Psalms 66:17

17 I cried to him with my mouth; and I joyed fully under my tongue. (I cried to him with my mouth; and I praised him with my tongue.)

Psalms 66:17 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 66:17

I cried unto him with my mouth
Crying designs prayer, and supposes distress; and crying with the mouth denotes vocal, ardent, and fervent prayer;

and he was extolled with my tongue:
at the same time the psalmist prayed for deliverance out of his distresses, he praised God for the mercies he had received: and did, as the Apostle Paul directs, make known his requests with thanksgiving, ( Philippians 4:6 ) ; or "he was exalted under my tongue" ^F7; that is, in his heart, as some interpret it; his heart and his mouth went together; and out of the abundance of his heart his tongue spoke of the goodness, kindness, and mercy of God to him. The Targum is,

``and his promise was under my tongue;''

and so he was very different from a wicked man, who keeps iniquity under his tongue, as a sweet morsel, ( Job 20:12 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 (ynwvl txt) "sublingua mea", Montanus, Tigurine version, Vatablus, Musculus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.

Psalms 66:17 In-Context

15 I shall offer to thee burnt sacrifices full of marrow, with the burning of rams; I shall offer to thee oxes with bucks of goats.

16 All ye that dread God, come and hear, and I shall tell; how great things he hath done to my soul. (All ye who fear God, come and listen; and I shall tell you what great things he hath done for my soul./All ye who revere God, come and listen; and I shall tell you what great things he hath done for me.)

17 I cried to him with my mouth; and I joyed fully under my tongue. (I cried to him with my mouth; and I praised him with my tongue.)

18 If I beheld wickedness in mine heart; the Lord shall not hear. (And if I had still held wickedness in my heart; then the Lord would not have heard me.)

19 Therefore God heard; and he perceived the voice of my beseeching. (But truly God did hear me; and he hath listened to the words of my plea.)