Psalms 66:2-12

2 Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious.[a]
3 Say to God, "How awe-inspiring are Your works! Your enemies will cringe before You because of Your great strength.
4 All the earth will worship You[b] and sing praise to You. They will sing praise to Your name." Selah
5 Come and see the works of God;[c] His acts toward mankind are awe-inspiring.
6 He turned the sea into dry land, and they crossed the river on foot.[d] There we rejoiced in Him.
7 He rules forever by His might; He keeps His eye on the nations.[e] The rebellious should not exalt themselves. Selah
8 Praise our God, you peoples; let the sound of His praise be heard.
9 He keeps us alive[f] and does not allow our feet to slip.[g]
10 For You, God, tested us;[h] You refined us as silver is refined.[i]
11 You lured us into a trap;[j] You placed burdens on our backs.
12 You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water,[k] but You brought us out to abundance.[l] [m]

Psalms 66:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, A Song [or] Psalm. This psalm does not bear the name of David in the title of it, yet is generally thought to be one of his; but because the plural number is used in it, which is not so common in David's psalms, Aben Ezra is of opinion it is not his, but written by the singers. This is not a sufficient objection: and besides, in Psalm 66:13, the singular number is used. The Arabic version ascribes it to David, and that version makes the subject matter of it to be "concerning the resurrection"; as do the Septuagint, Ethiopic, and Vulgate Latin versions. The title of the Syriac version is, "concerning sacrifices and burnt offerings, and the incense of rams; the spiritual sense intimates to us the calling of the Gentiles, and the preaching, that is, of the Gospel;" which comes nearest the truth: for the psalm respects Gospel times, and the church of Christ under the New Testament, spread throughout the world, and especially as it will be in the latter day; see Psalm 66:1; and so in Yalkut Simeoni on the psalm, it is said to be a psalm for time to come, and agrees with Zephaniah 3:9; "I will turn to the people a pure language," &c. Kimchi says it is a psalm concerning the gathering of the captives of Israel; and so Jarchi and Obadiah expound it; and Theodoret says David wrote this psalm for the captives in Babylon.

Footnotes 13

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