Psalm 66 explained: Come and See What God Has Done

Calling the whole earth (vv. 1-4)

The singer invites every nation, not just Israel, to praise God out loud and with joy. The line about enemies giving way before God literally pictures them pretending to submit, giving in from fear rather than from the heart.

Remembering the great crossings (vv. 5-7)

Turning the sea into dry land recalls Israel escaping Egypt through the sea, and walking through the waters may recall the later crossing of the Jordan River, though some read both lines as the same event. The singer speaks of rejoicing in God at that crossing as if standing there too, counting today's people as sharers in what their ancestors lived through.

Tested and brought through (vv. 8-12)

The people describe a hard time as silver heated to burn off impurities, as being caught in a trap, and as having others ride over their heads, and they see God's hand even in the hardship. We do not know which crisis this was, or when it happened, but it ends in a place the original word calls "overflowing," like richly watered land.

Keeping promises made in trouble (vv. 13-15)

The voice shifts from "we" to "I": someone who made promises to God while in danger now comes to the temple to keep them with burnt offerings, animals burned whole on the altar as a gift of thanks. Scholars are unsure whether this is a king or leader speaking for the nation or an ordinary worshiper.

A personal story of answered prayer (vv. 16-20)

The speaker invites anyone who honors God to hear what happened: he cried out, and God listened. The line about cherishing sin means holding on to wrongdoing with pleasure, so he is claiming an honest heart, not a perfect record.

Key verse: Psalm 66:20

Something to think about

When you look back on a hard stretch you came through, what do you think shaped both the difficulty and the way out of it?