Psalms 66:1-8

Praise for God's Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.

1 1Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
2 Sing the 2glory of His name; Make His 3praise glorious.
3 Say to God, "How 4awesome are Your works! Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will 5give feigned obedience to You.
4 "6All the earth will worship You, And will 7sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name." Selah.
5 8Come and see the works of God, Who is 9awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
6 He 10turned the sea into dry land; They passed through 11the river on foot; There let us 12rejoice in Him!
7 He 13rules by His might forever; His 14eyes keep watch on the nations; Let not the rebellious 15exalt themselves. Selah.
8 Bless our God, O peoples, And 16sound * His praise abroad,

Psalms 66:1-8 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.

Cross References 16

  • 1. Psalms 81:1; Psalms 95:1; Psalms 98:4; Psalms 100:1
  • 2. Psalms 79:9; Isaiah 42:8
  • 3. Isaiah 42:12
  • 4. Psalms 47:2; Psalms 65:5; Psalms 145:6
  • 5. Psalms 18:44; Psalms 81:15
  • 6. Psalms 22:27; Psalms 67:7; Psalms 86:9; Psalms 117:1; Zechariah 14:16
  • 7. Psalms 67:4
  • 8. Psalms 46:8
  • 9. Psalms 106:22
  • 10. Exodus 14:21; Psalms 106:9
  • 11. Joshua 3:16; Psalms 114:3
  • 12. Psalms 105:43
  • 13. Psalms 145:13
  • 14. Psalms 11:4
  • 15. Psalms 140:8
  • 16. Psalms 98:4

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Lit "deceive"
  • [b]. "Selah" may mean: "Pause, Crescendo" or "Musical interlude"
  • [c]. Lit "cause to hear the sound of His praise"
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