Psalm 66:1-20

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

Psalm 66:1-20[1]

To the chief Musician, A Song [or] Psalm.

Make a joyful noise to God, all lands.  Sing forth the honor of His name.  Make His praise glorious.  Say to God,

“How terrifying [are] Your works!  Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.  All the earth shall worship You, and shall sing to You.  They shall sing [to] Your name.”  Consider.

Come and see the works of God.  [He is] terrifying [in His] doing to the children of men.  He turned the sea[2] dry.  They went through the flood[3] on foot.  There we rejoiced in Him.  He rules by His power forever.  His eyes behold the nations.  Let not the rebellious exalt themselves.  Consider.

Bless our God, you people.  Make the voice of His praise heard.  Who holds our soul in life, and lets not our feet be moved: for You, O God, have proved us.  You have tried us, as silver is tried.[4]  You brought us to the net.  You laid affliction on our loins.  You have caused men to ride over our heads.  We went through fire and through water.  But You brought us out to a wealthy [place].

I will go to Your house with burnt offerings.  I will pay my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth has spoken, when I was in trouble.  I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams.  I will offer bulls with goats.  Consider.

Come [and] hear, all who fear God.  I will declare what He has done for my soul.  I cried to Him with my mouth.  He was extolled with my tongue.  If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear [me].  [But] God has certainly heard [me].  He has attended to the voice of my prayer.

Blessed [be] God, Who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me.[5]

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[1] The argument of this unknown psalmist invites the entire Universe to worship God.  He shows that this will certainly take place, because God’s power is so clearly displayed.  This is not an assertion that might makes right; but rather that righteousness displayed in power does bring justice and righteousness to reality.

For evidence of God’s righteous power, we need look no farther than the historic and miraculous crossing of the Red Sea and the Jordan River.  While modern man in futility searches to deny the facts of this history, the Israelites built their whole nation around it.  Moreover, the psalmist expects his words to be universally received and readily believed by all.  The psalmist’s whole discussion is laid on the firm foundation of these two historic facts.

While it is impossible to be certain of the reference in this paragraph, because of its location in the Psalter (it is a good fit with the Psalms for Korah), and because of the Psalm’s flow of logic; it seems likely that this wraps up all the horror of Assyria’s conquest of the Northern Kingdom, together with Babylon’s conquest of the Southern Kingdom, and looks at both from the perspective of the return around 517 BC.

In the Israelite worldview, having returned to Jerusalem, the primary goal in mind is to resume the bloody sacrifices with their attendant prayers of gratitude and praise.

This next paragraph notes that prayer must come from a pure heart.  This accords very well with the national lessons of repentance learned in Babylon.  It would appear that after 517 pagan idolatry was gone from Judaism.  Since God has heard the psalmist’s prayer, he must be purified.  This is not to say that the psalmist has ceased from sin bodily, nor must we become bodily pure to pray and be used by God.  Rather the purity is that of a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17).  God does not look for perfection from His people, but for fear and love.  It is the act of “regard[ing] iniquity in [the] heart” that defiles, rather than accidental stumbling in sin.  The person who “regard[s] iniquity in [the] heart” makes sinning the purpose of life.  The person who does not “regard iniquity in [the] heart” regrets that he has stumbled even once.  This is true holiness; it is not perfect purity.

For all these things, God is indeed blessed.  Chiefest of all God’s displays of righteous power is His mercy for sinners.

[2] The Red or Reed Sea, so named because the reeds are red in color.  The reference is to the crossing with Moses.

[3] The flood stage of the Jordan River.  The reference is to the crossing with Joshua.

[4] Very possibly, a reference to the Babylonian captivity.

[5] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.

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