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Psalms 66

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Call to Universal Worship for God's Works 1–7

1
Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth: ​
2
Sing forth the glory of his name: Make his praise glorious.
3
Say unto God, How terrible are thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. ​
4
All the earth shall worship thee, And shall sing unto thee; They shall sing to thy name. [Selah ​
5
Come, and see the works of God; He is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.
6
He turned the sea into dry land; They went through the river on foot: There did we rejoice in him. ​
7
He ruleth by his might for ever; His eyes observe the nations: Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. [Selah ​

God Tests and Delivers His People 8–12

8
Oh bless our God, ye peoples, And make the voice of his praise to be heard;
9
Who holdeth our soul in life, And suffereth not our feet to be moved. ​
10
For thou, O God, hast proved us: Thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. ​
11
Thou broughtest us into the net; Thou layedst a sore burden upon our loins.
12
Thou didst cause men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. ​

Fulfilling Vows of Gratitude 13–15

13
I will come into thy house with burnt-offerings; I will pay thee my vows, ​
14
Which my lips uttered, And my mouth spake, when I was in distress.
15
I will offer unto thee burnt-offerings of fatlings, With the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. [Selah ​

Personal Testimony of Answered Prayer 16–20

16
Come, and hear, all ye that fear God, And I will declare what he hath done for my soul. ​
17
I cried unto him with my mouth, And he was extolled with my tongue.
18
If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear: ​
19
But verily God hath heard; He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
20
Blessed be God, Who hath not turned away my prayer, Nor his lovingkindness from me. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 66

Verse 1

Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands — Rua is a shout, the word of Joshua's command at Jericho, 'Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city' (Josh 6:16). Here the shout is called from 'all ye lands', the same summons as Ps 100:1, 'Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.'

Verse 3

How terrible art thou in thy works! — 'Terrible' is yare in its passive form, to be feared, the word of Ps 65:5 and 47:2. 'Submit themselves' is kachash, a verb that also means to lie, so the submission of the enemies is forced rather than willing; the same word stands in Ps 18:44, 'the strangers shall submit themselves unto me'.

Verse 4

All the earth shall worship thee — 'Worship' is shachah, to bow down, and 'sing' is zamar, to make music, used three times in vv.2 and 4. The nations' worship is also seen in Ps 22:27, 'all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee', and in the song of the Lamb, 'all nations shall come and worship before thee' (Rev 15:4).

Verse 6

He turned the sea into dry land — The sea crossed 'upon the dry ground' (Ex 14:22) and the 'flood' (nahar, river) is the Jordan, where the priests 'stood firm on dry ground' (Josh 3:17). The pronouns move from 'they went' to 'there did we rejoice', so each later generation shares in what the LORD did at the crossing.

Verse 7

He ruleth by his power for ever — 'Ruleth' is mashal, the verb of 'God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth' (Ps 59:13). 'His eyes behold the nations' is the thought of Ps 11:4, 'his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men'. Christ says, 'All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth' (Matt 28:18).

Verse 9

holdeth our soul in life — The verse is literally 'who sets our soul in life', with 'soul' as the living person. 'Moved' (mot) is from the same root as the 'moved' of Ps 62:2. The promise to the feet is made in Ps 121:3, 'He will not suffer thy foot to be moved', and Ps 94:18, 'My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up'.

Verse 10

thou hast tried us, as silver is tried — 'Proved' is bachan, to test, and 'tried' is tsaraph, to refine in the fire, said of silver. The LORD does this: 'The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts' (Prov 17:3), and 'will refine them as silver is refined' (Zech 13:9).

Verse 12

we went through fire and through water — The 'men' who 'ride over our heads' are the oppressors, as in Isa 51:23, 'Bow down, that we may go over'. Isa 43:2 gives the answer: 'When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee'. 'Wealthy place' is revayah, an overflowing abundance; the word occurs only here and in Ps 23:5, 'my cup runneth over'.

Verse 13

I will go into thy house with burnt offerings — The voice moves from 'we' to 'I'. Olah, the burnt offering, is named from alah, to go up, the verb of 'offer' in v.15. 'Pay' is shalam, the vow-verb of Ps 61:8 and 65:1. Ps 116:14 makes the same promise, 'I will pay my vows unto the LORD now'.

Verse 15

burnt sacrifices of fatlings — The burnt offering was burned whole: 'the priest shall burn all on the altar' (Lev 1:9). 'Fatlings' (mach) are fattened beasts, and 'rams' (ayil) and 'bullocks' (baqar) are named for the burnt offering in the law (Num 28:11), and 'incense' (qetoret) here means the smoke that goes up from the altar.

Verse 16

Come and hear, all ye that fear God — V.5 said 'Come and see the works of God'; here the invitation is to hear what 'he hath done for my soul' (saphar, to recount). The hearers are 'ye that fear God', those who in Mal 3:16 'spake often one to another'. Ps 71:15 uses the same word of telling his righteousness all the day.

Verse 18

If I regard iniquity in my heart — The Hebrew verb is 'see': iniquity looked on and held in the heart. The principle is stated in Isa 59:2, 'your iniquities have separated between you and your God', and in Prov 28:9. V.19 follows, 'But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.'

Verse 20

nor his mercy from me — 'Turned away' is sur, to remove, and 'mercy' is chesed. The same two words stand in God's promise to David, 'my mercy shall not depart away from him' (2 Sam 7:15). The psalm that opened with the nations ends with his prayer and his mercy still with him.