8*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Which stilleth the noise of the seas. The power of God, as set forth in his control of the sea, is a favourite topic with the sacred writers. (see Job_38:8 Pro_8:29 Isa_1:2 Isa_51:10 Jer_5:22, etc.) Being so entirely beyond his own control, it seems to man one of the greatest of marvels that there should be any force capable of subduing and taming it, Hence the admiration excited by our Lord"s miracle. (Mat_8:26, Mat_8:27) The noise of their waves. (comp. Isa_17:12) And the tumult of the people. This clause may seem a little out of place in a passage which treats of God"s power over nature. But, after all, humanity is a constituent part of nature.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Tumult - No less wild and impetuous.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Who sets mountains with His strength With His strength, He makes the mountainswhich are hardsprout, and He prepares and readies food through them and prepares rain, as it is written (below 147:8): “Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes the mountains grow grass.”

Who is girded with might Because he wishes to mention the mighty deeds of the rains, he says, “Who is girded with might.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.