Psalms 66
Big idea: A psalm that keeps zooming in. It starts with all the earth, narrows to the nation — we went through fire and through water — and finishes with one person and one voice: come and hear, all you who fear God; I will declare what he has done for my soul. And the middle section refuses to soften the history. You brought us into prison; you laid a burden on our backs; you allowed men to ride over our heads. The refining and the rescue are both credited to the same hand, and the destination is named: but you brought us to the place of abundance.
Psalm 66 narrows from the whole earth to one soul. Psalm 67 opens back out to all the nations.
66:1–7 — Come and see God's deeds
A national thanksgiving that opens by addressing the entire earth, and its evidence is the exodus — the sea turned to dry land, a river crossed on foot. What makes the retelling worth noticing is verse 6's last clause: 'THERE, WE rejoiced in him.' The psalmist was not at the Red Sea, and he says we anyway. Corporate memory is being claimed as first-hand.
1 For the Chief Musician. A song. A Psalm. Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! 2 Sing to the glory of his name! Offer glory and praise! 3 Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds! Through the greatness of your power, your enemies submit themselves to you. 4 All the earth will worship you, and will sing to you; they will sing to your name.” Selah. 5 Come, and see God’s deeds— awesome work on behalf of the children of men. 6 He turned the sea into dry land. They went through the river on foot. There, we rejoiced in him. 7 He rules by his might forever. His eyes watch the nations. Don’t let the rebellious rise up against him. Selah.
66:8–15 — We went through fire and through water
The middle movement does the difficult thing: it credits God with the suffering, in detail. You tested us, you refined us, YOU brought us into prison, you laid a burden, you allowed men to ride over our heads. The refining image is the frame — silver is not damaged by the furnace — and the destination is named at the end of the same sentence that lists the fire and water.
8 Praise our God, you peoples! Make the sound of his praise heard, 9 who preserves our life among the living, and doesn’t allow our feet to be moved. 10 For you, God, have tested us. You have refined us, as silver is refined. 11 You brought us into prison. You laid a burden on our backs. 12 You allowed men to ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water, but you brought us to the place of abundance. 13 I will come into your temple with burnt offerings. I will pay my vows to you, 14 which my lips promised, and my mouth spoke, when I was in distress. 15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fat animals, with the offering of rams, I will offer bulls with goats. Selah.
66:16–20 — What he has done for my soul
The psalm ends by narrowing from all the earth to one soul, and the invitation changes: 'come and SEE' in verse 5 becomes 'come and HEAR'. What is offered is testimony rather than history. And in the middle sits a sentence most thanksgivings would leave out — if I had cherished sin in my heart, he would not have listened — which makes the answered prayer evidence about the psalmist as well as about God.
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God. I will declare what he has done for my soul. 17 I cried to him with my mouth. He was extolled with my tongue. 18 If I cherished sin in my heart, the Lord wouldn’t have listened. 19 But most certainly, God has listened. He has heard the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor his loving kindness from me.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).