PSALM 66 COMME�TARYEDITED BY GLE�� PEASE

For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

I�TRODUCTIO�

SPURGEO�, "TITLE. To the Chief Musician. He had need be a man of great skill, worthily to sing such a Psalm as this: the best music in the world would be honoured by marriage with such expressions. A Song or Psalm, or a Song and Psalm. It may be either said or sung; it is a marvellous poem if it be but read; but set to suitable music, it must have been one of the noblest strains ever heard by the Jewish people. We do not know who is its author, but we see no reason to doubt that David wrote it. It is in the Davidic style, and has nothing in it unsuited to his times. It is true the "house" of God is mentioned, but the tabernacle was entitled to that designation as well as the temple.SUBJECT A�D DIVISIO�. Praise is the topic, and the subjects for song are the Lord's great works, his gracious benefits, his faithful deliverances, and all his dealings with his people, brought to a close by a personal testimony to special kindness received by the prophet bard himself. Psalms 66:1-4 are a kind of introductory hymn, calling upon all nations to praise God, and dictating to them the words of a suitable song. Psalms 66:5-7 invite the beholder to "Come and see" the works of the Lord, pointing attention to the Red Sea, and perhaps the passage of Jordan. This suggests the similar position of the afflicted people which is described, and its joyful issue predicted, Psalms 66:8-12. The singer then becomes personal, and confesses his own obligations to the Lord (Psalms 66:13-15); and, bursting forth with a vehement "Come and hear, "declares with thanksgiving the special favour of the Lord to himself, Psalms 66:16-20.

COKE, "Title. מזמור שיר למנצח lamnatseach shiir mizmor.— This psalm has not David's name to it; nor is it known upon what occasion it was composed. Bishop Patrick's conjecture seems as probable as any other; namely, that it was written by David after God had advanced him to the throne, and peaceably settled him in his kingdom. But thus much only is certain, that it was composed upon some extraordinary national deliverance. See Psalms 66:13. The Psalmist introduces it with the general Providence which God had exercised over his people; especially at their coming out of Egypt; for which he calls upon all the earth to celebrate his glory. The title of the LXX is, "A Psalm of the Resurrection."

ELLICOTT, "The compilers of the Psalter found no tradition of authorship attached to this Psalm, and did not themselves conjecture one, nor have we any guide towards the time of its composition beyond the tone of innocence assumed in the last part, which marks that part as belonging to a period subsequent to the captivity, when persecution and suffering were no longer regarded as punishment for national disloyalty to the covenant. The poetical form is uncertain, but there is a marked change in the rhythm at Psalms 66:13, and some commentators regard the psalm as composite.

Title.—See titles, Psalms 4, 48

Here there is a peculiarity in the absence of any author’s name after the double title song, psalm. (Comp. Psalms 67, where the words are reversed.)

1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth!

BAR�ES, "Make a joyful noise unto God - literally, “Shout.” It is a call for exultation and praise.

All ye lands - Margin, as in Hebrew, all the earth. The occasion was one that made universal exultation and praise proper. They who had been so deeply affected by the gracious interposition of God, could not but call on all the nations of the earth to unite with them in the expression of joy. The deliverance was so great that they wished all to rejoice with them (compare Luk_15:6, Luk_15:9); and the intervention of God in the case of his people, furnished lessons about his character which gave occasion to all men to rejoice.

CLARKE, "Make a joyfull noise - Sing aloud to God, all ye lands - all ye people who, from different parts of the Babylonish empire, are now on return to your own land.

GILL, "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 Num_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, Rev_19:1. 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.

HE�RY, "I. In these verses the psalmist calls upon all people to praise God, all lands, all the earth, all the inhabitants of the world that are capable of praising God, Psa_66:1. 1. This speaks the glory of God, that he is worthy to be praised by all, for he is good to all and furnishes every nation with matter for praise. 2. The duty of man, that all are obliged to praise God; it is part of the law of creation, and therefore is required of every creature. 3. A prediction of the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ; the time should come when all lands should praise God, and this incense should in every place be offered to him. 4. A hearty good-will which the psalmist had to this good work of praising God. He will abound in it himself, and wishes that God might have his tribute paid him by all the nations of the earth and not by the land of Israel only. He excites all lands, (1.) To make a joyful noise to God. Holy joy is that devout affection which should animate all our praises; and, though it is not making a noise in religion that God will accept

of (hypocrites are said to cause their voice to be heard on high, Isa_58:4), yet, in praising God, [1.] We must be hearty and zealous, and must do what we do with all our might, with all that is within us. [2.] We must be open and public, as those that are not ashamed of our Master. And both these are implied in making a noise, a joyful noise. (2.) To sing with pleasure, and to sing forth, for the edification of others, the honour of his name, that is, of all that whereby he has made himself known, Psa_66:2. That which is the honour of God's name ought to be the matter of our praise. (3.) To make his praise glorious as far as we can. In praising God we must do it so as to glorify him, and that must be the scope and drift of all our praises. Reckon it your greatest glory to praise God, so some. It is the highest honour the creature is capable of to be to the Creator for a name and a praise.

JAMISO�, "Psa_66:1-20. The writer invites all men to unite in praise, cites some striking occasions for it, promises special acts of thanksgiving, and celebrates God’s great mercy.

Make ... noise — or, “Shout.”

K&D 1-4, "The phrase שים�כבוד�ל�שים�כבוד�ל�שים�כבוד�ל�שים�כבוד�ל� signifies “to give glory to God” in other passages (Jos_7:19; Isa_42:12), here with a second accusative, either (1) if

we take �ה�תו�ה�תו�ה�תו�ה�תו as an accusative of the object: facite laudationem ejus gloriam

= gloriosam (Maurer and others), or (2) if we take כבודכבודכבודכבוד as an accusative of the object and the former word as an accusative of the predicate: reddite

honorem laudem ejus (Hengstenberg), or (3) also by taking תהלתותהלתותהלתותהלתו as an apposition: reddite honorem, scil. laudem ejus (Hupfeld). We prefer the middle rendering: give glory as His praise, i.e., to Him as or for praise. It is unnecessary, with Hengstenberg, to render: How terrible art Thou in Thy

works! in that case might more מעשיך�מעשיך�מעשיך�מעשיך� .ought not to be wanting ��ה��ה��ה��ה readily be singular (Hupfeld, Hitzig); but these forms with the softened Jod of the root dwindle down to only a few instances upon closer consideration. The singular of the predicate (what a terrible affair) here, as frequently, e.g., Psa_119:137, precedes the plural designating things. The song into which the Psalmist here bids the nations break forth, is essentially one with the

song of the heavenly harpers in Rev_15:3., which begins, ΜεγάΜεγάΜεγάΜεγάλα�λα�λα�λα�κα!�θαυµαστ'�κα!�θαυµαστ'�κα!�θαυµαστ'�κα!�θαυµαστ'�

τ'�(τ'�(τ'�(τ'�(ργα�σουργα�σουργα�σουργα�σου.

CALVI�, "1.Shout unto God, all the earth The psalm begins with this general declaration, which is afterwards reduced to particulars. (467) He addresses himself to the whole world, and from this it would seem evident, that he predicts the extent to which the kingdom of God should reach at the coming of Christ. In the second verse the call is repeated with increasing vehemency, to stir up to the praises of God, such as might otherwise be remiss in the service. To sing the honor of his name, is an expression sufficiently obvious; meaning, that we should extol his sacred name in a manner suitable to its dignity, so that it may obtain its due and deserved adoration. But the clause which follows is rather ambiguous. Some think that it conveys a

repetition of the same idea contained in other words, and read, set forth the glory of his praise. (468) I prefer taking the Hebrew word signifyingpraise to be in the accusative case; rendering the words literally, make a glory his praise. And by this I understand him to mean, not as some do, that we should glory exclusively in his praises, (469) but simply, that we highly exalt his praises, that they may be glorious. The Psalmist is not satisfied with our declaring them moderately, and insists that we should celebrate his goodness in some measure proportionably to its excellence.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 1. Make a joyful noise unto God. "In Zion, "where the more instructed saints were accustomed to profound meditation, the song was silent unto God, and was accepted of him; but in the great popular assemblies a joyful noise was more appropriate and natural, and it would be equally acceptable. If praise is to be wide spread, it must be vocal; exulting sounds stir the soul and cause a sacred contagion of thanksgiving. Composers of tunes for the congregation should see to it that their airs are cheerful; we need not so much noise, as joyful noise. God is to be praised with the voice, and the heart should go therewith in holy exultation. All praise from all nations should be rendered unto the Lord. Happy the day when no shouts shall be presented to Juggernaut or Boodh, but all the earth shall adore the Creator thereof.All ye lands. Ye heathen nations, ye who have not known Jehovah hitherto, with one consent let the whole earth rejoice before God. The languages of the lands are many, but their praises should be one, addressed to one only God.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSWhole Psalm. This Psalm is said to be recited on Easter day, by the Greek church: it is described in the Greek Bible as A Psalm of the Resurrection, and may be understood to refer, in a prophetic sense, to the regeneration of the world, through the conversion of the Gentiles. Daniel Cresswell.Ver. 1. Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Hebrew, all the earth; shout aloud for joy, as the people did at the return of the ark, so that the earth rang again. God shall show himself to be the God not of Jews only, but of Gentiles also; these shall as well cry Christ, as those Jesus; these say, Father, as those Abba. And, as there was great joy in Samaria when the gospel was there received (Acts 8:8), so shall there be the like in all other parts of the earth. John Trapp.Ver. 1. All ye lands. Where, consider, that he does not sing praises well, who desires to sing alone. Thomas Le Blanc.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 66:1-3. Make a joyful noise, &c. all ye lands — Ye people of all nations, who have seen the wonderful power, wisdom, goodness, and faithfulness of God manifested in our deliverance, it becomes you to acknowledge it with admiration and joy. He invites the Gentile world to the contemplation and celebration of God’s works, to and for his people. Make his praise glorious — Praise him in an extraordinary and eminent degree, so as he may have much glory from you. Say, How terrible art those in thy works — To wit, to thine enemies, as it follows; through thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee —Hebrew, Wיכחשו ל, jechachashu lecha, shall lie unto thee; that is, profess subjection to thee, not sincerely and freely, but by constraint, and out of servile fear.

BI 1-20, "Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands.

Providence

The real theme of this psalm is in the last section: it is a psalm of thanksgiving for a special mercy experienced by an individual. But the account of this special providence is prefaced by two sections descriptive of the providence of God in general. This is in accordance with a law of the spiritual life. Those who enter into real experience of their own are thereby united with the entire religious experience of the race. There is no influence so broadening and refining as that of a living Christianity.

I. The providence of power (Psa_66:1-7). God is in the midst of His people like a watchman on the watch-tower, not only observing all that is taking place within the city of God, but keeping a keen outlook upon the enemies by whom the city is surrounded, lest the rebellious should exalt themselves (Psa_66:7). Of this protecting care an instance never to be forgotten was the scene at the Red Sea, when the flood was turned into dry land, and His people, who had been in mortal terror, had their apprehensions turned into rejoicings. Another was the passage of the Jordan, when they entered Canaan. These may be called the stock examples of Hebrew poetry. We have better instances supplied by subsequent history; but the great lesson is that all history belongs to us, and we are selling our birthright if we do not know how to travel through the tracts of the past and discern in them the footsteps of our God.

II. The providence of discipline (Psa_66:8-12). When God is celebrated merely as the Champion of His people, who discomfits their enemies, there is danger of boasting. But the psalmist is well aware that God sustains a more delicate relation to His people. He does not always prosper them; He does not always spare them disappointments and defeat. On the contrary, adversity is one of the gifts of the covenant. And in this psalm the sufferings of God’s people are described in a series of touching images (Psa_66:10-12). They have been tried like silver; they have been brought into the net like a bird which is in the grasp of its captor and cannot escape; they have been yoked to oppression like the ass to its load, and the oppressor has lorded it over them like the driver riding above the head of the camel; they have been brought through fire and through water. Yet for these experiences the psalm calls for praise. The old poets used to say that the nightingale sang with its breast resting against a thorn; and it is certain that the mellowest notes of the religious voice are never heard till suffering has been experienced. The distinction of God’s people is not that they have less to bear than others, but that they get the good of their affliction, and, when they trust God, He always at last brings them out, as is said here, into a wealthy place.

III. The providence of grace (Psa_66:13-20). There are those who have never had anything done for their souls. They can speak about their bodies, their properties and their fortunes, but their soul has no history. If a man’s soul has a history in which God is concerned, and of which he himself is glad, we know a good deal about him. It is a great thing to be able to say, “Come and hear” (Psa_66:16), “Come and see” (Psa_66:5). Have you seen

any sight and heard any message which you feel to be worth the attention of all the world? I should not like to live and die without having seen and heard the greatest and best that the world contains. Perhaps a further biographical feature is indicated in the saying that if he had regarded iniquity in his heart God would not have heard him. At all events, we have here one of the profoundest remarks on prayer to be found in the whole Bible. God will not hear the prayers of a man who is cherishing known sin. But the psalmist does not ascribe the glory of his answered prayer to his innocence. He finishes with a humble ascription to the God of Grace. (J. Stalker, D. D.)

Worship

I. It is exultingly delightful (Psa_66:1-2). It is a cheery, jubilant exercise of the mind; the whole atmosphere of the soul breaking into sunshine, all its vocal powers going out in rapturous music. Worship is the soul losing itself in the infinitely kind, the supremely beautiful and good. Self-obliviousness is the highest happiness.

II. It is binding on all. “All ye lands.” It is more rational, more right, for men to neglect everything else than to neglect this—neglect their physical health, their social advancement, even their intellectual culture, than to neglect worship. It is the “one thing needful.” It is that one thing which, if lacking in any character, damns the man.

III. It has a direct relation to God. “Say unto God, How terrible art Thou,” etc. It speaks not about Him, but to Him. It may be said that genuine worship has to do with everything—it mingles in all the services of the man, makes the whole life one unbroken psalm. True, but it only does so by the conscious contact of the soul with God. As the fields that are sown with grain must turn themselves to the sun before there will come germination, growth, maturation, so the soul must put itself into conscious contact with God, its Sun, before its spiritual powers can be brought out into true worship.

IV. It will one day be universal. “All the earth shall worship Thee.” (Homilist.)

COFFMAN, "LET ALL THE EARTH PRAISE GOD

SUPERSCRIPTION: FOR THE CHIEF MUSICIAN

A SONG; A PSALM.

Addis stated that, "We have two Psalms here: (1) that of the nation (Psalms 66:1-12); and (2) that of an individual (Psalms 66:13-20."[1] Despite opinions of this kind offered by a number of scholars, we find no necessity

whatever for the acceptance of such notions.

Yes, indeed, it is true that there is a sharp change in the movement from Psalms 66:12 to Psalms 66:13; but this evident duality is easily explained.

If the psalm was written shortly after the deliverance of Israel from the army of Sennacherib (2 Kings 19), during the reign of Hezekiah, who himself had received a most remarkable deliverance from what was apparently his death-bed, by the miraculous help of God, then either Hezekiah, or someone writing upon his behalf might easily have composed this psalm, first extolling the deliverance of the nation, and then the personal deliverance of their king. Of all the conjectures offered regarding the occasion of this psalm, this explanation appeals to us as reasonable far more than any other.

Ash rejected the notion of this being two psalms joined together, stating that, "The author was a king or a national leader, whose personal experience in trial was a typical part of the larger national problem."[2] Of course such facts indeed fit the case of Hezekiah, first delivered from a fatal illness, and then delivered from the Assyrian army.

Yates also rejected the proposition that we have two psalms here, stating that, "The corporate experience of the nation forms an excellent background for the individual experience of the author."[3]

Matthew Henry wrote that, "This psalm is of such a general use and application that we need not suppose it was penned upon any particular occasion."[4] This opinion, however, ignores the very obvious truth that this psalm celebrates a most remarkable and unusual deliverance of Israel from some overwhelming danger.

As Dummelow expressed it: "This Psalm triumphantly celebrates a great national deliverance. So great that the whole earth is summonsed to join in the praise."[5] Two such "great" deliverances have been proposed, that of the destruction of Sennacherib's Assyrian army, and the return from Babylonian captivity. In our judgment, the deliverance from the Assyrians fits the psalm best.

Delitzsch pointed out that Psalms 65-68 are designated both as "a song," and as "a psalm." He further noted that, "The frequent use of `Selah' was connected with instructions for the musicians, and these annotations referring to the temple music favor the pre-exilic rather than the post exilic origin (or date) of Psalms 66 and Psalms 67."[6]

THE WHOLE WORLD SUMMONSED TO CELEBRATE THE GRAND DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL

Psalms 66:1-4

"Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth:

Sing forth the glory of his name:

Make his praise glorious.

Say unto God, How terrible are thy works!

Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.

All the earth shall worship thee,

And shall sing unto thee;

They shall sing to thy name. (Selah)"

"Make a joyful noise" (Psalms 66:1). The word "noise" here is not really appropriate for the singing that is enjoined, but it is used for the purpose of saying ordinary singing is not loud enough adequately to praise God for such a tremendous deliverance as that which Israel has just experienced.

"All the earth" (Psalms 66:1). Furthermore, Israel feels that her praise of God could not possibly be sufficient to extol such a great deliverance, therefore the whole world is invited to join in the praise.

"The point here is that the deliverance which God's people have experienced is so great that they are unable to offer praise in such a volume as the occasion required. Therefore let all the earth do her part."[7]

"This call for `all the earth' to join in implies that the nation's deliverance is of worldwide significance. That significance does not derive so much from the preservation of God's people as from the disclosure of God's glorious

being."[8]

In this disclosure of God's glorious power, the destruction of Sennacherib's army was an event fully as remarkable and wonderful as the overwhelming of the host of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, an event significantly mentioned in this connection a few lines later.

"All the earth shall worship thee" (Psalms 66:4). In this psalm, these words simply mean that all the earth `should' worship God; but as they stand the words are also a prophecy of what indeed is going on now `all over the earth.' All of the ancient pagan deities have been vanquished by the True God; and although the human worship of God is by no means unanimous, it is yet true that God is worshipped in every part of the earth.

CONSTABLE, "Verses 1-4

The psalmist, speaking for his nation, called the other nations to join in praise of God by shouting, singing, and speaking. In Psalm 66:1-12 he wrote in the first person plural, but in Psalm 66:13-20 he used the first person singular. God"s great acts made His enemies cringe before Him. "Feigned obedience" ( Psalm 66:3, NASB) is hypocritical obedience. The psalmist meant that God"s enemies would pretend to obey Him because they feared His wrath, even if they did not really obey Him.

EBC, "THE most striking feature of this psalm is the transition from the plural "we" and "our," in Psalms 66:1-12, to the singular "I" and "my," in Psalms 66:13-20. Ewald supposes that two independent psalms have been united, but Psalms 66:12 is as abrupt for an ending as Psalms 66:13 is for a beginning; and the "Come, hear," of Psalms 66:16 echoes the "Come, and see," of Psalms 66:5. It is possible that "the ‘I’ of the second part is identical with the ‘we’ of the first; in other words, that the personified community speaks here" (Baethgen); but the supposition that the psalm was meant for public worship, and is composed of a choral and a solo part, accounts for the change of number. Such expressions as "my soul" and "my heart" favour the individual reference. Of course, the deliverance magnified by the single voice is the same as that celebrated by the loud acclaim of many tongues; but there is a different note in the praise of the former-there is a tone of inwardness in it, befitting individual appropriation of general blessings. To this highest point, that of the action of the single soul in taking the deliverances of the community for its very own, and pouring out its own praise, the psalm steadily climbs. It begins with the widest outlook over "all the earth," summoned to ring forth joyous praise. It ends focused to one burning point, in a heart fired by the thought that God "has not turned away his lovingkindness from me." So we learn how each single soul has to claim its several part in world wide blessings, as each flower calyx absorbs the sunshine that floods the pastures.

The psalm has no superscription of date or author, and no clue in its language to the particular deliverance that called it forth. The usual variety of conjectures have been hazarded. The defeat of Sennacherib occurs to some; the return from Babylon to others; the Maccabean period to yet another school of critics. It belongs to a period when Israel’s world significance and mission were recognised (which Cheyne considers a post-exilic feature, "Orig. of Psalt." 176), and when the sacrificial worship was in full force; but beyond these there are no clear data for period of composition.

It is divided into five strophes, three of which are marked by Selah. That musical indication is wanting at the close of the third strophe (Psalms 66:12), which is also the close of the first or choral part, and its absence may be connected with the transition to a single voice. A certain progress in thought is noticeable, as will appear as we proceed. The first strophe calls upon all the earth to praise God for His works. The special deeds which fire the psalmist are not yet mentioned, though they are present to his mind. The summons of the world to praise passes over into the prophecy that it shall praise. The manifestation of God’s character by act will win homage. The great thought that God has but to be truly known in order to be reverenced is an axiom with this psalmist; and no less certain is he that such knowledge and such praise will one day fill the world. True, he discerns that submission will not always be genuine; for he uses the same word to express it as occurs in Psalms 18:44, which represents "feigned homage." Every great religious awakening has a fringe of adherents, imperfectly affected by it, whose professions outrun reality, though they themselves are but half conscious that they feign. But though this sobering estimate of the shallowness of a widely diffused recognition of God tones down the psalmist’s expectations, and has been abundantly confirmed by later experience, his great hope remains as an early utterance of the conviction, which has gathered assurance and definiteness by subsequent Revelation, and is now familiar to all. The world is God’s. His Self-revelation will win hearts. There shall be true submission and joyous praise girdling the earth as it rolls. The psalmist dwells mainly on the majestic and awe-inspiring aspect of God’s acts. His greatness of power bears down opposition. But the later strophes introduce other elements of the Divine nature and syllables of the Name, though the inmost secret of the "power of God" in the weakness of manhood and the all-conquering might of Love is not yet ripe for utterance.

The second strophe advances to a closer contemplation of the deeds of God, which the nations are summoned to behold. He is not only "dread" in His doings towards mankind at large, but Israel’s history is radiant with the manifestation of His name, and that past lives on so that ancient experiences give the measure and manner of today’s working. The retrospect embraces the two standing instances of God’s delivering help-the passage of the Red Sea and of Jordan-and these are not dead deeds in a far-off century. For the singer calls on his own generation to rejoice "there" in Him. Psalms 66:6 c is by some translated as "There did we rejoice," and

more accurately by others, "Let us rejoice." In the former case the essential solidarity of all generations of the nation is most vividly set forth. But the same idea is involved in the correct rendering, according to which the men of the psalmist’s period are entitled and invoked to associate themselves in thought with that long-past generation, and to share in their joy, since they do possess the same power which wrought then. God’s work is never antiquated. It is all a revelation of eternal activities. What He has been, He is. What He did, He does. Therefore faith may feed on all the records of old time, and expect the repetition of all that they contain. Such an application of history to the present makes the nerve of this strophe. For Psalms 66:7, following on the retrospect, declares the perpetuity of God’s rule, and that His eyes still keep an outlook, as a watchman on a tower might do, to mark the enemies’ designs, in order that He may intervene, as of old, for His people’s deliverance. He "looked forth upon the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of cloud". [Exodus 14:24] Thus He still marks the actions and plans of Israel’s foes. Therefore it were wise for the "rebellious" not to rear their heads so high in opposition.

The third strophe comes still closer to the particular deliverance underlying the psalm. Why should all "peoples" be called upon to praise God for it? The psalmist has learned that Israel’s history is meant to teach the world what God is, and how blessed it is to dwell under His wing. No exclusiveness taints his enjoyment of special national privileges. He has reached a height far above the conceptions of the rest of the world in his day, and even in this day, except where the Christian conception of "humanity" has been heartily accepted. Whence came this width of view, this purifying from particularism, this anticipation by so many centuries of a thought imperfectly realised even now? Surely a man who in those days and with that environment could soar so high must have been lifted by something mightier than his own spirit. The details of the Divine dealings described in the strophe are of small consequence in comparison with its fixed expectation of the world’s participation in Israel’s blessings. The familiar figures for affliction reappear-namely, proving and refining in a furnace. A less common metaphor is that of being prisoned in a dungeon, as the word rendered "net" in the A.V. and R.V. probably means. Another peculiar image is that of Psalms 66:12 : "Thou hast caused men to ride over our head." The word for "men" here connotes feebleness and frailty, characteristics which make tyranny more intolerable; and the somewhat harsh metaphor is best explained as setting forth insolent and crushing domination, whether the picture intended is that of ruthless conquerors driving their chariots over their prone victims, or that of their sitting as an incubus on their shoulders and making them like beasts of burden. Fire and water are standing figures for affliction. With great force these accumulated symbols of oppression are confronted by one abrupt clause ending the strophe, and describing in a breath the perfect deliverance which sweeps them all away: "Thou broughtest us out into abundance." There is no need for the textual alteration of the last word into "a wide place" (Hupfeld), a place of liberty (Cheyne), or freedom (Baethgen). The word in the received text is that employed in Psalms 23:5. "My cup is overfulness" and "abundance" yields a satisfactory meaning here, though not closely

corresponding to any of the preceding metaphors for affliction.

PETT, "Verse 1-2

Heading.

‘For the Chief Musician. A Song, a Psalm.’

This Psalm is dedicated to the Chief Musician or Choirmaster. It probably indicates that it has been adapted for Temple worship. It is described as both a song and a Psalm, but it is noteworthy that no reference is made to authorship. The dedication of anonymous Psalms to the Chief Musician was rare (only this and Psalms 67). The situation in life for the Psalm was probably the amazing deliverance of Jerusalem from the armies of Sennacherib, for it clearly indicates connection with a great deliverance and a short, sharp shock. If this was so the Psalm is written in the time of Hezekiah. Others have, however, suggested that it reflects the deliverance from Exile, in which case we would have to date it after 520 BC, for it refers to the Temple as a going concern (Psalms 66:13-15). But the impression that the people who are delivered are also those who had directly suffered calamity is against this attribution, whilst there is no indication of exile.

A feature of the Psalm is that the first part (Psalms 66:1-12) is in the plural, and clearly has in mind the whole congregation of Israel, whilst the last part (Psalms 66:13-20) is in the singular. This may suggest:

1) That the speaker in the last part was the king acting as intercessor for the people, as a priest after the intercessory order of Melchizedek (Psalms 110:4). Kings regularly described the activities of their subjects in terms of themselves. If the situation was as we have suggested that king would be Hezekiah, and we have an example of his intercessory status in Isaiah 37:1; Isaiah 37:14-20, compare Isaiah 38.

2) That the first part is a general call to praise sung by the choir, or spoken out by a priest in authority, and that in the second part the people then respond as individuals, each speaking on his own behalf. The second part would then be seen as a personal and total response in gratitude by the whole assembly, each speaking as an individual (compare how in a modern service we can switch from the general to the personal when each of us recites the Nicene Creed in the first person, although saying the creed together as one people). Priests or Levites might stand among them leading this personal worship line by line so that each would know what to pray (compare Nehemiah 8:7-8), although if it was regularly used it would soon be known by heart.

3) That the singular ‘I’ represented the whole people of Israel seen as one, thus lacking the sense of individualisation found in 2). Against this is the question as to why such a change of tense should suddenly take place.

Note On The Priesthood After The Order Of Melchizedek.

When David captured Jerusalem using his own men it became his possession. It became ‘the city of David’, and was regularly seen as separate from Israel and Judah (see e.g. Isaiah 1:1; Isaiah 2:1; Isaiah 3:1; Isaiah 8:14; Jeremiah 19:3; Jeremiah 27:21; Jeremiah 35:13; Zechariah 1:19; Matthew 3:5). In Jerusalem there would appear to have been a priesthood ‘after the order of Melchizedek’ (compare Genesis 14:18). This would have been exercised by the priest-king of Jerusalem. Thus David by right of being king in Jerusalem inherited that priesthood. It was seen as an eternal priesthood (Psalms 110:4), and it was as such that he would be honoured by the Jebusite inhabitants of Jerusalem. But by virtue of the fact that only the Levitical priesthood was acceptable to Israel as a sacrificing priesthood, the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek had necessarily to become an intercessory priesthood. This explains why David’s sons could be called ‘priests’ (2 Samuel 8:18 literally). It was a priesthood which continued in the time of the writing of Psalms 110 (see Psalms 66:4). It was taken quite seriously, which was why the king would regularly take on himself the responsibility of interceding for the whole people without being seen as usurping the position of the Levitical priests. Consider David in 2 Samuel 24:10; 2 Samuel 24:17; Solomon in 1 Kings 8; Hezekiah in Isaiah 37:1; Isaiah 37:14-20; and David’s and Solomon’s intercessory Psalms. Consider also the special position of ‘the Prince’ in Ezekiel’s Temple (Ezekiel 44:3; Ezekiel 45:16-17; Ezekiel 46:2; Ezekiel 46:4-8; Ezekiel 46:10; Ezekiel 46:12). It was this priesthood that devolved on Jesus as the son of David (Hebrews 6:20).

End of note.

Significant is the fact that this Psalm is not headed ‘for David’. If Hezekiah was seen as its author (compare his Psalmic prayer in Isaiah 38) this might be seen as militating against the idea that ‘for David’ merely indicated someone of the Davidic line, for then Hezekiah’s authorship could have been seen as ‘for David’.

The theme of the Psalm is clear. Initially, speaking on behalf of the people, the Psalmist reminds the nations of the past actions of God on Israel’s behalf, something which demonstrates God’s sovereignty, and then goes on to praise Him for a special deliverance. After this the king (or high priest, or even the people, each speaking as an individual) takes over and deals with the question of the ritual response to God’s goodness. If it is the king who responds then, as the one who sums up the people in himself, he promises the performing of vows made at the time of trial, and outlines the offerings and sacrifices that will be made. And then again on behalf of his people he declares what God has done for him by answering his intercession. Great stress is laid on the importance of a guileless heart when approaching God. Throughout the ancient East kings were seen as playing an important role in ritual activity as representatives of the whole people, so it would not be unusual for the King of Israel (Judah), to share the same role.

If this is so the Psalm well exemplifies the connection between king and people in Israel’s thinking. All the people (or at least the assembled males) initially offer their worship, and then the king as summing up the people in himself, deals with the ritual side of things. When saying ‘I’ he would be instinctively aware that he was speaking on behalf of all (‘I’ as embodying the people), for he embodied all that they were. To us it may seem strange, but to Israel it would seem perfectly natural. What seems to us to be a startling contrast was to them not a contrast at all. The whole people saw themselves as a composite unity, and the king as summing them up in himself. As the Anointed of YHWH he was their life (see Lamentations 4:20). This was preparing the way for the concept of all true Christians as members of one body (1 Corinthians 6:15-17; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 1 Corinthians 12:12 ff.), summed up in the One Whose body it is, and with Whom we are made one, our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 10:17; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13). As the body of Christ we are united with Him and made one with Him. We are not separated from Him as though He were the head in Heaven and we the headless body on earth. In 1 Corinthians 12 the head is part of the body.

Alternately the idea may of general worship and gratitude for deliverance, followed up by each individual Israelite personalising the deliverance and declaring what his response will be. (Compare how in our worship services we may pray in unison as ‘we’, and then individually recite the Apostle’s Creed as ‘I’).

The Psalm may be divided up as follows:

PART 1). GOD’S CALL TO THE NATIONS (Psalms 66:1-11).

This consists of:

o a) A Call For The Whole Earth To Praise And Worship, And To Express Appreciation of God, In View Of The Deliverance That He Has Accomplished (Psalms 66:1-4).

o b) A Call For Them To Remember And Take Note Of What God Has Done For His People In The Past (Psalms 66:5-6).

o c) A Warning To The Nations To Remember In The Light Of His Historic Activity That He Is Observing Them (Psalms 66:7).

o d) A Call To The Nations To Take Note Of The Wonderful Deliverance From A Disastrous Experience That His People Have Experienced (Psalms 66:8-12).

PART 2). ISRAEL’S GRATEFUL RESPONSE TO GOD’S DELIVERANCE REVEALED IN OFFERINGS AND THE FULFILMENT OF VOWS, AND A

CALL FOR CONSIDERATION OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS IN ANSWERING PRAYER (Psalms 66:13-20).

This consists of:

o a) Deliverance Having Been Accomplished Each Individual In Israel (Or The King As The Representative Of His People) Approaches God And Glories In The Ways In Which He Himself Will Express His Gratitude Ritually Through Offerings And The Fulfilment Of Vows (Psalms 66:13-15).

o b) A Call To Consider The Way In Which God Has Answered His (or their) Prayer Because His (their) Heart Was Right Towards God (Psalms 66:16-20).

Verses 1-4

PART 1.

1). God’s Call To The Nations (Psalms 66:1-11).a) A Call For The Whole Earth To Praise And Worship, And To Express Appreciation of God, In View Of The Deliverance That He Has Accomplished (Psalms 66:1-4).

‘Make a joyful noise (or ‘shout’) to God,

All the earth,

Sing forth the glory of his name,

Make his praise glorious.’

When a king returned in honour after victory over his enemies all the people would give joyful shouts of victory and acclamation as they welcomed him. Indeed it was incumbent upon them. So here all the nations of the world are called on to make such a joyful noise, as God, as it were, returns in victory. They are to sing forth His glorious Name, and His triumphs which gave Him that Name, and give Him splendid and overwhelming praise in accordance with what He deserves. He is to be given the honour due to His Name.

2 Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.

BAR�ES, "Sing forth the honor of his name - That is, Celebrate in appropriate praise the honor due to his name. Make that honor known in connection with songs.

Make his praise glorious - literally, “place honor, his praise;” that is, Give him honor; give him praise. The meaning is, Set forth his praise with songs - with music -with shouts; - that will be the appropriate expression of the praise which is due to him.

CLARKE, "The honor of his name - Let his glorious and merciful acts be the subject of your songs.

GILL, "Sing forth the honour of his name,.... Meaning not any particular names of the Messiah, such as in Isa_9:6; or his name "Jesus", a Saviour; though they are all honourable and glorious, and furnish out sufficient matter for a song: but rather that by which he was made known to the sons of men, his Gospel; see Act_9:15. Which is a glorious Gospel; the truths of which may be expressed in a song of praise, to the honour and glory of Christ, and to the instruction and profit of men, Col_3:16. Or rather Christ himself is meant; his name often designs himself, Mat_12:21. There that is due unto him, and ought to be given which is done when all divine perfections and works are ascribed to him, divine worship is paid him, and the glory of salvation given him; which may be done in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs;

make his praise glorious: let the high praises of him be in your mouths; give him, the most excellent praise; praise him in the best manner. This is done when we sing his praise with grace in our hears in exercise; when we with one mind and mouth glorify him; and when we ho

JAMISO�, "his name— as in Psa_29:2.

make his praise glorious— literally, “place honor, His praise,” or, “as to His praise”; that is, let His praise be such as will glorify Him, or, be honorable to Him.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 2. Sing forth the honour of his name. The noise is to be modulated with tune and time, and fashioned into singing, for we adore the God of order and harmony. The honour of God should be our subject, and to honour him our object when we sing. To give glory to God is but to restore to him his own. It is our glory to be able to give God glory; and all our true glory should be ascribed unto God, for it is his glory. "All worship be to God only, "should be the motto of all true believers. The name, nature, and person of God are worthy of the highest honour.Make his praise glorious. Let not his praise be mean and grovelling: let it arise with grandeur and solemnity before him. The pomp of the ancient festivals is not to be

imitated by us, under this dispensation of the Spirit, but we are to throw so much of heart and holy reverence into all our worship that it shall be the best we can render. Heart worship and spiritual joy render praise more glorious than vestments, incense, and music could do.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 2. Make his praise glorious. Another meaning is, give or place glory, that is, your glory to his praise, be fully persuaded when you praise him that it will redound to your own glory, regard this as your own glory; praise him in such a way that all your praises may be given to glorify God; or, let your glory tend in this direction that he may be praised. Desire not the glory of eternal blessedness, unless for the praise of God, as the blessed spirits in that temple do nothing but say glory to God, and sing the hymn of his glory without end, "Holy, holy, holy." Lorinus.

WHEDO�, "2. Make his praise glorious—Give glory as his praise, or make his glory praise. The nouns are in apposition, and the sense not easy. The English version, by treating one as an adjective, has given euphony of sound without clearness of thought. The idea seems to be, that as the praise of God consists in thankfully confessing and declaring his acts, we thus make his peculiar glory to consist of praise. This is the thought repeated and exegetically amplified in the next verse.

ELLICOTT, "(2) Sing forth.—Literally, play on the harp.

Make his praise glorious.—So the LXX., but the construction is dubious. Literally, put glory his praise, meaning perhaps, in parallelism with the first clause, “make the Divine glory the subject of your praise.” But the opening words of the next verse, “say unto God, how,” &c, are so bald that a suspicion arises as to the arrangement of the text. Perhaps by bringing back the initial words of Psalms 66:3 we get the true sense, “ascribe glory (and) speak praise to God.”

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

BAR�ES, "Say unto God - In your songs of praise. Let your songs be directly

addressed to him, setting forth the grounds of that praise, or the reasons why it is due to him.

How terrible art thou in thy works! - How fearful! how much to be reverenced! The meaning is, that the manifestations of his power and greatness, in the events which occur under his government, are suited to impress the mind with awe and reverence.

Through the greatness of thy power - By the putting forth of thy power. Or, Thou hast such power over thine enemies as to be able to compel them to submit to thee.

Shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee -Margin, Lie, or yield reigned obedience. The Hebrew word means to lie, to speak lies; then, to feign, to flatter, to play the hypocrite. It is thus applied to the vanquished, who make a hollow profession of submission and love to their victors. See the word explained in the notes at Psa_18:44; compare Psa_81:15; Deu_33:29; Job_31:28. The meaning here is, that he had power to subdue them, and to compel them to acknowledge his right to reign. It is the putting forth of mere power which is here referred to; and all that such power can do, is to secure outward and reigned submission. It cannot of itself secure the submission of the heart, the will, and the affections. That is to be secured by love, not by power; and the difference between the submission of the true people of God and that of all others is that the former are subdued by love, the latter by power; the submission of the former is genuine, that of the latter is forced. The inhabitants of heaven will be submissive to God because they love him; the dwellers in hell will be restrained by power, because they cannot deliver themselves. So now, the submission of a true child of God is that of love, or is a willing submission; the submission of a hypocrite is that of fear, when he feigns obedience because he cannot help it, or because he simply dreads the wrath of God. The object here is to celebrate the power of God, and it was sufficient, in order to set that forth, to say that it awed, and outwardly subdued the enemies of God.

CLARKE, "How terrible art thou - Consider the plagues with which he afflicted Egypt before he brought your fathers from their captivity, which obliged all his enemies to submit.

Thine enemies submit themselves - Literally, lie unto thee. This was remarkably the case with Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They promised again and again to let the people go, when the hand of the Lord was upon them: and they as frequently falsified their word.

GILL, "Say unto God,.... Or, "concerning God" (t), as some; or, "before God", as the Targum; say to him as follows, in psalms and hymns of praise:

how terrible art thou in thy works! or "reverend" (u); to be feared and reverenced with a godly fear on account of them; such as the works of nature and providence, which are stupendous and marvellous, fearfully and wonderfully wrought; and especially those of grace and redemption, in which the goodness of Christ is manifest, and for which he is to be feared: unless rather his judgments upon his enemies are here meant; who, though he is a Lamb to his own people, is the Lion of the tribe of Judah to them, whom he will break in pieces as a potter's vessel it may be read, "how terrible", or "tremendous", is everyone of "thy works"; so Aben Ezra, and also Jarchi, who interprets the next clause,

through the greatness of thy power, thus,

"when thou showest to the world thy power, by the pestilence, or sword, or famine, or lightnings:''

shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee? in a lying, flattering, and deceitful manner, as the word (w) here used signifies; See Gill on Psa_18:44; or, as the above interpreters,

"they shall, through the greatness of fear, confess the lies and transgressions they have committed.''

It will be a forced, and not a free, confession and submission; Christ's enemies, whether they will or not, will be obliged to own that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, Phi_2:10.

JAMISO�, "A specimen of the praise.

How terrible— (Compare Psa_65:8).

submit— (Compare Margin), show a forced subjection (Psa_18:44), produced by terror.

CALVI�, "3.Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! Here he proceeds to state the grounds why he would have us to praise God. Many content themselves with coldly descanting to others of his praises, but with the view of awakening and more deeply impressing our hearts, he directs us to address ourselves immediately to God. It is when we hold converse with him apart, and with no human eye to witness us, that we feel the vanity of hypocrisy, and will be likely to utter only what we have well and seriously meditated in our hearts. �othing tends more to beget a reverential awe of God upon our spirits than sisting ourselves in his presence. What the Psalmist adds is fitted and designed to produce the same feeling, that through the greatness of God’s power, his enemies feign submission to him Are they who would perversely and obstinately revolt from his service, forced to humble themselves before him, whether they will it or not, how much more, then, ought his own children to serve him, who are invited into his presence, by the accents of tenderness, instead of being reduced to subjection by terror? There is an implied contrast drawn between the voluntary homage which they yield, as attracted by the sweet influences of grace, and that slavish obedience which is wrung reluctantly from the unbeliever. The Hebrew word here used for to lie, signifies to yield such a submission as is constrained, and not free or cordial, as Psalms 18:45. �either the words nor the scope favor the other senses which have been suggested, as, that his enemies would acknowledge themselves to have been deceived in their hopes, or that they would deny having ever intended hostilities against him. There are many ways in which hypocrites may lie, but nothing more is meant by the Psalmist here, than that the power of God is such as to force them into a reluctant subjection.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 3. Say unto God. Turn all your praises to him. Devotion, unless

it be resolutely directed to the Lord, is no better than whistling to the wind.How terrible art thou in thy works. The mind is usually first arrested by those attributes which cause fear and trembling; and, even when the heart has come to love God, and rest in him, there is an increase of worship when the soul is awed by an extraordinary display of the more dreadful of the divine characteristics. Looking upon the convulsions which have shaken continents, the hurricanes which have devastated nations, the plagues which have desolated cities, and other great and amazing displays of divine working, men may well say: How terrible art thou in thy works. Till we see God in Christ, the terrible predominates in all our apprehensions of him.Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee; but, as the Hebrew clearly intimates, it will be a forced and false submission. Power brings a man to his knee, but love alone wins his heart. Pharaoh said he would let Israel go, but he lied unto God; he submitted in word but not in deed. Tens of thousands, both in earth and hell, are rendering this constrained homage to the Almighty; they only submit because they cannot do otherwise; it is not their loyalty, but his power, which keeps them subjects of his boundless dominion.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 3. Say. Dicite, say, says David, delight to speak of God; Dicite, say something. There was more required than to think of God. Consideration, meditation, contemplation upon God and divine objects, have their place and their season; but this is more than that, and more than admiration too; for all these may come to an end in ecstasies, and in stupidities, and in useless and frivolous imaginations. John Donne.Ver. 3. Unto God. To God, not concerning God, as some interpret, but to God himself; to his praises, and with minds raised to God, as it is in Psalms 66:4, sing to himself; Gejerus also correctly remarks, that the following discourse is addressed to God. Besides, it is to our God, as in Psalms 66:8, O bless our God, ye people: he is called God absolutely, because he alone is the true God. Hermann Venema.Ver. 3. How terrible. Take from the Bible its awful doctrines, and from providence its terrible acts, and the whole system, under which God has placed us, would be emasculated. William S. Plumer.Ver. 3. Thine enemies shall submit themselves unto thee. In this, our first consideration is, that God himself hath enemies; and then, how should we hope to be, nay, why should we wish to be, without them. God had good, that is, glory from his enemies; and we may have good, that is, advantage in the way to glory, by the exercise of our patience, from enemies too. Those for whom God had done most, the angels, turned enemies first; vex not thou thyself, if those whom thou hast loved best hate thee deadliest... God himself hath enemies. Thine enemies shall submit, says the text, to God; there thou hast one comfort, though thou have enemies too; but the greater comfort is, that God calls thine enemies his. �olite tangere Christus meos (Psalms 105:15), says God of all holy people; you were as good touch me, as touch any of them, for, "they are the apple of mine eye" (Psalms 17:8). Our Saviour Christ never expostulated for himself; never said, Why scourge you me? why spit you upon me? why crucify you me? As long as their rage determined in his person, he opened not his mouth; when Saul extended the violence to the church, to his servants, then Christ came to that, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" ...Here is a holy league,

defensive and offensive; God shall not only protect us from others, but he shall fight for us against them; our enemies are his enemies. Condensed from John Donne.Ver. 3. Thine enemies submit themselves. Literally, lie unto thee. This was remarkably the case with Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They promised again and again to let the people go, when the hand of the Lord was upon them; and they as frequently falsified their word. Adam Clarke.Ver. 3. (second clause). In times of affliction every hypocrite--all tag and rag--will be ready to come in to God in an outward profession; but usually this submission to God at this time is not out of truth. Hence it is said, Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee: in the original it is, they shall lie unto thee, and so it is translated by Arias Montanus, and some others, noting hereby that a forced submission to God is seldom in truth. Jeremiah Burroughs.Ver. 3. The earthquakes in �ew England occasioned a kind of religious panic. A writer, who was then one of the ministers of Boston, informs us, that immediately after the great earthquake, as it was called, a great number of his flock came and expressed a wish to unite themselves with the church. But, on conversing with them, he could find no evidence of improvement in their religious views or feelings, no convictions of their own sinfulness; nothing, in short, but a kind of superstitious fear, occasioned by a belief that the end of the world was at hand. All their replies proved that they had not found God, though they had seen the greatness of his power in the earthquake. Edward Payson, D.D.

WHEDO�, "3. Say unto God—The psalmist now directs how to fulfil the requirement of Psalms 66:2 : namely, by rehearsing and proclaiming the great events which have transpired, and ascribing them to God.

Terrible… thy works—The redemption of Israel from Egypt and Babylon was accomplished by acts of divine power which struck the idolatrous nations with terror. Thus is it in all ages. The triumph of the Church is the downfall of Christ’s enemies. Grace and judgment play their respective parts. See Psalms 2; Revelation 18; Revelation 19:1-8.

Submit themselves— rendered “submit,” properly signifies to (,kahhash) ,כחשdeceive, to lie, to feign, and must be here understood of that feigned submission, outward and formal but unreal and heartless which captives yield to a conqueror. So in Psalms 18:44 ; Psalms 81:15. Thus “the haters of the Lord shall submit themselves” with forced confession, being subdued and terrified at the majesty, power, and glory of God.

PETT, "Psalms 66:3-4

‘ Say to God, “How terrible are your works!Through the greatness of your power will your enemies submit themselves to you,All the earth will worship you, and will sing to you,They will sing to your name. [Selah.’

The peoples are even told what to say. They are to declare how awesome are His works, amazing beyond belief, and terrible for those on whom they were perpetrated and in the eyes of the onlookers. They are to recognise that so great and awesome is His power that it will continually make His enemies submit to Him. And as a consequence the whole world will of necessity worship Him, and sing to Him, and sing to His �ame. When Sennacherib returned from besieging Jerusalem to Assyria leaving behind an unconquered Jerusalem, the whole world would have been amazed. Who was this God Who had ensured that Judah remained unbowed and unbroken, when all the other nations in the conspiracy had fallen before Him? And the humiliation of their common enemy Assyria would indeed have filled them with rejoicing, and praise towards the God Who had done this. �ote that they sing to His �ame, the �ame that has been established on the basis of what He has done.

‘Selah.’ A break in the music, or a loud crescendo, indicating ‘Pause, and think of that.’

4 All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name.”[a]

BAR�ES, "All the earth shall worship thee - That is, all the inhabitants of the world will bow down before thee, or render thee homage. The time will come when thy right to reign will be universally acknowledged, or when thou wilt everywhere be adored as the true God. This is in accordance with all the statements in the Bible. See the notes at Psa_22:27; Compare the notes at Isa_45:23; notes at Rom_14:11.

And shall sing unto thee - Shall celebrate thy praises. “To thy name.” To thee.

CLARKE, "All the earth - The whole land shall worship thee. There shall no more an idol be found among the tribes of Israel. This was iterally true. After the Babylonish captivity the Israelites never relapsed into idolatry.

Selah - Remark it: this is a well attested truth.

GILL, "Psalms 66:4

All the earth shall worship thee,.... The Messiah, who is equal with God; the Creator of men; the Redeemer of his people; the Head of the church, and King of saints; their Lord, and therefore to be worshipped; with internal worship, in the exercise of faith, hope, and love; and with external worship, in the word and ordinances, by prayer and praise, public and private. This universal worship, that will be yielded him, will be in the latter day; which shows that this psalm respects those times, when Christ shall be King over all the earth, and his name, worship, and religion, one, Zec_14:9;

and shall sing unto thee; the song of Moses and the Lamb, the Lamb's new song, the song of redeeming grace; which none but the redeemed ever can sing aright, Rev_14:3;

they shall sing to thy name; or, "they shall", or "let them sing thy name" (x); thou shall be the subject of their song; thy person, offices, kingdom, grace, and glory: or they shall sing to the honour of thy name, as in Psa_66:2.

HE�RY, "He had called upon all lands to praise God (Psa_66:1), and he foretels (Psa_66:4) that they shall do so: All the earth shall worship thee; some in all parts of the earth, even the remotest regions, for the everlasting gospel shall be preached to every nation and kindred; and this is the purport of it, Worship him that made heaven and earth, Rev_14:6, Rev_14:7. Being thus sent forth, it shall not return void, but shall bring all the earth, more or less, to worship God, and sing unto him. In gospel times God shall be worshipped by the singing of Psalms. They shall sing to God, that is, sing to his name,for it is only to his declarative glory, that by which he has made himself known, not to his essential glory, that we can contribute any thing by our praises.

JAMISO�, "A specimen of the praise.

How terrible— (Compare Psa_65:8).

submit— (Compare Margin), show a forced subjection (Psa_18:44), produced by terror.

SBC, "I. It is man’s duty to worship God; therefore man can attain a true knowledge of God. The first idea of God is awakened by the words and acts of our fellow-men; but when the idea is once ours, we can verify and ennoble it for ourselves. Within the last few years, however, it has been maintained that man cannot have any real knowledge of what God is. It has been affirmed that we have no reason for believing that God’s justice and God’s love are the same attributes in kind as human justice and human love; that therefore, not knowing what these perfections really are as they exist in God, we are in no condition to pronounce whether any alleged acts of God are in harmony with them or not. This appalling theory would quench all my hope, paralyse my faith, and render it impossible for me to love God. It would desolate my religious life, and bring upon my soul a darkness that could be felt. If this were true, worship would be impossible. We can, we do, know God as He is, not perfectly, but with a real and trustworthy knowledge. "All the earth shall worship Him," and all the earth therefore shall know Him. It is one of the most animating motives to the discipline of the soul in righteousness and to resolute struggle against sin that as our holiness increases our knowledge of God becomes wider and deeper; in this world as well as in the next "the pure in heart shall see God."

II. God finds satisfaction and delight in human worship. Apart from this conviction, our praises and our adoration must lose their life and reality. If I speak, it is because I believe He listens. If I rejoice in looking up into His face, it is because I see Him looking

back upon me with ineffable love and delight. In the act of worship we draw near to God, and God draws near to us. How it is, we know not, but through secret avenues He enters our spirits, and we become mysteriously one with Him. To discharge this duty of worship aright, our religious thought should not incessantly revolve about our personal conflicts with sin and our own immortal safety. We think too much of ourselves, too little of God. We ask Him too constantly for help; we too seldom thank Him with throbbing gratitude for the blessings which are ours already, and for the infinite grace which prompted Him to give us Christ and to promise us heaven. More deep and devout thought on what God is would change all this, and bring our life in this world into nearer harmony with what we hope it will be in the next.

R. W. Dale, Discourses on Special Occasions, p. 3.

CALVI�, "4.All the earth shall worship thee. The Psalmist had good reason for insisting upon this one point again and again. Though all tongues were tuned to the praise of God, they never could adequately extol it; and yet such are the negligence and the perversity of men, that they will scarcely lift one feeble note in celebration of a theme which should command their united strength and might. We have another prediction here, of a time being to come when God would be worshipped, not only by the Jews, a small section of the human family, but by all the nations which would be eventually brought under his government. And we are not to consider that he refers to such a worship as would be constrained, and only not withheld, because resistance might be dangerous, but to the sincere homage of the heart — they shall sing unto thee! they shall sing unto thy name Praise is the best of all sacrifices, (as we are told, Psalms 50:14) and the true evidence of godliness. (470)

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 4. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee. All men must even now prostrate themselves before thee, but a time will come when they shall do this cheerfully; to the worship of fear shall be added the singing of love. What a change shall have taken place when singing shall displace sighing, and music shall thrust out misery!They shall sing to thy name. The nature and works of God will be the theme of earth's universal song, and he himself shall be the object of the joyful adoration of our emancipated race. Acceptable worship not only praises God as the mysterious Lord, but it is rendered fragrant by some measure of knowledge of his name or character. God would not be worshipped as an unknown God, nor have it said of his people, "Ye worship ye know not what." May the knowledge of the Lord soon cover the earth, that so the universality of intelligent worship may be possible: such a consummation was evidently expected by the writer of this Psalm; and, indeed, throughout all Old Testament writings, there are intimations of the future general spread of the worship of God. It was an instance of wilful ignorance and bigotry when the Jews raged against the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles. Perverted Judaism may be exclusive, but the religion of Moses, and David, and Isaiah was not so.Selah. A little pause for holy expectation is well inserted after so great a prophecy, and the uplifting of the heart is also a seasonable direction. �o meditation can be more joyous that excited by the prospect of a world reconciled to its Creator.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 66:4. All the earth shall worship thee, &c. — Many people of divers nations shall be so affected with thy stupendous works, that they shall worship and praise thee for them, and all the people shall have just cause to do so; and the time will come when all nations will actually do so, namely, in the days of the Messiah.

5 Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind!

BAR�ES, "Come and see the works of God - See the notes at Psa_46:8, where substantially the same expression occurs. The idea is, “Come and see what God has done and is doing; come and learn from this what he is; and let your hearts in view of all this, be excited to gratitude and praise.” The particular reference here is to what God had done in delivering his people from their former bondage in Egypt Psa_66:6; but there is, connected with this, the idea that he actually rules among the nations, and that in his providence he has shown his power to govern and sbdue them.

He is terrible in his doing - That is, His acts are suited to inspire awe and veneration. See the notes at Psa_66:3.

CLARKE, "Come and see the works of God - Let every man lay God’s wonderful dealings with us to heart; and compare our deliverance from Babylon to that of our fathers from Egypt.

GILL, "Come and see the works of God,.... Of the Messiah, God manifest in the flesh; those divine works which he did when here on earth; his miraculous works, which were proofs of his deity and Messiahship; his preaching the Gospel, in so divine a manner as never man did; his works of obedience to the law, which were pure and perfect; the everlasting righteousness he wrought out for the justification of his people; and the great work of redemption and salvation finished by him, which none but God could ever have effected. This is an invitation to the inhabitants of all lands, where the Gospel should come with power, to take notice of and consider these works of Christ, and the glory of his might, wisdom, and grace in them, in order to engage them to sing his praise;

he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men; in his vengeance on the Jews, for disbelieving and rejecting him; in destroying antichrist, and pouring out the vials of his wrath on the antichristian states; and in the everlasting damnation of the wicked. So that as his other works in the former clause design these of grace, this doing of his respects his work, his strange work of judgment on his enemies; on

HE�RY 5-7, " That we may be furnished with matter for praise, we are here called upon to come and see the works of God; for his own works praise him, whether we do or no; and the reason why we do not praise him more and better is because we do not duly and attentively observe them. Let us therefore see God's works and observe the instances of his wisdom, power, and faithfulness in them (Psa_66:5), and then speak of them, and speak of them to him (Psa_66:3): Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works, terrible in thy doings! 1. God's works are wonderful in themselves, and such as, when duly considered, may justly fill us with amazement. God is terrible (that is, admirable) in his works, through the greatness of his power, which is such, and shines so brightly, so strongly, in all he does, that it may be truly said there are not any works like unto his works. Hence he is said to be fearful in praises, Exo_15:11. In all his doings towards the children of men he is terrible, and to be eyed with a holy awe. Much of religion lies in a reverence for the divine Providence. 2. They are formidable to his enemies, and have many a time forced and frightened them into a feigned submission (Psa_66:3): Through the greatness of thy power, before which none can stand, shall thy enemies submit themselves unto thee; they shall lie unto thee (so the word is), that is, they shall be compelled, sorely against their wills, to make their peace with thee upon any terms. Subjection extorted by fear is seldom sincere, and therefore force is no proper means of propagating religion, nor can there be much joy of such proselytes to the church as will in the end be found liars unto it, Deu_33:29. 3. They are comfortable and beneficial to his people, Psa_66:6. When Israel came out of Egypt, he turned the sea into dry land before them, which encouraged them to follow God's guidance through the wilderness; and, when they were to enter Canaan, for their encouragement in their wars Jordan was divided before them, and they went through that flood on foot; and such foot, so signally owned by heaven, might well pass for cavalry, rather than infantry, in the wars of the Lord. There did the enemies tremble before them (Exo_15:14, Exo_15:15; Jos_5:1), but there did we rejoice in him, both trust his power (for relying on God is often expressed by rejoicing in him) and sing his praise, Psa_106:12. There did we rejoice; that is, our ancestors did, and we in their loins. The joys of our fathers were our joys, and we ought to look upon ourselves as sharers in them. 4. They are commanding to all. God by his works keeps up his dominion in the world (Psa_66:7): He rules by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations. (1.) God has a commanding eye; from the height of heaven his eye commands all the inhabitants of the world, and he has a clear and full view of them all. His eyes run to and fro through the earth; the most remote and obscure nations are under his inspection. (2.) He has a commanding arm; his power rules, rules for ever, and is never weakened, never obstructed. Strong is his hand, and high is his right hand. Hence he infers, Let not the rebellious exalt themselves; let not those that have revolting and rebellious hearts dare to rise up in any overt acts of rebellion against God, as Adonijah exalted himself, saying, I will be king. Let not those that are in rebellion against God exalt themselves as if there were any probability that they should gain their point. No; let them be still, for God hath said, I will be exalted,and man cannot gainsay it.

JAMISO�, "The terrible works illustrated in Israel’s history (Exo_14:21). By this example let rebels be admonished.

K&D 5-7, "Although the summons: Come and see... (borrowed apparently from Psa_46:9), is called forth by contemporary manifestations of God's power, the consequences of which now lie open to view, the rendering of Psa_66:6, “then will we rejoice in Him,” is nevertheless unnatural, and, rightly looked at, neither grammar nor the matter

requires it. For since שם in this passage is equivalent to ז-, and the future after ז- takes the signification of an aorist; and since the cohortative form of the future can also (e.g.,

after עד, Psa_73:7, and in clauses having a hypothetical sense) be referred to the past, and does sometimes at least occur where the writer throws himself back into the past (2Sa_22:38), the rendering: Then did we rejoice in Him, cannot be assailed on syntactical grounds. On the “we,” cf. Jos_5:1, Chethîb, Hos_12:1-14 :54. The church of all ages is a unity, the separate parts being jointly involved in the whole. The church here directs the attention of all the world to the mighty deeds of God at the time of the deliverance from Egypt, viz., the laying of the Red Sea and of Jordan dry, inasmuch as it can say in Psa_66:7, by reason of that which it has experienced ibn the present, that the

sovereign power of God is ever the same: its God rules in His victorious might עולם, i.e.,

not “over the world,” because that ought to be עולם., but “in eternity” (accusative of duration, as in Psa_89:2., Psa_45:7), and therefore, as in the former days, so also in all time to come. His eyes keep searching watch among the peoples; the rebellious, who struggle agaisnt His yoke and persecute His people, had better not rise, it may go ill with

them. The Chethîb runs ירימו, for which the Kerî is ירומו. The meaning remains the same;

.mean “to practise exaltation,” superbire (Psa_65:5 ,קרן ,ראש ,יד even without) can הרים

By means of למו this proud bearing is designated as being egotistical, and as unrestrainedly boastful. Only let them not imagine themselves secure in their arrogance! There is One more exalted, whose eye nothing escapes, and to whose irresistible might whatever is not conformed to His gracious will succumbs.

CALVI�, "5.Come and see the works of God An indirect censure is here passed upon that almost universal thoughtlessness which leads men to neglect the praises of God. Why is it that they so blindly overlook the operations of his hand, but just because they never direct their attention seriously to them? We need to be aroused upon this subject. The words before us may receive some explanation by referring to a parallel passage, Psalms 46:8. But the great scope of them is this, that the Psalmist would withdraw men from the vain or positively sinful and pernicious pursuits in which they are engaged, and direct their thoughts to the works of God. To this he exhorts them, chiding their backwardness and negligence. The expression, Come and see, intimates that what they blindly overlooked was open to observation; for were it otherwise with the works of God, this language would be inappropriate. He next points out what those works of God are to which he would have our attention directed; in general he would have us look to the method in which God governs the human family. This experimental or practical kind of knowledge, if I might so call

it, is that which makes the deepest impression. (473) We find, accordingly, that Paul, (Acts 17:27) after speaking of the power of God in general, brings his subject to bear upon this one particular point, and calls upon us to descend into ourselves if we would discover the proofs of a present God. The last clause of the fifth verse I would not interpret with some as meaning that God was terrible above the children of men — superior to them in majesty — but rather that he is terrible towards them, evincing an extraordinary providence in their defense and preservation, as we have seen noticed, Psalms 40:5. Men need look no further, therefore, than themselves, in order to discover the best grounds for reverencing and fearing God. The Psalmist passes next from the more general point of his providence towards mankind at large, to his special care over his own Church, adverting to what he had done for the redemption of his chosen people. What he states here must be considered as only one illustration of many which he might have touched upon, and as intended to remind God’s people of the infinite variety of benefits with which their first and great deliverance had been followed up and confirmed. This appears obvious from what he adds, there we rejoiced in him It is impossible that the joy of that deliverance could have extended to him or any of the descendants of the ancient Israelites, unless it had partaken the nature of a pledge and illustration of the love of God to the Church generally. Upon that event he showed himself to be the everlasting Savior of his people; so that it proved a common source of joy to all the righteous.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 5. Come and see the works of God. Such glorious events, as the cleaving of the Red Sea and the overthrow of Pharaoh, are standing wonders, and throughout all time a voice sounds forth concerning them --"Come and see." Even till the close of all things, the marvellous works of God at the Red Sea will be the subject of meditation and praise; for, standing on the sea of glass mingled with fire, the triumphal armies of heaven sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. It has always been the favourite subject of the inspired bards, and their choice was most natural.He is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. For the defence of his church and the overthrow of her foes he deals terrific blows, and strikes the mighty with fear. O thou enemy, wherefore dost thou vaunt thyself? Speak no more so exceeding proudly, but remember the plagues which bowed the will of Pharaoh, the drowning of Egypt's chariots in the Red Sea, the overthrow of Og and Sihon, the scattering of the Canaanites before the tribes. This same God still liveth, and is to be worshipped with trembling reverence.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 5. Come and see the works of God. An indirect censure is here passed upon that almost universal thoughtlessness which leads men to neglect the praises of God. John Calvin.Ver. 5. Come and see. The church at all times appeals to the world, Come and see, as Jesus said to the two disciples of John the Baptist, and Philip to �athanael. John 1:39; John 1:46. God's marvels are to be seen by all, and seeing them is the first step towards believing in their divine author. A. R. Faussett..

BE�SO�, "Psalms 66:5-6. Come and see the works of God, &c. — Inquire after and consider seriously what works of stupendous power God has shown in the earth, in regard to the human race, and on their account. He turned the sea, &c. — He opened a passage for our fathers through the sea, so that they walked as on dry land, Exodus 14:16; and also led them dry-shod through the river Jordan, when it was so full of water that it overflowed its banks. There did we rejoice in him — That is, our nation, or our ancestors, in whose loins we then were, and the benefit of which ancient deliverance we at this day enjoy. The whole people of Israel are here, and in many other parts of Scripture, considered as one body, continued through all succeeding generations, united in the bonds of the same covenant and worship, and in the possession of the same promises, privileges, and blessings, and influenced by one and the same spirit. Hence several and contrary things may reasonably be ascribed to them, in regard of their several ages; and what was done in one age may be imputed to another, by virtue of their close conjunction with the same body.

WHEDO�, "5. Come and see the works of God—The address is still, as in Psalms 66:1-3, to the nations of the earth. The “works of God” here referred to particularly relate to the great political revolutions of the kingdoms attending the downfall of the Babylonian monarchy, and the uprising of that of the Medo-Persian, eventuating in the fulfilment of the divine purpose and promise toward his Church in its liberation and re-establishment. Compare Daniel 5:30-31; Daniel 6:28 with chap. 9 and Ezra 1.

Terrible in his doing—See Psalms 66:3.

Children of men—Poetically for men, mankind, especially the world as opposed to Israel.

COFFMA�, "Verse 5GOD'S MIGHTY DEEDS OF THE PAST RECALLED

"Come and see the works of God;

He is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.

He turned the sea into dry land;

They went through the river on foot:

There did we rejoice in him,

He ruleth by his might forever;

His eyes observe the nations:

Let not the rebellious exalt themselves.

(Selah)"

"He turned the sea into dry land" (Psalms 66:6). This is a reference to the passage of Israel though the Red Sea on dry land and the subsequent drowning of the army of Pharaoh in the same sea.

"They went through the river on foot" (Psalms 66:6). They not only did that, the children of Israel went over the Jordan on foot when the river was at flood stage! "It is noteworthy that throughout the Psalms no other historical event is viewed with as much awe and wonder as the Exodus crossing of the Red Sea. There are no less that eight of the Psalms that speak of it, Psalms 18; Psalms 66; Psalms 74; Psalms 77; Psalms 78; Psalms 89; Psalms 106, and Psalms 136."[9]

"Come, and see the works of God" (Psalms 66:5). �ow the people who received this psalm could by no stretch of imagination "come and see" the mighty works of God mentioned in the same breath, namely, the crossing of the Red Sea and the crossing of Jordan. Then, what was it that the psalmist here invited the people to "Come, and see?" One possibility is that the nations were to come and look at the dead army of Sennacherib. There may have been some other mighty work of God just as wonderful as that; but it could have been that very thing.

"His eyes observe the nations ... let not the rebellious exalt themselves" (Psalms 66:7). Delitzsch gave the meaning here as follows: "God's eyes keep searching watch among the peoples; the rebellious who struggle against God's yoke and persecute God's people, had better not rise against Him. It will go with them if they do."[10]

PETT, "Verse 5-6b). A Call For Them To Remember And Take �ote Of What God Has Done For His People In The Past (Psalms 66:5-6).

The nations are now called on to consider what God has done in the past (the crossing of the Red Sea and the crossing of the Jordan are to some extent combined in the description), in revealing His divine activity in the opening up of the sea and in the destruction of the pursuing Egyptian army, demonstrating through it that He is awesome, all-powerful and fierce in His activity.

Psalms 66:5

‘Come, and see the works of God,He is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.’The nations are called on to consider what God has done in the past, His great ‘works’. For these reveal that He is mighty and awesome in His dealings with men; towards His people He is great and powerful on their behalf, amazing them by His activity (Psalms 66:6), towards those who would harm them He is fierce and terrible, Someone to be feared. Men do well not to cross Him (Psalms 66:7).

6 He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— come, let us rejoice in him.

BAR�ES, "He turned the sea into dry land - The Red Sea, when he brought his people out of Egypt, Exo_14:21. This was an illustration of his power, and of his ability to defend and deliver his people. The terror in that case, or that which was “terrible,” was the overthrow of their enemies the destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea -thus showing that he had power to destroy all the enemies of his people.

They went through the flood on foot - literally, “through the river.” It is probable that the reference here is to the passage of the river Jordan, when the Israelites were about to pass into the promised land Jos_3:14-17; thus combining the two great acts of divine interposition in favor of his people, and showing his power over streams and floods.

There did we rejoice in him -We, as a nation - our fathers - thus rejoiced in God. See Exo. 15.

CLARKE, "He turned the sea into dry land - This was a plain miracle: no human art or contrivance could do this. Even in the bed of the waters They did rejoice in him. We have not less cause to praise and be thankful.

GILL, "He turned the sea into dry land,.... The Red sea, or sea of Zuph, as the Targum; by causing a strong east wind to blow, which made it dry, so that the children of Israel passed through it on dry ground, Exo_14:21. Or, "he turneth" (y); for though the allusion is to the making the Red sea dry land, when the Israelites passed through it; yet it refers to something to be done in the times of Christ and the Gospel dispensation. So Christ might be said to do this literally, when he walked upon the sea of Galilee as on dry land, and enabled Peter to do so likewise, Mat_14:25; and figuratively, when he makes his people walk through the sea of this world, and the waters of afflictions in it, without overflowing them. He with them, bears them up, and upholds them with his right hand; so that they pass on, as on dry land, till they come safe to the shores of bliss and

happiness;

they went through the flood on foot; or "river" (z); the river Jordan, as the Targum: for this alludes not to the passage of the Israelites through the sea, but through Jordan, when they entered into the land, of Canaan, Jos_3:17. The words may be rendered, according to Kimchi,

"they shall pass through the river on foot;''

the Targum adds,

"the children of Israel;''

so the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions. Such things are said in prophecy concerning the people of God in future times; see Isa_11:15. So the river Euphrates shall be dried up, to make way for the kings of the east, Rev_16:12;

there did we rejoice in him; still alluding to the above cases, when Israel passed through the Red sea, and sung praise to God; and went through Jordan, and set up stones of memorial, Exo_15:1. Or "there shall we rejoice in him": so the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, Syriac, and Arabic versions; only the latter reads in the singular, "he shall rejoice." The Targum is,

"I will lead them to the mountain of his holiness, there shall we rejoice in his word:''

in the essential Word, the Messiah, as the saints do rejoice in him in his house, under his word and ordinances; when they see the salvation wrought out by him, and their interest in it; the righteousness he has brought in, and themselves clothed with it; pardon procured by him, and that applied to them; and when they are favoured with a sight of him, and communion with him; so will they rejoice in him when the marriage of the Lamb is come, and the bride is ready; when antichrist shall be destroyed, and they shall have got the victory over him; then they shall stand on the sea of glass, and there shall they sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb, Rev_19:7; and when they shall have come through all their difficulties safely to heaven; there shall they rejoice in Christ, and with him to all eternity.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 6. He turned the sea into dry land. It was no slight miracle to divide a pathway through such a sea, and to make it fit for the traffic of a whole nation. He who did this can do anything, and must be God, the worthy object of adoration. The Christian's inference is that no obstacle in his journey heavenward need hinder him, for the sea could not hinder Israel, and even death itself shall be as life; the sea shall be dry land when God's presence is felt.They went through the flood on foot. Through the river the tribes passed dry shod, Jordan was afraid because of them."What ailed thee, O thou mighty sea?Why rolled thy waves in dread?What bade thy tide, O Jordan, fleeAnd bare its deepest bed?""O earth, before the Lord, the God

Of Jacob, tremble still;Who makes the waste a watered sod,The flint a gushing rill."There did we rejoice in him. We participate this day in that ancient joy. The scene is so vividly before us that it seems as if we were there personally, singing unto the Lord because he hath triumphed gloriously. Faith casts herself bodily into the past joys of the saints, and realises them for herself in much the same fashion in which she projects herself into the bliss of the future, and becomes the substance of things hoped for. It is to be remarked that Israel's joy was in her God, and there let ours be. It is not so much what he has done, as what he is, that should excite in us a sacred rejoicing. "He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him."EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 6. He turned the sea into dry land. The psalmist refers to the passage through the Red Sea and the Jordan, not as to transactions which took place and were concluded at a given period of time, but as happening really in every age. God's guidance of his people is a constant drying up of the sea and of the Jordan, and the joy over his mighty deeds is always receiving new materials. E. W. Hengstenberg.Ver. 6. There did we rejoice in him; where those things have been done, there have we rejoiced in him, not taking any credit to ourselves as if they were our acts, but rejoicing and glorying in God, and have praised him, as may be seen in Exodus 15:1-27 and Joshua 3:1-17. The prophet uses the future for the past, unless, perhaps, he meant to insinuate that these miracles would be succeeded by much greater ones, of which they were only the types and figures. A much greater miracle is that men should pass over the bitter sea of this life, and cross the river of mortality, that never ceases to run, and which swallows up and drowns so many, and still come safe and alive to the land of eternal promise, and there rejoice in God himself, beholding him face to face; and yet this greater miracle is so accomplished by God, that many pass through this sea as if it were dry land, and cross this river with dry feet; that is to say, having no difficulty in despising all things temporal, be they good or be they bad; that is to say, being neither attached to the good things, nor fearing the evil things, of this world, that they may arrive in security at the heavenly Jerusalem, where we will rejoice in him, not in hope, but in complete possession for eternity. Robert Bellarmine.

WHEDO�, "6. He turned the sea… the flood—That is, the sea and the river. The allusion is to the crossing the Red Sea and the river Jordan by the Israelites.

There did we rejoice in him—There let us rejoice, or, there will we rejoice in him. The address now is to the congregation, to rejoice that the God of ancient Israel is the same to his people in all ages, as he has reassured them by his recent acts. The adverb “there” should here take the sense of therein, as in Hosea 6:7, and read, Therein will “we rejoice in him.”

ELLICOTT, "(6) Flood.—Hebrew, nâhar, which generally stands for the Euphrates, but here, as in Psalms 74:15, for either the Jordan or the Red Sea.

There did we rejoice.—The verb is properly optative—there (i.e., in those works) let us rejoice, and thus rendered is more in keeping with the first verses of the psalm. The LXX. and Vulg. have the future, “There we will rejoice in him.”

EXPOSITORS DICTIO�ARY OF TEXTS, "�othing But Miracles

Psalm 66:6

That is really all I can say; if I were to add anything to that I would be adding prose to poetry, and poor, bald, rough paint to the finest colours used by finest artists. When will people believe that the text is the sermon? In this case we have sermon and text in one most surely. "They went through the flood on foot." Believe it, and you are a Christian; deny it, and you leave the Church, turn your back on the Song of Solomon -called sanctuary, and become your own altar and idol.

I. The miracles of Jesus Christ ought to be commonplaces to us. Let us place ourselves in imaginative relation to the whole conception. Christ never said, "Gentlemen, miracles, if you please! Stand up for miracles!" �ever; He grows the daisy without a word, He brings in the summer in silence fit for her queenliness, He makes no jarring, creaking noise as He rolls up the gates of the morning. But we begin where we please, and therefore God disappoints us. We begin at unaccustomed places, and say, There are many mysteries. We make the mysteries, and we must suffer for them. The Bible can only deliver its own letters sealed, and on the seal there is written, �ot to be opened until the thirtieth century—century150. The leaves that are already opened you may read, Mark , and inwardly digest; they are food for your soul. These other letters are all sealed, each a legend of its own: To be read when the earth is seventy thousand years of age; when society has been on earth five hundred millenniums, then you may open this seal. But there is a rascally desire to open the seals before the time, because man is naturally, under-naturally, a thief. All men are thieves.

II. Miracles fill our human life. Some people do not understand them by the name miracles, but we understand them all by the name Providence—providences, Divine arrangements, the holy, sweet, beneficent promises of God.

We have lived this text; we ourselves are living miracles. How do you happen to be where you are? "Ah," you reply, "many a time I have thought of that. If my poor old mother could see me in this office in the City of London, she would be quite sure I had stolen something, she would be very anxious to get out of the way until she could speak to me privately, and inquire however I had come to have an office so large and so fine, and boys working in connexion with me, and men working under me; why, I should have to fortify the sweet old creature considerably before she would believe that her boy that used to bring in the kine in the gloaming away out on the grey hills could have come to this position." And God has sometimes said to a man in the City, "See, you know how you began; you used to tend the sheep". Ah, I had forgotten that! Yes, but that is a fact; you used to call in and number the cattle

night by night. Who brought you out of all that obscurity and set you in bright Jerusalem, David? Speak thy benefactor"s name; is this the doing of the Son of Jesse, or is it the doing of the Trinity? Forms have changed, and forms always will change, but the mystery still prevails and abounds. Life is always a mystery; it is often a mystery of darkness, but it can by the grace of God he turned into a mystery of light. Even now they are taking a sunbeam to pieces and trying to find out exactly what it is composed of, putting all the elements back again and so forth. And they cannot tell what life is. �o man can define light, no man can define love, no man can define life, no man can define God.

III. What we want is personal testimony. "They went through the flood on foot." I want the Church to rise up in all its memberships and each member to say, "So did I: I have been in floods that threatened to overwhelm me, and just as my faith was giving way the flood disappeared, and I walked through on dry land. I have done it. I was dead—yes; I am alive—true." How so? "A great movement for which there is no name." So many people are geographers, and so few are astronomers. There are people who even believe in geology, but they cannot rise to astronomy. �ow it is the astronomic that rules the whole.

—Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. VI. p126.

PETT, "Psalms 66:6

‘He turned the sea into dry land,They went through the river (flood) on foot,There did we rejoice in him.’The emphasis here is on His greatness and might exercised on behalf of His people. He made a way for them over the Sea of Reeds (Rede Sea), turning it into dry land (see Exodus 14:21-22; Exodus 14:29; compare Joshua 3:17), so that they could go through the waters on foot. The main emphasis is on the Red Sea deliverance, but the language of the second line may possibly echo the crossing of the Jordan. The word for ‘river, flood’ (nahar) is found in Joshua 24:2-3; Joshua 24:14-15, speaking there of the Euphrates. It elsewhere regularly refers to the Euphrates. It also often refers to rivers, (even the �ile), but not to the Red Sea. On the other hand its use here might be loose, as a parallel to ‘sea’.

‘There did we rejoice in Him.’ The Psalmist sees himself and his people as ‘one’ with the people of the Exodus. At the Red Sea deliverance they had rejoiced, and they continued to rejoice in that event for they felt that in some way they had been a part of it. We too, as Christians, can rejoice at God’s deliverance of His people through the centuries, for we are truly a part of that too.

7 He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations— let not the rebellious rise up against him.

BAR�ES, "He ruleth by his power for ever - literally, “Ruling by his power forever.” The idea is, that he does this constantly; in each age and generation. He never has ceased to rule; he never will. His dominion extends from age to age, and will stretch forward forever. The power which he evinced in delivering his people he retains now, and will retain forever. In that unchanging power, his people may confide; that unchanging power, the wicked should fear.

His eyes behold the nations - All nations; all people. He sees all their conduct. They can conceal nothing from him. They should, therefore, stand in awe. The wicked have much to fear from One who sees all that they do, and who has power to crush and destroy them. Compare the notes at Psa_11:4.

Let not the rebellious exalt themselves - Be lifted up with pride, or feel secure. They cannot overcome an Almighty God; they cannot escape from his power. The word rebellious here has reference to those who are impatient under the restraints of the law of God, and who are disposed to east off his authority. The admonition is one that may be addressed to all who thus rebel against God, whether they are nations or individuals. Alike they must feel the vengeance of his arm, and fall beneath his power.

CLARKE, "Be ruleth by his power - His omnipotence is employed to support his followers, and cast down his enemies.

His eyes behold the nations - He sees what they purpose, what they intend to do; and what they will do, if he restrain them not.

Let not the rebellious exalt themselves - They shall not succeed in their designs: they have their own aggrandizement in view, but thou wilt disappoint and cast them down.

Selah -Mark this. It is true.

GILL, "He ruleth by his power forever,.... Christ is the Ruler in Israel, King over his holy hill of Zion; who must reign till all enemies are put under his feet. He rules in the kingdom of nature and providence by his power, and does whatsoever he pleases; nor can any stay his hand. He rules in the kingdom of grace, in the hearts of his people, by his efficacious grace; which makes them willing, in the day of his power, to be subject

to him; and in the latter day he will take to himself his great power and reign, when he will be King for ever. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, it shall never be subverted nor usurped; nor will he in it be succeeded by another; he will reign to the end of the world, throughout the thousand years, with his saints on earth, and then with them in heaven for evermore. The Targum renders it,

"over the world;''

over the whole world; for Christ will be King over all the earth in the latter day, Zec_14:9;

his eyes behold the nations; the antichristian states. He sees all the idolatry and wickedness committed in them; and his eyes will be as flames of fire to destroy them, when the time is come. The allusion is to God's looking through the pillar of fire and cloud upon the Egyptians in the Red sea, and troubling them, Exo_14:24;

let not the rebellious exalt themselves. That are rebels against Christ, would not have him to reign over them; antichrist, who exalts himself above all that is called God, and all his followers. Or, "they shall not exalt themselves" (a): or, as the Targum,

"they shall not be exalted in themselves for ever;''

see Rev_18:7.

Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psa_3:2.

JAMISO�, "behold the nations— watch their conduct.

CALVI�, "7.He ruleth by his power over the world The Hebrew word עולם, olam, which I have translated the world, signifies occasionally an age, or eternity; (474) but the first sense seems to agree best with the context, and the meaning of the words is, that God is endued with the power necessary for wielding the government of the world. What follows agrees with this, that his eyes behold the nations Under the law, Judea was the proper seat of his kingdom; but his providence always extended to the world at large; and the special favor shown to the posterity of Abraham, in consideration of the covenant, did not prevent him from extending an eye of providential consideration to the surrounding nations. As an evidence of his care reaching to the different countries round, he takes notice of the judgments which God executed upon the wicked and the ungodly. He proves that there was no part of the human family which God overlooked, by referring to the fact of the punishment of evil-doers. There may be much in the Divine administration of the world calculated to perplex our conclusions; but there are always some tokens to be seen of his judgments, and these sufficiently clear to strike the eye of an acute and attentive observer.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 7. He ruleth by his power for ever. He has not deceased, nor

abdicated, nor suffered defeat. The prowess displayed at the Red Sea is undiminished: the divine dominion endures throughout eternity.His eyes behold the nations. Even as he looked out of the cloud upon the Egyptians and discomfited them, so does he spy out his enemies, and mark their conspiracies. His hand rules and his eye observes, his hand has not waxed weak, nor his eye dim. As so many grasshoppers he sees the people and tribes, at one glance he takes in all their ways. He oversees all and overlooks none.Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. The proudest have no cause to be proud. Could they see themselves as God sees them they would shrivel into nothing. Where rebellion reaches to a great head, and hopes most confidently for success, it is a sufficient reason for abating our fears, that the Omnipotent ruler is also an Omniscient observer. O proud rebels, remember that the Lord aims his arrows at the high soaring eagles and brings them down from their nest among the stars. "He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree." After a survey of the Red Sea and Jordan, rebels, if they were in their senses, would have no more stomach for the fight, but would humble themselves at the Conqueror's feet.Selah. Pause again, and take time to bow low before the throne of the Eternal.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 7. His eyes behold the nations. The radical meaning of the word hku is augazein, to shine, and metonymically to examine with a bright eye; to inspect with a piercing glance, and thence to behold, for either good or evil, as Proverbs 15:3 : "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." Here it is taken in an adverse sense, and means, to watch from a watch tower, to threaten from a lofty place. Psalms 37:32 : "The wicked watcheth the righteous; "and Job 15:22 : He is waited for "from the watch tower for the sword; "that is to say, the sword is drawn above the head of the wicked, as if it threatened him from the watch tower of God. But, at the same time, there is also a reference to God's looking from the pillar of fire, and of cloud, upon the host of Pharaoh in the Red Sea. Exodus 14:24. Hermann Venema.Ver. 7. His eyes behold the nations. This should give check to much iniquity. Can a man's conscience easily and delightedly swallow that which he is sensible falls under the cognizance of God, when it is hateful to the eye of his holiness, and renders the action odious to him? "Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?" saith Job, (Job 31:4)... The consideration of this attribute should make us humble. How dejected would a person be if he were sure all the angels in heaven, and men upon earth, did perfectly know his crimes, with all their aggravations! But what is created knowledge to an infinite and just censuring understanding? When we consider that he knows our actions, whereof there are multitudes, and our thoughts, whereof there are millions; that he views all the blessings bestowed upon us; all the injuries we have returned to him; that he exactly knows his own bounty, and our ingratitude; all the idolatry, blasphemy, and secret enmity in every man's heart against him; all tyrannical oppressions, hidden lusts, omissions of necessary duties, violations of plain precepts, every foolish imagination, with all the circumstances of them, and that perfectly in all their full anatomy, every mite of unworthiness and wickedness in every circumstance... should not the consideration of this melt our hearts into humiliation before him, and make us earnest in begging pardon and forgiveness of him. Stephen Charnock.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 66:7. He ruleth by his power for ever — The same power which God possessed and exerted for his people in ancient times, he still possesses in as great vigour as ever, and is as able and ready to act for them as ever he was: which he hath shown in this late and glorious instance. His eyes behold the nations — He sees all their secret and subtle devices, and can and will defeat them, when he sees fit. Let not the rebellious exalt themselves — Lift up their hands against God or his people. Or, the rebellious; that is, those that rebel against this Almighty God and his laws, shall not exalt themselves, as they vainly hope and design to do, but shall be brought down and destroyed, as is here implied.

WHEDO�, "7. His eyes behold—His eyes watch. A police-watch is intended. Thus exact knowledge and perfect power leave no hope of impunity.

�ations— The Hebrew word is almost exclusively used of the Gentiles, or heathen nations, throughout the Bible. It is to these he has chiefly addressed himself hitherto. Psalms 66:8 opens a new division of the psalm, with new associations.

Let not the rebellious—A caution to the haughty monarchs who contemned Israel. See Psalms 2:3; Psalms 2:12; 2 Kings 18:29-35; Daniel 3:15

COKE, "Psalms 66:7. Let not the rebellious exalt themselves— The rebellious or refractory; i.e. Pharaoh, whose stubbornness and pride occasioned his ruin. But the caution was still as necessary as ever. God's eyes were still looking up and down through the nations, to rescue his prisoners, how haughtily soever their persecutors might behave toward them. Mudge.

ELLICOTT, "(7) His eyes behold.—Better, his eyes keep watch on the nations. God is, as it were, Israel’s outpost, ever on the alert to warn and defend them against surrounding nations.

Let not . . .—Literally, the rebellious, let them not exalt for themselves, where we may supply “horn” as in Psalms 75:4-5, or “head” as in Psalms 3:3; Psalms 110:7. For the rebe

PETT, "Verse 7c). A Warning To The �ations To Remember In The Light Of His Historic Activity That He Is Observing Them (Psalms 66:7).

Psalms 66:7

‘He rules by his might for ever,His eyes observe the nations,Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. [Selah.’And just as God observed what the Egyptians were seeking to do at the Red Sea, so are the nations to recognise that He observes their activity against His people as

well. He rules the world by His power, and His eyes sees all that they do (compare Zechariah 4:10). Thus those who rebel against Him by exalting themselves over His people should watch their step. They should recognise that He is not unaware of what they do. Such exaltation of themselves by nations against His people, and the resulting repercussions, are echoed in Isaiah 36-37. Our God sees all.

8 Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard;

BAR�ES, "O bless our God, ye people - That is, particularly the people of the nation; the Hebrew people. The call here to praise or bless God is on account of some special benefit which had been conferred on them, and which is referred to more particularly in the following verses. It was his gracious interposition in the time of danger, by which they were delivered from their foes, Psa_66:11-12.

And make the voice of his praise to be heard - Let it be sounded out afar, that it may be heard abroad.

CLARKE, "O bless our God -Who have so much cause as you to sing praises to the Lord? Hear what he has done for you:

GILL, "O bless our God, ye people,.... In all countries, that know the Lord and fear him; ascribe blessing, and honour and glory, to Christ our God, on account of his works, actions, perfections, kingdom and power; and because of the destruction of those who are rebels to his government;

and make the voice of his praise to be heard; far and near, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs; by shoutings, and loud acclamations of joy; see Rev

HE�RY, "In these verses the psalmist calls upon God's people in a special manner to praise him. Let all lands do it, but Israel's land particularly. Bless our God; bless him as ours, a God in covenant with us, and that takes care of us as his own. Let them make the voice of his praise to be heard (Psa_66:8); for from whom should it be heard but from those who are his peculiar favourites and select attendants? Two things we have reason

to bless God for: -

JAMISO�, "Here is, perhaps, cited a case of recent deliverance.

K&D 8-12, "The character of the event by which the truth has been verified that theGod who redeemed Israel out of Egypt still ever possesses and exercises to the full His ancient sovereign power, is seen from this reiterated call to the peoples to share in Israel's Gloria. God has averted the peril of death and overthrow from His people: He

has put their soul in life (ח5ים., like ישע. in Psa_12:6), i.e., in the realm of life; He has not

abandoned their foot to tottering unto overthrow (mowT the substantive, as in Psa_121:3; cf. the reversed construction in Psa_55:23). For God has cast His people as it were into a smelting-furnace or fining-pot in order to purify and to prove them by suffering; -this is a favourite figure with Isaiah and Jeremiah, but is also found in Zec_13:9; Mal_

3:3. Eze_19:9 is decisive concerning the meaning of מצודה, where הביא�במצודות signifies “to bring into the holds or prisons;” besides, the figure of the fowling-net (although this is

also called מצודה as well as מצודה) has no footing here in the context. מצודה (vid., Psa_18:3) signifies specula, and that both a natural and an artificial watch-post on a mountain; here it is the mountain-hold or prison of the enemy, as a figure of the total loss of freedom. The laying on of a heavy burden mentioned by the side of it in Psa_

66:11 also accords well with this. מועקה, a being oppressed, the pressure of a burden, is a

Hophal formation, like מ8ה, a being spread out, Isa_8:8; cf. the similar masculine forms

in Psa_69:3; Isa_8:13; Isa_14:6; Isa_29:3. The loins are mentioned because when carrying heavy loads, which one has to stoop down in order to take up, the lower spinal

region is called into exercise. אנוש is frequently (Psa_9:20., Psa_10:18; Psa_56:2, Isa_51:12; 2Ch_14:10) the word used for tyrants as being wretched mortals, perishable creatures, in contrast with their all the more revolting, imperious, and self-deified demeanour. God so ordered it, that “wretched men” rode upon Israel's head. Or is it to be interpreted: He caused them to pass over Israel (cf. Psa_129:3; Isa_51:23)? It can scarcely mean this, since it would then be in dorso nostro, which the Latin versions

capriciously substitute. The preposition ל� instead of על is used with reference to the

phrase ישב�ל�: sitting upon Israel's head, God caused them to ride along, so that Israel was

not able to raise its head freely, but was most ignominiously wounded in its self-esteem. Fire and water are, as in Isa_43:2, a figure of vicissitudes and perils of the most extreme

character. Israel was nigh to being burnt up and drowned, but God led it forth לרויה, to an abundant fulness, to abundance and superabundance of prosperity. The lxx, which

renders ε<ς�>ναψυχήν (Jerome absolutely: in refrigerium), has read לרוחה; Symmachus,

ε<ς�εCρυχωρίαν, probably reading לרחבה (Psa_119:45; Psa_18:20). Both give a stronger antithesis. But the state of straitness or oppression was indeed also a state of privation.

CALVI�, "8Bless our God, O ye people! Although calling upon all, without exception, to praise God, he refers particularly to some Divine interposition in behalf of the Church. He would seem to hint that the Gentiles were destined, at a future period, to share the favor now exclusively enjoyed by God’s chosen people. In the meantime, he reminds them of the signal and memorable nature of the

deliverance granted, by calling upon them to spread abroad the fame of it. Though he speaks of the Jewish people as having been brought unto life, (an expression intended to denote deliverance of a more than ordinary kind,) this means that they had been preserved from approaching danger rather than recovered from a calamity which had actually overtaken them, It is said that their feet had not been suffered to fall, which implies, that, through seasonable help which they had received, they had not fallen, but stood firm. The Psalmist, however, does not take occasion, from the evil having been anticipated and averted, to undervalue it. As they had been preserved safe by an interposition of Divine goodness, he speaks of this as tantamount to having been brought or restored to life.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 8. O bless our God, ye people. Ye chosen seed, peculiarly beloved, it is yours to bless your covenant God as other nations cannot. Ye should lead the strain, for he is peculiarly your God. First visited by his love, ye should be foremost in his praise.And make the voice of his praise to be heard. Whoever else may sing with bated breath, do you be sure to give full tongue and volume to the song. Compel unwilling ears to hear the praises of your covenant God. Make rocks, and hills, and earth, and sea, and heaven itself to echo with your joyful shouts.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 66:8-9. O bless our God, ye people — Of other nations, who have served, or yet do serve other gods. Who holdeth our soul in life — Who by a succession of miracles of mercy hath preserved us alive in the midst of a thousand deaths, to which we were exposed; and hath restored us to life, when, as a nation, we were like dead men and dry bones, scattered at the mouth of the grave. And suffereth not our feet to be moved — �amely, so as to fall into mischief and utter ruin, as our enemies designed. But the psalmist’s words here are not to be interpreted exclusively of public and national blessings. We ought all, as individuals, to remember and acknowledge our daily and hourly obligations to him, who gave us our being at first, and by a constant renewed act upholds us in being. And, when we are ready to faint and perish, he restores our soul, and so puts it, as it were, into a new life, imparting new supports and comforts. We are apt to stumble and fall, and are exposed to many destructive accidents and disasters, as well as killing diseases; and as to these also we are guarded by the divine power; he suffereth not our feet to be moved, in that he prevents many unforeseen evils, from which we ourselves were not aware of our danger. To him we owe it that we have not, long ere this, fallen into endless ruin.

WHEDO�, "8. Bless our God, ye people—The second strophe is here introduced by a call to the Church. “People” stands for the covenant people Israel, the Church, as “nations” does for Gentiles, Psalms 66:7; and “all ye lands,” “all the earth,” and “children of men” do for the same, Psalms 66:1; Psalms 66:4-5. ]n the former verses he speaks of “God,” now he speaks of “our God.” Hitherto he has warned haughty kings and nations, now he invites them to spiritual worship.

COFFMA�, "Verse 8THAT SPECIAL GRA�D DELIVERA�CE

"Oh bless our God, ye peoples,

And make the voice of his praise to be heard;

Who holdeth our soul in life,

And suffereth not our feet to be moved.

For thou, O God, hast proved us:

Thou hast tried us as silver is tried.

Thou broughtest us into the net;

Thou layedst a sore burden upon our loins.

Thou didst cause men to ride over our heads;

We went through fire and through water;

But thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place."

"Bless our God, ye peoples" (Psalms 66:8). The contrast between "our God" and "ye peoples" here indicates that the psalmist was calling all the Gentiles to praise Israel's God for such a marvelous demonstration of God's power. Under the circumstances there was utterly no way to deny that God had indeed wrought a mighty deliverance upon behalf of Israel.

"Holdeth our soul in life ... suffereth not our feet to be moved" (Psalms 66:9). Leupold wrote that, "The deliverance wrought in Hezekiah's day (by the death of the Assyrian army) furnishes a suitable background for every figure used in Psalms 66:8-12."

As Sennacherib's army approached, most Israelites no doubt felt that the destruction of Jerusalem was imminent. The city was already under the burden of immense tribute to the Assyrians; and the taunting remarks of Rabshakeh had struck fear into the whole nation. Despite all the threats, God kept the hopes of the nation alive, not allowing their `feet to be moved.'

"Thou hast tried us as silver is tried" (Psalms 66:10). The presence in the vicinity of Jerusalem of an immense Assyrian army was as great a `trial' as could have been imagined in those days. The Assyrians were historically called `The Breakers'; and their atrocious cruelties were terrible and inhuman. They flayed alive many of their captives; and the ancient artists of that sadistic people were more familiar with the human anatomy without the skin than they were with it. This is demonstrated by the so-called `art' and sculpture which have been excavated from the ruins of

ancient �ineveh.

"Thou layedst a sore burden upon our loins" (Psalms 66:11). This appears to be a reference to the extravagant tribute Hezekiah was forced to pay to the Assyrians; 2 Kings 18 relates how Israel had great difficulty raising the hundred talents of silver and the thirty talents of gold, which they were led to believe would avert the destruction of Jerusalem. They even cut off the gold from the doors of the temple itself and left the city bankrupt of all of its precious treasures. It was `a sore burden' indeed.

"We went through fire and through water" (Psalms 66:12). These are metaphors of the most galling trials. "Fire and water in Isaiah 43:2 are figures of vicissitudes and perils of the most extreme character. Israel was indeed near to being `burned up and drowned.'"[11]

"But thou broughtest us forth into a wealthy place" (Psalms 66:12). The RSV has rendered this, "Thou hast brought us forth to a spacious place"; but we fail to see any improvement in the meaning. Certainly, as Delitzsch noted, "The period of their oppression was indeed a state of privation (and poverty); and the antithesis was surely `an abundant fulness of abundance and superabundance of prosperity.'"[12]

Under the circumstances, it seems to us that "a wealthy place" is appropriate. After all, that overwhelming tribute Hezekiah had just paid to the Assyrians would have been recovered after the death of the whole army, to say nothing of all the loot and wealth extracted from the cities of Judah that were in the process of being carried back to �ineveh by Sennacherib's rapacious soldiers.

The words here, "a wealthy place," seem to be required by the incredible riches that came to Israel as a result of God's magnificent deliverance of Hezekiah and the city of Jerusalem.

From the end of Psalms 66:12, the psalmist speaks of himself, rather than of the nation; but the kind of sacrifices offered and the general vocabulary indicate that the psalmist belonged to the nation of Israel, and in all probability, was either a prominent leader or the ruler of it.

PETT, "Verses 8-12d). The �ations Are To Take �ote Of The Wonderful Deliverance From A Disastrous Experience That His People Have Experienced (Psalms 66:8-12).

The words that follow indicate some special trial that His people had faced. Whilst it is possible that these words reflect the Exile, with the people seeing themselves as a continuing unity so that what some suffer their descendants suffer with them, it is more natural to see the words as the expression of people who have themselves gone through deep trial and have themselves been delivered. This would point to some experience like that of the deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrians (2 Kings 18:13 ff.; Isaiah 36-37). It is probable therefore that we are to see in this Psalm an

expression of worship in the days of Hezekiah, when the Assyrians withdrew from the siege of Jerusalem, with Hezekiah playing a prominent role. For us it is an assurance that, although He might allow His true people to go through fire and water, He will in the end bring them through into a place of abundance.

Psalms 66:8

‘Oh bless our God, you peoples,And make the voice of his praise to be heard,This part opens with this call to give praise and worship to God, which will be immediately followed by an explanation as to why this call to praise God is expressed. All peoples are called on to ‘bless God’ (offer Him praise and worship) and to make the sound of their praise heard.

9 he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.

BAR�ES, "Which holdeth our soul in life -Margin, as in Hebrew, putteth. That is, He has put (or placed) us in a state of safety. The word rendered “in life” means literally “among the living.” The word soul here is equivalent to us - ourselves; and the idea is, that he keeps us among the living. What is here said of this special deliverance is true of all people at all times, that they owe the fact that they are among the living to the care of God; or, it is because he puts them among the living, or keeps them alive.

And suffereth not our feet to be moved - That is, from their firm position of safety. The idea is taken from one who is walking, and who is kept from slipping or falling.

CLARKE, "Which holdeth our soul in life - Literally, “he who placeth our soul

bachaiyim, in lives.” We are preserved alive, have health of body, and feel the life of בחיים

God in our hearts.

And suffereth not her feet to be moved - Keeps us steadfast in his testimonies. We have our life, our liberty, and our religion. O, what hath the Lord wrought for us! “Make, therefore, the voice of his praise to be heard.” Let God and man know you are thankful.

GILL, "Which holdeth our soul in life,.... Or, "putteth our soul in life" (b), or "among the living", which is not to be understood of infusing a living soul in man, nor of the preservation of natural life, which is common to all men; but of appointing and ordaining them unto eternal life, as the Targum; and of procuring it for them by Christ; and of implanting a principle of spiritual life in them, by his Spirit and grace; and of the preservation of the principle of life, that it be not lost; and of giving them a right and title to eternal life, and that itself: all which are a sufficient reason, and powerful argument, to bless our God, and praise his name. It follows:

and suffereth not our feet to be moved; that is, not to be greatly moved; or if moved so as to slip and fall, yet not so as to fall finally and totally; see Psa_55:22.

HE�RY, " Common protection (Psa_66:9): He holdeth our soul in life, that it may not drop away of itself; for, being continually in our hands, it is apt to slip through our fingers. We must own that it is the good providence of God that keeps life and soul together and his visitation that preserves our spirit. He puts our soul in life, so the word is. He that gave us our being, by a constant renewed act upholds us in our being, and his providence is a continued creation. When we are ready to faint and perish he restores our soul, and so puts it, as it were, into a new life, giving new comforts. Non est vivere, sed valere, vita - It is not existence, but happiness, that deserves the name of life. But we are apt to stumble and fall, and are exposed to many destructive accidents, killing disasters as well as killing diseases, and therefore as to these also we are guarded by the divine power. He suffers not our feet to be moved, preventing many unforeseen evils, which we ourselves were not aware of our danger from. To him we owe it that we have not, long ere this, fallen into endless ruin. He will keep the feet of his saints.

JAMISO�, "holdeth ... in life— literally, “putteth our soul in life”; that is, out of danger (Psa_30:3; Psa_49:15).

to be moved— (Compare Psa_10:6; Psa_55:22).

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 9. Which holdeth our soul in life. At any time the preservation of life, and especially the soul's life, is a great reason for gratitude but much more when we are called to undergo extreme trials, which of themselves would crush our being. Blessed be God, who, having put our souls into possession of life, has been pleased to preserve that heaven given life from the destroying power of the enemy.And suffereth not our feet to be moved. This is another and precious boon. If God has enabled us not only to keep our life, but our position, we are bound to give him double praise. Living and standing is the saint's condition through divine grace. Immortal and immoveable are those whom God preserves. Satan is put to shame, for instead of being able to slay the saints, as he hoped, he is not even able to trip them up. God is able to make the weakest to stand fast, and he will do so.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 9. Which holdeth our soul in life. As the works of creation at first, and upholding all by his power and providence, are yoked together as works of a like wonder, vouchsafed the creation in common, Hebrews 1:2-3; so just in the like

manner we find regeneration and perseverance joined, as the sum of all other works in this life. Thus "begotten again, "and "kept by the power of God to salvation, "are joined by the Apostle, 1 Peter 1:3; 1 Peter 1:5, "Called and preserved in Christ Jesus; "so in Jude 1:1... "Blessed be God, "says Peter, "who, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again." And, O bless our God, ye people, which holdeth our souls in life, says the psalmist. Yea, if we do narrowly eye the words in either, both Peter and the psalmist do bless God for both at once. Blessed be God for "begetting us, "who are also "kept by the power of God; "so it follows in Peter. In the psalmist both are comprehended in this one word:1. Which putteth our souls in life (so the margin, out of the Hebrew), that is, who puts life into your soul at the first, as he did into Adam when he made him a living soul;2. And then which holdeth, that is, continueth our souls in that life. So the translators render it also, according to the psalmist's scope, and O bless the Lord, saith the psalmist, for these and both these. Thomas Goodwin.Ver. 9. Which holdest our soul in life. It is truth, that all we have is in the hand of God; but God keeps our life in his hand last of all, and he hath that in his hand in a special manner. Though the soul continue, life may not continue; there is the soul when there is not life: life is that which is the union of soul and body. Thou holdest our soul in life; that is, thou holdest soul and body together. So Daniel describes God to Belshazzar, Daniel 5:23, "The God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified." The breath of princes is in the hand of God, and the same hand holds the breath of the meanest subject. This may be matter of comfort to us in times of danger, and times of death: when the hand of man is lifted up to take thy life, remember thy life is held in the hand of God; and as God said to Satan (Job 2:6): Afflict the body of Job, but save his life; so God saith still to bloody wretches, who are as the limbs of Satan: The bodies of such and such are in your hands, the estates of such and such are in your hands, but save their lives. Joseph Caryl.Ver. 9. Putteth our soul in life. An elegant and emphatic expression, only to be understood by observing the exact force of the words. The soul is the life, as is well known, the word Myv is to place, to place upon, to press in, the word Myyx signifies properly joinings, fastenings together, and hence those faculties and powers by which nature is held together and made firm. Hermann Venema.Ver. 9. Which holdeth our soul in life. He holdeth our soul in life, that it may not drop away of itself; for being continually in our hands, it is apt to slip through our fingers. Matthew Henry.Ver. 9. And suffereth not our feet to be moved. It is a great mercy to be kept from desperate courses in the time of sad calamities, to be supported under burdens, that we sink not; and to be prevented from denying God, or his truth, in time of persecution. David Dickson.

WHEDO�, "9. Holdeth our soul in life—Setteth up, placeth firmly, our soul in the life; that is, in the true condition and life of thy covenant people; a literal description of an anastasis, or resurrection, where the Hebrew שום, (seem,) to place, put, set up, and the corresponding Septuagint θεµενου, answer to the �ew Testament

αναστασις, resurrection, “the person or thing put, [placed, set up,] regarded as standing erect rather than lying down.”— Delitzsch. This idea is here sustained by the parallelism, thus:—

Placing [erecting] our soul in the life,And hast not given over [delivered, abandoned] our foot to the sliding.The firm, erect posture is contrasted with the tottering and sliding condition. Comp. Psalms 9:13, and the use of שום, (set up,) Psalms 74:4 ; Job 5:11, et.al. This mode of speech, which is not unfrequent, belongs to a people who had an idea of the resurrection of the human body.

COKE, "Verses 9-12Psalms 66:9-12. Which holdeth our soul in life— These verses plainly refer to the deliverance from Egypt. After having made his people pass through several trials in Egypt, God brought them into a net: "They are entangled, Pharaoh said, The wilderness hath shut them in." Exodus 14:3. He put that contrasting pain into their loins, which arises from a strong fear. He brought the Egyptian chariots close home upon their backs; he carried them through the fire, (the pillar of fire,) and through the Red Sea; and at last brought them into the rich land, flowing with milk and honey. Mudge. For affliction, in Psalms 66:11 we may read, distress, restraint; and instead of a wealthy place, in Psalms 66:12 a watered place.

PETT, "Psalms 66:9

Who holds our person in life,And does not allow our feet to be moved.’And the reason for such praise is that God maintains their lives, not allowing them to be tossed aside. He keeps them alive in dire situations and establishes their way. And there had been no situation more dire than that when the Assyrians surrounded Jerusalem, bent on great slaughter once Jerusalem surrendered. (A city which surrendered immediately was usually treated leniently, but once it had shown stubborn resistance it was seen as deserving wholesale slaughter - see Deuteronomy 20:10-14).

10 For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.

BAR�ES, "For thou, O God, hast proved us - That is, Thou hast tried us; thou hast tested the reality of our attachment to thee, as silver is tried by the application of fire. God had proved or tried them by bringing calamity upon them to test the reality of their allegiance to him. The nature of the proof or trial is referred to in the following verses.

Thou hast tried us, as silver is tried - That is, by being subjected to appropriate tests to ascertain its real nature, and to remove from it imperfections. Compare the notes at 1Pe_1:7; notes at Isa_1:25; notes at Isa_48:10; see also Zec_13:9; Mal_3:3.

CLARKE, "For thou, O God, hast proved us - This is a metaphor taken from melting and refining metals; afflictions and trials of various kinds are represented as a furnace where ore is melted, and a crucible where it is refined. And this metaphor is used especially to represent cases where there is doubt concerning the purity of the metal, the quantity of alloy, or even the nature or kind of metal subjected to the trial. So God is said to try the Israelites that he might know what was in them; and whether they would keep his testimonies: and then, according to the issue, his conduct towards them would appear to be founded on reason and justice.

GILL, "For thou, O God, hast proved us,.... And by the experiment found them to be true and faithful; to have the truth of grace, and the root of the matter in them; not reprobate silver, or their grace counterfeit grace; but of the right kind, solid and substantial;

thou hast tried us as silver is tried; in a furnace, where it is put and melted by the refiner, and purified from the dross that attends it. So the Targum,

"thou hast purified us as the silversmith purifieth the silver;''

or tries it by melting and purifying it. Thus the Lord puts his people into the furnace of afflictions, and sits as a refiner and purifier of them; hereby he tries their graces, faith, patience, hope, and love, their principles and their professions; refines their graces, and makes them more bright and illustrious; removes their dross and tin, and reforms their manners; and proves them to be good silver, and approves of them, and esteems them as such, even as his peculiar treasure. From whence it appears, as well as from the following verses, that afflictions are of God; that they are for the good of his people, and not their hurt; like silver they are put into the fire of affliction, not to be destroyed and lost, but to be purged and refined; and that they are not in wrath, but in love: and this, with what follows, may respect the sufferings of the saints under Rome, Pagan and Papal; when Christ's feet, the members of his mystical body, were like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; when their graces were tried, their works were known, and their persons proved and approved, Rev_1:15; see Zec_13:9.

JAMISO� 10-12, "Out of severe trials, God had brought them to safety (compare Isa_48:10; 1Pe_1:7).

CALVI�, "10For thou, O God! hast proved us We may read, Though thou, O God! etc., and then the passage comes in as a qualification of what went before, and is brought forward by the Psalmist to enhance the goodness of God, who had delivered them from such severe calamities. But there is another object which I consider him to have in view, and this is the alleviation of the grief of God’s people, by setting before them the comfort suggested by the words which follow. When visited with affliction, it is of great importance that we should consider it as coming from God, and as expressly intended for our good. It is in reference to this that the Psalmist speaks of their having been proved and tried. At the same time, while he adverts to God’s trying his children with the view of purging away their sin, as dross is expelled from the silver by fire, he would intimate, also, that trial had been made of their patience. The figure implies that their probation had been severe; for silver is cast repeatedly into the furnace. They express themselves thankful to God, that, while proved with affliction, they had not been destroyed by it; but that their affliction was both varied and very severe, appears not only from the metaphor, but from the whole context, where they speak of having been cast into the net, being reduced to straits, men riding over their heads, and of being brought through shipwreck and conflagration. (477) The expression, laying a restraint [or chain ]upon their loins, is introduced as being stronger than the one which goes before. It was not a net of thread which had been thrown over them, but rather they had been bound down with hard and insolvable fetters. The expression which follows refers to men who had shamefully tyrannised over them, and ridden them down as cattle. By fire and water are evidently meant complicated afflictions; and it is intimated that God had exercised his people with every form of calamity. They are the two elements which contribute more than any other to sustain human life, but are equally powerful for the destruction of it. It is noticeable, that the Psalmist speaks of all the cruelties which they had most unjustly suffered from the hands of their enemies, as an infliction of Divine punishment; and would guard the Lord’s people against imagining that God was ignorant of what they had endured, or distracted by other things from giving attention to it. In their condition, as here described, we have that of the Church generally represented to us; and this, that when subjected to vicissitudes, and cast out of the fire into the water, by a succession of trials, there may at last be felt to be nothing new or strange in the event to strike us with alarm. The Hebrew word רויה,revayah, which I have rendered fruitful place, means literally a well-watered land. Here it is taken metaphorically for a condition of prosperity, the people of God being represented as brought into a pleasant and fertile place, where there is abundance of pasturage. The truth conveyed is, that God, although he visit his children with temporary chastisements of a severe description, will ultimately crown them with joy and prosperity. It is a mistake to suppose that the allusion is entirely to their being settled in the land of Canaan, (478) for the psalm has not merely reference to the troubles which they underwent in the wilderness, but to the whole series of distresses to which they were subjected at the different periods of their history.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 10. For thou, O God, hast proved us. He proved his Israel with

sore trials. David had his temptations. All the saints must go to the proving house; God had one Son without sin, but he never had a son without trial. Why ought we to complain if we are subjected to the rule which is common to all the family, and from which so much benefit has flowed to them? The Lord himself proves us, who then shall raise a question as to the wisdom and the love which are displayed in the operation? The day may come when, as in this case, we shall make hymns out of our griefs, and sing all the more sweetly because our mouths have been purified with bitter draughts.Thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Searching and repeated, severe and thorough, has been the test; the same result has followed us as in the case of precious metal, for the dross and tin have been consumed, and the pure ore has been discovered. Since trial is sanctified to so desirable an end, ought we not to submit to it with abounding resignation.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 10. Thou, O God, hast proved us. It is not known what corn will yield, till it come to the flail; nor what grapes, till they come to the press. Grace is hid in nature, as sweet water in rose leaves; the fire of affliction fetcheth it out. --Thou hast tried us as silver. The wicked also are tried (Revelation 3:10), but they prove reprobate silver (Jeremiah 6:28), or at best, as alchemy gold, that will not bear the seventh fire, as Job did (Job 23:10). John Trapp.Ver. 10. As silver is tried. Convinced from the frequent use of this illustration, that there was something more than usually instructive in the process of assaying and purifying silver, I have collected some few facts upon the subject. The hackneyed story of the refiner seeing his image in the molten silver while in the fire, has so charmed most of us, that we have not looked further; yet, with more careful study, much could be brought out. To assay silver requires great personal care in the operator. "The principle of assaying gold and silver is very simple theoretically, but in practice great experience is necessary to insure accuracy; and there is no branch of business which demands more personal and undivided attention. The result is liable to the influence of so many contingencies, that no assayer who regards his reputation will delegate the principal process to one not equally skilled with himself. Besides the result ascertainable by weight, there are allowances and compensations to be made, which are known only to an experienced assayer, and if these were disregarded, as might be the case with the mere novice, the report would be wide from the truth." (Encyclopaedia Britannica.) Pagnini's version reads: "Thou hast melted us by blowing upon us, "and in the monuments of Egypt, artificers are seen with the blowpipe operating with small fire places, with cheeks to confine and reflect the heat; the worker evidently paying personal attention, which is evident also in Malachi 3:3, "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." To assay silver requires a skilfully constructed furnace. The description of this furnace would only weary the reader, but it is evidently a work of art in itself. Even the trial of our faith is much more precious than that of gold which perisheth. He has refined us, but not with silver, he would not trust us there, the furnace of affliction is far more skilfully arranged than that. To assay silver the heat must be nicely regulated. "During the operation, the assayer's attention should be directed to the heat of the furnace, which must be neither too hot nor too cold: if too hot, minute portions of silver will be carried off with the lead, and so vitiate the assay; moreover, the pores of the

cupel being more open, greater absorption will ensue, and there is liability to loss from that cause. One indication of an excess of heat in the furnace, is the rapid and perpendicular rising of the fumes to the ceiling of the muffle, the mode of checking and controlling which has been pointed out in the description of the improved furnace. When the fumes are observed to fall to the bottom of the muffle, the furnace is then too cold; and if left unaltered, it will be found that the cupellation has been imperfectly performed, and the silver will not have entirely freed itself from the base metals. (Encyclopaedia Britannica.) The assayer repeats his trying process. Usually two or more trials of the same piece are made, so that great accuracy may be secured. Seven times silver is said to be purified, and the saints through varied trials reach the promised rest." C. H. S.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 66:10. For thou, O God, &c. — Or, nevertheless. Though thou hast hitherto helped us: and now delivered us, yet for a season thou hast sorely afflicted us; hast tried us as silver is tried — That is, severely, as if it were in a burning furnace; and with a design to try our sincerity, and to purge the dross out of our hearts, and the wicked from among us. Observe, reader, we are proved by afflictions, as silver in the fire, 1st, That our graces, by being tried, may be made more evident, and so we may be approved as silver is when it is marked sterling, which will be to our praise at the appearing of Jesus Christ, 1 Peter 1:7. And, 2d, That our graces, by being exercised, may be made more strong and active, and so may be improved, as silver is when it is refined by the fire, and made more clear from its dross; and this will be to our unspeakable advantage, for thus shall we be made partakers of God’s holiness, Hebrews 12:10. Then are we likely to get good by our afflictions when we look upon them in this light; for then we see that they proceed from God’s mercy and love, and are intended for our honour and benefit. Public troubles, we must observe, are for the purifying of the church.

WHEDO�, "10. As silver is tried—Such figures indicate that the art of refining the precious metals was known to the Hebrews. The history of the tabernacle in the wilderness shows them to have been advanced in the art of metallurgy, which they had learned of the Egyptians. See Psalms 12:6; Exodus 25.In the peninsula of Mount Sinai are still found numerous excavations of ancient Egyptian mines of iron and copper, also turquois and manganese, with shafts, vast slag heaps, ruins of smelting furnaces, dwellings, temples and hieroglyphics, dating anterior to, and at the time of, the exodus. In their oppressed condition it is not improbable that many of the Israelites worked in these mines. Moses led the people within a few miles of a principal colony of miners, (in Serabit el Khadim,) then evidently in full operation, “having most probably a considerable military establishment to preserve discipline, as the miners were chiefly selected from criminals and prisoners of war.”—PALMER’S Desert of the Exodus.

PETT, "Psalms 66:10

‘For you, O God, have put us to the test,You have tried us, as silver is tried.’

The first illustration is that of metal tested for purity in the fire (compare Psalms 17:3; Psalms 26:2; Proverbs 17:3; Jeremiah 9:7; Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:2-3). God is seen as having tested out the trueness and obedience of His people by putting them through great trial.

11 You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.

BAR�ES, "Thou broughtest us into the net - That is, Thou hast suffered or permitted us to be brought into the net; thou hast suffered us to be taken captive, as beasts are caught in a snare. See the notes at Psa_9:15. The allusion here is to the efforts made by their enemies to take them, as hunters lay gins, or spread nets, to capture wild beasts. The idea here is, that those enemies had been successful; God had suffered them to fall into their hands. If we suppose this psalm to have been composed on the return from the Babylonian captivity, the propriety of this language will be apparent, for it well describes the fact that the nation had been subdued by the Babylonians, and had been led captive into a distant land. Compare Lam_1:13.

Thou laidst affliction upon our loins - The loins are mentioned as the seat of strength (compare Deu_33:11; 1Ki_12:10; Job_40:16).; and the idea here is, that he had put their strength to the test; he had tried them to see how much they could bear; he had made the test effectual by applying it to the part which was able to bear most. The idea is, that he had called them to endure as much as they were able to endure. He had tried them to the utmost.

CLARKE, "Thou broughtest us into the net - This refers well to the case of the Israelites, when, in their departure from Egypt, pursued by the Egyptians, having the Red Sea before them, and no method of escape, Pharaoh said, “The wilderness hath shut them in, - they are entangled;” comparing their state to that of a wild beast in a net.

Affliction upon our loins - Perhaps this alludes to that sharp pain in the back and loins which is generally felt on the apprehension of sudden and destructive danger.

GILL, "Thou broughtest us into the net,.... That is, suffered them to be taken in the net of wicked men, which they laid and spread for them; whereby they were drawn either into bad principles or bad practices, or into ruinous circumstances; though the Lord does not leave his own people there, but breaks the net or snare, sooner or later, and they escape; see Psa_9:15. Jarchi interprets it of a strait place, as in a prison; and

which has often been literally true of the people of God, into which, though they have been cast by Satan, or by men instigated by him, yet, because permitted by the Lord, it is ascribed to him, Rev_2:10;

thou laidst affliction upon our loins: the Targum renders it "a chain": the word signifies anything that is binding and pressing; it seems to be a metaphor taken from the binding of burdens upon the backs of any creatures. Afflictions often lie heavy upon the saints, are very close upon them, and press them sore, even, as they sometimes think, beyond measure; though the Lord supports them, and will not suffer them to sink under them

HE�RY 11-12, " Special deliverance from great distress. Observe,

1. How grievous the distress and danger were, Psa_66:11, Psa_66:12. What particular trouble of the church this refers to does not appear; it might be the trouble of some private persons or families only. But, whatever it was, they were surprised with it as a bird with a snare, enclosed and entangled in it as a fish in a net; they were pressed down with it, and kept under as with a load upon their loins, Psa_66:11. But they owned the hand of God in it. We are never in the net but God brings us into it, never under affliction but God lays it upon us. Is any thing more dangerous than fire and water? We went through both, that is, afflictions of different kinds; the end of one trouble was the beginning of another; when we had got clear of one sort of dangers we found ourselves involved in dangers of another sort. Such may be the troubles of the best of God's saints, but he has promised, When thou passest through the waters, through the fire, I will be with thee, Isa_43:1. Yet proud and cruel men may be as dangerous as fire and water, and more so. Beware of men, Mat_10:17. When men rose up against us, that was fire and water, and all that is threatening (Psa_124:2, Psa_124:3, Psa_124:4), and that was the case here: “Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads, to trample upon us and insult over us, to hector and abuse us, nay, and to make perfect slaves of us; they have said to our souls, Bow down, that we may go over,” Isa_51:23. While it is the pleasure of good princes to rule in the hearts of their subjects it is the pride of tyrants to ride over their heads; yet the afflicted church in this also owns the hand of God: “Thou hast caused them thus to abuse us;” for the most furious oppressor has no power but what is given him from above.

2. How gracious God's design was in bringing them into this distress and danger. See what the meaning of it is (Psa_66:10): Thou, O God! hast proved us, and tried us. Then we are likely to get good by our afflictions, when we look upon them under this notion, for then we may see God's grace and love at the bottom of them and our own honour and benefit in the end of them. By afflictions we are proved as silver in the fire. (1.) That our graces, by being tried, may be made more evident and so we may be approved, as silver, when it is touched and marked sterling, and this will be to our praise at the appearing of Jesus Christ (1Pe_1:7) and perhaps in this world. Job's integrity and constancy were manifested by his afflictions. (2.) That our graces, by being exercised, may be made more strong and active, and so we may be improved, as silver when it is refined by the fire and made more clear from its dross; and this will be to our unspeakable advantage, for thus we are made partakers of God's holiness, Heb_12:10. Public troubles are for the purifying of the church, Dan_11:35; Rev_2:10; Deu_8:2.

JAMISO�, "affliction— literally, “pressure,” or, as in Psa_55:3, “oppression,” which, laid on the

loins— the seat of strength (Deu_33:11), enfeebles the frame.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 11. Thou broughtest us into the net. The people of God in the olden time were often enclosed by the power of their enemies, like fishes or birds entangled in a net; there seemed no way of escape for them. The only comfort was that God himself had brought them there, but even this was not readily available, since they knew that he had led them there in anger as a punishment for their transgressions; Israel in Egypt was much like a bird in the fowler's net.Thou laidest affliction upon our loins. They were pressed even to anguish by their burdens and pains. �ot on their backs alone was the load, but their loins were pressed and squeezed with the straits and weights of adversity. God's people and affliction are intimate companions. As in Egypt every Israelite was a burden bearer, so is every believer while he is in this foreign land. As Israel cried to God by reason of their sore bondage, so also do the saints. We too often forget that God lays our afflictions upon us; if we remembered this fact, we should more patiently submit to the pressure which now pains us. The time will come when, for every ounce of present burden, we shall receive a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 11. Thou broughtest us into the net, etc. Our enemies have pursued us (like to wild beasts taken by the hunter) into most grievous straits (1 Samuel 13:6). They have used us like beasts of burden, and laid sore loads upon us, which they have fast bound upon our backs. Thou laidest affliction upon our loins. Coarctationenem in lumbis; we are not only hampered, as in a net, but fettered, as with chains; as if we had been in the jailor's or hangman's hands. John Trapp.

ELLICOTT, "(11) �et.—The Hebrew in Ezekiel 12:13 certainly means “net,” as LXX. and Vulg. here. But Aquila, Symmachus, and Jerome prefer the usual meaning, “stronghold” (2 Samuel 5:7, &c), which is more in keeping with the other images of violence and oppression. The fortress, the hard labour, the subjection as by foes riding over the vanquished, the passage through fire and water, all raise a picture of the direst tyranny.

PETT, "Psalms 66:11

‘You brought us into the net,You laid a sore burden on our loins.’The next two illustrations are of being captured in a net (compare Job 19:6), and of having been put through a hard time. They had been free like a bird until they had suddenly found themselves ensnared by the surrounding Assyrian armies. And the consequence had been that life had become hard and difficult, almost too heavy to bear.

GREAT TEXTS, "The Crowning of the YearThou crownest the year with thy goodness;

And thy paths drop fatness.—Psa_65:11.

In the midst of great political convulsions, of a shaking of nations and kingdoms, Jehovah had manifested His goodness to His people by sending down a blessing upon their flocks and their fields. The folds were full of sheep, the valleys stood so thick with corn that they laughed and sang; the garners were filled with all manner of store. Peace had been given to Zion as well as plenty. A year of blessing, temporal and spiritual, had been “crowned” by a secure provision against the drought and famine which had at one time threatened the chosen people.

I

“Thou hast set a crown upon the year of thy goodness.” Such is the literal rendering of the text. God is represented as setting the crown of completeness and perfection upon a long process. In the previous verses we have a graphic picture of how the grain is prepared. We see the plough at work, scooping out furrows and turning up ridges by one and the same process: and the Divine Co-operator dealing with both according to need and capacity. The furrows are naturally receptive of the streams which flow in abundance from those upper and invisible channels of God which are full of water; and what they thus receive, they hold and convey to the roots of the young plants. The turned-up ridges need to be settled down and closed well in upon the precious seed which they have received. The same rain that does the one does the other: fills the furrows and settles the ridges. Divine agriculture is economic of means, various in adaptations. But soon the surface becomes encrusted, and might imprison the tender blade, did not the gentler after-showers with their myriad drops come to soften the soil and make it easily permeable. And so, as eyes of wonder look on, and discreet judgment calculates how many dangers have been passed as the green crop carpets the earth, devotion exclaims, “The sprouting thereof thou dost bless.”

God crowns the world of men as well as the world of nature. Human life and character and experience have their supreme culminating moments. Love comes to crown the solitary life. Success comes to crown legitimate ambition—not forgetting that there may be a true success in honourable failure. Influence comes to crown character. Friendship comes to crown the longings of the heart. Trust and confidence and admiration come to crown the life lived in honest toil, and with a single eye to the common welfare. But the culmination is a process: the crown is sometimes long deferred. It is deferred in nature, yet experience has taught us to expect it. It looks as if nothing were being done during the dreary, sterile months of winter. The earth seems to be dead, and God appears to have withdrawn. Yet if our hearing were acute enough, we might lay our ear to the ground in December and hear the pulse still beating in that mighty bosom, and by and by we shall behold again the riotous life of spring. We must not despond when there is a winter season in our mental growth, in our spiritual experience, in our church life. In these higher regions, the crown is often long withheld. But if a man is all the time reading, observing, studying, thinking, though there be no immediate visible result, there will come a moment of rapturous emancipation when he realizes that cold fetters, as it were, have fallen from his brain, and left him free to enter upon a richer and riper life of understanding. God has crowned the intellectual year.

Tennyson was in his 81st year when he wrote “Crossing the Bar.” He showed the poem to his son, who exclaimed, “That is the crown of your life’s work.” “It came in a moment,” was the aged poet’s reply. Yes, but however instantaneous was the inspiration, the hymn had behind it a lifetime of careful, painstaking, even fastidious work.

Marcus Dods was a probationer for six years before being called to Renfield Church, Glasgow. During these years of waiting he was sometimes so discouraged as to think of giving up the ministry altogether. In a letter to his sister he wrote: “Do these two years and more waiting not show that I am seeking my work in the wrong direction, or why do they not show this, or how long would show this? Possibly you may say, ‘Wait till some evident call to some other work arises’; but then, of course, evident calls enough would soon arise were I to put myself in the way of them, e.g., were I to go along to Clark the publisher and ask him for some work, or go out to Harvey of Merchiston and ask him for some; whereas, so long as I keep myself back from such openings they are not a tenth part so likely to arise. But apart from growlery, let me give you a problem. I will give it you in the concrete, as being easier stated and easier apprehended. Is it right of me to wait and see whether I get a call or no, and let this decide whether I ought or ought not to take a charge? To me it seems not (though it’s just what I’m doing), and on this ground, because in fact we find that God has often suffered men to enter the Church who were not worthy—because, that is, the call of the people does not always represent the call of God.” He was afterwards Professor of Exegesis and Principal of the New College, Edinburgh.1 [Note: Early Letters of Marcus Dods, 198.]

II

The harvest crown comes as the reward of human labour. Man is called to be a co-worker with God. The sun and the rain may do their best, and the earth yield all its quickening powers, but the harvest would be but a heap of wild and tangled weeds without the constant work and toil of man. The earth will show its wondrous fecundity. Every seed that drops into its bosom must grow or die, and it is man’s part to curb the wild extravagance of nature, to destroy that which is mere weed or worthless, in order that there may be room for the good to grow and ripen. God gives little even in nature without our toil; He never gives a rich and bounteous harvest unless we give our work, and care, and watchful supervision over its growth.

The world is but a great harvest-field, in which, each in his own place, we are called forth to take our part, and to do our share of labour. Neither by the structure of our nature, nor by the constitution of society, is there any room for the idler, or any possibility of true enjoyment and happiness without work. If we want to be truly happy, to attain in any measure to the real use and enjoyment of life, work of some kind we must have. There ought to be no play without work. No man is entitled to enjoyment who does not purchase it by labour. The sweetest holiday is that which we have earned by strenuous application. God has so made us that we must find our pleasure either in working, or as the reward of working.

There are certain countries of such tropical luxuriance and fertility that you have only to tickle the earth with a hoe, and she laughs with a harvest. But you do not find the highest type of men where Nature is so kind. There is an

enervating kindness. In these Northern lands men have a tussle with the earth to make her yield up her fruits, and they become the stronger for their battle with the elements. But they invariably find that God answers the prayer of their labour. There is a flourishing kitchen garden behind the hotel at Gairloch, reclaimed from the barest and barrenest bit of moorland I ever saw. All that countryside is just wild mountain, bare rock, shaggy heath, and desolate moor; to get a kitchen garden out of such a spot is a triumph. It must have needed some considerable faith to make the attempt, and it was justified. God is always ready to supply if man only has conscience enough to demand. “He is faithful that promised.”1 [Note: W. A. Mursell.]

“My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” And I work! Say that too. If you destroy the sequence, life loses heart, and joy, and meaning, and value. Swing into line with the eternal energy, be a force among forces, a toiler, a producer, a factor, and life never loses its tone and flavour, its bead or glamour. There is no real taste to bread nor bliss in sleep for the idler. He is the doubter, the sceptic, the unhappy man. His idleness proclaims him diseased and decaying.2 [Note: M. D. Babcock, Thoughts for Every-Day Living, 15.]

Get leave to work

In this world—’tis the best you get at all;

For God, in cursing, gives us better gifts

Than men in benediction. God says, “Sweat

For foreheads,” men say “crowns,” and so we are crowned,

Aye, gashed by some tormenting circle of steel

Which snaps with a secret spring. Get work, get work;

Be sure ’tis better than what you work to get.3 [Note: E. B. Browning.]

III

And yet the harvest is the gift of God, and should link man to God. Man can only do a little; he ploughs and sows, and makes what preparation he can, and then he has to sit down and wait. He can hasten nothing. If he goes out and waves his hands magically over the brown furrows, nothing happens; if he stamps and rages, he does but reveal his impatience, and emphasize his own impotence. He must work, and then he must wait; and there is something profoundly religious and infinitely suggestive in that waiting. What is he waiting for? God. For aught we know, God could do the work instantly; the harvest might follow immediately upon the seed-sowing, like the genii in the fairy tale. God could bring the gift at once on man’s asking. But our world is not the world of the Arabian Nights. God chooses to wait on man’s co-operation. He allows him to do so much that man is tempted to suppose that he is himself the author of the whole process of production. But man has not cleared up the mystery of growth by calling it Evolution. Whatever scientific explanation the human mind can offer of a harvest-field, the element of mystery remains precisely where it was before, and it is that element of mystery that makes us fall down and worship; it is that element of mystery that fills us with a wonder akin to prayer; it is that element of mystery that turns every flower into an altar, and makes a

sanctuary of every cornfield. God thus keeps His hold of us by the persistence of the mysterious element in things. If we could explain the harvest, we could explain God, and our fairest vision would fade into the light of common day.

In harvest time the Greek saw the good goddess Ceres bearing her golden sheaves; the modern farmer too frequently sees only the result of his own knowledge, or of the latest patent manure. We pity the poor heathen Greek; ought we not rather to pity ourselves?1 [Note: H. J. Wilmot-Buxton.]

The seed was spread in the furrowed earth,

And nurtured long in the gloom it lay,

Till the beckoning hours led on its birth

And drew it up to the laughing day.

The young spring soothed and cherished the blade,

And summer ’stablished the stately stem,

And the Lord was glad of the thing He’d made,

The fair green ears and the fruit of them.

Summer had worked her will, and past

With her world of green, and autumn arose

And over the prospering tillage cast

A glory of change; the marshalled rows

Of bearded barley and four-square wheat

And pale oats, bearing a hundredfold,

Ripened under her shapely feet,

And out of the green ear grew the gold.

God, how wonderful this the thing,

The new-old miracle Thou hast done,

This proud triumphant fashioning,

Through rains and wind and shine of the sun,

Of ripe and rich abundance, borne

To-day to the sheltering homes of men;

For us Thy Spirit among the corn

Has moved, and one has grown as ten.1 [Note: J. Drinkwater, Poems of Men and Hours, 24.]

IV

The crown of harvest is woven in the loom of winter. Out of December comes June. Out of the Cross is fashioned the Crown. Perpetual summer

would be loss unutterable. Perpetual summer would be perpetual mockery. There is no greenness of the grass in June unless there be the chillness of November. God needs the one if He would make the other; fashions the glory out of the decay; lays the field under the grip of ice that it may be golden with the waving grain.

If any one should ask me where I have seen, in the course of my journeyings, the freshest verdure and the greenest grass, I think I might surprise you with my answer. I have seen the tenderest foliage where the fire has recently swept through the forest. Whether it was because of the contrast provided by the blackened timbers or not, I cannot say, but the truth is I never saw such tender green as springs amongst the blackened embers of the forest fire. Certain it is I have never seen such graces as those that spring when the tribulation has passed by. Oh! what a scorching flame it was; but the grass grows green there, and the flowers spring tender there by reason of the fire. There was a soil prepared which has suited the tender growth. Thank God for the tribulation that makes us greener and tenderer in consequence.2 [Note: Thomas Spurgeon.]

I suppose there are many of us who are lovers of the Tweed. It is so beautiful, that river Tweed, and is so haunted by a hundred memories. And yet that river, in whose gentle murmuring we catch the echo of unforgotten voices, rises where everything is bleak and bare. There is no beauty that we should desire it there. There is only the desolate and lonely moor. There is no song, no shadowing of tree, no gathering of the great dead beside its waters. Out of that winter God has made its summer, and to that summer come a thousand pilgrims, who know not, for they have never seen, the bleak and barren region of its rise.1 [Note: G. H. Morrison, The Afterglow of God, 94.]

Christ was content to have His crown of glory fashioned in agony. He took to Himself a crown of thorns. He came to wear it, and He would have no other. After the miracle of the loaves the people would have crowned Him with an earthly crown, and He fled from them. He was afraid of them. He hid Himself in a quiet place. They wanted to give Him an honour He could not accept. They wanted to put around His brow the golden circlet of a brief popularity and a civic leadership. But He would not have it. There was a crown of thorns waiting for Him, and He would not be defrauded of it. There was a coronation day coming, and it must not be anticipated. He was going by a path that few would be willing to follow—unto an honour that few would be wishful to win. Oh, who is strong enough and brave enough to go on as Christ went treading underfoot the golden crown of gain and reaching out after the thorny crown of sacrifice? He chose between the crown that glitters and the crown that wounds. He refused the one that He might wear the other.2 [Note: P. C. Ainsworth, A Thornless World, 194.]

It was a thorn,

And it stood forlorn

In the burning sunrise land:

A blighted thorn

And at eve and morn

Thus it sighed to the desert sand:

Every flower,

By its beauty’s power,

With a crown of glory is crowned;

No crown have I;

For a crown I sigh,

For a crown that I have not found.

Sad thorn, why grieve?

Thou a crown shalt weave,

But not for a maiden to wear;

That crown shall shine

When all crowns save thine

With the glory they gave are gone.

For thorn, my thorn,

Thy crown shall be worn

By the King of Sorrows alone.1 [Note: Owen Meredith.]

V

The crown of harvest is not for ornament and beauty only, but for utility and beneficence. The ripe grain becomes the seed of future harvests. The husbandman takes of his best corn, safe in his granary, and casts it into the earth. He sacrifices what is precious to him for the sake of the harvest in the future. So it is with those who work for worldly success. They sacrifice time, rest, ease, comfort; they deny themselves pleasure now that they may reap a rich harvest in the end. So must it be with those who sow for eternity. They must deny themselves, they must sow in tears, they must go forth weeping and bearing this good seed. Jesus, our Master, sowed in tears, sowed in the agony and bloody sweat. He sacrificed Himself that He might gather the glorious harvest of a world redeemed, of a Church bought with His Precious Blood. He gave up His Sacred Body, like a seed to be bruised and crushed by cruel hands, and to be sown in the furrow of the grave. But the harvest came. That Body sown in the weakness of death was raised in the power of the resurrection, and so Jesus reaped the harvest for Himself and for us His people.

The story of a night of seemingly fruitless toil, which resulted in great blessing, is retold in the Illustrated Missionary News. Miss Harris, of Medak, in India, utterly tired out, was one evening about to return home, when the son of the head-man of an important village, who had been poisoned, was hurriedly brought into the compound. She saw it was impossible to save him, and yet she kept the night vigil, rendering him the

most menial service—service hardly fit for the village scavenger. The father and brothers watched all the time, and although the missionary returned home utterly spent next morning, feeling as if nothing had been accomplished, the chief and his family, as they watched, had judged between Hinduism and the Gospel of Christ, and within six months the whole of the large family of the village chief was baptized; soon a church and school were founded in the village, and from the chief’s family there are now (so runs the encouraging report) no fewer than ten evangelists and Bible-women.

A Sower went forth to sow;

His eyes were dark with woe;

He crushed the flowers beneath his feet,

Nor smelt their perfume, warm and sweet,

That prayed for pity everywhere.

He came to a field that was harried

By iron, and to heaven laid bare;

He shook the seed that he carried

O’er that brown and bladeless place.

He shook it, as God shakes the hail

O’er a doomed land,

When lightnings interlace

The sky and the earth, and his wand

Of love is a thunder-flail.

Thus did that Sower sow;

His seed was human blood,

And tears of women and men.

And I, who near him stood,

Said: “When the crop comes, then

There will be sobbing and sighing,

Weeping and wailing and crying,

Flame, and ashes, and woe.”

It was an autumn day

When next I went that way.

And what, think you, did I see?

What was it that I heard,

What music was in the air?

The song of a sweet-voiced bird?

Nay—but the songs of many,

Thrilled through with praise and prayer.

Of all those voices not any

Were sad of memory;

But a sea of sunlight flowed,

A golden harvest glowed,

And I said: “Thou only art wise,

God of the earth and skies!

And I praise Thee, again and again,

For the Sower whose name is Pain.”1 [Note: R. W. Gilder, The Sower.]

12 You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.

BAR�ES, "Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads - This refers evidently to some national subjection or conquest - most probably to their having been subdued by the Babylonians. Professor Alexander renders this, “Thou hast caused men to ride at our head,” as if leading them forth as captives in war. The most probable meaning, however, is that they had been subdued, as if on a field of battle, and as if their conquerors had ridden over them when prostrate on the ground. Compare the notes at Psa_44:5, and the notes at Isa_51:23.

We went through fire and through water - This is designed to represent the nature of their trials. It was as if they had been made to pass through burning flames and raging floods. Compare the notes at Isa_43:2. Instead of passing through the seas and rivers when the waters had been turned back, and when a dry and safe path was made for them, as was the ease with their fathers Psa_66:6, they had been compelled to breast

the flood itself; and yet, notwithstanding this, God had brought them into a place of safety. In either way, by parting the floods, or by conducting his people through them, as shall seem best pleasing to him, God can conduct his people safely, and deliver them from danger. The power, the protecting care, the love, and the faithfulness of God are shown with equal clearness whether he divides the flood and causes his people to march through as on dry land, or whether he suffers the flood to rage and heave around them while he conducts his chosen people safely through.

But there broughtest us out into a wealthy place -Margin, moist. Professor Alexander, overfIow, abundance. Vulgate, info a place of refreshment - refrigerium. The

Septuagint, ε<ς�>ναψυχήν eis anapsuchēn. Luther, Thou hast led us forth and quickened

us. DeWette, zum Ueberflusse - “to overflowing, or abundance.” The Hebrew word - רויה

revâyâh - means properly “abundant drink,” “abundance.” It occurs only here and in Psa_

23:5, where it is rendered “runneth over.” See the notes at that place. The proper idea here is, that he had brought them into a land where there was plenty of water - as emblematic of abundance in general. He had led them to a place where there were ample rivers, springs, and streams, producing fertility and abundance. This would be the language of the people after their return from exile, and when they were permitted again to re-visit their native land - a land always characterized as a land of plenty. See Deu_8:7; compare Exo_3:8; Lev_20:24; Num_13:27.

CLARKE, "Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads - Thou hast permitted us to fall under the dominion of our enemies; who have treated us as broken infantry are when the cavalry dashes among their disordered ranks, treading all under the horses’ feet.

We went through fire and through water - Through afflictions of the most torturing and overwhelming nature. To represent such, the metaphors of fire and water are often used in Scripture. The old Psalter considers these trials as a proof of the uprightness of those who were tried - We passid thrugh fire and watir: that is, thurgh wa and wele, as a man that leves noght his waye for hete na for kald, for dry na for wette; and thou out lede us fra tribulacyon intill koling (cooling) that is, in till endles riste, that we hope to hafe after this travell.

Wealthy place -Well watered place, to wit, the land of Judea.

GILL, "Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads,.... Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it of the kings and nations of the world ruling over Israel; and may very well design the Heathen powers and antichristian states tyrannizing over Christian people. The word in the original text is singular, "a man" (c), a frail mortal man; and may be understood of the man of sin and son of perdition; who rides upon the heads of men, exalts himself above all that is called God, and has exercised dominion over the saints in a most lawless and tyrannical manner. Vitringa, on Isa_43:2 interprets it of Antiochus Epiphanes, who was a type of antichrist, and supposes the following clause to refer to the persecution of the church in his time. The Targum renders it, "a lord of rebuke"; that is, either one worthy of rebuke, as antichrist is; or one that gives rebukes, delivers out anathemas and excommunications, as he does: though some translate the words of the Targum, "lords of usury", or "usurers"; a title not unfit for the creatures of antichrist;

we went through fire and through water; through afflictions, compared to fire and water; through fiery trials and overwhelming providences, though not destroyed by them, because the Lord was with them; see Isa_43:2; therefore they are said to go through them, not to abide in them; nor to sink under them, and perish by them: they went cheerfully through them for Christ's sake, even the greatest hardships and difficulties, which this phrase may be expressive of. It may have a particular reference to the sufferings of the saints in Gospel times; to the burning of the martyrs with fire and faggot, who, like Elijah, went up to heaven in a fiery chariot; and to the flood of waters cast out after the woman, the church, by the dragon; see Rev_1:15;

but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place; the Targum is, into largeness; or into a large place; see Psa_18:19. This may intend either the state of the church upon the Reformation, or rather as it will be in the latter day glory; when there will be a large spread of the Gospel, and of the interest of Christ, everywhere; when the church will be enlarged with converts, and the members of it with the gifts and graces of the Spirit; and which will be a state of great liberty and freedom in the worship of God, both inward and outward. The Septuagint version renders it, "into refreshment": so the Tigurine version, and Piscator; as those times will be times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, which will be everywhere among his people, in his word and ordinances, and to a great degree; see Act_3:19. The Arabic version, "unto rest"; from adversity, from persecution; for, after this state takes place, there will be no more persecution; no more fines, imprisonment, racks, and torturing deaths, for the sake of Christ and his Gospel. The word used signifies a well watered place (d) or land; such as was the land of Canaan, Deu_8:7; and such will be the state of the church in the latter day: the Spirit will be poured down like floods of water upon the dry ground; the doctrines of the Gospel will drop as the rain, and as showers upon the grass: the ordinances of it will be as green pastures beside the still waters; and every believer will be as a watered garden, whose springs fail not; it will be a time of great plenty and prosperity in spiritual things. Ainsworth renders it, "to an abundant place"; so Gejerus: a place abounding with all good things: a "wealthy" one, as we translate it. And even in a literal sense this will be the wealthy time of the church; when kings shall come into it, and bring their riches and honour there, and use them for the good of it, Isa_49:23; and then also will the saints be enriched with every gift, and be rich in grace and in all good works.

JAMISO�, "men to ride over our heads— made us to pass.

through fire, etc.— figures describing prostration and critical dangers (compare Isa_43:2; Eze_36:12).

wealthy— literally, “overflowing,” or, “irrigated,” and hence fertile.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 12. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. They stormed, and hectored, and treated us like the mire of the street. Riding the high horse, in their arrogance, they, who were in themselves mean men, treated the Lord's people as if they were the meanest of mankind. They even turned their captives into beasts of burden, and rode upon their heads, as some read the Hebrew. �othing is too bad for the servants of God when they fall into the hands of proud

persecutors.We went through fire and through water. Trials many and varied were endured by Israel in Egypt, and are still the portion of the saints. The fires of the brick kiln and the waters of the �ile did their worst to destroy the chosen race; hard labour and child murder were both tried by the tyrant, but Israel went through both ordeals unharmed, and even thus the church of God has outlived, and will outlive, all the artifices and cruelties of man. Fire and water are pitiless and devouring, but a divine fiat stays their fury, and forbids these or any other agents from utterly destroying the chosen seed. Many an heir of heaven has had a dire experience of tribulation; the fire through which he has passed has been more terrible than that which chars the bones, for it has fed upon the marrow of his spirit, and burned into the core of his heart; while the waterfloods of affliction have been even more to be feared than the remorseless sea, for they have gone in even unto the soul, and carried the inner nature down into deeps horrible, and not to be imagined without trembling. Yet each saint has been more than conqueror hitherto, and, as it has been, so it shall be. The fire is not kindled which can burn the woman's seed, neither does the dragon know how to vomit a flood which shall suffice to drown it.But thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. A blessed issue to a mournful story. Canaan was indeed a broad and royal domain for the once enslaved tribes: God, who took them into Egypt, also brought them into the land which flowed with milk and honey, and Egypt was in his purposes en route to Canaan. The way to heaven is via tribulation."The path of sorrow and that path alone,Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown."How wealthy is the place of every believer, and how doubly does he feel it to be so in contrast with his former slavery: what songs shall suffice to set forth our joy and gratitude for such a glorious deliverance and such a bountiful heritage. More awaits us. The depth of our griefs bears no proportion to the height of our bliss. For our shame we have double, and more than double. Like Joseph we shall rise from the prison to the palace, like Mordecai we shall escape the gallows prepared by malignity, and ride the white horse and wear the royal robe appointed by benignity. Instead of the net, liberty; instead of a burden on the loins, a crown on our heads; instead of men riding over us, we shall rule over the nations: fire shall no more try us, for we shall stand in glory on the sea of glass mingled with fire; and water shall not harm us, for there shall be no more sea. O the splendour of this brilliant conclusion to a gloomy history. Glory be unto him who saw in the apparent evil the true way to the real good. With patience we will endure the present gloom, for the morning cometh. Over the hills faith sees the daybreak, in whose light we shall enter into the wealthy place.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 12. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. The agents are men. Man is a sociable living creature, and should converse with man in love and tranquillity. Man should be a supporter of man; is he become an overthrower? He should help and keep him up; doth he ride over him and tread him under foot? O apostasy, not only from religion, but even from humanity! Quid homini inimicissimum? Homo. (Seneca.) The greatest danger that befalls man comes whence it should least come, from man himself. Caetera animantia, says Pliny, in suo genere, probe degunt, &c.

Lions fight not with lions; serpents spend not their venom on serpents; but man is the main suborner of mischief to his own kind...1. They ride. What need they mount themselves upon beasts, that have feet malicious enough to trample on us? They have a "foot of pride, "Psalms 36:11, from which David prayed to be delivered; a presumptuous heel, which they dare lift up against God; and, therefore, a tyrannous toe, to spurn dejected men. They need not horses and mules, that can kick with the foot of a revengeful malice, Psalms 32:9.2. Over us. The way is broad enough wherein they travel, for it is the devil's road. They might well miss the poor, there is room enough besides; they need not ride over us. It were more brave for them to justle with champions that will not give them the way. We never contend for their path; they have it without our envy, not without our pity. Why should they ride over us?3. Over our heads. Is it not contentment enough to their pride to ride, to their malice to ride over us, but must they delight in bloodiness to ride over our heads? Will not the breaking of our arms and legs, and such inferior limbs, satisfy their indignation? Is it not enough to rack our strength, to mock our innocence, to prey on our estates, but must they thirst after our bloods and lives? Quo tendit saeva libido? Whither will their madness run? But we must not tie ourselves to the letter. Here is a mystical or metamorphical gradation of their cruelty. Their riding is proud; their riding over us is malicious; and their riding over our heads is bloody oppression. Thomas Adams.Ver. 12. (first clause). The time was when the Bonners and butchers rode over the faces of God's saints, and madefied (Madefy, to moisten, to make wet) the earth with their bloods, every drop whereof begot a new believer. Thomas Adams.Ver. 12. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. This verse is like that sea (Matthew 8:24) so tempestuous at first, that the vessel was covered with waves; but Christ's rebuke quieted all, and there followed a great calm. Here are cruel �imrods riding over innocent heads, as they would over fallow lands; and dangerous passages through fire and water; but the storm is soon ended, or rather the passengers are landed. Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. So that this strain of David's music, or psalmody, consists of two notes--one mournful, the other mirthful; the one a touch of distress, the other of redress: which directs our course to an observation of misery and of mercy; of grievous misery, of gracious mercy. There is desolation and consolation in one verse: a deep dejection, as laid under the feet of beasts; a happy deliverance, broughtest us out into a wealthy place. In both these strains God hath his stroke; he is a principal in this concert. He is brought in for an actor, and for an author; and actor in the persecution, and author in the deliverance. Thou causest, etc; Thou broughtest, etc. In the one he is a causing worker; in the other a sole working cause. In the one he is joined with company: in the other he works alone. He hath a finger in the former; his whole hand is in the latter. We must begin with misery before we come to mercy. If there were no trouble, we should not know the worth of a deliverance. The passion of the saints is given, by the hearty and ponderous description, for very grievous; yet it is written in the forehead of the text, "The Lord caused it." Thou causest men to ride, etc. Hereupon, some wicked libertine may offer to rub his filthiness upon God's purity, and to plead an authentic derivation of all his villainy against the saints from the Lord's warrant: He caused it. We answer, to the justification of truth itself, that

God doth ordain and order every persecution that striketh his children, without any allowance to the instrument that gives the blow. God works in the same action with others, not after the same manner. In the affliction of Job were three agents--God, Satan, and the Sabeans. The devil works on his body, the Sabeans on his goods; yet Job confessed a third party: "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away." Here oppressors trample on the godly, and God is said to cause it. He causeth affliction for trial (so Psalms 66:10-11 : Thou hast tried us, etc.); they work it for malice; neither can God be accused nor they excused. Thomas Adams.Ver. 12. Thou hast placed men over our heads. Thus Jerome renders, although the Hebrew noun vwga, is in the singular, the word itself denotes an obscure, mean man, who is mentioned with indignity, but ought to be buried in oblivion. The singular noun is taken collectively, and so also is wgvar, with the affix. Such were the Egyptian and Babylonish idolaters, whom the Hebrew served. To place any one over the head of another, or, as the Hebrew word tbkrh means, to ride, to be superior to, to subdue to oneself and subject, and to sit upon and insult, just as the horseman rules with the rein, and spur, and whip the beast which he rides. Lorinus.Ver. 12. To ride over our heads. This is an allusion to beasts of burden, and particularly to camels, whose heads the rider almost sits over, and so domineers over them as he pleases. Thomas Fenton, in "Annotations on the Book of Job, and the Psalms." 1732.Ver. 12. We went through fire and through water. The children of Israel when they had escaped the Red Sea, and seen their enemies the Egyptians dead, they thought all was cocksure, and therefore sang Epicinia, songs of rejoicing for the victory. But what followed within a while? The Lord stirred up another enemy against them from out their bowels, as it were, which was hunger, and this pinched them sorer, they thought, than the Egyptian. But was this the last? �o; after the hunger came thirst, and this made them to murmur as much as the former; and after the thirst came fiery serpents, and fire and pestilence, and Amalekites, and Midianites, and what not? Thus hath it been with the church not only under the law, but also under Christ, as it might be easily declared unto you. �either hath it been better with the several members thereof; they likewise have been made conformable to the body and to the Head. What a sight of temptations did Abraham endure? So Jacob, so Joseph, so the patriarchs, so the prophets? Yea, and all they that would live godly in Christ Jesus, though their sorrow in the end were turned to joy, yet they wept and lamented first. Though they were brought at the length to a wealthy place, yet they passed through fire and water first. Miles Smith, 1624.Ver. 12. We went through fire and through water. There was a great variety of such perils; and not only of several, but of contrary sorts: We went through fire and through water, either of which singly and alone denotes an extremity of evils. Thus, through water (Psalms 69:1-2): "Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me." Or, through fire (Ezekiel 15:7): "And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them." But when through both successively, one after the other, this denotes an accumulation of miseries, or trials, indeed: as we read Isaiah 43:2, with God's promise to his people in such conditions: "When thou passest through the waters I

will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Which promise is here, you see, acknowledged by the psalmist to have been performed: God was with the three children when they walked through the fire, in the very letter of Isaiah's speech; and with the children of Israel when they went through the water of the Red Sea. Thomas Goodwin.Ver. 12. We went through fire and through water. In allusion, probably, to the ordeal by fire and water, which is of great antiquity. On the question who had interred the body of Polynices:"All denied:Offering, in proof of innocence, to graspThe burning steel, to walk through fire, and takeTheir solemn oath they knew not of the deed." Sophocles. From T. S. Millington's "Testimony of the Heathen to the Truths of Holy Writ." 1863.Ver. 12. Fire and water. The Jewish law required both these for purification of spoil in war, where they could be borne. �umbers 31:23 : "Everything that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified through the water of separation." God's saints are, therefore, subject to both ordeals. C. H. S.Ver. 12. But thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. Every word is sweetly significant, and amplifies God's mercy to us. Four especially are remarkable: --1. The deliverer;2. The deliverance;3. The delivered; and,4. Their felicity or blessed advancement.So there is the deliverer, aliquid celsitudinis, Thou; in the delivery, certitudinis, broughtest out, in the delivered, solitudinis, us; in the happiness, plenitudinis, into a wealthy place. There is highness and lowness, sureness and fulness. The deliverer is great, the deliverance is certain, the distress grievous, the exaltation glorious. There is yet a first word, that like a key unlocks this golden gate of mercy, a veruntamen: --BUT. This is vox respirationis, a gasp that fetcheth back again the very life of comfort. But thou broughtest, etc. We were fearfully endangered into the hands of our enemies; they rode and trod upon us, and drove us through hard perplexities. But thou, etc. If there had been a full point or period at our misery, if those gulfs of persecution had quite swallowed us, and all our light of comfort had been thus smothered and extinguished we might have cried, Periit spes nostra, yea, periit salus nostra. --Our hope, our help is quite gone. He had mocked us that would have spoken, Be of good cheer. This same but is like a happy oar, that turns our vessel from the rocks of despair, and lands it at the haven of comfort. Thomas Adams.Ver. 12. (second and third clause).1. The outlet of the trouble is happy. They are in fire and water, yet they get through them; we went through fire and water, and did not perish in the flames or floods. Whatever the troubles of the saints are, blessed be God there is a way through them.2. The inlet to a better state is much more happy. Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place, into a well watered place; for the word is, like the gardens of the Lord, and therefore fruitful. Matthew Henry.

Ver. 12. (last clause). Thou, O God, with the temptation hast given the issue. Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.1. Thou hast proved, and thou hast brought.2. Thou laidest the trouble, and thou tookest it off; yea, and hast made us an ample recompense, for thou hast brought us to a moist, pleasant, lovely, fertile, rich place, a happy condition, a flourishing condition of things, so that thou hast made us to forget all our trouble. William �icholson, in "David's Harp strung and tuned." 1662.Ver. 12. A wealthy place. The hand of God led them in that fire and water of affliction through which they went; but who led them out? The psalmist tells us in the next words: Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place; the margin saith, into a moist place. They were in fire and water before. Fire is the extremity of heat and dryness; water is the extremity of moistness and coldness. A moist place notes a due temperament of heat and cold, of dryness and moistness, and therefore elegantly shadows that comfortable and contented condition into which the good hand of God had brought them, which is significantly expressed in our translation by a wealthy place; those places flourishing most in fruitfulness, and so in wealth, which are neither over hot nor over cold, neither over dry not over moist. Joseph Caryl.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 66:11-12. Thou broughtest us into the net — Which our enemies had laid for us, and which could never have taken or held us but by thy permission, and the disposal of thy providence, which gave us into their hands. Thou hast caused men — Weak, mortal, and miserable men, as the word signifies, no better nor stronger than ourselves, if thou hadst not given them power over us; to ride over our heads — To trample upon us, and insult over us; to abuse, nay, and make perfect slaves of us. They have said to our souls, Bow down, that we may go over, Isaiah 51:23. We went through fire and water — Through afflictions of different kinds; through various and dangerous trials and calamities. The end of one trouble was the beginning of another; when we got clear of one sort of dangers, we found ourselves involved in dangers of another sort. Such may be the troubles of the best of God’s saints; but he has promised, When thou passest through the waters, through the fire, I will be with thee. Thou broughtest us into a wealthy place —Hebrew, לריוה, larevajah, a well- watered place, and therefore fruitful, like the garden of the Lord, Genesis 13:10 . Such was Canaan, both literally, Deuteronomy 8:7-9, and figuratively, as being replenished with divine graces, privileges, and blessings. Thus God brings his people into trouble, that their comforts afterward may be the sweeter, and that their affliction may thus yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness, which will make the poorest place in the world a wealthy place.

WHEDO�, "12. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads—Rabbi Schwarz, of Jerusalem, thinks (Palest., p. 422) this an allusion to the method of transporting travellers over the wadies in the rainy seasons, when the streams overflow their banks. “When they begin to grow a little shallow, and the travellers are tired of waiting, a set of tall and strongly built Bedouins make their appearance, and, as it is their business to transport men and baggage across the stream, they undress themselves completely, take the traveller—who embraces their head quite firmly—

on their shoulders, and wade through, whilst the water often stands up to their breast, and place their burden safely on the other shore.” The service is alluded to as quite servile and humiliating.

ELLICOTT, "(12) Ride over our heads.—For the figure comp. Isaiah 51:23.

We went through fire and water.—A figure of extreme danger. (Comp. Isaiah 43:2.)

A wealthy place.—The LXX. and Vulg., “to refreshment,” which is certainly more in keeping with the figures employed, and may perhaps be got out of the root-idea of the word, “overflow.” But a slight change gives the frequent figure “a broad place.”

EXPOSITORS DICTIO�ARY OF TEXTS, "The Contradictions of Life

Psalm 66:12

There are many lessons in that verse. They are filled up with the truth of the leadership of God. But I want to take one simple thought and send it out. It is the apparent contradictions of our life. For fire and water: are they not very opposite. Life, then, has need of opposites, and life advances through its contradictions.

I. Think of life"s common experiences first. I take it there is no one here but has known the music and the light of joy. And then come sorrow and suffering and loss, and gloom for the sunshine and weeping for the laughter. And here is the flat opposite of joy. And if God was in that, how can He be in this, unless our Leader contradicts Himself? But the strange thing about Jesus Christ is this, that He has saved us by being a man of sorrow, yet He was always speaking of His joy. And the strange thing about the Christian Gospel Isaiah , that joy is its keynote, joy is its glad refrain; and yet it comes to me, to you, and whispers, My Song of Solomon , My daughter, take up thy cross and bear it. Is the Gospel in opposition to the Gospel? �ay friend, not that: a house divided against itself is doomed. But it is through the strange antagonisms of the heart, and all the teaching of a diverse guidance that we are brought at last to our wealthy place.

II. But passing from these common experiences of life, I note that we cannot open our �ew Testament but the same element of contradiction meets us. I think, for example, of that great word of Jesus, "Come unto Me, and I will give you rest". �ow what is the very opposite of rest? The very opposite of rest is struggle. And yet I cannot open my �ew Testament but I find that the follower of Christ is called to war. "Fight the good fight of faith," says the Apostle. I cannot explain these contradictions, but I live through them and they bear me on. For somehow I have never peace except I struggle, and I cannot struggle if I am not at peace.

III. �ow come a little deeper into the realm of thought. There is one truth that is a little in abeyance nowadays: I mean the truth of the sovereignty of God. We dwell so lovingly upon God"s fatherhood that we are almost in danger of forgetting His

sovereignty. �ow tell me in absolute opposition to that foreordained will—what stands? You answer in a moment—the free will of man. If I am free to will as I believe, and not the helpless creature of necessity, what comes of the pre-determining will of God? Am I to give up my moral freedom? Heaven guard me, never! And am I to cast the sovereignty of God to be swirled and scattered by the winds of heaven? �ay, God forbid, life were a poor thing then. But I am to remember that I am going through fire and water, that God may bring me to a wealthy place.

—G. H. Morrison, Flood-Tide, p159.

PETT, "Psalms 66:12

You caused men to ride over our heads,We went through fire and through water,But you brought us out into a wealthy place (‘into abundance’).’Prior to the siege of Jerusalem Judah as a whole had been trodden down by the Assyrian armies. One by one their great cities had been taken. The land had been trodden underfoot. And they themselves had been mowed down by the advancing Assyrian horsemen. The enemy had ‘ridden over their heads’ as they had yielded before them (compare Isaiah 51:23). Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions both depict their victorious chariots riding over their enemies. And as a consequence the people of Judah, had passed through great dangers, ‘through fire and through water’ (compare Isaiah 43:2). God’s way is never an easy one for His people, because they have to be refined.

But in the end He had brought them out ‘into abundance’, their wealth and freedom restored (in a similar way to Job). This will always be true for His persecuted people, whether it be in this world or the next.

13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you—

BAR�ES, "I will go into thy house with burnt-offeriings - To thy temple - the place of worship. This is language designed to represent the feelings and the purpose of the people. If the psalm was composed on occasion of the return from the Babylonian captivity, it means that, as their first act, the people would go to the house of God, and acknowledge his goodness to them, and render him praise. On the word burnt-offerings, see the notes at Isa_1:11.

I will pay thee my vows - I will keep the solemn promises which I had made; that is, the promises which the people had made in the long period of their captivity. On the word vows, see the notes at Psa_22:25.

CLARKE, "I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings - Now that thou hast restored us to our own land, and established us in it, we will establish thy worship, and offer all the various kinds of sacrifices required by thy law.I will pay thee my vows -We often vowed, if thou wouldst deliver us from our

bondage, to worship and serve thee alone: now thou hast heard our prayers, and hast delivered us; therefore will we fulfill our engagements to thee. The old Psalter gives this a pious turn: - I sall yelde till the my woues, that is, the vowes of louying (praising) the; whilk vowes my lipes divisid sayand, that I am noght, and thou arte all: and I hafe nede of the, noght thou of me. This is a right distinction - It is certainly a good distinction, and it is strictly true. The allsufficient God needs not his creatures.

GILL, "I will go into thy house with burnt offerings,.... The psalmist here represents the saints and faithful in those times, who being delivered out of all their troubles, and brought into a large, free, plentiful, and comfortable condition, will come together into the place of public worship, and there unite in their sacrifices of praise to God; will come and present themselves as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; will come with hearts inflamed with love to God and one another, which is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices, Mar_12:33;

I will pay thee my vows; thanksgivings promised in time of distress, as follows; see Psa_50:14.

HE�RY 13-15, "The psalmist, having before stirred up all people, and all God's people in particular, to bless the Lord, here stirs up himself and engages himself to do it.

I. In his devotions to his God, Psa_66:13-15. He had called upon others to sing God's praises and to make a joyful noise with them; but, for himself, his resolutions go further, and he will praise God, 1. By costly sacrifices, which, under the law, were offered to the honour of God. All people had not wherewithal to offer these sacrifices, or wanted zeal to be at such an expense in praising God; but David, for his part, being able, is as willing, in this chargeable way to pay his homage to God (Psa_66:13): I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings. His sacrifices should be public, in the place which God had chosen: “I will go into thy house with them.” Christ is our temple, to whom we must bring our spiritual gifts, and by whom they are sanctified. They should be the best of the king -

burnt-sacrifices, which were wholly consumed upon the altar, to the honour of God, and of which the offerer had no share; and burnt-sacrifices of fatlings, not the lame or the lean, but the best fed, and such as would be most acceptable at his own table. God, who is the best, must be served with the best we have. The feast God makes for us is a feast of fat things, full of marrow (Isa_25:6), and such sacrifices should we bring to him. He will offer bullocks with goats, so liberal will he be in his return of praise, and not strait-handed: he would not offer that which cost him nothing, but that which cost him a great deal. And this with the incense of rams, that is, with the fat of rams, which being burnt upon the altar, the smoke of it would ascend like the smoke of incense. Or rams with incense. The incense typifies Christ's intercession, without which the fattest of our sacrifices will not be accepted. 2. By a conscientious performance of his vows. We do not acceptably praise God for our deliverance out of trouble unless we make conscience of paying the vows we made when we were in trouble. This was the psalmist's resolution (Psa_66:13, Psa_66:14), I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered when I was in trouble. Note, (1.) It is very common, and very commendable, when we are under the pressure of any affliction, or in the pursuit of any mercy, to make vows, and solemnly to speak them before the Lord, to bind ourselves out from sin and bind ourselves more closely to our duty; not as if this were an equivalent, or valuable consideration, for the favour of God, but a qualification for receiving the tokens of that favour. (2.) The vows which we made when we were in trouble must not be forgotten when the trouble is over, but be carefully performed, for better it is not to vow than to vow and not pay.

JAMISO�, "These full and varied offerings constitute the payment of vows (Lev_22:18-23).

K&D 13-15, "From this point onwards the poet himself speaks, but, as the diversity and the kind of the sacrifices show, as being a member of the community at large. The

stand first, the girts of adoring homage; �. is the עולות Beth of the accompaniment, as in

Lev_16:3; 1Sa_1:24, cf. Heb_9:25. “My vows” refer more especially to ה�׃שלמי�נדרYצה�Yalso occurs elsewhere of the involuntary vowing to do extraordinary things urged from

one by great distress (Jdg_11:35). אשר is an accusative of the object relating to the vows,

quae aperuerunt = aperiendo nuncupaverunt labia mea (Geier). In Psa_66:15 used ,עשה

directly (like the Aramaic and Phoenician עבד) in the signification “to sacrifice” (Exo_

29:36-41, and frequently), alternates with העלה, the synonym of הקטיר. The sacrifices to

be presented are enumerated. מיחים (incorrect for מחים) are marrowy, fat lambs; lambs

and bullocks (קר.) have the most universal appropriation among the animals that were

fit for sacrifices. The ram (יל�), on the contrary, is the animal for the whole burnt-

offering of the high priest, of the princes of the tribes, and of the people; and appears also as the animal for the shelamim only in connection with the shelamim of Aaron, of the people, of the princes of the tribes, and, in Num_6:14, of the Nazarite. The younger

he-goat (ע�וד) is never mentioned as an animal for the whole burnt-offering; but, indeed,

as an animal for the shelamim of the princes of the tribes in Num. 7. It is, therefore, probable that the shelamim which were to be offered in close connection with the whole

burnt-offerings are introduced by עם, so that קטרת signifies the fat portions of the shelamim upon the altar smoking in the fire. The mention of “rams” renders it necessary

that we should regard the poet as here comprehending himself among the people when he speaks thus.

CALVI�, "13I will come into thy house with burnt offerings Hitherto the Psalmist has spoken in the name of the people at large. �ow he emphatically gives expression to his own private feelings, and calls upon them, by his example, to engage individually in the exercises of religion, it being impossible that there should be any hearty common consent unless each entered seriously upon the service of thanksgiving for himself and apart. We are taught that when God at any time succours us in our adversity, we do an injustice to his name if we forget to celebrate our deliverances with solemn acknowledgements. More is spoken of in this passage than thanksgiving. He speaks of vows having been contracted by him in his affliction, and these evidenced the constancy of his faith. The exhortation of the Apostle James is worthy of our special notice —

“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.” (James 5:13)

How many are there who lavish their hypocritical praises upon God in the career of their good fortune, while they are no sooner reduced to straits than the fervor of their love is damped, or gives place to the violence of fretfulness and impatience. The best evidence of true piety is when we sigh to God under the pressure of our afflictions, and show, by our prayers, a holy perseverance in faith and patience; while afterwards we come forward with the expression of our gratitude. The words, which my lips have uttered, are not an unmeaning addition, but imply that he had never allowed himself to be so far overcome by grief as not to throw his desires into the express form of petition, declaring that he cast himself for safety into the hands of God. On the subject of vows, I may just shortly repeat the remarks which have been given at greater length elsewhere. First, the holy fathers never vowed anything to God but what they knew to be sanctioned by his approval. Secondly, their sole end in vowing was to evidence their gratitude. The Papists, therefore, can find no warrant, from their example, for the rash and impious vows which they practice. They obtrude upon God whatever chances to come first into their lips; the end which they propose to themselves is the farthest removed from the right one; and with devilish presumption they engage themselves to things which are not allowed them.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 13. I will. The child of God is so sensible of his own personal indebtedness to grace, that he feels that he must utter a song of his own. He joins in the common thanksgiving, but since the best public form must fail to meet each individual case, he makes sure that the special mercies received by him shall not be forgotten, for he records them with his own pen, and sings of theme with his own lips.I will go into thy house with burnt offerings; the usual sacrifices of godly men. Even the thankful heart dares not come to God without a victim of grateful praise; of this as well as of every other form of worship, we may say, "the blood is the life thereof."

Reader, never attempt to come before God without Jesus, the divinely promised, given, and accepted burnt offering.I will pay thee my vows. He would not appear before the Lord empty, but at the same time he would not boast of what he offered, seeing it was all due on account of former vows. After all, our largest gifts are but payments; when we have given all, we must confess, "O Lord, of thine own have we given unto thee." We should be slow in making vows, but prompt in discharging them. When we are released from trouble, and can once more go up to the house of the Lord, we should take immediate occasion to fulfil our promises. How can we hope for help another time, if we prove faithless to covenants voluntarily entered upon in hours of need.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 13. You see all the parts of this song; the whole concert or harmony of all is praising God. You see quo loco, in his house; quo modo, with burnt offering; quo animo, paying our vows. Thomas Adams.Ver. 13. Burnt offerings. For ourselves, be we sure that the best sacrifice we can give to God is obedience; not a dead beast, but a living soul. The Lord takes not delight in the blood of brutish creatures. It is the mind, the life, the soul, the obedience, that he requires: 1 Samuel 15:22, "To obey is better than sacrifice." Let this be our burnt offering, our holocaust, a sanctified body and mind given up to the Lord, Romans 12:1-2. First, the heart: "My son, give me thy heart." Is not the heart enough? �o, the hand also: Isaiah 1:16, Wash the hands from blood and pollution. Is not the hand enough? �o, the foot also: "Remove thy foot from evil." Is not the foot enough? �o, the lips also: "Guard the doors of thy mouth; " Psalms 34:13, "Refrain thy tongue from evil." Is not thy tongue enough? �o, the ear also: "Let him that hath ears to hear, hear." Is not the ear enough? �o, the eye also: "Let thine eyes be towards the Lord." Is not all this sufficient? �o, give body and spirit: 1 Corinthians 6:20, "Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." When the eyes abhor lustful objects, the ear slanders, the foot erring paths, the hands wrong and violence, the tongue flattery and blasphemy, the heart pride and hypocrisy; this is thy holocaust, thy whole burnt offering. Thomas Adams.Ver. 13,15. In the burnt offerings, we see his approach to the altar with the common and general sacrifice; and next, in his paying vows, we see he has brought his peace offerings with him. Again, therefore, he says at the altar: I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings (Psalms 66:15). This is the general offering, brought from the best of his flock and herd. Then follow the peace offerings: With the incense (trjq, fuming smoke) of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah. Having brought his offerings, he is in no haste to depart, notwithstanding; for his heart is full. Ere, therefore, he leaves the sanctuary, he utters the language of a soul at peace with God: Psalms 66:16-20. This, truly, is one whom the very God of peace has sanctified, and whose whole spirit, and body, and soul he will preserve blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23. Andrew A. Bonar.Ver. 13-15. He tells what were the vows he promised in his troubles, and says he promised the richest sacrifice of cattle that could be made according to the law. These were three--rams, cows, and goats. Rams included lambs; cows included heifers; and goats, kids. Robert Bellarmine.

BE�SO�, "Psalms 66:13-15. I will go, &c. — The psalmist, having before endeavoured to excite all people in general, and all God’s people in particular, to praise the Lord, here declares it to be his own resolution to worship and serve him. I will go unto thy house, and set a good example to all my people; with burnt-offerings; I will pay thee my vows — I will not present myself before thee with empty praises, but acknowledge thy benefits with burnt-offerings, and faithfully discharge whatever vows I have made. When I was in trouble — Which I was not more forward to make when I was in distress than I will be to perform with all solemnity now that thou hast graciously delivered me out of it. I will offer burnt-sacrifices of fatlings —

I will not bring thee a niggardly present; but offer sacrifices of all sorts, and the best and choicest in every kind. It is very common and very commendable, when we are under the pressure of any affliction, or in the pursuit of any mercy, to make vows, and solemnly to name them before the Lord, in order that we may bind ourselves more closely to our duty; but we must take care that the vows which we made when we were in trouble be not forgotten when the trouble is over, but carefully performed; otherwise we contract fresh guilt, and bring upon ourselves fresh chastisement, from him whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem, and who will not fail to chastise with severity such instances of unfaithfulness in his people.

WHEDO�, "13. I will go into thy house—Here begins the closing division of the psalm. The poet changes the first person plural, “our,” “we,” for the first person singular, “I.” Hitherto he has spoken for the Church, now he speaks as an individual; yet from the heart of the Church. “Thy house,” here, must be understood of the place where God was worshipped, whether a temple or a tent, (1 Samuel 10:20,) or the place of the great altar. Ezra 3:1-6. Compare Genesis 28:19, where “Bethel,” house of God, applies to a place.

With burnt offerings— “In the burnt offering the animal was entirely burnt, and the act of burning was the culminating point. It was the sacrifice designed to give expression to entire, full, unconditional self-surrender to Jehovah.”—Kurtz. This was befitting in acknowledgment of so great a deliverance as the nation had experienced.

I will pay thee my vows—The נדר, (neder,) or sacred vow, was a solemn promise to do something in consideration of some good, yet future, which God should bestow. Such vows never became due till after the blessing for which they had been made was received, but then they must be promptly fulfilled, (Deuteronomy 23:21-23,) with or without sacrifice, according to the conditions. Here, as appears from the connexion, (Psalms 66:15,) the object of the vow was sacrifice the most costly, profuse and spiritually significant, and the psalmist hastens with joy to perform it.

COFFMA�, "Verse 13THE GRATITUDE OF THE PSALMIST HIMSELF

"I will come into thy house with burnt-offerings;

I will pay thee my vows.

Which my lips uttered,

And my mouth spake, when I was in distress.

I will offer unto thee burnt-offerings of fatlings,

With the incense of rams;

I will offer bullocks with goats. (Selah)

Come, and hear, all ye that fear God,

And I will declare what he hath done for my soul.

I cried unto him with my mouth,

And he was extolled with my tongue.

If I regard iniquity in my heart,

The Lord will not hear:

But verily God hath heard;

He hath attended the voice of my prayer.

Blessed be God,

Who hath not turned away my prayer,

�or his lovingkindness from me."

"I will come into thy house ... I will pay ... I will offer ... I will offer ... I will declare" (Psalms 66:13,15,16). The future tenses here reveal that the psalmist wrote this psalm immediately after the great deliverance and even before he had had time to offer all the sacrifices and thanksgiving appropriate for such a marvelous answer of his prayers.

"Which my lips uttered ... my mouth spake when I was in distress" (Psalms 66:14). Many a soul has made solemn promises to God in the anxieties of some awful crisis and then forgot all about it when the crisis passed. As the ancient proverb has it:

The devil was sick; the devil a saint would be;The devil was well; and the devil of a saint was he!SIZE>

The public avowal of the psalmist's intentions here indicate that he did not forget to do what he had pledged to do. Incidentally the abundance and value of the sacrifices to be offered indicate ability and wealth upon the part of the psalmist.

"With the incense of rams" (Psalms 66:15). "The reference here is not to `actual incense' but to the `sweet savour' of the burning sacrifice."[13]

"All ye that fear God" (Psalms 66:16). There is no way that these words can be restricted to Israel alone. "They are addressed in the widest extent, as in Psalms 66:5 and Psalms 66:2, to all who fear God wheresoever such are to be found on the face of the earth."[14]

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalms 66:18). The psalmist here offers an explanation of why his prayers (presumably those for the nation of Israel as well as those for his own recovery) have been so signally answered. The integrity and sincerity of his heart are assigned as a background requirement for such a glorious answer.

"Hengstenberg points out that this part of the Psalm is didactic, teaching that, `There is no way of salvation except that of well-doing.'"[15]God's answer to the psalmist's prayer was the only proof needed that he indeed had asked in faith and integrity of heart. Such a truth was understood as axiomatic among the Hebrew people. As the man born blind stated it in the �ew Testament, "We know that God heareth not sinners" (John 9:31).

"Blessed be God who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his lovingkindness" (Psalms 66:20). In addition to the faith and integrity of heart on the part of men who pray, there is another precondition of God's answering deliverance. "That pre-condition, without which no words or works of men could avail, is the stedfast love of God, his lovingkindness to men, and his unchanging goodwill for His people."[16]

EBC, "The fourth strophe (Psalms 66:13-15) begins the solo part. It clothes in a garb appropriate to a sacrificial system the thought expressed in more spiritual dress in the next strophe, that God’s deliverance should evoke men’s praise. The abundance and variety of sacrifices named, and the fact that "rams" were not used for the offerings of individuals, seem to suggest that the speaker is, in some sense, representing the nation, and it has been supposed that he may be the high priest. But this is merely conjecture, and the explanation may be that there is a certain ideal and poetical tone over the representation, which does not confine itself to scrupulous accuracy.

PETT, "Verses 13-15PART 2). ISRAEL’S GRATEFUL RESPO�SE TO GOD’S DELIVERA�CE REVEALED I� OFFERI�GS A�D THE FULFILME�T OF VOWS, A�D A CALL FOR CO�SIDERATIO� OF GOD’S FAITHFUL�ESS I� A�SWERI�G

PRAYER (Psalms 66:13-20).

a) Deliverance Having Been Accomplished Each Individual In Israel, Speaking In Unison, (Or The King As The Representative Of His People), Approaches God And Explains How He Will Express His Gratitude Ritually (Psalms 66:13-15).

The change of person from plural to singular (from ‘we/us’ to ‘I/me’) is vivid and expressive. But there is no reason for seeing it as any other than intended. It expresses the thoughts of each individual worshipper, each speaking individually, but as part of a whole (in the same way as we recite the creed). Alternately it may be seen as the words of the king as he acts in gratitude as mediator for his people. In this sense it would essentially mirror what our Lord Jesus Christ has offered up in the offering up of Himself on our behalf (compare especially Hebrews 10:1-14).

Psalms 66:13-14

‘I will come into your house with burnt-offerings,I will pay you my vows,Which my lips uttered,And my mouth spoke, when I was in distress.’The speaker asserts that he will come into God’s house with ‘burnt-offerings’ (‘whole-offerings’), offerings which would be wholly consumed and not partaken of, being the expression of a full-hearted praise and dedication to God.

Furthermore he would fulfil the vows that he had made at the time of his distress. Whilst death, and worse, had threatened at the hands of the enemy, both the king, and every one of the people, would have felt constrained to make promises to God of full-hearted future obedience if only He delivered them. In their case this would include the offering of a multiplicity of offerings as here, but it would also include promises of loyalty and obedience. �ow each is assuring God that those vows would be fulfilled.

We are all good at making promises to God when trouble threatens and we feel dependent on Him. Would that we would all afterwards also say, and mean, that we would fulfil those promises. Sadly, for so many, as the danger recedes, so does the likelihood of our fulfilling our promises. When we consider this Psalm we should ask ourselves afresh, ‘have I truly fulfilled the promises which I made to God when I was in distress?’

14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.

BAR�ES, "Which my lips have uttered ... -Margin, “opened.” The Hebrew

word, however - pâtsâh פצה - means properly to tear apart; to rend; and then, to open

wide, as the mouth, for example - or the throat, - as wild beasts do, Psa_22:13. Then it means to open the mouth in scorn Lam_2:16; Lam_3:46; and then, to utter hasty words, Job_35:16. The idea would be expressed by us by the phrases to bolt or blurt out; to utter hastily; or, to utter from a heart full and overflowing to utter with very little care as to the language employed. It is the fullness of the heart which would be suggested by the word, and not a nice choice of expressions. The idea is, that the heart was full; and that the vows were made under the influence of deep emotion, when the heart was so full that it could not but speak, and when there was very little attention to the language. It was not a calm and studied selection of words. Such vows are not less acceptable to God than those which are made in the best-selected language. Not a little of the most popular sacred poetry in all tongues is of this nature; and when refined down to the nicest rules of art it ceases to be popular, or to meet the needs of the soul, and is laid aside. The psalmist here means to say, that though these vows were the result of deep feeling - of warm, gushing emotion - rather than of calm and thoughtful reflection, yet there was no disposition to disown or repudiate them now. They were made in the depth of feeling - in real sincerity - and there was a purpose fairly to carry them out.

When I was in trouble -When the people were in captivity, languishing in a foreign land. Vows made in trouble - in sickness, in bereavement, in times of public calamity -should be faithfully performed when health and prosperity visit us again; but, alas, how often are they forgotten!

CLARKE, "When I was in trouble - This is generally the time when good resolutions are formed, and vows made; but how often are these forgotten when affliction and calamity are removed!

GILL, "Which my lips have uttered,.... Or "opened" (e); publicly and distinctly declared, and from which there is no going back; see Jdg_11:33;

and my mouth hath spoken when I was in trouble; this refers to the time when the people of God were under antichristian tyranny and bondage; and when they vowed and promised, that, if the Lord would deliver them, they would give him all praise and glory.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 14. Which my lips have uttered, or vehemently declared; blurted out, as we say in common speech. His vows had been wrung from him; extreme distress burst open the doors of his lips, and out rushed the vow like a long pent up torrent, which had at last found a vent. What we were so eager to vow, we should be equally earnest to perform; but alas! many a vow runs so fast in words

that it lames itself for deeds.And my mouth hath spoken. He had made the promise public, and had no desire to go back; an honest man is always ready to acknowledge a debt.When I was in trouble. Distress suggested the vow; God in answer to the vow removed the distress, and now the votary desires to make good his promise. It is well for each man to remember that he was in trouble: proud spirits are apt to speak as if the road had always been smooth for them, as if no dog dare bark at their nobility, and scarce a drop of rain would venture to besprinkle their splendour; yet these very upstarts were probably once so low in spirits and condition that they would have been glad enough of the help of those they now despise. Even great Caesar, whose look did awe the world, must have his trouble and become weak as other men; so that his enemy could say in bitterness, "when the fit was on him, I did mark how he did shake." Of the strong and vigorous man the nurse could tell a tale of weakness, and his wife could say of the boaster, "I did hear him groan; his coward lips did from their colour fly." All men have trouble, but they act not in the same manner while under it; the profane take to swearing and the godly to praying. Both bad and good have been known to resort to vowing, but the one is a liar unto God, and the other a conscientious respecter of his word.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 13-15. See Psalms on "Psalms 66:13" for further information.Ver. 14. Which my lips have uttered. Hebrew, have opened; that is which I have uttered, diductis labiis, with lips wide open. Videmus qualiter vota nuncupari soleant, saith Vatablus. Here we see after what sort vows used to be made, when we are under any pressing affliction; but when once delivered, how heavily many come off in point of payment. John Trapp.Ver. 14. Express mention is made of opened lips to indicate that the vows were made with great vehemence of mind, and in a state of need and pressure; so that his lips were broken through and widely opened. For the root, huk contains the idea of opening anything with violence; to break open, as the Latin expression is, rumpere labia. Hermann Venema.

�ISBET, "TESTIMO�Y FOR GOD‘O come hither, and hearken, all ye that fear God: and I will tell you what He hath done for my soul.’Psalms 66:14 (Prayer Book Version)Gratitude towards God and generosity towards man—these are two of the marked features in the character of David. In the text he gathers, as it were, a little select congregation around him of those who, like himself, had had experience of God’s goodness. He asks them to join with him in praising and blessing God; and he instructs them, and strengthens them, and encourages them by recounting to them what God had done for himself.

I. We declare with thankfulness what God hath done for our souls in the act of redeeming us.—God sent His Son to bless us in turning every one of us from his iniquities. Salvation is a free gift. It is the gift of free and full pardon for all the bad life that is past, and the pledge and the power of a better life to come.

II. The gift of the Holy Scriptures is the second thing that God hath done for our souls.—The best way of showing our gratitude for so great a blessing is to use it well.

III. It is not merely as separate persons, one by one, that God has furnished us with blessings made ready to our souls.—We are members of a great society. The Holy Catholic Church is a part of the system of our religion. We have sacraments, and common prayer, and public instruction, and mutual help.

IV. We have the supreme blessing of the grace of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of providential care.

V. We advance one step further, and enter the inner circle of all.—At this point especially the words of the psalm are addressed to those who fear God, and it is only they who can thoroughly enter into their meaning. ‘O come hither and hearken, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what He hath done for my soul.’ This desire to help others is a certain mark of true conversion. Gratitude to God will find its natural development in generosity to man.

—Dean Howson.Illustration

‘The testimony of the individual is for the strengthening of the faith of God’s own, in order that they may be more perfectly equipped for their testimony to those without. In the story of God’s dealing with his people there is a recognition of His government through all the differing experiences of their history. By deliverance and by distress, by triumph and trial, He has conducted them to a wealthy place. Very full of comfort is the individual realisation, following as it does this larger experience. In the economy of God the lonely man is not lost in the multitude, and the solo of his praise is as precious as is the chorus of their worship.’

15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams; I will offer bulls and goats.

BAR�ES, "I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings -Margin, marrow. On the word rendered “burnt-offerings” see the notes at Isa_1:11. The word rendered “fatlings” is rendered in Isa_5:17, lambs. It may be applied to any animal considered as fat - a qualification required in sacrifices to be made on the altar, Isa_1:11.

With the incense of rams - The word here rendered incense is commonly applied to aromatics which were burned in the tabernacle or temple, producing a grateful odor (see the notes at Isa_1:13); but it seems here to be used with reference to the smoke ascending from burning rams offered in sacrifice - ascending as the smoke of incense did. The smoke thus ascending would be as grateful and acceptable as incense.

I will offer bullocks with goats - Bullocks and goats. That is, I will present sacrifices in all the forms required in worship; in all the forms that will express gratitude to God, or that will be an acknowledgment of dependence and guilt; in all that would properly express homage to the Deity. Bullocks and goats were both required in the ancient worship.

CLARKE, "I will offer, etc. - Thou shalt have the best of the herd and of the fold; the lame and the blind shall never be given to thee for sacrifice.

The incense of rams - The fine effluvia arising from the burning of the pure fat.

GILL, "I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings,.... Of the fattest of the flock; that is, of the best; such as Abel offered, Gen_4:4;

with the incense of rams; or "rams with incense" (f); the Targum is,

"with sweet incense, the sacrifice of rams;''

Kimchi interprets it of incense of the fat of rams.

I will offer bullocks with goats; he proposed to offer all kind of offerings, to show gratitude and thankfulness for the favours received; by all which are meant the calves, or fruit of the lips, the sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving to God, in the name of the whole church and people of God; see Rev_19:1.

Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psa_3:2.

JAMISO�, "I will offer— literally, “make to ascend,” alluding to the smoke of burnt offering, which explains the use of “incense.”

incense— elsewhere always denoting the fumes of aromatics.

CALVI�, "15I will offer unto thee burnt-sacrifices of fatlings. We must suppose the speaker to be either David or one of the more considerable men of the nation, for none in humbler circumstances could have offered rich sacrifices of this kind. It is probable that David was the author of the psalm, and here he signifies his intention to show a kingly liberality in his offerings. The reason why God ordered victims to

be offered as an expression of thanksgiving was, as is well known, to teach the people that their praises were polluted by sin, and needed to be sanctified from without. However we might propose to ourselves to praise the name of God, we could only profane it with our impure lips, had not Christ once offered himself up a sacrifice, to sanctify both us and our services. (Hebrews 10:7) It is through him, as we learn from the apostle, that our praises are accepted. The Psalmist, by way of commendation of his burnt-offering, speaks of its incense or sweet savor; for although in themselves vile and loathsome, yet the rams and other victims, so far as they were figures of Christ, sent up a sweet savor unto God. (480) �ow that the shadows of the Law have been abolished, attentionis called to the true spiritual service. What this consists in, is more clearly brought under our notice in the verse which follows, where the Psalmist tells us, that he would spread abroad the fame of the benefits which he had received from God. Such was the end designed, even in the outward ceremonies under the Law, apart from which they could only be considered as an empty show. It was this — the fact, that they set forth the praises of the divine goodness — which formed the very season of the sacrifices, preserving them from insipidity. In calling, as he does, upon all the fearers of the Lord, the Psalmist teaches us, that if we duly feel the goodness of God, we will be inflamed with a desire to publish it abroad, that others may have their faith and hope confirmed, by what they hear of it, as well as join with us in a united song of praise. He addresses himself to none but such as feared the Lord, for they only could appreciate what he had to say, and it would have been lost labor to communicate it to the hypocritical and ungodly.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 15. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings. The good man will give his best things to God. �o starveling goat upon the hills will he present at the altar, but the well fed bullocks of the luxuriant pastures shall ascend in smoke from the sacred fire. He who is miserly with God is a wretch indeed. Few devise liberal things, but those few find a rich reward in so doing.With the incense of rams. The smoke of burning rams should also rise from the altar; he would offer the strength and prime of his flocks as well as his herds. Of all we have we should give the Lord his portion, and that should be the choicest we can select. It was no waste to burn the fat upon Jehovah's altar, nor to pour the precious ointment upon Jesus' head; neither are large gifts and bountiful offerings to the church of God any diminution to a man's estate: such money is put to good interest and placed where it cannot be stolen by thieves nor corroded by rust.I will offer bullocks with goats. A perfect sacrifice, completing the circle of offerings, should show forth the intense love of his heart. We should magnify the Lord with the great and the little. �one of his ordinances should be disregarded; we must not omit either the bullocks or the goats. In these three verses we have gratitude in action, not content with words, but proving its own sincerity by deeds of obedient sacrifice.Selah. It is most fit that we should suspend the song while the smoke of the victims ascends the heavens; let the burnt offerings stand for praises while we meditate upon the infinitely greater sacrifice of Calvary.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GS

Ver. 13,15. See Psalms on "Psalms 66:13" for further information.Ver. 13-15. See Psalms on "Psalms 66:13" for further information.Ver. 15. I will offer, etc. Thou shalt have the best of the herd and of the fold. Adam Clarke.Ver. 15. Fatlings. For as I will not come empty into thy house, so I will not bring thee a niggardly present; but offer sacrifices of all sorts, and the best and choicest in every kind. Symon Patrick.Ver. 15. Bullocks with goats. That is, I will liberally provide for every part of the service at the tabernacle. Thomas Scott/

WHEDO�, "15. He enumerates the victims to be offered in fulfilment of his vow.

Fatlings—Fat sheep, or “marrowy lambs.” These were for his “burnt offerings.” Psalms 66:13. Another kind of sacrifices follows, שלמים, (shelamim, or peace-offerings,) consisting of rams, bullocks, and goats ; but as these were offered as shelamim for Aaron and the tribes, (Leviticus 9:4; �umbers 7,) we should consider the psalmist here as speaking in behalf of the whole people, while the costliness and number of the sacrifices indicate his zeal and devotion.

ELLICOTT, "(15) I will offer.—Such a holocaust could hardly have been vowed by a single person. It is the community that speaks. Besides, the ram was not a sacrifice for any individual, but particularly enjoined for the high priest (Leviticus 9:2), the head of a tribe (�umbers 7), or a �azarite (�umbers 6:14). Incense is here the ascending smoke of the sacrifice.

PETT, "Psalms 66:15

‘I will offer to you burnt-offerings of fatlings,With the sweet smelling (or ‘incense’) of rams,I will offer bullocks with goats. [Selah.’The multiplicity of offerings suggests either the wide variety of people included under ‘I’ as each individual speaks, whilst conscious of others speaking along with him. Along with him these others will offer other different sacrifices. Alternately the ‘I’ may be the king, who, as representative of his people, offers a wide range of offerings in gratitude for God’s deliverance.

In Psalms 66:13 he had said, ‘I will come to your house with burnt offerings’. �ow this idea is expanded on further as the burnt offerings are seen to include:

o The fattest of the lambs (fatlings; the fat was always seen as the best part of the offerings - Genesis 4:4, and regularly).o The sweet smelling of rams (compare Genesis 8:21 where God smelled the sweet savour of the sacrifices. See also Exodus 29:18).o The offering of bullocks with he-goats.Bullocks and rams, and he-goats, were seen as the very best of offerings. Bullocks were the sin offerings required on behalf of priests (Leviticus 4:3) and of the whole people (Leviticus 4:14), and he-goats were required of rulers (Leviticus 4:23;

�umbers 7:17 ff.). Rams were a priestly burnt offering (Exodus 29; Leviticus 8:18-22; Leviticus 9:2), but also offered as a burnt offering on behalf of all the people (Leviticus 16:5). Thus the thought here is of the offering of the very best.

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.

BAR�ES, "Come and hear, all ye that fear God - All who are true worshippers of God - the idea of fear or reverence being put for worship in general. The call is on all who truly loved God to hear what he had done, in order that he might be suitably honored, and that due praise might be given him.

And I will declare what he hath done for my soul - This is probably the personification of an individual to represent the people, considered as delivered from oppression and bondage. The words “for my soul” are equivalent to “for me.” Literally, “for my life.” The phrase would embrace all that God had done by his gracious intervention in delivering the people from bondage. The language here is such as may be used by any one who is converted to God, in reference

(a) to all that God has done to redeem the soul;

(b) to all that he has done to pardon its guilt;

(c) to all that he has done to give it peace and joy;

(d) to all that he has done to enable it to overcome sin;

(e) to all that he has done to give it comfort in the prospect of death;

(f) to all that he has done to impart thee hope of heaven.

The principle here is one which it is right to apply to all such cases. It is right and proper for a converted sinner to call on others to hear what God has done for him;

(a) because it is due to God thus to honor him;

(b) because the converted heart naturally gives utterance to expressions of gratitude and praise, or wishes to make known the joy derived from pardoned sin;

(c) because there is in such a soul a strong desire that others may partake of the same blessedness, and find the same satisfaction and peace in the service of God.

It is the duty of those who are pardoned and converted thus to call on others to hear what God has done for them;

(a) because others have the same need of religion which they have;

(b) because the same salvation is provided for them which has been provided for those who have found peace;

(c) because all are under obligation to make known as far as possible the fact that God has provided salvation for sinners, and that all may be saved.

He who has no such sense of the mercy of God, manifested toward himself, as to desire that others may be saved - who sees no such value in the religion which he professes as to have an earnest wish that others may partake of it also - can have no real evidence that his own heart has ever been converted to God. Compare the notes at Rom_9:1-3; notes at Rom_10:1.

CLARKE, "Come and hear, all ye that fear God -While in captivity, the psalmist had sought the Lord with frequent prayer for his own personal salvation, and for the deliverance of the people; and God blessed him, heard his prayer, and turned the captivity. Now that he is returned in safety, he is determined to perform his vows to the Lord; and calls on all them that fear their Maker, who have any religious reverence for him, to attend to his account of the Lord’s gracious dealings with him. He proposes to tell them his spiritual experience, what he needed, what he earnestly prayed for, and what God has done for him. Thus he intended to teach them by example, more powerful always than precept, however weighty in itself, and impressively delivered.

GILL, "Come and hear, all ye that fear God,.... Who have a reverential affection for him, and by whom he is worshipped and served with reverence and godly fear; these have good things done for themselves, and will glorify God for what he does for others: these know the nature, worth, and value of the good things the Lord does for the souls of men, and hear them with pleasure and profit; when to tell them to others is casting pearl before swine, and giving that which is holy to dogs; and therefore only such as fear the Lord are called upon to come and hear what follows. Jarchi interprets this character of proselytes; see Act_13:26;

and I will declare what he hath done for my soul: not what he had done for God, or offered unto him, or suffered for his sake; nor what God had done for his body in the make and preservation of it; but what he had done for his soul, and the salvation of that: what God the Father had done in setting him apart for himself; in making a sure, well ordered, and everlasting covenant with him in Christ; in blessing him with all spiritual blessings in him; in providing for the redemption of his soul by him; in pardoning his sins, justifying his person, adopting him into his family, and regenerating, quickening, and sanctifying him: also what God the Son had done for him; in engaging to assume a true body and a reasonable soul on his account; and to make that soul an offering for his sin, and thereby obtain for him eternal redemption, even the salvation of his immortal soul: likewise what God the Spirit had done for him; in quickening and enlightening his soul; in implanting principles of grace and holiness in it; in showing Christ unto him, and bringing near his righteousness, and leading him to him for salvation and eternal life; in applying exceeding great and precious promises to him, and remembering to him such on which he had caused him to hope; in delivering him out of temptation and troubles, and in carrying on the work of his grace in him hitherto: these are things that are not to be concealed in a man's breast, but to be told to the church and people of God,

to their joy and comfort, and to the glory of divine grace; see Mar_5:19.

HE�RY, "In his declarations to his friends, Psa_66:16. He calls together a congregation of good people to hear his thankful narrative of God's favours to him: “Come and hear, all you that fear God, for, 1. You will join with me in my praises and help me in giving thanks.” And we should be as desirous of the assistance of those that fear God in returning thanks for the mercies we have received as in praying for those we want. 2. “You will be edified and encouraged by that which I have to say. The humble shall hear of it and be glad, Psa_34:2. Those that fear thee will be glad when they see me (Psa_119:74), and therefore let me have their company, and I will declare to them, not to vain carnal people that will banter it and make a jest of it” (pearls are not to be cast before swine); “but to those that fear God, and will make a good use of it, I will declare what God has done for my soul,” not in pride and vain-glory, that he might be thought more a favourite of heaven than other people, but for the honour of God, to which we owe this as a just debt, and for the edification of others. Note, God's people should communicate their experiences to each other. We should take all occasions to tell one another of the great and kind things which God has done for us, especially which he has done for our souls, the spiritual blessings with which he has blessed us in heavenly things; these we should be most affected with ourselves, and therefore with these we should be desirous to affect others. Now what was it that God had done for his soul? (1

JAMISO�, "With these he unites his public thanks, inviting those who fear God (Psa_60:4; Psa_61:5, His true worshippers) to hear. He vindicates his sincerity, inasmuch as God would not hear hypocrites, but had heard him.

SBC, "Gratitude towards God and generosity towards man—these are two of the marked features in the character of David. In the text he gathers, as it were, a little select congregation around him of those who, like himself, had had experience of God’s goodness. He asks them to join with him in praising and blessing God; and he instructs them, and strengthens them, and encourages them by recounting to them what God had done for himself.

I. We declare with thankfulness what God hath done for our souls in the act of redeeming us. God sent His Son to bless us in turning every one of us from his iniquities. Salvation is a free gift. It is the gift of free and full pardon for all the bad life that is past, and the pledge and the power of a better life to come.

II. The gift of the Holy Scriptures is the second thing that God hath done for our souls. The best way of showing our gratitude for so great a blessing is to use it well.

III. It is not merely as separate persons, one by one, that God has furnished us with blessings made ready to our souls. We are members of a great society. The Holy Catholic Church is a part of the system of our religion. We have sacraments, and common prayer, and public instruction, and mutual help.

IV. We have the supreme blessing of the grace of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of providential care.

V. We advance one step further, and enter the inner circle of all. At this point especially the words of the Psalm are addressed to those who fear God, and it is only they who can thoroughly enter into their meaning. "O come hither and hearken, all ye that fear God,and I will tell you what He hath done for my soul." This desire to help others is a certain mark of true conversion. Gratitude to God will find its natural development in generosity

to man.

J. S. Howson, Penny Pulpit, No. 345.

K&D 16-20, "The words in Psa_66:16 are addressed in the widest extent, as in Psa_66:5 and Psa_66:2, to all who fear God, wheresoever such are to be found on the face of the earth. To all these, for the glory of God and for their own profit, he would gladly

relate what God has made him to experience. The individual-looking expression לנפשי is not opposed to the fact of the occurrence of a marvellous answering of prayer, to which he refers, being one which has been experienced by him in common with the whole congregation. He cried unto God with his mouth (that is to say, not merely silently in

spirit, but audibly and importunately), and a hymn (רומם,

(Note: Kimchi (Michlol 146a) and Parchon (under רמם) read רומם with Pathach;

and Heidenheim and Baer have adopted it.)

something that rises, collateral form to רומם, as עולל and שובב to עולל and שובב) was under my tongue; i.e., I became also at once so sure of my being heard, that I even had the song of praise in readiness (vid., Psa_10:7), with which I had determined to break forth when the help for which I had prayed, and which was assured to me, should arrive. For the

purpose of his heart was not at any time, in contradiction to his words, ון-, God-abhorred

vileness or worthlessness; ר-ה with the accusative, as in Gen_20:10; Psa_37:37 : to aim

at, or design anything, to have it in one's eye. We render: If I had aimed at evil in myheart, the Lord would not hear; not: He would not have heard, but: He would not on any occasion hear. For a hypocritical prayer, coming from a heart which has not its aim sincerely directed towards Him, He does not hear. The idea that such a heart was not hidden behind his prayer is refuted in Psa_66:19 from the result, which is of a totally

opposite character. In the closing doxology the accentuation rightly takes �פ�תי�וחס\ו as belonging together. Prayer and mercy stand in the relation to one another of call and echo. When God turns away from a man his prayer and His mercy, He commands him to be silent and refuses him a favourable answer. The poet, however, praises God that He has deprived him neither of the joyfulness of prayer nor the proof of His favour. In this sense Augustine makes the following practical observation on this passage: Cum videris non a te amotam deprecationem tuam, securus esto, quia non est a te amota misericordia ejus.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 16. Come and hear. Before, they were bidden to come and see. Hearing is faith's seeing. Mercy comes to us by way of ear gate. "Hear, and your soul shall live." They saw how terrible God was, but they heard how gracious he was.All ye that fear God. These are a fit audience when a good man is about to relate his experience; and it is well to select our hearers when inward soul matters are our theme. It is forbidden us to throw pearls before swine. We do not want to furnish wanton minds with subjects for their comedies, and therefore it is wise to speak of personal spiritual matters where they can be understood, and not where they will be

burlesqued. All God fearing men may hear us, but far hence ye profane.And I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I will count and recount the mercies of God to me, to my soul, my best part, my most real self. Testimonies ought to be borne by all experienced Christians, in order that the younger and feebler sort may be encouraged by the recital to put their trust in the Lord. To declare man's doings is needless; they are too trivial, and, besides, there are trumpeters enough of man's trumpery deeds; but to declare the gracious acts of God is instructive, consoling, inspiriting, and beneficial in many respects. Let each man speak for himself, for a personal witness is the surest and most forcible; second hand experience is like "cauld kale het again; "it lacks the flavour of first hand interest. Let no mock modesty restrain the grateful believer from speaking of himself, or rather of God's dealings to himself, for it is justly due to God; neither let him shun the individual use of the first person, which is most correct in detailing the Lord's ways of love. We must not be egotists, but we must be egotists when we bear witness for the Lord.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 16. Come and hear, all ye that fear God. One reason why the saints are so often inviting all that fear God to come unto them is, because the saints see and know the great good that they shall get by those that fear God. The children of darkness are so wise in their generation as to desire most familiarity and acquaintance with those persons whom they conceive may prove most profitable and advantageous to them, and to pretend much friendship there where is hope of most benefit. And shall not the saints, the children of light, upon the same account wish and long for the society of those that fear God, because they see what great good they shall gain by them? It is no wonder that the company of those that fear God is so much in request, since it is altogether gainful and commodious; it's no wonder they have many invitations, since they are guests by which something is still gotten; and, indeed, among all persons living, those that fear God are the most useful and enriching. Samuel Heskins, in "Soul Mercies Precious in the Eyes of Saints... set forth in a little Treatise on Psalms 66:16." 1654.Ver. 16. All ye that fear God. For such only will hear to good purpose; others either cannot, or care not. And I will declare, etc. Communicate unto you my soul secrets and experiments. There is no small good to be gotten by such declarations. Bilney, perceiving Latimer to be zealous without knowledge, came to him in his study and desired him for God's sake to hear his confession. "I did so, "saith Latimer, "and, to say the truth, by this confession I learned more than afore in many years. So from that time forward I began to smell the word of God, and forsake the school doctors, and such fooleries." John Trapp.Ver. 16. Ye that fear God. Observe the invitation given to those only who fear God, because "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; "he loosens the feet to come, opens the ears to hear; and therefore, he who has no fear of God will be called to no purpose, either to come or to hear. Robert Bellarmine.Ver. 16. I will declare. Consider the ends which a believer should purpose in the discharge of this duty ("of communicating Christian experience"). The principal end he should have in view when he declares his experience is the glory of that God, who hath dealt so bountifully with him. He would surely have the Lord exalted for his faithfulness and goodness to him; he would have it published that the name of

the Lord might be great; that sinners might know that his God is faithful to his word; that he hath not only engaged to be "a present help in time of need, "but that he hath found him in reality to be so. As he knows the enemies of God are ready enough to charge him with neglect of his people, because of the trials and afflictions they are exercised with; so he would, in contradiction to them, declare what he hath found in his own experience, that in very faithfulness he afflicts those that are dearest to him. And with what lustre doth the glory of God shine, when his children are ready to acknowledge that he never called them out to any duty but his grace was sufficient for them; that he never laid his hand upon them in any afflictive exercise, but he, at the same time, supplied them with all those supports which they stood in need of? I say, for Christians thus to stand up, on proper occasions, and bear their experimental testimony to the faithfulness and goodness of God, what a tendency hath it to make the name of the Lord, who hath been their strong tower, glorious in the midst of the earth... How may we blush and be ashamed, that we have so much conversation in the world and so little about what God hath done for our souls? It is a very bad sign upon us, in our day, that the things of God are generally postponed; while either the affairs of state, or the circumstances of outward life, or other things, perhaps, of a more trifling nature, are the general subjects of our conversation. What! are we ashamed of the noblest, the most interesting subject? It is but a poor sign that we have felt anything of it, if we think it unnecessary to declare it to our fellow Christians. What think you? Suppose any two of us were cast upon a barbarous shore, where we neither understood the language, nor the customs of the inhabitants, and were treated by them with reproach and cruelty; do you think we should not esteem it a happiness that we could unburden ourselves to each other, and communicate our griefs and troubles? And shall we think it less so, while we are in such a world as this, in a strange land, and at a distance from our Father's house? Shall we neglect conversing with each other? �o; let our conversation not only be in heaven, but about spiritual and heavenly things. Samuel Wilson (1703-1750), in "Sermons on Various Subjects."Ver. 16. I will declare. After we are delivered from the dreadful apprehensions of the wrath of God, it is our duty to be publicly thankful. It is for the glory of our Healer to speak of the miserable wounds that once pained us; and of that kind hand that saved us when we were brought very low. It is for the glory of our Pilot to tell of the rocks and of the sands; the many dangers and threatening calamities that he, by his wise conduct, made us to escape: and to see us safe on the shore, may cause others that are yet afflicted, and tossed with tempests, to look to him for help; for he is able and ready to save them as well as us. We must, like soldiers, when a tedious war is over, relate our combats, our fears, our dangers, with delight; and make known our experiences to doubting, troubled Christians, and to those that have not yet been under such long and severe trials as we have been. Timothy Rogers (1660-1729), in "A Discourse on Trouble of Mind."

BE�SO�, "Verse 16-17

Psalms 66:16-17. Come and hear, all ye that fear God — Whether Israelites, or Gentiles

proselyted to them; come and hearken unto me (for it will afford you both instruction and

encouragement, and will engage you to trust in God more than ever) while I relate what

things God hath done for me, and what indubitable proofs he hath given me that he

regards those that fear him; and I will declare what he hath done for my soul — Not in

pride and vain glory, that I may be thought more a favourite of heaven than other people;

but for the honour of God, to which I owe this as a just debt, and for the edification of

others. Thus we should be ready, on all proper occasions, to tell one another of the great

and good things which God has done for us, and especially what he has done for our

souls, the spiritual blessings with which he hath blessed us in heavenly things; as we

ought to be most affected with these ourselves, so with these we ought to be most

desirous to affect others. I cried unto him with my mouth — With a loud voice and great

fervency; and he was extolled with my tongue — I soon had occasion to extol him for

hearing and answering my petitions.

WHEDON, "16. A beautiful illustration of a personal confession and experience of divine

grace.

All ye that fear God—He speaks to the covenant people, and such as fear God among the

nations. Such only could understand or profit by the recital. Many among the heathen had

learned to fear God by means of the miracles during the captivity, among whom were the

kings Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, and Cyrus. Daniel 3:28-29; Daniel 4:37; Daniel 6:25-28;

Ezra 1:1-4

COKE, "Psalms 66:16. Come and hear, all ye, &c.— Here we must suppose the Psalmist

in the temple; speaking, as is frequently the case in other places of the psalms, to the

assembled people, and declaring, to the honour of God, that he had heard and answered

his prayer. He mentions no particular; probably it was a deliverance somewhat analogous

to that of the Israelites which makes the subject of this psalm, and from some heathen

nation who had oppressed them: he had, very likely, been a prisoner and made his escape;

which makes him say, "If I had regarded vanity," i.e. "If I had ever, while I was a captive

among the heathen, been corrupted into any idolatrous practices, God would not have

heard me;" &c. That this was a proper subject for thanksgiving we may see in Psalms

107:2-9. Mudge.

REFLECTIONS.—1st, We have here,

1. The persons called upon to unite in the praises of God: All lands, not merely the people

of Israel, but all the ends of the earth. Note; Though God is merciful to all, we have

peculiar reason to bless him for that full and glorious Gospel which he has sent to us.

2. The manner of their praises. They must make a joyful noise, sing aloud their Creator's

and Redeemer's praises, proclaim his glory; and in their lives, as well as lips, shew forth

his honour.

3. The reasons why they should thus praise him. [1.] Because of his terrible works and the

greatness of his power, manifested in the abasement of his enemies. Note; Every

antichristian foe will be made shortly to bow at the feet of the faithful, and to know that

God hath loved them. [2.] For the mercies manifested to his church of old; the

remembrance of which should be ever new; such as was the deliverance of the Israelites

from Egypt, when the sea opened a way for them to pass over; there did we rejoice in

him. Note; Our Father's mercies are our own, and should awaken our praises. [3.]

Because the same protection shall be for ever vouchsafed to all the faithful. As God ever

rules, and ever sees the devices of their enemies, he will disappoint them, to the confusion

of his people's proud and rebellious foes. Note; Since all power is given to Christ in

heaven and on earth, his faithful people may be assured that no powers of darkness shall

be able to hurt them, but they shall with joy see them shortly put under his feet and theirs

for ever.

2nd, They who have an interest in God, as their covenant God, ought to make their voices

of grateful praise to be heard. Particularly,

1. For their lives; not only the preservation of bodily life, but more especially for the

spiritual life which Christ has bestowed and maintains; and suffereth not our feet to be

moved; though sore thrust at by temptation, yet by the power of grace our souls are

preserved.

2. For the blessed issue of their trials. Many an enemy had harassed the land, they had

been taken prisoners in the net of their oppressors, had suffered a variety of afflictions,

been trampled upon and insulted by the Philistines and neighbouring nations; but it was to

prove, not destroy them; and therefore they were delivered, and public tranquillity and

plenty restored to them. Thus the church of Christ has been also in the furnace of

affliction, under the man of sin, in Rome pagan and papal, has passed through variety of

tortures by fire and water, terrible as those devouring elements, and been often reduced to

the greatest distress, in order to prove the patience of the saints; but God will bring them

into a wealthy or large place; as at the Reformation, when true religion reared its head;

and as will be more eminently the case, when at last Christ shall come and reign over his

saints gloriously. This also is the state of every faithful believer, who passes through

temptation, painful as the action of fire, and deep as the floods; but the issue shall be

peace; his graces, thus exercised, shall shine the brighter, and into his wealthy place, even

a mansion in eternal glory, will he be brought: when he has suffered a little while for

Christ, he shall reign with him for ever.

3rdly, The Psalmist here, in the person of the faithful, declares the effects that God's grace

and protection would have upon them.

1. He and they would offer the noblest sacrifices appointed under the law; the fattest

beasts shall burn on God's altar, according to the vows they had made in trouble. Note;

Since Christ's one oblation was offered, all other sacrifices of blood are abolished; but

sacrifices of praise will never cease ascending from every faithful heart, and will go up

with acceptance in the smoke which arises from the Saviour's sacrifice, making all our

offerings a sweet-smelling savour to God.

2. He calls on all who fear God to come and hear what God had done; what wonders of

grace in pardoning, sanctifying, comforting, and saving his sinful soul; and this in answer

to his constant and fervent prayer, which God, who knew the simplicity of his heart, had

heard and granted; and for which he desires ever to bless and praise him, as for all his

mercies. Note; (1.) We are bound, for God's glory, and the encouragement of his people,

to communicate our experience of his goodness; not as vain of our mercies, as if the

favourites of heaven, but as thankfully terrifying our gratitude to him from whom we have

received all. (2.) There can be no comfort obtained from prayer, nor any well-grounded

confidence entertained of God's acceptance of us, whilst allowed and indulged iniquity

remains in the heart. (3.) They who lift up holy hands, without wrath and doubting, may

rise from their knees continually blessing and praising God.

CONSTABLE, "Verses 16-20

In these verses the writer addressed the congregated nation, not God. This is declarative

praise. God had answered the psalmist"s petition that arose out of a pure heart. God will

not listen to the prayer of a person who nurses sin in his or her heart. He hears it, of

course, because He knows all, but He will not hear it in the sense of answering it, under

normal circumstances. The psalm closes with the psalmist"s personal benediction to God

for granting his petition and bestowing His loyal love.

When God"s people are in need they should purify their hearts and pray. When they do,

He will answer and bless them. This should cause other people to honor and praise God.

EBC, "The last strophe (Psalms 66:16-20) passes beyond sacrificial symbols, and gives

the purest utterance to the emotions and resolves which ought to well up in a devout soul

on occasion of God’s goodness. Not only does the psalmist teach us how each individual

must take the general blessing for his very own-of which act the faith which takes the

world’s Christ for my Christ is the supreme example-but he teaches us that the obligation

laid on all recipients of God’s mercy is to tell it forth, and that the impulse is as certain to

follow real reception as the command is imperative. Just as Israel received deliverances

that the whole earth might learn how strong and gracious was Israel’s God, we receive

His blessings, and chiefly His highest gift of life in Christ, not only that we may live, but

that, living, we may "declare the works of the Lord." He has little possession of God’s

grace who has not felt the necessity of speech, and the impossibility of the lips being

locked when the heart is full.

The psalmist tells his experience of God’s answers to his prayer in a very striking fashion.

Psalms 66:17 says that he cried to God; and while his uttered voice was supplication, the

song extolling God for the deliverance asked was, as it were, lying under his tongue,

ready to break forth, -so sure was he that his cry would be heard. That is a strong faith

which prepares banners and music for the triumph before the battle is fought. It would be

presumptuous folly, not faith, if it rested on anything less certain than God’s power and

will.

"I find David making a syllogism in mood and figure ‘If I regard iniquity in my heart, the

Lord will not hear me: but verily God hath heard me; He hath attended to the voice of my

prayer.’ Now, I expected that David would have concluded thus ‘Therefore I regard not

wickedness in my heart.’ But far otherwise he concludes: ‘Blessed be God, who hath not

turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me.’ Thus David hath deceived but not

wronged me. I looked that he should have clapped the crown on his own, and he puts it

on God’s head. I will learn this excellent logic." So says Fuller ("Good Thoughts in Bad

Times," p. 34, Pickering’s ed., 1841).

No doubt, however, the psalmist means to suggest, though he does not state, that his

prayer was sincere. There is no self-complacent attribution of merit to his supplication, in

the profession that it was untainted by any secret, sidelong looking towards evil; and

Fuller is right in emphasising the suppression of the statement. But even the appearance

of such is avoided by the jet of praise which closes the psalm. Its condensed brevity has

induced some critics to mend it by expansion, as they regard it as incongruous to speak of

turning away a man’s prayer from himself. Some would therefore insert "from Him" after

"my prayer," and others would expand still further by inserting an appropriate negative

before "His lovingkindness." But the slight incongruity does not obscure the sense, and

brings out strongly the flow of thought. So fully does the psalmist feel the connection

between God’s lovingkindness and his own prayer, that these are, as it were, smelted into

one in his mind, and the latter is so far predominant in his thoughts that he is unconscious

of the anomaly of his expression. To expand only weakens the swing of the words and the

power of the thought. It is possible to tame lyric outbursts into accuracy at the cost of

energy. Psalmists are not bound to be correct in style. Rivers wind; canals are straight.

PETT, "Verses 16-20

b) A Call To Consider The Way In Which God Has Answered His (or their) Prayer

Because His (their) Heart Was Right Towards God (Psalms 66:16-20).

The Psalm ends with an emphasis on the fact that God has answered prayer. The king was

an intercessory priest after the order of Melchizedek (see introduction to the Psalm

above). But this would do no good unless his heart was pure before God. He recognised

that it was only when he approached God as one who was right with Him, that his prayer

was heard. God knows nothing of ex opere operato. This may thus be the cry of the king,

praying as the people’s representative.

Alternately the cry is that of each individual (as part of the whole) as he recognises the

wonderful way in which God has answered his prayer.

Psalms 66:16

‘Come, and hear, all you who fear God,

And I will declare what he has done for my life.’

First he calls on all who ‘fear God’, that is who recognise the Almightiness of YHWH, to

come and hear while he declares what God has done for him which has so benefited his

life. ‘All who fear God’ acknowledges the fact that even among the godless nations there

were those who recognised and acknowledged the greatness of the God of Israel. Whilst

Judah were His people ‘the fear of God’ was not limited to them. We can compare here

Naaman the Syrian general and the Sidonian widow who succoured Elijah (Luke 4:26-27;

2 Kings 5:17; 1 Kings 17:9 ff.).

17 I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.

BAR�ES, "I cried unto him with my mouth - That is, in my trouble; when distress came upon me. This, according to the explanation of the design of the psalm given above, is one individual speaking on behalf of the nation, or uttering the sentiment of the people. At the same time, however, all this is language appropriate to an individual when recording his own experience.

And he was extolled with my tongue - I praised him; I acknowledged his supremacy. I recognized my dependence on him, and looked to him as that God who had all things under his control, and who could grant me the deliverance which I desired.

CLARKE, "I cried unto him with my mouth -My prayer was fervent; he heard and answered; and my tongue celebrated his mercies; and he as graciously received my thanksgiving, as he compassionately heard my prayer.

GILL, "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, Phi_4:6; or "he was exalted under my tongue" (g); 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.

HE�RY, " He had wrought in him a love to the duty of prayer, and had by his grace enlarged his heart in that duty (Psa_66:17): I cried unto him with my mouth. But if God, among other things done for our souls, had not given us the Spirit of adoption, teaching and enabling us to cry, Abba, Father, we should never have done it. That God has given us leave to pray, a command to pray, encouragements to pray, and (to crown all) a heart to pray, is what we have reason to mention with thankfulness to his praise; and the more if, when we cried to him with our mouth, he was extolled with our tongue, that is, if we were enabled by faith and hope to give glory to him when we were seeking for mercy and grace from him, and to praise him for mercy in prospect though not yet in possession. By crying to him we do indeed extol him. He is pleased to reckon himself honoured by the

humble believing prayers of the upright, and this is a great thing which he has done for our souls, that he has been pleased so far to unite interests with us that, in seeking our own welfare, we seek his glory. His exaltation was under my tongue (so it may be read); that is, I was considering in my mind how I might exalt and magnify his name. When prayers are in our mouths praises must be in our hearts.

JAMISO�, "he was extolled with my tongue— literally, “exaltation (was) under my tongue,”

as a place of deposit, whence it proceeded; that is, honoring God was habitual.

CALVI�, "17.I cried unto him with my mouth He proves that he owed his safety to Divine interposition, from the circumstance of his having prayed, and in consequence, having sensibly experienced his kindness. Answers to prayer serve in no small degree to illustrate the goodness of God; and confirm our faith in it. In saying that he cried to God with his mouth and tongue, these are terms denoting, as we have seen in a previous part of the psalm, the vehemency and earnestness with which he prayed. Had he not prayed from the heart, he would have been rejected, but he makes mention of the tongue also, in token of the ardor of his supplications. Some absurdly imagine, that because the expression under the tongue is used, the meaning is with the heart Words are said to come from under the tongue, because they are formed by the flexion of the tongue, as in that passage,

“The poison of asps is under their lips,” (Psalms 140:3)

The term extol intimates, that we cannot honor God more in our worship, than by looking upwards to him for deliverance. The Papists rob him of a chief part of his glory, when they direct their prayers to the dead or to images, and make such little account of calling upon the name of the Lord.

The Psalmist next lays down the rule, which must be attended to, if we would pray properly and acceptably; guarding against that presumptuous exercise which overlooks the necessity of faith and penitence. We see with what audacity hypocrites and ungodly men associate themselves with the Lord’s people, in compliance with the general calls of the word to engage in prayer. To check this solemn mockery, the Psalmist mentions integrity of heart as indispensable. I am aware that the words may be considered as an assertion of his own personal uprightness of conduct, as we find him frequently vindicating this, by an appeal to the visible and practical proofs which God had shown of his favor to him; but his main object is evidently to enforce by the example of his own exercise the common propriety of drawing near to God with a pure heart. We have a parallel scripture in John 9:31, “We know that God heareth not sinners.” In one sense, he hears none but sinners; for we must all conform to the great rule of applying to him for the remission of our sins. But while believers make an unreserved confession of guilt before God, by this very thing they cease to be sinners, for God pardons them in answer to their supplications. We are not to forget the words of Paul,

“Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity,” — (2 Timothy 2:19)

Besides, to regard iniquity in the heart does not mean to be conscious of sin — for all the Lord’s people must see their sins and be grieved for them, and this is rather praiseworthy than condemnable; — but to be bent upon the practice of iniquity. He particularly refers to the heart, intimating that not only were his hands clean, in the sense of his being innocent before men, but that he could appeal to God in proof of his inward integrity. When the heart does not correspond to the outward conduct, and harbours any secret evil intent, the fair exterior appearance may deceive men; but it is an abomination in the sight of God, The Psalmist affirms with emphasis, that his prayers had been answered, and we ought to draw the inference that we shall never be disappointed, if we seek God in sincerity.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 17. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. It is well when prayer and praise go together, like the horses in Pharaoh's chariot. Some cry who do not sing, and some sing who do not cry: both together are best. Since the Lord's answers so frequently follow close at the heels of our petitions, and even overtake them, it becomes us to let our grateful praises keep pace with our humble prayers. Observe that the psalmist did both cry and speak; the Lord has cast the dumb devil out of his children, and those of them who are least fluent with their tongues are often the most eloquent with their hearts.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 17. This verse may be rendered thus: --I cried unto him with my mouth, and his exaltation was under my tongue; that is, I was considering and meditating how I might lift up and exalt the name of God, and make his praise glorious. Holy thoughts are said to be under the tongue when we are in a preparation to bring them forth. Joseph Caryl.Ver. 17. He was extolled with my tongue. It is a proof that prayer has proceeded from unworthy motives, when the blessings which succeed it are not acknowledged with as much fervency as when they were originally implored. The ten lepers all cried for mercy, and all obtained it, but only one returned to render thanks. John Morison.Ver. 17. He was extolled with my tongue: literally an extolling (of Him was) under my tongue, implying fulness of praise (Psalms 10:7). A store of praise being conceived as under the tongue, whence a portion might be taken on all occasions. The sense is, scarcely had I cried unto him when, by delivering me, he gave me abundant reason to extol him. (Psalms 34:6.) A. R. Faussett.Ver. 17. With my tongue. Let the praise of God be in thy tongue, under thy tongue, and upon thy tongue, that it may shine before all men, and that they may see that thy heart is good. The fish lucerna has a shining tongue, (A reviewer condemns us for quoting false natural history, but no intelligent reader will be misled thereby. --Editor.) from which it takes its name; and in the depths of the sea the light of its tongue reveals it: if thy heart has a tongue, shining with the praises of God, it will sufficiently show itself of what sort it is. Hence the old saying, "Speak, that I may see thee." Thomas Le Blanc.

WHEDO�, "Verses 17-1917-19. He rehearses the steps of his experience.

I cried—Earnestly prayed.

Extolled with my tongue—Made open, verbal confession, and offered praise.

If I regard iniquity—To be free from “iniquity,” the psalmist had to be sincere in purpose and in act, his motives being known to and judged by God, who looketh at the heart.

God hath heard me—The answer came. The thing asked was given. A simple narrative and testimony.

PETT, "Psalms 66:17

I cried to him with my mouth,And he was extolled with my tongue.’What he wanted them to recognise was that he had cried to God with his mouth, and had extolled Him with his tongue, and that God had heard him (Psalms 66:19). �ote the combination of prayer and praise. The idea is not that we somehow persuade Him to act by praising Him (the extolling comes after the praying), but that we not only look to Him to answer our prayers, but also give Him the worship and gratitude due to Him for His goodness.

18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;

BAR�ES, "If I regard iniquity in my heart - literally, “If I have seen iniquity in my heart.” That is, If I have indulged in a purpose of iniquity; if I have had a wicked end in view; if I have not been willing to forsake all sin; if I have cherished a purpose of pollution or wrong. The meaning is not literally, If I have “seen” any iniquity in my heart - for no one can look into his own heart, and not see that it is defiled by sin; but, If I have cherished it in my soul; if I have gloated over past sins; if I am purposing to commit sin

again; if I am not willing to abandon all sin, and to be holy.

The Lord will not hear me - That is, He will not regard and answer my prayer. The idea is, that in order that prayer may be heard, there must be a purpose to forsake all forms of sin. This is a great and most important principle in regard to prayer. The same principle is affirmed or implied in Psa_18:41; Psa_34:15; Pro_1:28; Pro_15:29; Pro_28:9; Isa_15:1-9; Jer_11:11; Jer_14:12; Zec_7:13; Joh_9:31. It is also especially stated in Isa_58:3-7. The principle is applicable

(a) to secret purposes of sin; to sinful desires, corrupt passions. and evil propensities;

(b) to acts of sin in individuals, as when a man is pursuing a business founded on fraud, dishonesty, oppression, and wrong;

(c) to public acts of sin, as when a people fast and pray Isa_58:1-14, and yet hold their fellow-men in bondage; or enact and maintain unjust and unrighteous laws; or uphold the acts of wicked rulers; or countenance and support by law that which is contrary to the law of God; and

(d) to the feelings of an awakened and trembling sinner when he is professedly seeking salvation.

If there is still the love of evil in his heart; if he has some cherished purpose of iniquity which he is not willing to abandon; if there is any one sin, however small or unimportant it may seem to be, which he is not willing to forsake, he cannot hope that God will hear his prayer; he may be assured that he will not. All prayer, to be acceptable to God, must be connected with a purpose to forsake all sin.

CLARKE, "If I regard iniquity in my heart - “If I have seen (ראיתי raithi) iniquity in my heart,” if I have known it was there, and encouraged it; if I pretended to be what I was not; if I loved iniquity, while I professed to pray and be sorry for my sin;

the Lord, אדני Adonai, my Prop, Stay, and Supporter, would not have heard, and I should

have been left without help or support.

GILL, "If I regard iniquity in my heart,.... There was iniquity in his heart, as there is in every good man's heart, and a great deal too; it is full of it; and it should be regarded in some sense, so as to guard against it, and pray to be kept from it, that it may not break forth into action; and so as to loath it, abhor it, and be humbled for it; but not so as to nourish and cherish it, to take delight and pleasure in it: or "if I look upon it" (h), as it may be rendered; that is, with approbation of it, and satisfaction in it, and ordered his conversation according to it; or acted the deceitful and hypocritical part in prayer; or had any evil intention in his petitions, to consume on his lusts what he asked for;

the Lord will not hear me; for the Lord hears not sinners that delight in sin, and live in it; neither profane sinners nor hypocrites; see Joh_9:31.

HE�RY, "He had wrought in him a dread of sin as an enemy to prayer (Psa_66:18): If I regard iniquity in my heart, I know very well the Lord will not hear me. The Jewish writers, some of them that have the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, put a very corrupt gloss upon these words: If I regard iniquity in my heart, that is (say they), If I allow myself only in heart-sins, and iniquity does not break out in my words and

actions, God will not hear me, that is, he will not be offended with me, will take no notice of it, so as to lay it to my charge; as if heart-sins were no sins in God's account. The falsehood of this our Saviour has shown in his spiritual exposition of the law, Mt. 5. But the sense of this place is plain: If I regard iniquity in my heart, that is, “If I have favourable thoughts of it, if I love it, indulge it, and allow myself in it, if I treat it as a friend and bid it welcome, make provision for it and am loth to part with it, if I roll it under my tongue as a sweet morsel, though it be but a heart sin that is thus countenanced and made much of, if I delight in it after the inward man, God will not hear my prayer, will not accept it, nor be pleased with it, nor can I expect an answer of peace to it.” Note, Iniquity, regarded in the heart, will certainly spoil the comfort and success of prayer; for the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. Those that continue in love and league with sin have no interest either in the promise or in the Mediator, and therefore cannot expect to speed in prayer.

JAMISO�, "If I regard iniquity in my heart— literally, “see iniquity with pleasure.”

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart. If, having seen it to be there, I continue to gaze upon it without aversion; if I cherish it, have a side glance of love toward it, excuse it, and palliate it;The Lord will not hear me. How can he? Can I desire him to connive at my sin, and accept me while I wilfully cling to any evil way? �othing hinders prayer like iniquity harboured in the breast; as with Cain, so with us, sin lieth at the door, and blocks the passage. If thou listen to the devil, God will not listen to thee. If you refuse to hear God's commands, he will surely refuse to hear thy prayers. An imperfect petition God will hear for Christ's sake, but not one which is wilfully miswritten by a traitor's hand. For God to accept our devotions, while we are delighting in sin, would be to make himself the God of hypocrites, which is a fitter name for Satan than for the Holy One of Israel.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. The very supposition that "if he regarded iniquity in his heart, the Lord would not hear him, "implies the possibility that such may be the state even of believers; and there is abundant reason to fear that it is in this way their prayers are so often hindered, and their supplications so frequently remain unanswered. �or is it difficult to conceive how believers may be chargeable with regarding iniquity in their heart, even amidst all the solemnity of coming into the immediate presence of God, and directly addressing him in the language of prayer and supplication. It is possible that they may put themselves into such a situation, in a state of mind but little fitted for engaging in that holy exercise; the world, in one form or another, may for the time have the ascendancy in their hearts; and there may have been so much formality in their confessions, and so much indifference in their supplications, that when the exercise is over, they could not honestly declare that they really meant what they acknowledged, or seriously desired what they prayed for. A Christian, it is true, could not be contented to remain in a state like this; and, when he is awakened from it, as he sooner or later will be, he cannot fail to look back upon it with humiliation and shame. But we fear there are seasons in which believers

themselves may make a very near approach to such a state; and what then is the true interpretation of prayers offered up at such a moment? It is in fact saying, that there is something which, for the time, they prefer to what they are formally asking of God; that, though the blessing which they do ask may be for a time withheld, yet they would find a compensation in the enjoyment of the worldly things which do at the moment engross their affections; and that, in reality, they would not choose to have at that instant such an abundant communication of spiritual influence imparted to them, as would render these worldly objects less valuable in their estimation, and would turn the whole tide of their affections towards spiritual things... The Christian may sometimes betake himself to prayer, to ask counsel of God in some perplexity regarding divine truth, or to seek direction in some doubtful point of duty; but, instead of being prepared fairly to exercise his judgment in the hope that, while doing so, the considerations that lie of the side of truth will be made to his mind clear and convincing; he may have allowed his inclinations so to influence and bias his judgment towards the side of error, or in favour of the line of conduct which he wishes to pursue, that when he asks counsel it may only be in the hope that his previous opinion will be confirmed, and when he seeks direction it is in reality on a point about which he was previously determined... Another case is, I fear, but too common, and in which the believer may be still more directly chargeable with regarding iniquity in his heart. It is possible that there may be in his heart or life something which he is conscious is not altogether as it should be--some earthly attachment which he cannot easily justify--or some point of conformity to the maxims and practices of the world, which he finds it difficult to reconcile with christian principle; and yet all the struggle which these have from time to time cost him, may only have been an effort of ingenuity on his part to retain them without doing direct violence to conscience --a laborious getting up of arguments whereby to show how they may be defended, or in what way they may lawfully be gone into; while the true and simple reason of his going into them, namely, the love of the world, is all the while kept out of view. And, as an experimental proof of how weak and inconclusive all these arguments are, and at the same time how unwilling he still is to relinquish his favourite objects, he may be conscious that in confessing his sins he leaves them out of the enumeration, rather because he would willingly pass them over, than because he is convinced that they need not be there; he may feel that he cannot and dare not make them the immediate subject of solemn and deliberate communing with God; and, after all his multiplied and ingenuous defences, he may be reconciled to them at last, only by ceasing to agitate the question whether they are lawful or not. Robert Gordon, D.D., 1825.Ver. 18. Whence is it that a man's regarding or loving sin in his heart hinders his prayers from acceptance with God?I. The first reason is, because in this case he cannotpray by the Spirit. All prayers that are acceptablewith God are the breathings of his own Spirit with us.Romans 8:26. As without the intercession of Christ wecannot have our prayers accepted, so without theintercession of the Spirit we cannot pray...II. The second reason is, because as long as a manregards iniquity in his heart he cannot pray in faith;

that is, he cannot build a rational confidence upon anypromise that God will accept him. �ow, faith alwaysrespects the promise, and promise of acceptance is madeonly to the upright: so long, therefore, as men cherisha love of sin in their heart, they either understandnot the promises, and so they pray withoutunderstanding, or they understand them, and yetmisapply them to themselves, and so they pray inpresumption: in neither case, they have little cause tohope for acceptance...III. The third reason is, because while we regard iniquityin our hearts we cannot pray with fervency; which, nextto sincerity, is the great qualification of prayer, towhich God has annexed a promise of acceptance(Matthew 11:12): "The kingdom of heaven sufferethviolence, and the violent take it by force." Matthew 7:7 :those only that seek are like to find, and those thatknock to have admittance; all which expressionsdenote vehemence and importunity. �ow, the cause ofvehemence, in our prosecution of any good, is ourlove of it; for proportionable to the affection webear to anything is the earnestness of our desiresand the diligence of our pursuit after it. So long,therefore, as the love of sin possesses our hearts,our love to spiritual things is dull, heavy,inactive, and our prayers for them must needs beanswerable. O the wretched fallacy that the soulwill here put upon itself! At the same time it willlove its sin and pray against it; at the same time itwill entreat for grace, with a desire not to prevail:as a father confesses of himself, that before hisconversion he would pray for chastity, with a secretreserve in his wishes that God would not grant hisprayer. Such are the mysterious, intricatetreacheries by which the love of sin will make a souldeceive and circumvent itself. How languidly andfaintly will it pray for spiritual mercies;conscience, in the meanwhile, giving the lie to everysuch petition! The soul, in this case, cannot prayagainst sin in earnest; it fights against it, butneither with hope nor intent to conquer; as lovers,usually, in a game one against another, with a desireto lose. So, then, while we regard iniquity, how isit possible for us to regard spiritual things, theonly lawful object of our prayers? and, if we regardthem not, how can we be urgent with God for thegiving of them? And where there is no fervency on

our part, no wonder if there is no answer on God's. Robert South, 1633-1716.Ver. 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Though the subject matter of a saint's prayer be founded on the word, yet if the end he aims at be not levelled right, this is a door at which his prayer will be stopped: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." James 4:3. Take, I confess, a Christian in his right temper, and he aims at the glory of God; yet, as a needle that is touched with a loadstone may be removed from its point to which nature hath espoused it, though trembling till it again recovers it; so a gracious soul may in a particular act and request vary from this end, being jogged by Satan, yea, disturbed by an enemy nearer home--his own unmortified corruption. Do you not think it possible for a saint, in distress of body and spirit, to pray for health in the one, and comfort in the other, with too selfish a respect to his own ease and quiet? Yes, surely; and to pray for gifts and assistance in some eminent service, with an eye to his own credit and applause; to pray for a child with too inordinate a desire that the honour of his house may be built up in him. And this may be understood as the sense, in part, of that expression, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. For though to desire our own health, peace, and reputation, be not an iniquity, when contained within the limits that God hath set; yet, when they overflow at such a height, as to overtop the glory of God, yea, to stand but in a level with it, they are a great abomination. That which in the first or second degree is wholesome food, would be rank poison in the fourth or fifth: therefore, Christian, catechize thyself, before thou prayest: O, my soul, what sends thee on this errand? Know but thy own mind what thou prayest for, and thou mayest soon know God's mind how thou shalt speed. Secure God his glory, and thou mayest soon know God's mind how thou shalt speed. William Gurnall.Ver. 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.1. They regard iniquity in their heart, who practise it secretly, who are under restraint from the world, but are not possessed of an habitual fear of the omniscient God, the searcher of all hearts, and from whose eyes there is no covering of thick darkness where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. Jeremiah 23:24.2. They regard iniquity in the heart, who entertain and indulge the desire of sin, although in the course of providence they may be restrained from the actual commission of it. I am persuaded the instances are not rare, of men feeding upon sinful desires, even when through want of opportunity, through the fear of man, or through some partial restraint of conscience, they dare not carry them into execution.3. They regard iniquity in their heart, who reflect upon past sins with delight, or without sincere humiliation of mind. Perhaps our real disposition, both towards sin and duty, may be as certainly discovered by the state of our minds after, as in the time of action. The strength and suddenness of temptation may betray even a good man into the commission of sin; the backwardness of heart and power of inward corruption may make duty burdensome and occasion many defects in the performance; but every real Christian remembers his past sins with unfeigned contrition of spirit, and a deep sense of unworthiness before God; and the discharge of his duty, however difficult it may have been at the time, affords him the utmost pleasure on reflection. It is otherwise with many; they can remember their sins without sorrow, they can speak of them without shame, and sometimes even with a

mixture of boasting and vain glory. Did you never hear them recall their past follies, and speak of them with such relish, that it seems to be more to renew the pleasure than to regret the sin? Even supposing such persons to have forsaken the practice of some sin, if they can thus look upon them with inward complacency, their seeming reformation must be owing to a very different cause from renovation of heart.4. They regard iniquity in their heart, who look upon the sins of others with approbation; or, indeed, who can behold them without grief. Sin is so abominable a thing, so dishonouring to God, and so destructive to the souls of men, that no real Christian can witness it without concern. Hence it is so frequently taken notice of in Scripture, as the character of a servant of God, that he mourns for the sins of others. Psalms 119:136; Psalms 119:158.5. In the last place, I suspect that they regard sin in the heart, who are backward to bring themselves to the trial, and who are not truly willing that God himself would search and try them. If any, therefore, are unwilling to be tried, if they are backward to self examination, it is an evidence of a strong and powerful attachment to sin. It can proceed from nothing but from a secret dread of some disagreeable discovery, or the detection of some lust which they cannot consent to forsake... There are but too many who though they live in the practice of sin, and regard iniquity in their hearts, do yet continue their outward attendance on the ordinances of divine institution, and at stated times lay hold of the seals of God's covenant. Shall they find any acceptance with him? �o. He counts it a profane mockery; he counts it a sacrilegious usurpation. Psalms 50:16-17. Shall they have any comfort in it? �o: unless in so far as in righteous judgment he suffers them to be deceived; and they are deceived, and they are most unhappy, who lie longest under the delusion. Psalms 50:21. Shall they have any benefit by it? �o: instead of appeasing his wrath, it provokes his vengeance; instead of enlightening their minds, it blinds their eyes; instead of sanctifying their nature, it hardens their hearts. See a description of those who had been long favoured with outward privileges and gloried in them. John 12:39-40. So that nothing is more essential to an acceptable approach to God in the duties of his worship in general, and particularly to receiving the seals of his covenant, than a thorough and universal separation from all known sin. Job 11:13-14. John Witherspoon (1722-1749), in a Sermon entitled "The Petitions of the Insincere Unavailing."Ver. 18-20. Lord, I find David making a syllogism, in mood and figure, two propositions he perfected. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me; but verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. �ow I expected that David should have concluded thus: "Therefore I regard not wickedness in my heart; but far otherwise he concludes": Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. Thus David had deceived, but not wronged me. I looked that he should have clapped the crown on his own, and he puts it on God's head. I will learn this excellent logic; for I like David's better than Aristotle's syllogisms, that whatsoever the premise be, I make God's glory the conclusion. Thomas Fuller.

BE�SO�, "Verse 18Psalms 66:18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, &c. — God’s hearing and granting

my petitions hath brought along with it a testimony of my sincerity in serving him, far more valuable than my kingdom; for, if I had been guilty of known iniquity, or had entertained in my heart a desire or intention to commit it, the Lord, who hates iniquity, would have denied my request. What the psalmist here observes merits our deep attention. From this, and many other passages in the Old Testament, we learn that the religion of the Holy Scriptures has always been the same in substance, and that in the time when various sacrifices and divers ceremonies were enjoined, the truly pious were persuaded that sincerity of heart and purity of intention, with a conscientious care to abstain from all known sin, were things absolutely necessary in order to their pleasing God, and being acceptable in his sight: and that without these, thousands of sacrifices and burnt-offerings, and the most scrupulous observance of outward ceremonies, were of no signification before him who searches the heart, and requires truth in the inward parts.

ELLICOTT, "(18) If I regard . . .—Rather, if I had seen evil (i.e., had had it purposely in view) in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me. One may not “be pardoned and retain the offence.” The reference may be either to the forming of wicked schemes, or to the complacent view of wickedness in others.

The protestation of innocence in this verse, being made by or for the community at large, marks a late period for the composition. (See Introduction, and Psalms 44, Introduction and �otes.)

PETT, "Psalms 66:18-19

‘If I regard iniquity in my heart,The Lord will not hear,But truly God has heard,He has attended to the voice of my prayer.’However, he stresses the importance of approaching God with a pure heart. Unlike the so-called gods of other nations the God of Israel is concerned with the moral behaviour of His petitioners. He will only hear the prayers of those whose hearts are right with Him as revealed in their response to His covenant requirements and their behaviour towards others. There is nothing automatic about it. They will not be heard for their much speaking, but only when they approach Him with their hearts purified and free from known sin. Cherishing sin in the heart will result in God not hearing them. What they pray for must be right, and so must their attitude of heart. The importance of this fact cannot be overstated. It reminds us that God is only ‘bound’ to hear the prayers of those whose hearts are right with Him and whose motives are pure. And in this case God had truly heard his prayer, and had heard him as he prayed, precisely because he had prayed from a true heart and with a cleansed conscience. This was the basis on which their great deliverance had been enjoyed.

Again the idea is not that by our behaviour we somehow earn the right to be heard. Rather it is that a righteous and moral God will only act in accordance with righteousness.

19 but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.

BAR�ES, "But verily God hath heard me ... - That is, He has given me evidence that he has heard my prayer; and, in doing this, he has thus given me the assurance also that I do not regard iniquity in my heart. The evidence that he has heard me is at the same time proof to my mind that I do not love sin. As it is a settled and universal principle that God does not hear prayer when there is in the heart a cherished love and purpose of iniquity, so it follows that, if there is evidence that he has heard our prayers, it is proof that he has seen that our hearts are sincere, and that we truly desire to forsake all forms of sin.

CLARKE, "Verily God hath heard me - A sure proof that my prayer was upright, and my heart honest, before him.

GILL, "But verily God hath heard me,.... So that it was a plain case that he had not regarded iniquity in his heart; had not lived a vicious course of life, nor was an hypocrite; otherwise God would not have heard his prayer; whereas he had, and which is confirmed in the following clause;

he hath attended to the voice of my prayer; which is an instance of the grace and condescension of God, and showed in what high favour the psalmist was with the Lord, and what regard he had unto him; and therefore could not be the man his enemies represented him to be.

HE�RY 19-20, " He had graciously granted him an answer of peace to his prayers (Psa_66:19): “But verily God has heard me; though, being conscious to myself of much amiss in me, I began to fear that my prayers would be rejected, yet, to my comfort, I found that God was pleased to regard them.” This God did for his soul, by answering his prayer, he gave him a token of his favour and an evidence that he had wrought a good work in him. And therefore he concludes (Psa_66:20), Blessed be God. The two foregoing verses are the major and minor propositions of a syllogism: If I regard iniquity in my heart, God will not hear my prayer; that is the proposition: but verily God has heard me; that is the assumption, from which he might have rationally inferred, “Therefore I do not regard iniquity in my heart;” but, instead of taking the comfort to himself, he gives the praise to God: Blessed be God. Whatever are the premises, God's glory must always be the conclusion. God has heard me, and therefore

blessed be God. Note, What we win by prayer we must wear with praise. Mercies in answer to prayer do, in a special manner, oblige us to be thankful. He has not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy. Lest it should be thought that the deliverance was granted for the sake of some worthiness in his prayer, he ascribes it to God's mercy. This he adds by way of correction: “It was not my prayer that fetched the deliverance, but his mercy that sent it.” Therefore God does not turn away our prayer, because he does not turn away his own mercy, for that is the foundation of our hopes and the fountain of our comforts, and therefore ought to be the matter of our praises.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 19. But verily God hath heard me. Sure sign this that the petitioner was no secret lover of sin. The answer to his prayer was a fresh assurance that his heart was sincere before the Lord. See how sure the psalmist is that he has been heard; it is with him no hope, surmise, or fancy, but he seals it with a verily. Facts are blessed things when they reveal both God's heart as loving, and our own heart as sincere.He hath attended to the voice of my prayer. He gave his mind to consider my cries, interpreted them, accepted them, and replied to them; and therein proved his grace and also my uprightness of heart. Love of sin is a plague spot, a condemning mark, a killing sign, but those prayers, which evidently live and prevail with God, most clearly arise from a heart which is free from dalliance with evil. Let the reader see to it, that his inmost soul be rid of all alliance with iniquity, all toleration of secret lust, or hidden wrong.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 18-20. See Psalms on "Psalms 66:18" for further information.HI�TS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHERVer. 18-19.I. The test admitted.II. The test applied.III. The test approved.Ver. 19. The fact that God has heard prayer.

BE�SO�, "Verse 19-20Psalms 66:19-20. But verily God hath heard me — And thereby hath borne his testimony to my integrity for my own comfort, and the vindication of my character against all my false accusers. Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer — Or, rejected, or removed it from his sight and audience; but hath graciously received and granted it, which I ascribe to his infinite goodness, and not to the merit of my own righteousness; nor his mercy from me — To which, and not to any worthiness of my own, I owe my acceptance with him, and the answer of my prayers.

20 Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

BAR�ES, "Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer - That is, It is fit that I should praise and adore God for the fact that he has graciously condescended to listen to the voice of my supplications.

Nor his mercy from me - There is no more proper ground of praise than the fact that God hears prayer - the prayer of poor, ignorant, sinful, dying men. When we consider how great is his condescension in doing this; when we think of his greatness and immensity; when we reflect that the whole universe is dependent on him, and that the farthest worlds need his care and attention; when we bear in mind that we are creatures of a day and “know nothing;” and especially when we remember how we have violated his laws, how sensual, corrupt, and vile our lives have been, how low and grovelling have been our aims and purposes, how we have provoked him by our unbelief, our ingratitude, and our hardness of heart - we can never express, in appropriate words, the extent of his goodness in hearing our prayers, nor can we find language which will properly give utterance to the praises due to his name for having condescended to listen to our cries for mercy.

CLARKE, "Blessed be God - I therefore praise God, who has not turned aside my prayer, and who has not withheld his mercy from me. Thus he told them what God had done for his soul.

GILL, "Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer,.... Has not been angry against it, shut it out, or covered himself with a cloud that it might not pass through, which sometimes saints have complained of, Psa_80:4; but graciously heard and received it;

nor his mercy from me; for that endures for ever, and is from everlasting to everlasting on them that fear the Lord, Psa_103:17; all which require thankfulness and praise, which is here given.

CALVI�, "20Blessed be God! who hath not turned away my prayer He concludes the psalm, as he began it, with thanksgiving, and gives the reason of his not having met with a repulse; or, to take the figurative expression which he employs, of God’s not having turned away his prayer. This was, that he had not withdrawn his mercy. For it is entirely of his free grace that he is propitious, and that our prayers are not wholly ineffectual.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 20. Blessed be God. Be his name honoured and loved. Which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. He has neither withdrawn his love nor my liberty to pray. He has neither cast out my prayer nor me. His mercy and my cries still meet each other. The psalm ends on its key note. Praise all through is its spirit and design. Lord enable us to enter into it. Amen.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GSVer. 18-20. See Psalms on "Psalms 66:18" for further information.HI�TS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHERVer. 20. The mercy of God.I. In permitting prayer.II. In inclining to prayer.III. In hearing prayer.

PETT, "Psalms 66:20

‘Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer,�or his covenant love from me.’He finalises his prayer by blessing God for having heard him in accordance with His covenant. He never turns away from those who approach responsive to His covenant. For He Himself is always faithful to those to whom He has covenanted to act in love, that is to those who have responded to His freely offered love by entering into a covenant relationship with Him.