Psalms 66 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Psalm 66

How Awesome Are Your Deeds

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.

66:1   Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2     sing the glory of his name;
    give to him glorious praise!
3   Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
    So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
4   All the earth worships you
    and sings praises to you;
    they sing praises to your name.” Selah
5   Come and see what God has done:
    he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
6   He turned the sea into dry land;
    they passed through the river on foot.
  There did we rejoice in him,
7     who rules by his might forever,
  whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
    let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8   Bless our God, O peoples;
    let the sound of his praise be heard,
9   who has kept our soul among the living
    and has not let our feet slip.
10   For you, O God, have tested us;
    you have tried us as silver is tried.
11   You brought us into the net;
    you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12   you let men ride over our heads;
    we went through fire and through water;
  yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
13   I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
    I will perform my vows to you,
14   that which my lips uttered
    and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15   I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
    with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
  I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
16   Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17   I cried to him with my mouth,
    and high praise was on¹ my tongue.²
18   If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened.
19   But truly God has listened;
    he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20   Blessed be God,
    because he has not rejected my prayer
    or removed his steadfast love from me!

Footnotes

[1] 66:17 Hebrew under
[2] 66:17 Or and he was exalted with my tongue

Commentary

Thanksgiving to God, esp. remembering His goodness to Israel. Themes here recur in Psalms 61-69.

v1-2: A joyful response to God.

v3: God's awesome works and great power. It is right to direct our praise to God.

v4: Praise in song. Praise is not always in song; but the psalms teach us that songs of praise are a proper part of our response to God.

A reference to God's reign over all the earth, Ps 65.2; 67.7.

v5-6: Testimony to God's power, also in v16. He has worked on behalf of His people. The invitation to "come and see," to meditate on His power.

v7: All the nations are subject to God.

v8-9: God's blessing upon Israel; their preservation was a proof of His power.

v10: Testing and refining; a testimony of His love for His own, of His desire for holiness, and of the need for a righteous testimony in the earth.

v11-12: A period of trials, but bringing them into a place of rich fulfilment. We see that testing and refining, trials and difficulties, have a real purpose. The life of Naomi (book of Ruth) illustrates this principle.

v13-15: Privilege of worship; personal integrity and commitment to worship; "I will ..," for there is a mental decision to worship God, to fulfil those promises made.

v16-17: Testimony to others; that they too might experience His power and faithfulness.

v18-20: Practise of prayer; the necessity of a godly life; God will hear prayer from a pure heart.