Psalm 66-68

Common English Bible

⁵ Come and see God’s deeds;
    his works for human beings are awesome:
⁶ He turned the sea into dry land
    so they could cross the river on foot.
        Right there we rejoiced in him!
⁷ God rules with power forever;
    keeps a good eye on the nations.
        So don’t let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

⁸ All you nations, bless our God!
    Let the sound of his praise be heard!
⁹ 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.

³ Let the people thank you, God!
    Let all the people thank you!
⁴     Let the people celebrate
        and shout with joy
        because you judge the nations fairly
        and guide all nations on the earth. Selah
⁵     Let the people thank you, God!
    Let all the people thank you!

⁶ The earth has yielded its harvest.
    God blesses us—our God blesses us!
⁷ Let God continue to bless us;
    let the far ends of the earth honor him.

⁵ Father of orphans and defender of widows
    is God in his holy habitation.
⁶ God settles the lonely in their homes;
    he sets prisoners free with happiness,^[a]
    but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

⁷ When you went forth before your people, God,
        when you marched through the wasteland, Selah
⁸     the earth shook!
Yes, heaven poured down
    before God, the one from Sinai—
    before God, the God of Israel!
⁹ You showered down abundant rain, God;
    when your inheritance grew weary,
    you restored it yourself,
¹⁰     and your creatures settled in it.
In your goodness, God,
    you provided for the poor.

¹¹ My Lord gives the command—
    many messengers are bringing good news:
¹² “The kings of armies are on the run!
    The women back home divide the spoil.
¹³ Even if you lie down among the sheepfolds,
    there are wings of a dove covered with silver;
    its pinions covered in precious gold.”^[b]
14 When the Almighty^[c] scattered the kings there,
    snow fell on Mount Zalmon.

¹⁵ Mighty mountain, Mount Bashan;
    many-peaked mountain, Mount Bashan!
¹⁶ You many-peaked mountain:
    Why do you look with envy
    at the mountain God desired for his dwelling,
        the mountain where the Lord dwells forever?

¹⁷ God’s chariots are twice ten thousand—
    countless thousands!
    My Lord came from Sinai^[d] into the sanctuary.
¹⁸ You ascended the heights,
    leading away your captives,
    receiving tribute from people,
        even from those who rebel
        against the Lord God’s dwelling there.
¹⁹ Bless the Lord!
    The God of our salvation
    supports us day after day! Selah
²⁰ Our God is the God of salvation,
    and escape from certain death comes through God my Lord.

²¹ Yes, God will shatter the heads of his enemies—
    the very skulls of those who walk in guilt.
²² My Lord has spoken:
    “From Bashan I will bring those people back.
    I will bring them back from the ocean’s depths
²³         so that you can wash your feet in their blood,
        so that your dogs’ tongues
        can lap up their share of your enemies.”

²⁴ They saw your procession, God—
    the procession of my God,
    my king, into the sanctuary.
²⁵ First came the singers,
    then the musicians;
    between them the young women
        were playing hand drums:
²⁶ “Bless God in the great congregation;
    bless the Lord from Israel’s fountain!”
²⁷ There’s Benjamin leading them,
    though he’s little;
    then the princes of Judah,
    their speaker;
    then the princes of Zebulun
    and the princes of Naphtali.

²⁸ Summon your strength, God!
    Show how strong you are, God,
        just as you’ve done for us before,
²⁹         from your temple above Jerusalem,
        where kings bring you gifts.
³⁰ Rebuke the wild animals of the marshland,
    the herd of bulls among the calves of the peoples.
Trample those who delight in money;
    scatter the peoples who take pleasure in battles.
³¹ Let ambassadors come from Egypt;
    let Cush stretch out its hands to God.

³² Sing to God, all kingdoms of the earth!
    Sing praises to my Lord. Selah
³³ Sing to the one who rides through heaven,
    the most ancient heaven.
    Look! God sends forth his voice,
        his mighty voice.
³⁴ Recognize how strong God is!
    His majesty extends over Israel;
    his strength is in the clouds.
³⁵ You are awesome, God, in your sanctuaries—
    the God of Israel who gives strength and power to his people!

Bless God!