Psalm 66

Psalm 66 belongs to Book II of the Psalms (Psalms 42–72). Its superscription names no author. The preceding psalm, Psalm 65, praises God for giving the land rain and its produce. Psalm 66 extends that praise to all the earth and carries it forward into the deliverance experienced by the community and the thanksgiving of an individual.

Structure

• Verses 1–4 call all the earth to sing praise to God's name. Because the Lord's works are awesome, His enemies will submit to Him and all the earth will worship Him.
• Verses 5–7 invite the hearer: "Come and see the works of God." They recall how God turned the sea into dry land and how the people went through the river on foot. Before the God who rules forever and whose eyes behold the nations, the rebellious are warned not to exalt themselves.
• Verses 8–12 call the peoples to bless God. The psalmist confesses that God tested His people as silver is refined. He brought them into the net, laid heavy burdens on them, and led them through fire and through water, but in the end He brought them out into a wealthy place.
• Verses 13–15 shift the speaker from "we" to "I." The psalmist declares that he will enter the Lord's house with burnt offerings (sacrifices wholly consumed by fire) to pay the vows his mouth spoke in time of trouble. The offerings named are rams, bullocks, and goats.
• Verses 16–20 summon those who fear God to hear what God has done for the psalmist's soul. Had he regarded iniquity in his heart, the Lord would not have heard; but the psalmist praises God, who has not turned away his prayer nor His mercy from him.

Key Verses

• Psalm 66:5 "Come and see the works of God" – a verse that grounds praise in the memory of the Exodus.
• Psalm 66:10 "Thou hast tried us, as silver is tried" – an expression that interprets suffering as refining (strengthening by fire).
• Psalm 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" – frequently cited in discussions of the relationship between prayer and the disposition of the heart.

People and Places

• No individual is named. The speaker alternates between the community ("we") and an individual ("I").
• The sea – The sea in verse 6 is commonly understood to refer to the crossing of the Red Sea during the Exodus.
• The river – The river the people crossed on foot. It is commonly read as a reference to the crossing of the Jordan River (Joshua 3). Some interpreters instead view it as a poetic restatement of the Red Sea event.
• The Lord's house – The place where the psalmist offers sacrifices in verse 13. It is generally taken to be the sanctuary, that is, the Temple in Jerusalem.

Points for Reflection

• Selah appears three times, in verses 4, 7, and 15.
• Interpretations differ regarding the shift of speaker from "we" to "I." Some regard the psalm as a song in which individual thanksgiving is added to communal thanksgiving; others take the voice to be that of a king or leader representing the community.
• Some connect the psalm to a specific event, such as the withdrawal of the Assyrian army in the time of Hezekiah. The text itself, however, records no specific historical event.
• The superscription in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) is reported to include the added words "of resurrection."
• Verse 18 is often read not as meaning that only the sinless receive answers to prayer, but as a warning against harboring unrepented sin in the heart.
• The psalm is read alongside the New Testament as follows:
• Verse 10 is read together with 1 Peter 1:7, which likens the trial of faith to gold tried with fire.
• Verse 18 is read together with John 9:31.
• The sacrifices of verses 13–15 are sometimes read together with Hebrews 13:15–16, which speaks of praise as a sacrifice.

In the Korean Church

Verse 10 is frequently cited in sermons on suffering and refinement, and verse 18 in sermons on prayer and repentance. Because the psalm speaks of vows and thanksgiving, it is also used as a text for worship services centered on the theme of thanksgiving.