Shout for Joy!

Psalm 66

1 To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm. Shout for joy to God, all the earth;

2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!

3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.

4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah

5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.

6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him,

7 who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations— let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

8 Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard,

9 who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.

10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.

11 You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs;

12 you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you,

14 that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.

15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.

17 I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue.

18I f I had cherished iniquity in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened.

19 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!

Psalm 66 thoughts:

Verse 1

Shout for Joy

- People can shout for thier favorite sports teams.

- We can ring bells and shout at stock markets. 

- We can shout for movie stars or musicians at concerts.

We can find any number of things to shout about, but David reminds us the one thing we should be shouting about and also being the most joyful for is GOD's name - Jesus Christ the one whom GOD said - "You are my beloved Son with you I am well pleased.”

Do you want to be in agreement with the GOD of the universe? Be pleased with the one that pleases him. See Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22, 2 Peter 1:17

Verse 2

Revelation 5:9 — And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,

Jesus was slain, his blood paid the ransom for sin and redeemed people for GOD from every nation. 

Verse 3 

"your enemies come cringing to you."

Mark 1:24 — “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? (They are seriously terrified) I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”

James 2:19 — You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

Still another thought even though they shudder and are terrifed of GOD, they continue to rebel and choose disobedience.

Verse 4

This is the Psalmist's prophetic look into the future. It obviously wasn't happening in his day, but there is coming a day after the great throne judgment and the lake of fire when all the enemies of GOD will be gone. Then the whole earth will indeed worship and sing praises to Jesus. 

Verse 5

Come see what the LORD has done:

- created light, space, time, and matter.

- created the Heavens 

- created all the spiritual beings 

- created the earth and a continually expanding universe 

- created amazing sites, places, fish, birds, bugs, animals.

- took pottery making to ultimate level and made out of dirt a person and breathed life into him and if that wasn't hard enough took a piece of the first masterpiece and created another that was beautiful and made the original jar of clay experience the first "eye pop."     👀  😲  💥  🤯  😍

- implemented his plan of redemption that was put in place before anything was made.

- He took Enoch (and recorded it) to show us thst despite sin and death, GOD can and will save us, he had a plan.

- He saved 8 people alive and cleansed a fallen demon infected world.

- Blessed 8 flawed and sinful people and repopulated a new world and formed nations from thier descendants.

- Out of Man's continued disobedience and becausr of Babel, GOD created languages, disinherited the nations and also created new offices and responsibilities for spiritual beings in regards to watching over, directing, discipling the nations. (Before the flood some of them obviously had to much free time)

- GOD created a fresh started with a man named Abram and his wife Sarai. GOD took two people who anyone else would look at and considered them good as dead and formed a nation from his descendants.

- This article would be so much longer if we continued through the Pentateuch, the prophets, wisdom literature, and up to and beyond the new testament. Read Hebrews 11:1-40 for more - "come and see what the LORD has done." In describing Jesus' short time on Earth the apostle John wrote this in John 21:25 — Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Verse 6

Exodus 14::21-22: - Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

When GOD tells them, "Woe, stay!", they listen. Job 38:11 — and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

GOD speaks and the waters obey, humans are 60% water perhaps we should be listening  more?

Verse 7 

"His eyes keep watch over the nations"

2 Chronicles 16:9 — For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”

When I read this it makes me think of Roz from the Movie Monsters, "I'm watching you Wazowski, always watching." 😂

As funny as that is it should cause our nations and rulers, principalities, and powers pause to consider thier actions.

Verse 8

Harking back to verse one after everything we just covered it gives us a ton of reasons to bless the LORD and sing praises to him.

Verse 9

GOD preserves a remnant.

1 Kings 19:18 — Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

GOD preserves a people for himself.

Titus 2:14 — who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Are you zealous for things like the FIFA World Cup? How's you zeal compare for the things that matter to GOD? Is he worthy of your/my zeal?

Verses 10 - 12

James 1:3 — for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

Steadfastness - a patient enduring, sustaining, consistent perseverance.

James 1:4 — And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

GOD is building in you and me a faith (trust) in him that is complete and pure.

Verses 13-15

The Psalmist offers from what he knows amd what Moses commanded, but just like the old and new covenant there is a better way.

Samuel understood it — And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22

David grasped the idea in Psalm 40:6 — In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

and in Psalm 51:16-17 —For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Finally in Hosea 6:6 — For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Verse 16-17

Your testimony matters, tell people especially those who fear (respect) GOD, what he has done for your soul. Let it be praise to him from your lips to all who will listen.

Verse 18

Are your prayers bouncing off the ceiling? 

The Psalmist gives us one example of why GOD won't answer our prayers. Don't cherish sin, we need to check our hearts.

Verses 19-20

The Psalmist recognizes that GOD has answered his prayers and GOD's love abides on him.

My prayer that we would all see GOD's great love for us in that when we were still lost in our sin, dead, unlovable, rebellious Christ died for you and me. By acknowledging his great love for us we would be bold to shout, sing, praise, be zealous, be obedient, and testify of all he has done in our lives and bless him. Thank you LORD in Jesus name amen.