3). As Well As Exercising Iron Control The Almighty Creator Also Makes Full Provision For The Needs Of His Creation Making The Fields And Pasturelands Blossom And Flourish (Psalms 65:9-13).
As well as exercising iron control, God makes full provision for the needs of His creation. These verses may well have been sung in anticipation of good harvests of both grain and livestock, and in order to encourage God to provide them, but the words are general and suggest universality. God makes provision for His whole creation. We are reminded of the words of Jesus, ‘your Father in Heaven -- makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45). Terrible He may reveal Himself to be, but He also reveals Himself as compassionate towards all. The descriptions, however, clearly reflect conditions in Palestine.
You visit the earth, and make it plentiful,
You greatly enrich it,
The river of God is full of water,
You provide them grain,
When you have so prepared the earth.'
The Psalmist makes clear the people's gratitude for the abundance of the early (October/November) rain which had made their fields produce abundantly. This is the rain that helps to prepare the ground for ploughing and sowing, and sustains the early growth. He recognises that it is God Who has visited the earth (or ‘land') and made it plentiful, Who has greatly enriched it so that it will produce abundant crops. And He has done it from His ‘river' which is ‘full of water'. ‘The river of God' refers to the source from which God provides the rains. It is not to be taken literally as though there was a river in Heaven. The point is that God has a plentiful supply of water which He pours out on behalf of His people. There are no droughts as far as He is concerned unless He chooses for there to be so. As a consequence it is He Who has provided their grain by pouring out fruitful water on their land.
‘You water its furrows abundantly,
You settle its ridges,
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its springing.'
The celebration continues. They praise God for watering the furrows of the land abundantly, and ‘settling its ridges' (judicious watering holds the soil together on the terraces and makes it firm so that it does not slide down onto the ground below. Many grain crops were sowed on hillsides where terracing was a necessity). He is making the soil soft with showers so that it breaks up easily under the plough rather than being unhelpfully resistant. ‘You bless its springing growth.' The grain comes forth from the ground and flourishes because God blesses the process. It is a description of ideal conditions for harvest. Note how God is seen as personally involved in ensuing the fruitfulness of the harvest
‘You crown the year with your goodness,
And your paths drop fatness,
They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the hills are girded with joy.'
. Not only are the fields fruitful but the pastureland is clothed in plenty. God is not lacking in any provision. Having made the fields fruitful He crowns it by making the pasture abundant. He personally acts to make it more fruitful, adding that something extra to the year's growth, and making it a perfect year. The reference here is probably to abundant ‘late rain', something always hoped for to crown the year, but not always forthcoming. Note that He is seen as personally overseeing the growth, walking on invisible paths above the pastureland and dropping fatness (a plentiful supply of fruit producing rain) on it. The hills are girded with joy because God has crowned them with plenty and they are covered with vegetation. Thus His people rejoice (Psalms 65:8), and the hills rejoice, at what God does.
‘The pastures are clothed with flocks,
The valleys also are covered over with grain,
They shout for joy,
They also sing.'
As a consequence of the fruitfulness of the pastures they are covered with sheep and goats which are like garments spread over them. And the valleys, the indentations between the hills, are covered with grain. Like the worshippers in the Temple the pastures and valleys shout for joy and sing at the goodness of the Lord. As a consequence of that goodness all creation praises God.