A LIFE OF PRAISE

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Psalm 66:1-20 ESV

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[a] my tongue.[b]

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 66:1 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.

To the choirmaster

This was to be used in temple worship.

Transpose this to our day.

This psalm is to be used by Christians when we gather at church.

The gathering together of the people of God is assumed here.

The corporate assembly of the people of God is not to be neglected.

Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Do not neglect to meet together

Do not forsake assembling together

The noun → ‘Assembling together’

Greek: ‘episynagōgē’

This term is where we get the word synagogue

Today, we call it a church.

Do not neglect to come to church.

God expects & commands for us to be a part of a local church.

Jesus loves the local church.

Jesus gave His life so that we could be a member of the body of Christ.

He wants us to belong.

The local church is a gracious gift to us.

Do not neglect to meet together

Psalm 66:1 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.

The superscription does not reveal to us the author

We don’t know the author

But the message & theme is PRAISE

The subject & the substance is God.

Psalm 66:1-2 ESV

1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth;

2 sing the glory of his name;

give to him glorious praise!

We were created by God to worship God.

Our greatest desire is to see God highly honored & rightly worshiped

Spurgeon once said:

“It is our glory to give God glory.” – C.H. Spurgeon

Psalm 66:1-2 ESV

1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth;

2 sing the glory of his name;

give to him glorious praise!

Similar to the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer:

"Our Father, Who art in heaven,

hallowed be Thy name;

Thy kingdom come;

Thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

We want all of the earth to shout for joy unto God

All the earth

All the lands

All the peoples

All the nations

Psalm 66:3 ESV

3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!

So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.

To acknowledge God & all His works as awesome & fearful is right & good & acceptable

Proper posture of the heart of man.

Rejoice with trembling.

The world will either repent & say to God now, “How awesome are your deeds!”

Or

Eventually all of God’s enemies will come cringing to Him.

This is why we pray:

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Psalm 66:4 ESV

4 All the earth worships you

and sings praises to you;

they sing praises to your name.” Selah

All of creation is worshiping God all of the time.

The skies, the seas, the birds, the trees…

ALL are singing praises to God.

Psalm 66:4 ESV

4 All the earth worships you

and sings praises to you;

they sing praises to your name.” Selah

Selah is most likely a musical term → for the choirmaster.

Indicates a pause or a musical instrumental

Might possibly mean:

“raise voices in praise” or

“make the instruments louder.”

Psalm 66:5 ESV

5 Come and see what God has done:

he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.

‘Come and see’ is inviting all the world to bear witness & realize God’s awesomeness in His deeds

‘toward the children of man’

God’s deeds are significant for all of humanity

Psalm 66:6 ESV

6 He turned the sea into dry land;

they passed through the river on foot.

There did we rejoice in him,

God’s awesomeness is revealed by:

The Israelites crossing of the Red Sea at the exodus

And the crossing of the Jordan River as they entered the Promised Land

NOTICE:

They walked through the Red Sea on dry land

They passed through the Jordan River on foot

There did WE rejoice in him

The idea expressed here seems to be that we were there.

Their joy has been made into our joy

These 2 scenes present powerful imagery for us today

The Red Sea

The Jordan River

All of God’s enemies will be finally defeated.

Psalm 91:7-8 ESV

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

8 You will only look with your eyes

and see the recompense of the wicked.

Psalm 66:6-7 ESV

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

God is the ruler of all nations

And if any people become too proud…

Like Pharaoh of the exodus story…

Like Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon

Like Alexander the great

Like Caesar

God sees their pride

God knows their hearts as they exalt themselves

God will humble them.

Jesus said:

“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matt 23:12)

Psalm 66:8-12 ESV

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.

He has kept our soul

He has not allowed our feet to slip

Physical protection + Spiritual protection + Moral protection

Being tested & tried is the language of the refiner’s fire

Hebrews 12:7 ESV

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Hebrews 12:11 ESV

11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

“…yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.”

This points to the overflow of life that we get to experience after seasons of testing & trial & suffering

Augustine said:

“You threw us into fire, but like silver, not like straw, for you did not reduce us to ashes but purged us of dross. Think how fiercely God tries those whose souls he has established in life…All these things the whole Church suffered throughout many persecutions: individual churches have also had to endure them, and still do today…God seems to be acting very severely when he does these things; but do not be afraid. He is our Father, and his severity never destroys us.” – Augustine

Psalm 66:13-15 ESV

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

This is an extravagant offering

King’s offering

Pales in comparison to the offering made by Jesus.

How should we respond?

Romans 12:1 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual [rational worship].

Ephesians 5:2 ESV

2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

How will you present your body as a living sacrifice?

How will you walk in love for Christ & his church?

How will you give yourself for the sake of others?

Perform your vows

Keep your promises to God

Give to God what he is due

Offer unto him a sacrifice of praise

Psalm 66:16-19 ESV

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[a] my tongue.[b]

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.

We have the opportunity to share what God has done for us.

NOTICE the interesting caveat in verse 18:

Psalm 66:18 ESV

18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened.

We must hate our sin

God knows our hearts

Walk in the light

Walk with a clear conscience before God

He is eager to forgive us and cleanse us from our sin

Psalm 66:20 ESV

20 Blessed be God,

because he has not rejected my prayer

or removed his steadfast love from me!

He hears our prayers

He loves his people with an everlasting love

Jesus, lover of my soul

Jesus, You will never let me go

You've taken me from the miry clay

You've set my feet upon the rock

And now I know

I love you

I need you

Though my world may fall

I'll never let You go

My Savior

My closest Friend

I will worship You until the very end