Psalm 66
Psalm 66, How Everyone Can Praise God
Introduction
Psalm 66 is titled, To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm. That title is not filler. It matters because it identifies the psalm as material prepared for public worship. It was given to the Chief Musician, meaning it was intended to be used among the gathered people of God. This was not merely a private devotional poem, although it certainly has personal devotional value. It was a song of worship for the congregation, designed to call the people of God, and ultimately all the earth, to praise the Lord.
The title also calls it both A Song and A Psalm. As with Psalm 65, this double description shows that the psalm is both musical and theological. It was meant to be sung, but it was not meant to be shallow. Biblical worship is not empty emotion. It is truth directed toward God. A song without doctrine becomes religious sentiment. Doctrine without worship becomes cold formalism. Psalm 66 brings both together, the heart sings, the mouth confesses, the congregation remembers, and God is glorified.
This psalm is also significant because it is the first psalm since Psalm 50 that is not attributed to David. That does not weaken its authority, because the authority of Scripture does not rest upon whether the human writer is named. The authority rests upon the inspiration of God. The Holy Spirit gave this psalm to the people of God for worship, instruction, remembrance, and testimony. The absence of a named human author also keeps the attention on the Lord Himself, who is the true subject of the psalm.
There is also an important historical note connected with this psalm. It has been said that Psalm 66 was recited on Easter day by the Greek church and described in the Greek Bible as A Psalm of the Resurrection. While the psalm must first be interpreted in its plain Old Testament context, where it remembers God’s mighty works for Israel, there is a broader prophetic sense in which it may be understood to look toward the renewal of the world through the conversion of the Gentiles. That connection is reasonable because the psalm repeatedly moves beyond Israel and calls all the earth to worship God.
Psalm 66 therefore has a wide theological sweep. It begins with the praise of God by all the earth. It then moves into the praise of the God of Israel, remembering His mighty acts in history, especially the crossing of the sea and the river. It then narrows down to the individual believer, who comes before God with offerings, fulfilled vows, personal testimony, prayer, confession, and gratitude for mercy. The structure is powerful because it shows that God is worthy of praise universally, nationally, and personally. The whole earth should praise Him, Israel should praise Him, and the individual believer should praise Him.
From a Baptist and literal hermeneutic, Psalm 66 should first be read according to its plain meaning in Israel’s worship. God truly delivered Israel. God truly brought them through the sea. God truly preserved them through affliction. God truly heard the prayer of the worshipper. At the same time, the psalm also points forward to the day when all nations will acknowledge the glory of the true God. This is not religious pluralism. It is not saying all religions lead to God. It is declaring that the God of Israel is the God of the whole earth, and the nations will one day be brought to worship Him.
A. Praising the God of All the Earth
Psalm 66:1, 2
Psalm 66:1, “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:”
Psalm 66:2, “Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.”
Psalm 66 begins with a universal call to praise. The command is not limited to Israel, although Israel had a unique covenant relationship with the Lord. The psalmist commands all ye lands to make a joyful noise unto God. This means the Lord is not a local deity, a tribal god, or a religious possession of Israel alone. He is the Creator of all lands, the Ruler of all nations, and the rightful object of worship for all mankind.
The phrase “Make a joyful noise unto God” emphasizes open, audible, glad worship. Biblical praise is not dead ritual. It is not cold religious habit. It is not performance for men. It is the proper response of the creature to the Creator, the redeemed to the Redeemer, and the servant to the King. The joy commanded here is not shallow emotional excitement. It is holy joy rooted in the knowledge of God’s works, God’s character, God’s power, and God’s mercy.
The command “Sing forth the honour of his name” shows that singing is one of the chief ways God’s people honor Him. The name of God is not merely a label. In Scripture, the name of God represents His revealed character. To honor His name is to honor His holiness, righteousness, power, wisdom, mercy, faithfulness, and covenant love. True worship must be shaped by who God has revealed Himself to be.
The phrase “make his praise glorious” means the praise of God should not be careless, shallow, lazy, or man centered. God deserves glorious praise because He is glorious. This does not mean worship must become theatrical or fleshly. It means worship should be offered with reverence, truth, joy, seriousness, and excellence. The greatness of God should shape the greatness of the praise offered to Him.
This also teaches that worship must be God centered. Thanksgiving often focuses on what God has done for the worshipper, and that is proper in its place. Praise rises even higher because it focuses directly on who God is. In thanksgiving, the believer may speak much about blessings received. In praise, the believer becomes occupied with the glory, majesty, and worthiness of God Himself. Psalm 66 begins with praise because all true worship must begin with God.
Psalm 66:3, 4
Psalm 66:3, “Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.”
Psalm 66:4, “All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.”
The psalmist gives practical instruction for praise when he says, “Say unto God.” Praise is not only inward reflection. It is also spoken confession. There is a place for meditation, contemplation, and silent reverence, but spoken praise must not be neglected. The mouth should declare what the heart believes concerning God.
The words “How terrible art thou in thy works” use terrible in the older sense of awesome, fear inspiring, and overwhelming in majesty. God’s works are not small. Creation displays His power. Providence displays His wisdom. Judgment displays His righteousness. Salvation displays His mercy. Deliverance displays His faithfulness. His works should cause men to tremble before Him and rejoice in Him at the same time.
The phrase “through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee” declares the certainty of God’s victory over all opposition. God has enemies, but He has no equals. Men may rebel against Him, nations may rage against Him, devils may oppose Him, and sinners may deny Him, but none can overthrow His throne. God’s power guarantees the final submission of every enemy.
The submission described here may include forced and unwilling submission. Some bow because they love God. Others bow because they are conquered by God. Pharaoh is a clear example. Under judgment he said he would let Israel go, but his heart remained hard. Power forced his outward submission, but it did not produce inward loyalty. This distinction matters. God’s enemies will submit, but not all submission is saving faith. Some will bow in worship, others will bow in defeat.
Philippians 2:10, 11, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:10, 11 gives the fullest New Testament expression of this truth. Every knee will bow before Jesus Christ. The redeemed bow willingly in worship. The rebellious bow under the undeniable reality of His lordship. Things in heaven, things in earth, and things under the earth will all confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This does not teach universal salvation. It teaches universal acknowledgment of Christ’s lordship.
The statement “All the earth shall worship thee” looks forward to the worship of God among the nations. This is not religious pluralism. It does not mean all religions are valid. It means the true God will be worshipped by the nations. The earth belongs to Him, and history is moving toward the public vindication of His name.
The phrase “they shall sing to thy name” again emphasizes that true worship is tied to the revealed character of God. God is not rightly worshipped as an unknown deity or as a religious idea shaped by human preference. He is worshipped according to His name, meaning according to His revealed nature and character.
The verse ends with Selah. This calls the worshipper to pause and reflect. God’s enemies will submit. All the earth will worship. His name will be sung. His power will triumph. His glory will be known. That truth should not be rushed over.
B. Praising the God of Israel
Psalm 66:5, 6, 7
Psalm 66:5, “Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.”
Psalm 66:6, “He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.”
Psalm 66:7, “He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.”
The psalmist now invites the nations to examine the works of God. “Come and see the works of God” is a call to consider what God has done in history. Biblical faith is not grounded in myth, vague spirituality, or emotional imagination. It is grounded in the real acts of God in time and space. God has acted in creation, judgment, deliverance, covenant, preservation, and salvation.
The statement “he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men” again uses terrible in the sense of awesome and fear inspiring. God’s dealings with mankind are not weak or passive. He is not a distant observer. He intervenes in human affairs. He judges the proud. He delivers His people. He humbles kings. He preserves the faithful. He overthrows the rebellious. Men may ignore God, but they cannot remove His hand from history.
The psalmist then recalls two mighty acts from Israel’s history. “He turned the sea into dry land” points to the Red Sea crossing, where God delivered Israel from Egypt and destroyed Pharaoh’s army.
Exodus 14:21, 22, “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”
The phrase “they went through the flood on foot” also recalls the crossing of the Jordan River, when God brought Israel into the promised land.
Joshua 3:14, 15, 16, “And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest, That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.”
These two events show that God is not merely powerful in theory. He acts for His people. He opens impossible paths. He delivers from bondage. He brings His people into promise. He defeats enemies who seem humanly unstoppable. He makes a way where man cannot make one.
The phrase “there did we rejoice in him” is important because the psalmist identifies himself with the people of God who experienced those events long before his own time. He speaks as though he was there. This is how covenant remembrance works. God’s past works are not dead history to His people. What God did then reveals who God is now. The believer may look back at the works of God in Scripture and rejoice because the God who acted then is the same God today.
The psalmist then declares, “He ruleth by his power for ever.” God’s rule is everlasting. Nations rise and fall. Kings die. Empires collapse. Armies are defeated. Political systems change. God remains enthroned forever. His power is not temporary, fragile, or dependent upon human approval.
The phrase “his eyes behold the nations” means God sees all nations, rulers, armies, governments, rebellions, and schemes. Nothing is hidden from Him. This is a comfort to the righteous and a warning to the proud. The nations are not self governing in an ultimate sense. They are under the eye of God.
The command “let not the rebellious exalt themselves” is a direct warning. Rebellion against God is madness. Pharaoh exalted himself, and God buried his army in the sea. The nations may exalt themselves against the Lord, but they cannot win. Pride before God always ends in humiliation.
The verse closes again with Selah. The worshipper is called to pause and consider the God who delivered Israel, rules forever, watches the nations, and warns the rebellious not to exalt themselves.
Psalm 66:8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Psalm 66:8, “O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:”
Psalm 66:9, “Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.”
Psalm 66:10, “For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.”
Psalm 66:11, “Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.”
Psalm 66:12, “Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.”
The psalmist again calls the peoples to bless God. “O bless our God, ye people” shows that Israel’s God is to be praised beyond Israel. The fortunes of Israel were never meant to be disconnected from the nations. God told Abraham that in him all families of the earth would be blessed. Therefore when God preserves Israel, displays His power, and reveals His mercy, the nations have reason to pay attention.
Genesis 12:2, 3, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great: and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
The command “make the voice of his praise to be heard” teaches that praise should not remain hidden. God’s people are not only to praise Him privately, they are also to publish His praise openly. The world is loud in its rebellion. The people of God should not be silent about His greatness.
God is praised because He “holdeth our soul in life.” Life is sustained by God. Israel remained alive because God preserved her. The believer continues because God keeps him. Physical life, spiritual life, covenant preservation, and daily endurance all depend upon the sustaining hand of God.
The phrase “suffereth not our feet to be moved” pictures stability. God keeps His people from being finally overthrown. They may be tested, shaken, burdened, opposed, afflicted, and humbled, but God does not abandon them. He keeps their feet from slipping beyond recovery.
Psalm 121:3, “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.”
The psalmist then acknowledges that God’s preservation did not mean an easy life. “For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.” God tests His people. This testing is not meaningless cruelty. It is refining. Silver is tried by fire so that impurity may be separated from what is precious. In the same way, God uses trials to expose sin, purify faith, deepen dependence, and conform His people more closely to His will.
The image of silver being refined is powerful. The heat rises. The metal softens. The impurities come to the surface. The refiner removes the dross. The process is painful, but it is purposeful. God is not destroying His people in the furnace. He is purifying them.
1 Peter 1:6, 7, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”
The phrase “Thou broughtest us into the net” pictures confinement and loss of freedom. The people once felt able to move freely, but then they were trapped, restricted, and hemmed in. There are seasons when God allows His people to feel enclosed, where choices seem few and escape seems impossible.
The statement “thou laidst affliction upon our loins” pictures a heavy burden placed upon the back. The people once walked freely, but now they are loaded down with pressure. The idea is one of being pressed, weighed down, and made to feel the burden of affliction.
The phrase “Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads” is a picture of humiliation and subjugation. Enemies were allowed to triumph over them. They were treated like the defeated, like slaves, like beasts of burden. This does not mean the enemies were righteous. It means God, in His sovereignty, permitted affliction for a purpose.
Isaiah 51:23, “But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.”
The statement “we went through fire and through water” summarizes the extremity of their trials. Fire and water represent opposite forms of danger, but together they say, we have been through everything. God’s people had passed through intense affliction, overwhelming pressure, and severe testing.
Yet the verse does not end in affliction. It ends with deliverance. “But thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.” God brought them out. The same God who allowed the testing also provided the deliverance. The wealthy place speaks of abundance, spaciousness, relief, and rich fulfillment. The trial was not the final word. God brought His people through the pressure into blessing.
This is one of the great truths of Psalm 66. God is worthy of praise not only because He prevents suffering, but also because He rules over suffering and brings His people through it. The Christian life is not presented honestly when hardship is denied. The psalmist is honest. God’s people were tested, refined, trapped, burdened, humiliated, and overwhelmed. But God brought them out. That is real praise, not shallow praise.
C. Praising the God of the Individual Believer
Psalm 66:13, 14, 15
Psalm 66:13, “I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,”
Psalm 66:14, “Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.”
Psalm 66:15, “I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.”
The psalm now narrows from the praise of all the earth and the praise of Israel to the worship of the individual believer. The psalmist says, “I will go into thy house with burnt offerings.” He is determined to worship God in the way God commanded. His praise is not merely verbal. It is obedient. He comes to God’s house with sacrifice.
The burnt offering was a serious offering because it represented full consecration to God. The animal was wholly given upon the altar. In this context, it expresses the worshipper’s gratitude, surrender, and devotion. The psalmist is not trying to buy God’s favor. He is responding to God’s mercy with obedient worship.
The psalmist then says, “I will pay thee my vows.” These vows had been spoken “when I was in trouble.” This means that in a time of distress, the psalmist cried out to God and made promises concerning what he would bring or do in gratitude for deliverance. Now that God has heard him, he refuses to forget what he promised.
This is a serious matter. Trouble often makes men religious for a moment. Many cry out to God under pressure and then forget Him when the pressure lifts. Psalm 66 teaches that vows made before God must be honored. To fail to keep faith with God damages the soul and weakens character. God is not mocked by emotional promises made in crisis and ignored in comfort.
Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5, “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.”
The psalmist offers generous sacrifices, “burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams,” and also “bullocks with goats.” These were not cheap offerings. The largeness of the offering shows the seriousness of the vow and the depth of gratitude. He brings God the best, not leftovers. True worship does not ask how little can be given to God. True worship recognizes that God is worthy of honor.
The mention of rams, bullocks, and goats shows the abundance of the offering. The psalmist had been in trouble, God had heard him, and now he comes with costly praise. This is not empty religion. This is gratitude made visible through obedience.
The verse ends with Selah. The worshipper should pause and consider the seriousness of vows, the costliness of worship, and the faithfulness of God who hears His people in trouble.
Psalm 66:16, 17, 18, 19
Psalm 66:16, “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.”
Psalm 66:17, “I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.”
Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”
Psalm 66:19, “But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.”
The psalmist’s vow is not fulfilled by sacrifice alone. He also testifies. “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.” This is personal testimony. The God who rules the earth, watches the nations, and delivered Israel also deals personally with the individual believer.
The phrase “all ye that fear God” identifies the proper audience for this testimony. Those who fear God will understand the weight of what is being said. The fear of God is reverence, awe, submission, and seriousness before Him. The psalmist is not boasting in himself. He is declaring what God has done for his soul.
The statement “I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue” shows that prayer and praise belong together. The psalmist cried to God in distress, but even in the cry there was praise. God was extolled with his tongue. This is mature faith. The believer may bring distress before God, but he should not forget to exalt God even while he is asking for help.
The psalmist then gives a sober warning. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” This does not mean believers must be sinlessly perfect before they can pray. If that were the case, no one could pray. It means that cherished, protected, loved, and unrepented sin obstructs prayer. To regard iniquity in the heart is to hold on to sin while pretending to seek God. It is to keep rebellion inwardly while speaking religiously outwardly.
This is critical because the psalmist has just spoken of sacrifices and vows. No one should think that outward religious acts can manipulate God while the heart clings to sin. God desires truth in the inward parts. Sacrifice without repentance is hypocrisy. Prayer without confession is presumption. Worship without obedience is offensive to God.
Proverbs 28:9, “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”
Isaiah 59:1, 2, “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear.”
The specific word iniquity can refer to sin broadly, but in Israel’s context it often included idolatry, which was a constant temptation. The principle applies to every sin that a man knowingly cherishes and refuses to confess. The prayer that God hears is the prayer of the repentant heart, the heart grieved over sin, weary of sin, and longing to be delivered from it.
Then comes the confidence of verse 19. “But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.” The psalmist knows God has heard him. This confidence is not rooted in self righteousness. It is rooted in God’s mercy and in the evidence that God has attended to his prayer. God did not turn away. God listened. God answered. God showed Himself faithful.
This section gives a full picture of personal worship. The believer brings offerings, pays vows, testifies to others, cries to God, praises God, examines his heart, refuses to cling to sin, and rejoices that God has heard his prayer.
Psalm 66:20
Psalm 66:20, “Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.”
The psalm ends with blessing God. “Blessed be God” is the final word of praise. The psalmist has called all the earth to praise God. He has remembered God’s works in Israel. He has testified of personal prayer. Now he concludes by blessing the God who heard him.
The phrase “which hath not turned away my prayer” shows that answered prayer is a mercy. Believers often take prayer for granted. It is a staggering privilege that the holy God hears the cries of His people. God is under no obligation to hear rebellious sinners, yet in mercy He receives the prayers of those who come to Him in faith, repentance, and dependence.
The final phrase “nor his mercy from me” is the theological foundation of the whole conclusion. The psalmist does not crown himself. He crowns God. He does not say, God heard me because I was worthy. He says God did not turn His mercy from me. The answer to prayer rests upon the mercy of God.
This is the proper conclusion of the psalm. The worshipper has praised God’s universal rule, God’s mighty acts for Israel, God’s refining work through affliction, God’s deliverance into abundance, God’s acceptance of worship, God’s hearing of prayer, and God’s mercy toward the individual believer. The final note is mercy because mercy is the only reason sinners can stand before God at all.
There is also an important theological logic in Psalm 66:18, 19, and 20. The psalmist says that if he regarded iniquity in his heart, the Lord would not hear him. Then he says that God certainly heard him. One might expect him to conclude by boasting that there was therefore no iniquity in his heart. Instead, he blesses God for mercy. That is sound spiritual reasoning. The believer does not turn answered prayer into self praise. He turns it into worship. God gets the crown.
Psalm 66 therefore teaches that everyone can praise God because God is worthy at every level. All the earth should praise Him because He is the sovereign Lord of all creation. Israel should praise Him because He delivered and preserved His covenant people. The individual believer should praise Him because God hears prayer, receives worship, refines through affliction, delivers from trouble, and does not turn His mercy away.
