I. (66:1–4) Let All the Earth Worship God! The psalm opens with a universal call (“Shout for joy to God, all the earth”); this section closes by declaring how “all the earth worships” the true God (v. 4).

The various imperatives here—“shout” (v. 1), “sing, give” (v. 2), “say” (v. 3)—are plural, addressing the peoples of all the earth (i.e., Gentiles as well as Israel). Each of them denotes an oral activity, a call to utter things in public worship.

Verses 3–4 supply words for the peoples to declare to God. The term “awesome” as applied to God’s “deeds” refers typically to the great works of redemption, done for the sake of Israel’s well-being (85:4). Further, the declaration includes a warning that the singers not make themselves “enemies” to God (cf. 18:44; 81:15).

The biblical storyline begins with the one true God’s creating all that there is—and this means there is but one way for every human genuinely to express his or her humanness, namely, by loving and worshiping this one God. Even now the nonhuman creation honors its Creator (cf. 19:1–6), and the OT nurtures the hope that one day all mankind will do so as well (e.g., 117:1, cited in Rom. 15:11 as part of Paul’s rationale for his efforts among the Gentiles).

II. (66:5–7) Come and See How God Brought Israel out of Egypt! In this section the addressees (presumably still all peoples) are asked to ponder more narrowly “what God has done,” specifically, what God has done for Israel. In verse 6 the psalm mentions the exodus (“turned the sea into dry land”) and the crossing of the Jordan River (“passed through the river on foot”); cf. 114:3 for a similar placing together of these two events.479

The “awesome . . . deeds” (66:5; cf. v. 3) are done for the “children of man”—that is, for all peoples—but the psalm describes only the deeds done for Israel. Nevertheless, at least in the singing congregation’s imagination the invitation has gone to all peoples, suggesting that the singers are to work out the apparent dissonance. The clue comes in verse 7, in which God’s “eyes keep watch on the nations.” The Song at the Sea following the crossing of the Red Sea declares, “The peoples have heard; they tremble” (Ex. 15:14–16); this demonstration of divine power warns them not to oppose God’s purposes for his people. These words urge the Gentiles to join and support—rather than to fight or “exalt themselves” above (v. 7)—God’s people; they also keep in front of the worshiping Israelites their purpose of being God’s vehicle for bringing his light to the world.

III. (66:8–12) Let All Peoples Bless the God Who Has Preserved Us! The song moves on to call the “peoples” to “bless” God for the ways in which he has preserved Israel (“us”) through all manner of trials. This reflection on those trials does not stop to dwell on whether they were brought on by Israel’s own unfaithfulness (as in Judges) or by God’s mysterious purposes (Ps. 44:17–22)—which means that the psalm is suited for either kind of occasion. The song keeps the singers’ attention on God’s continual preservation of his people.

The song describes these trials using a number of vivid images. They can be a refiner’s testing and purifying fire (66:10)—probably the chief thing in view here is the painful experiences challenging the people of Israel to remain faithful to the Lord, although the silversmith imagery can also convey the way that such trials remove the unfaithful members, much as a refiner removes dross (cf. Isa. 1:22–28). The trials can also be likened to a huntsman’s “net” or to a “crushing burden” (Ps. 66:11)—both conveying the idea of Israel’s despairing of her survival. A further image (v. 12) is of horsemen or chariots riding “over our heads,” expressing the feeling of utter helplessness, as does the image of “fire” and “water” (cf. Isa. 43:2, also speaking of the corporate suffering of God’s people).

God has brought Israel through all of these “to a place of abundance,” and the call goes out to the Gentiles (“O peoples”; Ps. 66:8). The preserving of Israel is crucial to all humankind, and Gentile Christians can see themselves as part of the fruition of all that God has done for Israel.

IV. (66:13–15) I Will Come to His House with Offerings. In this section the focus shifts from Israel as a whole to the particular worshiper (“I”) coming to God’s “house” to celebrate God’s answers to prayer.480

A person in Israel (native-born and Gentile sojourner alike) in a time of need could make a vow to the Lord, which he could fulfill with “burnt offerings” or vow offerings (“perform my vows”), as described in Leviticus 22:18; Numbers 15:3. As Psalm 50:7–15 makes clear, under no circumstances should these ever be treated as bribes for God; they are responses of personal consecration (a function of the burnt offering) and gratitude (a function of the vow offering, a kind of peace offering) to God for his freely given kindness. The psalm presents them as a joyful occasion.

V. (66:16–20) Let Me Tell You How God Has Heard My Prayer. The psalm renews its invitation to all peoples, particularly to those who “fear God” (presumably whether Israelite or Gentile), with a personal testimony of God’s answer to need: “he has attended to the voice of my prayer” (v. 19).

The OT insists that each member of the people must own the covenant for himself or herself; thus each one would have some report of what God has done for one’s own soul (and not just for the people as a whole). The prayers were uttered aloud (v. 17; cf. “voice,” v. 19)—this is not a requirement but rather an expression of the urgency the worshiper would have felt in the time of need.

The wording here is quite general, allowing the song to be used in a wide variety of situations. The song has the worshiper claim that he “cherished [lit., “looked forward to, aimed for”] iniquity in my heart” (v. 18). The term “iniquity” (Hb. ʾawen) refers to that which is vile and abhorrent to God; to “cherish iniquity” is to aim at it. In context this refers to praying for God’s help in order to be able to commit some form of sin—a practice the truly pious reject (and God would not, of course, listen to such a prayer). Therefore it would be a misinterpretation to read this as implying that absolute sinlessness is a condition for answered prayer; rather, this reminds the faithful to pray for God’s help in order to give him thanks and to serve him better (cf. James 4:3). No doubt some sensitive souls might stumble at the words of Psalm 66:18, wondering whether the claim really be true; but the function of the text is to enable the worshiper to repudiate any cherishing of iniquity in the very singing of the words.

The thanksgiving reaches its culmination in verse 20481 and its acknowledgement that God’s answer shows that he has not “removed his steadfast love from me”—as if he ever could!