Psalm 66:5-15

5 ¹Come and see the works of God, Who is ²awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.

6 He ³turned the sea into dry land; They passed through ⁴the river on foot; There let us ⁵rejoice in Him!

7 He ⁶rules by His might forever; His ⁷eyes keep watch on the nations; Let not the rebellious ⁸exalt themselves. Selah.

8 Bless our God, O peoples, And ⁹sound * His praise abroad,

9 Who ¹⁰keeps us in life And ¹¹does not allow our feet to slip.

10 For You have ¹²tried us, O God; You have ¹³refined us as silver is refined.

11 You ¹⁴brought us into the net; You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.

12 You made men ¹⁵ride over our heads; We went through ¹⁶fire and through water, Yet You ¹⁷brought us out into a place of abundance.

13 I shall ¹⁸come into Your house with burnt offerings; I shall ¹⁹pay You my vows,

14 Which my lips uttered And my mouth spoke when I was ²⁰in distress.

15 I shall ²¹offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts, With the smoke of ²²rams; I shall make an offering of bulls with male goats. Selah.

Psalm 66:5-15 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

• 1. Psalms 46:8
• 2. Psalms 106:22
• 3. Exodus 14:21; Psalms 106:9
• 4. Joshua 3:16; Psalms 114:3
• 5. Psalms 105:43
• 6. Psalms 145:13
• 7. Psalms 11:4
• 8. Psalms 140:8
• 9. Psalms 98:4
• 10. Psalms 30:3
• 11. Psalms 121:3
• 12. Job 23:10; Psalms 7:9; Psalms 17:3; Psalms 26:2
• 13. Isaiah 48:10; Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:3; 1 Peter 1:7
• 14. Lamentations 1:13; Ezekiel 12:13
• 15. Isaiah 51:23
• 16. Psalms 78:21; Isaiah 43:2
• 17. Psalms 18:19
• 18. Psalms 96:8; Jeremiah 17:26
• 19. Psalms 22:25; Psalms 116:14; Ecclesiastes 5:4
• 20. Psalms 18:6
• 21. Psalms 51:19
• 22. Numbers 6:14

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "cause to hear the sound of His praise"
• [b] Lit "puts our soul in life"
• [c] Or "dodder, stumble"
• [d] Or "cattle"