Psalms 66:19

Translation
King James Version
But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
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KJV (with Strong's)
But verily H403 God H430 hath heard H8085 H8804 me; he hath attended H7181 H8689 to the voice H6963 of my prayer H8605.
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Complete Jewish Bible
But in fact, God did listen; he paid attention to my prayer.
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Berean Standard Bible
But God has surely heard; He has attended to the sound of my prayer.
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American Standard Version
But verily God hath heard; He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
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World English Bible Messianic
But most certainly, God has listened. He has heard the voice of my prayer.
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Geneva Bible (1599)
But God hath heard me, and considered the voyce of my prayer.
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Young's Literal Translation
But God hath heard, He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
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See also
Psalms 116:1Psalms 116:2Hebrews 5:7Lamentations 3:55Lamentations 3:56Psalms 34:61 John 3:20
In the KJVVerse 14,893 of 31,102

Study This Verse

SUMMARY

Psalms 66:19 serves as a triumphant declaration of the Psalmist's personal experience of divine attentiveness and responsiveness, concluding a section of individual testimony within a broader psalm of communal praise. It powerfully affirms the absolute certainty that God has not only heard but has also deeply considered the sincere petitions of His servant. This verse encapsulates the joyous outcome of a life lived in humble reliance upon God, celebrating the tangible reality of His active presence and faithful intervention in response to heartfelt prayer.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: Psalm 66 begins as a universal summons for "all the earth" to "make a joyful noise to God" (Psalms 66:1), recounting His awesome power displayed in mighty acts of deliverance for Israel, such as the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea and the wilderness journey (vv. 1-12). The psalm then transitions dramatically from this communal narrative to a deeply personal testimony of the Psalmist's own experience of God's faithfulness (vv. 13-20). This individual section commences with the Psalmist fulfilling vows made in distress, offering sacrifices of thanksgiving. Crucially, Psalms 66:18 states, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me," establishing a moral prerequisite for effective prayer. Thus, verse 19 stands as the climactic personal declaration, a joyous affirmation that this condition was met, and consequently, the prayer was indeed heard and attended to by God, validating the Psalmist's integrity and God's unwavering responsiveness.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: As a central book in the ancient Israelite prayer tradition, the Psalms reflect the rich tapestry of human experience in relation to God. In ancient Israelite culture, prayer was often a public declaration, particularly within the context of temple worship or communal gatherings, alongside private supplication. Vows, such as those mentioned in Psalms 66:13-15, were solemn promises made to God, frequently in times of distress, to be fulfilled upon divine deliverance. The Hebrew concept of "hearing" (שָׁמַע, shama') in the ancient Near East extended beyond mere auditory perception; it implied attentive listening with the intent to respond or act, signifying a personal and active engagement from the deity. The Psalmist's declaration that God had "attended to" his prayer would have resonated profoundly within a culture that understood divine interaction as integral to daily life and national well-being, reinforcing the belief in a God who is intimately involved with His people.
  • Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes within Psalm 66 and the broader Psalter. Primarily, it highlights the theme of Divine Attentiveness and Responsiveness, asserting that God is not a distant or indifferent deity but one who actively listens and engages with the cries of His people, a truth echoed in passages like Jeremiah 29:12. It also underscores the Power and Efficacy of Prayer, demonstrating that sincere, heartfelt petitions offered from a pure heart are indeed heard and answered by God, reinforcing the promises found in Matthew 7:7-8. Furthermore, the verse serves as a Personal Testimony of God's Faithfulness, providing concrete evidence of God's unchanging character and His commitment to His covenant promises. This personal experience then becomes a source of profound encouragement and conviction for the wider community, inviting others to trust in the Lord's unfailing goodness and His readiness to hear their pleas, as seen throughout the narratives of God's people.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • Heard (Hebrew, shâmaʻ', H8085): This Hebrew verb (H8085) is rich in semantic range, extending beyond simple auditory perception. It implies listening with understanding, attention, and, crucially, the intent to respond or act. When God "hears" a prayer, it signifies His active engagement with the petitioner's plea, acknowledging it and preparing to intervene. It is a relational term, indicating a divine receptiveness to human communication and a readiness to engage with the suppliant.
  • Attended to (Hebrew, qâshab', H7181): This verb (H7181) intensifies the meaning of shama'. It conveys a focused, diligent, and intentional listening, often depicted as inclining or bending the ear. It suggests a deep consideration and earnest heeding of the "voice of my prayer," implying that God not only registered the sound but paid close, careful attention to the content, the underlying emotion, and the heart behind the petition, demonstrating profound interest and care.
  • Prayer (Hebrew, tᵉphillâh', H8605): This noun (H8605) refers to an act of intercession or supplication, often implying a hymn or a formal petition. In this context, "my prayer" emphasizes the personal and specific nature of the Psalmist's communication with God. It denotes a deliberate, conscious act of addressing the divine, highlighting the intentionality and earnestness of the Psalmist's communion, not merely a casual thought but a structured and heartfelt appeal.

Verse Breakdown

  • "[But] verily God hath heard [me];": The introductory "But verily" (אַכֵּן, 'aken, H403) serves as a strong affirmation or emphatic declaration, underscoring the absolute certainty and truth of the statement that follows. It transitions from the conditional statement of the previous verse (Psalms 66:18) to a confident assertion. The Psalmist declares with unwavering conviction that God has indeed listened to his specific prayer, implying a personal, direct, and favorable divine encounter, confirming God's active engagement.
  • "he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.": This second clause powerfully reinforces and elaborates on the first, employing a profound synonymous parallelism. "Attended to" deepens the concept of "heard," indicating God's focused, diligent, and intentional consideration of the petition. "The voice of my prayer" emphasizes the direct, earnest, and perhaps audible nature of the Psalmist's supplication, confirming that God engaged with the very essence and expression of his heartfelt plea, demonstrating His intimate involvement.

Literary Devices

Psalm 66:19 employs several literary devices to convey its powerful message of divine responsiveness. The most prominent is Synonymous Parallelism, where the second clause ("he hath attended to the voice of my prayer") reiterates and intensifies the meaning of the first clause ("verily God hath heard me"). This repetition with variation serves to emphasize the certainty, depth, and intentionality of God's attentiveness. The use of the emphatic particle "verily" (אַכֵּן, 'aken) at the beginning of the verse acts as a strong Affirmation, lending an air of absolute conviction and truth to the Psalmist's declaration, transitioning from a conditional statement to a confident reality. Furthermore, the verse functions as a powerful Personal Testimony, transforming a theological truth about God's character into a lived, verifiable experience, which is a common rhetorical strategy in the Psalms to encourage communal faith and trust. The phrase "voice of my prayer" also uses Metonymy, where "voice" stands in for the entire act and content of the prayer itself, highlighting its earnest, direct, and perhaps vocal nature.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Psalms 66:19 stands as a cornerstone for understanding the nature of God's interaction with humanity, particularly through the avenue of prayer. It powerfully affirms God's active and personal involvement in the lives of His people, demonstrating that He is not a distant or indifferent deity but one who bends His ear to hear the cries of His children. This verse underscores the profound truth that genuine, heartfelt prayer, offered from a heart free of cherished iniquity (as implied by the preceding verse), elicits a divine response. It is a testament to God's faithfulness and His covenantal commitment to those who seek Him diligently, fostering confidence and encouraging a life of continuous communion with the Creator. The Psalmist's personal experience becomes a universal truth, inviting all believers to approach God with assurance, knowing He is attentive and responsive.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Psalm 66:19 offers immense encouragement and practical guidance for contemporary believers, serving as a powerful reminder that prayer is not a monologue into an empty void, but a dynamic, living dialogue with an attentive and engaged God. This verse invites us to cultivate a profound confidence in God's willingness to hear us, regardless of our circumstances, knowing that He not only hears but attends to our petitions. It challenges us to examine our hearts, as the preceding verse suggests, ensuring that no unconfessed sin or cherished iniquity hinders our communion with Him, for a heart that delights in God's ways is one He delights to hear. When we approach God with sincerity, humility, and a genuine desire for righteousness, we can be assured that He engages with our deepest concerns. This truth should inspire us to pray more fervently, to live with greater integrity, and to offer abundant thanksgiving for the countless times God has heard and responded to our cries, building a robust testimony of His faithfulness in our own lives and fostering a deeper, more intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Questions for Reflection

  • In what specific ways has God "heard" and "attended to" your prayers in your own life, providing tangible evidence of His faithfulness?
  • How does the condition mentioned in Psalms 66:18 ("If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me") challenge or encourage your current approach to prayer and personal holiness?
  • What practical steps can you take to cultivate a heart that is more attuned to God's will and free from hindering iniquity, thereby enhancing the efficacy and intimacy of your prayer life?

FAQ

Does God always hear our prayers, even if we are struggling with sin?

Answer: Psalms 66:19, especially in light of the preceding verse, Psalms 66:18, suggests a nuanced understanding. While God is omniscient and aware of every word and thought, the concept of "hearing" in this context implies listening with the intent to respond favorably or act on behalf of the petitioner. Psalms 66:18 states, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." This indicates that cherished, unconfessed, or unrepented sin can indeed hinder our fellowship with God and prevent our prayers from being answered in the way we desire. It's not that God literally can't hear the sound, but that He will not respond with favor or intervene on behalf of someone who is intentionally holding onto sin. However, God always hears prayers of confession and repentance, as seen in 1 John 1:9, where He promises to forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So, while willful sin can impede effective prayer, a humble and repentant heart will always find God's ear and His grace.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Psalms 66:19 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is not only the perfect embodiment of the one whose prayers are always heard but also the very means by which our prayers are heard. The Psalmist's personal testimony of God hearing his prayer foreshadows the perfect prayer life of Jesus, who always did what pleased the Father (John 8:29) and whose every petition was heard (John 11:41-42). More significantly, Christ, as our Great High Priest, stands as the mediator through whom we can now boldly approach the throne of grace with confidence, knowing that our prayers are presented to the Father through Him (Hebrews 4:14-16). The condition of a pure heart from Psalms 66:18 is met in us not by our own perfect righteousness, which is impossible, but by the righteousness of Christ imputed to us through faith (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, when we pray "in Jesus' name," we are invoking His authority, His merit, and His perfect standing before God, ensuring that our prayers, though imperfect, are heard and attended to by the Father for His glory and our good, as He promised in John 14:13-14.

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Commentary on Psalms 66 verses 13–20

The psalmist, having before stirred up all people, and all God's people in particular, to bless the Lord, here stirs up himself and engages himself to do it.

I. In his devotions to his God, Psa 66:13-15. He had called upon others to sing God's praises and to make a joyful noise with them; but, for himself, his resolutions go further, and he will praise God, 1. By costly sacrifices, which, under the law, were offered to the honour of God. All people had not wherewithal to offer these sacrifices, or wanted zeal to be at such an expense in praising God; but David, for his part, being able, is as willing, in this chargeable way to pay his homage to God (Psa 66:13): I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings. His sacrifices should be public, in the place which God had chosen: "I will go into thy house with them." Christ is our temple, to whom we must bring our spiritual gifts, and by whom they are sanctified. They should be the best of the king - burnt-sacrifices, which were wholly consumed upon the altar, to the honour of God, and of which the offerer had no share; and burnt-sacrifices of fatlings, not the lame or the lean, but the best fed, and such as would be most acceptable at his own table. God, who is the best, must be served with the best we have. The feast God makes for us is a feast of fat things, full of marrow (Isa 25:6), and such sacrifices should we bring to him. He will offer bullocks with goats, so liberal will he be in his return of praise, and not strait-handed: he would not offer that which cost him nothing, but that which cost him a great deal. And this with the incense of rams, that is, with the fat of rams, which being burnt upon the altar, the smoke of it would ascend like the smoke of incense. Or rams with incense. The incense typifies Christ's intercession, without which the fattest of our sacrifices will not be accepted. 2. By a conscientious performance of his vows. We do not acceptably praise God for our deliverance out of trouble unless we make conscience of paying the vows we made when we were in trouble. This was the psalmist's resolution (Psa 66:13, Psa 66:14), I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered when I was in trouble. Note, (1.) It is very common, and very commendable, when we are under the pressure of any affliction, or in the pursuit of any mercy, to make vows, and solemnly to speak them before the Lord, to bind ourselves out from sin and bind ourselves more closely to our duty; not as if this were an equivalent, or valuable consideration, for the favour of God, but a qualification for receiving the tokens of that favour. (2.) The vows which we made when we were in trouble must not be forgotten when the trouble is over, but be carefully performed, for better it is not to vow than to vow and not pay.

II. In his declarations to his friends, Psa 66:16. He calls together a congregation of good people to hear his thankful narrative of God's favours to him: "Come and hear, all you that fear God, for, 1. You will join with me in my praises and help me in giving thanks." And we should be as desirous of the assistance of those that fear God in returning thanks for the mercies we have received as in praying for those we want. 2. "You will be edified and encouraged by that which I have to say. The humble shall hear of it and be glad, Psa 34:2. Those that fear thee will be glad when they see me (Psa 119:74), and therefore let me have their company, and I will declare to them, not to vain carnal people that will banter it and make a jest of it" (pearls are not to be cast before swine); "but to those that fear God, and will make a good use of it, I will declare what God has done for my soul," not in pride and vain-glory, that he might be thought more a favourite of heaven than other people, but for the honour of God, to which we owe this as a just debt, and for the edification of others. Note, God's people should communicate their experiences to each other. We should take all occasions to tell one another of the great and kind things which God has done for us, especially which he has done for our souls, the spiritual blessings with which he has blessed us in heavenly things; these we should be most affected with ourselves, and therefore with these we should be desirous to affect others. Now what was it that God had done for his soul? (1.) He had wrought in him a love to the duty of prayer, and had by his grace enlarged his heart in that duty (Psa 66:17): I cried unto him with my mouth. But if God, among other things done for our souls, had not given us the Spirit of adoption, teaching and enabling us to cry, Abba, Father, we should never have done it. That God has given us leave to pray, a command to pray, encouragements to pray, and (to crown all) a heart to pray, is what we have reason to mention with thankfulness to his praise; and the more if, when we cried to him with our mouth, he was extolled with our tongue, that is, if we were enabled by faith and hope to give glory to him when we were seeking for mercy and grace from him, and to praise him for mercy in prospect though not yet in possession. By crying to him we do indeed extol him. He is pleased to reckon himself honoured by the humble believing prayers of the upright, and this is a great thing which he has done for our souls, that he has been pleased so far to unite interests with us that, in seeking our own welfare, we seek his glory. His exaltation was under my tongue (so it may be read); that is, I was considering in my mind how I might exalt and magnify his name. When prayers are in our mouths praises must be in our hearts. (2.) He had wrought in him a dread of sin as an enemy to prayer (Psa 66:18): If I regard iniquity in my heart, I know very well the Lord will not hear me. The Jewish writers, some of them that have the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, put a very corrupt gloss upon these words: If I regard iniquity in my heart, that is (say they), If I allow myself only in heart-sins, and iniquity does not break out in my words and actions, God will not hear me, that is, he will not be offended with me, will take no notice of it, so as to lay it to my charge; as if heart-sins were no sins in God's account. The falsehood of this our Saviour has shown in his spiritual exposition of the law, Mt. 5. But the sense of this place is plain: If I regard iniquity in my heart, that is, "If I have favourable thoughts of it, if I love it, indulge it, and allow myself in it, if I treat it as a friend and bid it welcome, make provision for it and am loth to part with it, if I roll it under my tongue as a sweet morsel, though it be but a heart sin that is thus countenanced and made much of, if I delight in it after the inward man, God will not hear my prayer, will not accept it, nor be pleased with it, nor can I expect an answer of peace to it." Note, Iniquity, regarded in the heart, will certainly spoil the comfort and success of prayer; for the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. Those that continue in love and league with sin have no interest either in the promise or in the Mediator, and therefore cannot expect to speed in prayer. (3.) He had graciously granted him an answer of peace to his prayers (Psa 66:19): "But verily God has heard me; though, being conscious to myself of much amiss in me, I began to fear that my prayers would be rejected, yet, to my comfort, I found that God was pleased to regard them." This God did for his soul, by answering his prayer, he gave him a token of his favour and an evidence that he had wrought a good work in him. And therefore he concludes (Psa 66:20), Blessed be God. The two foregoing verses are the major and minor propositions of a syllogism: If I regard iniquity in my heart, God will not hear my prayer; that is the proposition: but verily God has heard me; that is the assumption, from which he might have rationally inferred, "Therefore I do not regard iniquity in my heart;" but, instead of taking the comfort to himself, he gives the praise to God: Blessed be God. Whatever are the premises, God's glory must always be the conclusion. God has heard me, and therefore blessed be God. Note, What we win by prayer we must wear with praise. Mercies in answer to prayer do, in a special manner, oblige us to be thankful. He has not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy. Lest it should be thought that the deliverance was granted for the sake of some worthiness in his prayer, he ascribes it to God's mercy. This he adds by way of correction: "It was not my prayer that fetched the deliverance, but his mercy that sent it." Therefore God does not turn away our prayer, because he does not turn away his own mercy, for that is the foundation of our hopes and the fountain of our comforts, and therefore ought to be the matter of our praises.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 13–20. Public domain.
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Augustine of HippoAD 430
Exposition on Psalm 66
"Therefore God has hearkened to me" [Psalm 66:19]. Because I have not beheld iniquity in my heart. "And He has listened to the voice of my prayer."
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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