Psalms 66 KJV
Praise for God's Mighty Works
About This Psalm
Come and see what God has done! A public testimony of answered prayer. When God comes through, tell everyone.
1ake a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.
3 Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
4 All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
5 Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.
7 He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
8 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:
9 Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.
10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
11 Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.
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.
13 I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.
16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
17 I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
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Did You Know?
The psalm's shift from plural communal praise recounting national deliverances to singular personal vows in verses 13-20 mirrors the covenantal movement from Israelโs collective story to the individualโs responsive worship, a pattern also seen in Deuteronomyโs structure.
Verse 6โs dual reference to the sea becoming dry land and passing through the river subtly conflates the Red Sea crossing with the Jordan River event, creating a typological chain that presents these as repeated manifestations of the same creational-redemptive power.
The refining imagery in verse 10, where God tests his people like silver, draws on ancient metallurgical practices involving repeated heating and skimming, implying that affliction serves not mere punishment but purification toward greater purity and value.
Verse 18โs stipulation against regarding iniquity in the heart as a barrier to being heard introduces a rare explicit psychological condition for prayerโs efficacy, paralleling prophetic critiques in Isaiah and Ezekiel that prioritize internal integrity over ritual.
Though lacking any Davidic attribution in its superscription, the psalmโs placement among the โElohisticโ collection (Psalms 42-83) and its universal summons to all nations align it with post-exilic emphases on Gentile inclusion seen in Second Isaiah.