Psalms 65:5

My Notes

What Does Psalms 65:5 Mean?

Psalm 65:5 contains one of the most paradoxical phrases in the Psalter: "By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us." God answers prayer — but the answer involves terrible things. The Hebrew nora'oth (terrible things, awe-inspiring acts) describes events that produce trembling, astonishment, and holy fear. And these terrible things are done "in righteousness" (tsedaqah) — they aren't arbitrary or cruel. They're right. They're just. But they're terrifying.

The Hebrew ta'anenu (answer us) is the standard verb for God responding to prayer. David is saying: when we pray, God answers — and the answer sometimes comes in a form that shakes us. The Red Sea parting was an answer to prayer. It was also terrifying. The wilderness provision was an answer to prayer. It was also disorienting. God's answers aren't always comfortable. They're always righteous. And sometimes righteousness arrives in a package that makes you tremble.

The second half expands the scope: God is "the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea." The Hebrew mivtach (confidence) means security, the thing you lean on, the foundation of trust. God isn't just Israel's confidence. He's the confidence of the whole earth — every coastline, every distant shore. The God who answers with terrible righteousness is the same God that every corner of creation leans on. The awe-inspiring God is the trustworthy God. Both at once.

Reflection Questions

• 1.God answers with 'terrible things in righteousness.' When has an answer to prayer arrived in a form that terrified you as much as it saved you?
• 2.The 'terrible things' are done in righteousness — they're right, even when they're overwhelming. How do you trust God's character when His actions feel bigger and scarier than what you asked for?
• 3.God is the confidence of 'all the ends of the earth.' How does knowing the whole world leans on this same God change how you relate to His overwhelming answers in your own life?
• 4.Have you been praying for a gentle answer when God might be preparing an awe-inspiring one? What would it look like to receive a terrifying rescue without flinching?

Devotional

God answers prayer with terrible things. That's what David says — and the word "terrible" doesn't mean bad. It means awe-inspiring. Overwhelming. The kind of answer that makes you shake because it's so much bigger than what you expected. You asked for rescue, and God split an ocean. You asked for provision, and God rained bread from the sky. The answer came. It was righteous. And it terrified you.

If you've ever prayed for something and received an answer that scared you — a door that opened so dramatically it disoriented you, a change so complete it left you trembling, a rescue so total it felt like being caught in a current you couldn't control — this verse names that experience. God's answers are righteous. They're also terrible, in the oldest sense of the word. They produce terror and awe simultaneously. You wanted the still, small voice, and God sent a earthquake. Both are Him. Both are answers.

The verse calls God "the confidence of all the ends of the earth." The same God whose answers terrify is the same God the whole world leans on. The awe and the trust aren't contradictions. They're the same relationship viewed from two distances. Up close, God's action is overwhelming. From the perspective of the whole earth, He's the only stable thing there is. If His answers sometimes frighten you, that's not a sign you're trusting the wrong God. It's a sign you're trusting a God who's bigger than your request.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture