Make God’s Praise Great Again!

Psalms 66:1-20 

To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.

1 Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
2 Sing out the honor of His name;
Make His praise glorious.

3 Say to God,
"How awesome are Your works!
Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
4 All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name."

Selah

5 Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
They went through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.

7 He rules by His power forever;
His eyes observe the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.

Selah

8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
9 Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to be moved.

10 For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.

12 You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.

13 I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
With the sweet aroma of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats.

Selah

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was extolled with my tongue.

18 If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
19 But certainly God has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!

What a song of praise for God’s awesome works toward His people!  We should imitate the psalmist with shouts of thankful praise to honor His holy name, with real joy in our hearts.  Make His praise glorious again!  We should praise Him by telling Him how magnificent and awesome all He has done and will do is, telling Him how we see that it is His power to put down the enemy and not ours or our elected leaders on this earth.  Only the Lord has power and glory.  This is especially a lesson for the people of this country in this present evil time, to not trust in political chariots and horses, but in the sovereign providence of the living God who has the whole world in His hands.  All will bow down to God’s authority as the earth’s inhabitants sing praises of worship to the name above all names (Isaiah 45:23-24, Philippians 2:9-11).  Selah.  Think about that.  Just consider His awesome works such as leading His people out of bondage through the Red Sea and through the dried up riverbed of the Jordan to enter the land promised to His people.  This is the demonstrated power of His rule over all nations.  Rebellion against His rule is futile pride.  Think about that in this present evil age (Galatians 1:4).  Due to knowing and understanding His sovereignty, we should praise God and bless His name in sharing it with all around us.  He is the one who gives us life and true freedom which no governmental system could ever do.  Our rights and freedom are not legislated or demanded, but given by grace and providence for our good according to God’s plans and times and ways.  He keeps our feet firm on Christ our solid rock on whom we stand.  Therefore, God tests our hearts to refine them in purity (Zechariah 13:9) and proves our true reliance on Him as we suffer many things until He brings us through them for our good and His glory, a rich fulfillment indeed!  Our lives are our living sacrifices now, not the temple sacrifices mentioned here which were just a shadow of the intended worship we should be offering God (Romans 12:1).  Stop and meditate on these things.  Then approach to hear the testimony of God’s work in the life of the psalmist, as well as the lives of all through time who trusted the LORD God and righteously fear Him.  We cry out to Him and then to others of His work, especially in Christ, which is the gospel of mercy and grace.  Truly as it is written here, if we harbor sin in our hearts, God does not have to listen to us; praise be to God that He has chosen to listen after reconciling us through the atoning work so Jesus Christ!  He has heard our prayers and not turned away.  This is His unmerited favor of grace in mercy to us.  Bless His name forevermore and make God’s praise great again!