This also purports to be a psalm of David. It is dedicated to "the chief Musician," or committed to him to be set to appropriate music for the public worship of God. See the notes at the Introduction to Psalm 4:1-8. It is described as both "a psalm," and "a song." It is not easy to account for this double appellation, or to distinguish between the meaning of these words, though probably the real distinction is that the former word - psalm - refers to that to which it is applied, considered merely as a poem or composition; the latter - song - is applied with reference to its being sung in public worship. See Introduction to Psalm 48:1-14.
Though the psalm is ascribed to David, and though there is nothing in its general character which is inconsistent with this supposition, yet it has been maintained by DeWette and some others that the expressions in Psalm 65:4 demonstrate that the psalm was composed after the temple was erected. The ground of this supposition is, that the words "courts," "house," and "holy temple," occurring in that verse, are applicable only to the temple. This, however, is not decisive, for all these words may have been used in reference to the tabernacle, or to the tent which David erected on Mount Zion 2-Chronicles 1:4, and where he was accustomed to worship. Compare the notes at Psalm 65:4. If this is so, then there is nothing to forbid the supposition that the psalm was composed by David. Compare also the notes at Psalm 65:1.
The occasion on which it was written is not indicated in the title, and it is impossible now to determine it. It would seem from the psalm itself to have been composed after a copious and much-needed rain, perhaps after a long drought, when the earth was again refreshed by showers from heaven. The language, however, is of so general character that it may have had no particular reference to any recent event in the time of the psalmist, but may have been suggested, like Ps. 104, by a general contemplation of the power and the beneficence of God as manifested in his providential dealings. Possibly it may have been a song composed for some annual occasion, recounting the acts of God in the revolving seasons of the year - the general reasons which his people had to praise him. It evidently refers to some public solemnity - some acts of praise to be rendered to God in his house Psalm 65:1, Psalm 65:4, and would be eminently appropriate when his people approached him in an annual thanksgiving.
The contents of the psalm are as follows:
I. The blessedness of praising God, or of coming before him, in his house, with the language of prayer and praise, Psalm 65:1-4.
(a) Praise "waits" for God;
(b) he is the hearer of prayer;
(c) he alone can cleanse the soul from sin;
(d) it is a blessed privilege to be permitted to come before him, and to dwell in his courts.
II. The things for which he is to be praised, Psalm 65:5-13.
(1) he is to be praised for the exhibitions of his power, or as the Almighty God; as one who answers the prayers of his people by heavy judgments; as one who shows that all may have confidence in him, on the earth and on the sea; as one who makes the mountains firm, who stills the noise of the waves, who calms the tumults of the people, who displays the tokens of his power everywhere, and makes the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice, Psalm 65:5-8.
(2) for his beneficence, especially in sending down refreshing rains upon the earth, and causing the grain to spring up, the grass to grow, and the hills to rejoice on every side, Psalm 65:9-13.

God is praised for the fullilment of his promises, and for his mercy in forgiving sins, Psalm 65:1-3. He is praised for the wonders that he works in nature, which all mankind must acknowledge, Psalm 65:4-8; for the fertilizing showers which he sends upon the earth, and the abundance thereby produced both for men and cattle, Psalm 65:9-13.
The title, "To the chief Musician or conqueror, a Psalm and Song of David." So the Hebrew; and, in effect, the Chaldee, Ethiopic, and best copies of the Septuagint. The Arabic has, "A Psalm of David concerning the transmigration of the people."
The Vulgate is singular: "A Psalm of David. A hymn of Jeremiah and Ezekiel for the people of the transmigration, when they began to go out," from Babylon, understood. This title is of no authority; it neither accords with the subject of the Psalm, nor with the truth of history. Calmet has very properly remarked that Jeremiah and Ezekiel were never found together, to compose this Psalm, neither before at, nor after the captivity. It should therefore be utterly rejected. In the Complutensian edition Haggai is added to Jeremiah and Ezekiel, all with equal propriety.
It is supposed to have been written after a great drought, when God had sent a plentiful rain on the land. I rather think that there was no direct drought or rain in the prophet's view, but a celebration of the praises of God for his giving rain and fruitful seasons, and filling men's mouths with food, and their hearts with gladness. There is a particular providence manifested in the quantity of rain that falls upon the earth, which can neither be too much admired nor praised.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 65
To the chief Musician, A Psalm and Song of David. Some copies of the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions read
"a song of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, "sung" by the people of the captivity, when they were about to come out;''
and some copies have "Haggai": but though it is possible it might be sung upon that occasion, it is certain it was not then composed, but was written by David, as the genuine title shows: as for Jeremiah; he was not carried captive to Babylon, and Ezekiel died before the return of the people from it; nor is there anything in the psalm relating to that captivity. The title of it, indeed, in the Arabic version, is concerning the captivity of the people; which it seems to have taken from some Greek copy; and Kimchi and Arama interpret it of the captivity of the people of the Jews; but then they mean their present captivity, and their deliverance from it. According to the title of it in the Syriac version, the occasion of it was the bringing up of the ark of God to Sion; and Aben Ezra is of opinion that David composed the psalm at that time; or that one of the singers composed it at the building of the temple, and which he thinks is right, and perhaps is concluded from Psalm 65:1; and who also says it was composed in a year of drought; but it rather seems to have been written in a year of great plenty, as the latter part of it shows; and the whole seems to respect the fruitful, flourishing, and happy state of the church in Gospel times, for which it is a song of praise.

(Psalm 65:1-5) God is to be praised in the kingdom of grace.
(Psalm 65:6-13) In the kingdom of providence.

Thanksgiving Song for Victory and Blessings Bestowed
In this Psalm, the placing of which immediatley after the preceding is at once explicable by reason of the ויּיראוּ so prominent in both (Psalm 64:10; Psalm 65:9), we come upon the same intermingling of the natural and the historical as in Psalm 8:1-9; Psalm 19:1-14; Psalm 29:1-11. The congregation gathered around the sanctuary on Zion praises its God, by whose mercy its imperilled position in relation to other nations has been rescued, and by whose goodness it again finds itself at peace, surrounded by fields rich in promise. In addition to the blessing which it has received in the bounties of nature, it does not lose sight of the answer to prayer which it has experienced in its relation to the world of nations. His rule in human history and His rule in nature are, to the church, reflected the one in the other. In the latter, as in the former, it sees the almighty and bountiful hand of Him who answers prayer and expiates sins, and through judgment opens up a way for His love. The deliverance which it has experienced redounds to the acknowledgment of the God of its salvation among the most distant peoples; the beneficial results of Jahve's interposition in the events transpiring in the world extend temporally as well as spiritually far beyond the bounds of Israel; it is therefore apparently the relief of Israel and of the peoples in general from the oppression of some worldly power that is referred to. The spring of the third year spoken of in Isaiah 37:30, when to Judah the overthrow of Assyria was a thing of the past, and they again had the fields ripening for the harvest before their eyes, offers the most appropriate historical basis for the twofold purport of the Psalm. The inscription, To the Precentor, a Psalm, by David, a song (cf. Psalm 75:1; Psalm 76:1), does not mislead us in this matter. For even we regard it as uncritical to assign to David all the Psalm bearing the inscription לדוד. The Psalm in many MSS (Complutensian, Vulgate), beside the words Εἰς τὸ τέλος ψαλμός τῷ Δαυίδ ᾠδὴ, has the addition ᾠδὴ Ἱιερεμίου καὶ Ἰεζεκιὴλ, (ἐκ) τοῦ λαοῦ τῆς παροικίας ὄτε ἔμελλον ἐκπορεύεσθαι. At the head of the following Psalm it might have some meaning - here, however, it has none.