Silence Is Praise

Psalm 65 calls us to silence our hearts before God as an act of spiritual worship. Silence means an internal, satisfied rest in God that is absent of worry, clamoring, and striving for other things. By virtue of being sinful humans, we have the tendency to do the opposite of this. We love the wrong things, trust the wrong things, and put our hope in the wrong things. Simply put, we’re prone to wander. This passage gives us a big-picture vision of God and calls us to rest in God's presence, His power, and His provision.

Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;

  to you our vows will be fulfilled.

You who answer prayer,

  to you all people will come.

When we were overwhelmed by sins,

  you forgave our transgressions.

Blessed are those you choose

  and bring near to live in your courts!

We are filled with the good things of your house,

  of your holy temple.

You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,

  God our Savior,

the hope of all the ends of the earth

  and of the farthest seas,

who formed the mountains by your power,

  having armed yourself with strength,

who stilled the roaring of the seas,

  the roaring of their waves,

  and the turmoil of the nations.

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;

  where morning dawns, where evening fades,

  you call forth songs of joy.

You care for the land and water it;

  you enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with water

  to provide the people with grain,

  for so you have ordained it.

You drench its furrows and level its ridges;

  you soften it with showers and bless its crops.

You crown the year with your bounty,

  and your carts overflow with abundance.

The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;

  the hills are clothed with gladness.

The meadows are covered with flocks

  and the valleys are mantled with grain;

  they shout for joy and sing.

- Psalm 65