02_VanWieringen_179_197 15/07/14 12:15 Pagina 195 PSALM 65 195 ness in verse 4 sound like a kind of last judgment. The temple in Psalm 65(64) alludes to the temple in the new Jerusalem, in which the Lord God himself is the temple, along with the Lamb, as de- scribed in Rev 21,22. The fertile land in the second main unit as- sumes the shape of paradise in the hereafter 28. Subsequently, those who are rejoicing and singing at the end of the psalm in verse 14c are the inhabitants of paradise. The word “silence” in the first colon of verse 2 could be under- stood as receiving a new meaning 29. Within the context of the fu- neral Mass, the word “silence” can be considered as a synonym for death. In Ps 94,17, the “silence” is the image of the grave. In Ps 115,17 “all those who went down into silence” refers to the dead 30. However, a different silence than the silence of death can be meant here, all the more because of the fact that the Sheol is no part of the continuation of the psalm but rather a paradisiacal land. The silence is therefore the expression of the awe for God. In Isa 6,5, the prophet Isaiah testifies to this silence, after having seen the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne. The direct contact with God causes Isaiah to admit his impurity. His confession evokes a for- giveness ritual which is executed by one of the Seraphs: by using a glowing ember from the altar, Isaiah’s impurity is burnt away, and his sins are wiped away. This silence, as self-knowledge, which evokes forgiveness (v. 6), fits in with the continuation in 65(64),4, in which the “I”-character confesses his misdeeds, which now be- long to the past, and receives forgiveness. The reception of Psalm 65(64) in the liturgy implies that the psalm is sung at a pivotal mo- ment of the funeral Mass. The theology of non-appropriation is part of the reception as well. Two reading possibilities occur, which are simultaneously valid within the liturgical use of Psalm 65(64). 28 For the image of paradise and Psalm 65, see also B. JANOWSKI, “Das Licht des Lebens: Zur Lichtmetaphorik in den Psalmen”, Metaphors in the Psalms (eds. P. VAN HECKE – A. LABAHN) (BETL 231; Leuven 2010) 109-110. 29 For the interpretation of silence, see also TATE, Psalms 51-100, 136; M. BERNSTEIN, “A Jewish Reading of Psalms: Some Observations on the Method of the Aramaic Targum”, The Book of Psalms. Composition and Reception (eds. P.W. FLINT – P.D. MILLER) (VTS 99; Leiden 2005) 483. 30 Using the word hyvn “forgetfulness”, Ps 88,12 expresses the silence of the dead as well.