Psalm 66

Praise for God’s Mighty Acts

For the choir director. A song. A psalm.

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!(A)
Sing about the glory of His name;
make His praise glorious.(B)
Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are Your works!
Your enemies will cringe before You
because of Your great strength.(C)
All the earth will worship You
and sing praise to You.
They will sing praise to Your name.”(D)Selah

Come and see the wonders of God;(E)
His acts for humanity are awe-inspiring.
He turned the sea into dry land,
and they crossed the river on foot.(F)
There we rejoiced in Him.(G)
He rules forever by His might;
He keeps His eye on the nations.(H)
The rebellious should not exalt themselves.(I)Selah
Praise our God, you peoples;
let the sound of His praise be heard.(J)
He keeps us alive[a]
and does not allow our feet to slip.(K)

10 For You, God, tested us;
You refined us as silver is refined.(L)
11 You lured us into a trap;
You placed burdens on our backs.(M)
12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but You brought us out to abundance.[b](N)

13 I will enter Your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay You my vows(O)
14 that my lips promised
and my mouth spoke during my distress.(P)
15 I will offer You fattened sheep as burnt offerings,
with the fragrant smoke of rams;
I will sacrifice oxen with goats.(Q)Selah

16 Come and listen, all who fear God,
and I will tell what He has done for me.(R)
17 I cried out to Him with my mouth,
and praise was on my tongue.(S)
18 If I had been aware of malice in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.(T)
19 However, God has listened;
He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.(U)
20 May God be praised!
He has not turned away my prayer
or turned His faithful love from me.(V)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 66:9 Lit He sets our soul in life
  2. Psalm 66:12 Or a place of satisfaction

Psalm 66

For the music leader. A song. A psalm.

66 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!
    Sing praises to the glory of God’s name!
        Make glorious his praise!
Say to God:
“How awesome are your works!
    Because of your great strength,
        your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth worships you,
    sings praises to you,
        sings praises to your name!” Selah

Come and see God’s deeds;
    his works for human beings are awesome:
He turned the sea into dry land
    so they could cross the river on foot.
        Right there we rejoiced in him!
God rules with power forever;
    keeps a good eye on the nations.
        So don’t let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

All you nations, bless our God!
    Let the sound of his praise be heard!
God preserved us among the living;
    he didn’t let our feet slip a bit.

10 But you, God, have tested us—
    you’ve refined us like silver,
11     trapped us in a net,
    laid burdens on our backs,
12     let other people run right over our heads—
    we’ve been through fire and water.

But you brought us out to freedom!
13     So I’ll enter your house
        with entirely burned offerings.
    I’ll keep the promises I made to you,
14         the ones my lips uttered,
        the ones my mouth spoke when I was in deep trouble.
15 I will offer the best burned offerings to you
    along with the smoke of sacrificed rams.
    I will offer both bulls and goats. Selah

16 Come close and listen,
    all you who honor God;
    I will tell you what God has done for me:
17 My mouth cried out to him
    with praise on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished evil in my heart,
    my Lord would not have listened.
19 But God definitely listened.
    He heard the sound of my prayer.
20 Bless God! He didn’t reject my prayer;
    he didn’t withhold his faithful love from me.