January 7
Reading: Psalm 66
To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.
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 on my tongue.
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!
Psalm 66 has no claim of Davidic authorship, but it follows Psalm 65 in mood and message. After the King has lifted up the works of the Lord in Psalm 65, now the congregation is called into devout worship. Each section of this psalm, divided by musical interludes, begins with a command.
“Shout for joy to God, all the earth.” (vs. 1)
“Come and see what God has done.” (vs. 5)
“Bless our God, O peoples.” (vs. 8)
“Come and hear, all you who fear God.” (vs. 16)
Each command serves as an invitation to worship.
Work your way through this psalm and make a list of everything that God is praised for. It is astounding. Consider the thematic message of each section:
vss. 1-4 God is worshipped by all the earth.
vss. 5-8 God is great over all nations in His power to save.
vss. 9-15 God preserves our life so that we can worship Him.
vss. 16-20 God listens to my prayers.
Verses 3-4 reveal an amazing picture of praise rendered to God by every person on earth. There will come a day when even those who have hated God will be forced to acknowledge that He is God alone and deserves their praise. It will not help them, but it will honor God.
I love the beginning of verse 5, “Come and see what God has done.” For every Christian who truly loves God, this is their passionate cry to friends, relatives, and companions at work who do not know the Lord. “Come and see what God has done in my life, in my family, at my church. We are not a bunch of religiousy people who sit in pews amid incomprehensible sayings. We are people just like you who have been transformed by a loving God.”
This psalm begins with God as the God of all. Then He is God of His people. And finally, the only true God, who made the universe and formed me, hears my prayers whenever I pray. It is overwhelming.