Psalms 66:7-17

7 He 1rules by His might forever; His 2eyes keep watch on the nations; Let not the rebellious 3exalt themselves. Selah.
8 Bless our God, O peoples, And 4sound * His praise abroad,
9 Who 5keeps us in life And 6does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For You have 7tried us, O God; You have 8refined us as silver is refined.
11 You 9brought us into the net; You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
12 You made men 10ride over our heads; We went through 11fire and through water, Yet You 12brought us out into a place of abundance.
13 I shall 13come into Your house with burnt offerings; I shall 14pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered And my mouth spoke when I was 15in distress.
15 I shall 16offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts, With the smoke of 17rams; I shall make an offering of bulls with male goats. Selah.
16 18Come and hear, all who fear God, And I will 19tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was 20extolled with my tongue.

Psalms 66:7-17 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 20

  • 1. Psalms 145:13
  • 2. Psalms 11:4
  • 3. Psalms 140:8
  • 4. Psalms 98:4
  • 5. Psalms 30:3
  • 6. Psalms 121:3
  • 7. Job 23:10; Psalms 7:9; Psalms 17:3; Psalms 26:2
  • 8. Isaiah 48:10; Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:3; 1 Peter 1:7
  • 9. Lamentations 1:13; Ezekiel 12:13
  • 10. Isaiah 51:23
  • 11. Psalms 78:21; Isaiah 43:2
  • 12. Psalms 18:19
  • 13. Psalms 96:8; Jeremiah 17:26
  • 14. Psalms 22:25; Psalms 116:14; Ecclesiastes 5:4
  • 15. Psalms 18:6
  • 16. Psalms 51:19
  • 17. Numbers 6:14
  • 18. Psalms 34:11
  • 19. Psalms 71:15, 24
  • 20. Psalms 30:1

Footnotes 6

  • [a]. Lit "cause to hear the sound of His praise"
  • [b]. Lit "puts our soul in life"
  • [c]. Or "dodder, stumble"
  • [d]. Or "cattle"
  • [e]. Or "revere"
  • [f]. Or "praise was under my tongue"
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