Psalm 66

Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. (vv 1-2)

It's time to praise and worship the Creator. The Psalmist bursts into this song of complete adoration and exaltation, his entire attention devoted to the glories of God. He invites and is prepared to guide the whole earth through the act of worshipping the majesty of the King of kings.

“Say to God, How awesome are Your works! (v3a)

Praise is an offering to God in which we speak of His wondrous works. Of His great deeds. You can offer praise to God either by telling Him (or others) what you know about Him. To praise God is to lift your voice (in word or song) to proclaim His excellency.

The psalmist does just this. It doesn't matter whether others know God from personal experience; the psalmist has prepared a list of reasons why everyone should praise Him. Let's take a look at some of them:

1. Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. (v 3b): As Lord over all, all creation is destined to submit to God's awesome power. By His grace, we can give our lives to Him and have that great power working on our behalf, but eventually, every knee (willing or otherwise) shall bow before Him.
2. He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot ( v6): Israelite history records these amazing deeds. God turned the Red Sea into a passageway for their exit from Egypt. Again, He dried up the Jordan River as they passed over to Jericho. In the same manner, the Lord Jesus walked across the sea to His disciples. Nature is created of God and subject to His rule.
   
3. He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves (v 7): The all-seeing Eye watches over all. The Israelites saw God defeat nation after nation on their behalf. The psalmist here suggests (as he does in verse 3) that the rebellious should by no means be proud of their enmity against God, for they do not know the extent of His might. The Egyptian nation was completely destroyed because Pharaoh opposed God.
4. Who keeps our soul among the living, and does not allow our feet to be moved. (v 9): There should be no mistaking this fact: God is the reason we exist. He breathed life into each living soul, and as soon as He withdraws his breath, we expire. The advances of man's knowledge are but a speck compared to His glory. Without Him, we are nothing. In Him, we are all we should be.

As you meditate on this psalm today, keep in mind that the highest praise you can offer God is all about Him - who He is, what He has done, and who He will always be. Learn from the psalmist's words and dedicate yourself to declaring His glorious praises. You will find several of God's names, and reasons for which you can praise Him on this website.

Spend some time calling Him by His name today - tell Him how wondrous He is. Praise Him for His mighty acts, praise Him for His glorious deeds. Lift up to Him the reasons why, if no one else will, you choose to praise His awesomeness.

God deserves nothing less.

Psalm 66 Full Reading