Overview:The psalmist praises God because he has delivered his people from a crisis.
(1) v.1-4 All the earth
Praise God for what He has done. Praising is not just empty words, but with content.
(2) v.5-7 The reason for praising is what God has done to Israel
He turned the Red Sea into dry land. In other words, the whole earth was invited to praise God for what He has done to the nation Israel. What God has done to Israel should arouse a response from every nation, especially, the crossing of the Red Sea involved the punishment of Egypt.
66:7 He rules by his power forever;
he watches the nations.
Stubborn rebels should not exalt themselves.
Who were the "stubborn rebels?" Probably the Egyptian Pharaoh. May all the nations learned from him and would not exalt oneself towards God.
(3) v.8-12 The psalmist invited the nations to praise God again because of what He has done to Israel. However, this time the reason for praising is because of their sufferings/testing/purifying v.9-10.
66:11 You led us into a trap;
you caused us to suffer.
66:12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place.
Have I testified God through my sufferings? What do the psalmists and his people go through when other men ride over their heads and they passed through fire and water? How do they feel when God rescued them and brought them into a wide open place?
To me, the suffering/testing/purifying time is not just at the time when I was a new believer. It was just 2 days ago when I sinned with my words and caused a heavy feeling in my heart. I have to ask God to forgive me and lift His hands on me.
(4) v.18-20 A warning
66:18 If I had harbored sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
66:19 However, God heard;
he listened to my prayer.
66:20 God deserves praise,
for he did not reject my prayer
or abandon his love for me!
We do not know when sufferings come and we need to cry out to God for rescue. What we can do is to keep our heart pure and so when we cry out help to God He will listen.
(BDB) [harbored]=look with pleasure
(ESV) =cherished
This passage reminds me to seek forgiveness on a regular basis. Long time ago, we invited a new believer to have lunch at our home. He did not waste much time in casual conversation. He was eager to ask us about spiritual things. He asked, "How often should I ask God for forgivness?" I was ashamed to hear that. Let us be reminded today not to harbor sin, not to look at sin with pleasure, or to cherish sin, but we will ask God to forgive our sin on a regular basis.
Audrey
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