Psalms 66:1

1 To victory, the song of [the] psalm. All the earth, make ye joy heartily to God (All the earth, heartily make ye joy to God),

Psalms 66:1 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 66:1

Make a joyful noise unto God
The Creator of the ends of the earth; the Provider for all his creatures; and the Dispenser of the blessings of grace, under the Gospel dispensation, to men in all countries. The Messiah may well be thought to be intended, since the psalm refers to Gospel times; who is God over all, blessed for ever; to whom a joyful noise, shouts, and acclamations, are to be made by all his subjects, true believers in him, in all lands, as to their King; see ( Numbers 23:21 ) ; who is ascended on high, has led captivity captive; received gifts for then, and gives them to them; is enthroned on his Father's right hand, is crowned with glory and honour, where he reigns, and must reign, till all enemies are put under his feet; when his kingdom will be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth: and upon the destruction of his enemies, and the enlargement of his kingdom in the latter day, voices will be heard in heaven, the church; and such joyful noises as are here exhorted and directed to, ( Revelation 19:1-7 ) ( 11:15-17 ) ( Revelation 15:3 Revelation 15:4 ) . Moreover, such acclamations are suitable to him, as a victorious conqueror; who, at his death, overcame sin, Satan, the world, and death itself; and, by the ministry of the Gospel, went forth conquering, and to conquer; and has subdued many people in all nations, and caused his ministers to triumph in him in every place; and who, by his Spirit and grace, still continues to bring souls to a subjection to him, to dispossess Satan from them, to set up his throne in their hearts, and reign there, and to make them more than conquerors through himself that has loved them: of which there will be more numerous instances in the latter day; and all such are under great obligations to make a joyful noise unto him, or to express their joy and thankfulness in loud singing of his praises;

all ye lands;
that is, all the inhabitants of the earth, as the Targum; not Judea, to which some restrain it, but the whole earth: for Christ is the Saviour of some, in all countries, of the children of God, that are scattered abroad throughout the whole world, for whom he is a propitiation. The Gospel has been sent to all nations, and preached to every creature; some in all lands have been converted, and made partakers of the blessings and privileges of the Gospel, and therefore have reason to be glad and make a joyful noise; and the more so, inasmuch as they were in a state of great darkness and ignorance before, without Christ, without hope, and without God in the world.

Psalms 66:1 In-Context

1 To victory, the song of [the] psalm. All the earth, make ye joy heartily to God (All the earth, heartily make ye joy to God),
2 say ye psalm to his name; give ye glory to his praising. (sing ye a song to his name; give ye him glorious praise.)
3 Say ye to God, Lord, thy works be full dreadful; in the multitude of thy virtue thine enemies shall lie (down) to thee. (Say ye to God, Lord, thy works be very fearful/how awesome be thy works; because of thy great strength thy enemies shall fall down before thee.)
4 God, all the earth worship thee, and sing to thee; say it psalm to thy name. (God, let all the earth worship thee, and sing to thee; yea, sing they a song to thy name.)
5 Come ye and see ye the works of God; fearedful in counsels on the sons of men (fearful, or awesome, in his counsels toward the sons and daughters of men).
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.