Presented, June 6, 2010 Return to Psalms
STUDIES IN PSALMS
How Awesome Are His Works
Psalm 66
This is a psalm of whose authorship we do not know.
Some say it is another psalm of David as it possesses many of the
traits of his psalms (cf. Spurgeon).
But others see this as written much earlier, perhaps in
celebration of deliverance from Egypt at the Red Sea, or after entering
the Promised Land and crossing the Jordan River on dry land.
Still others, place the psalm much later in Israel’s history
coming after some great victory such as Hezekiah’s victory over
Sennacherib while others see the return of Judah after Babylonian
captivity.
What do ALL of these events have in common?
Whatever the occasion, and
whoever the author, it is a psalm of rejoicing in victory and due
response to our God as a result.
The psalm can be divided into 2 sections.
First is a call to nations to recognize God (1-12) and second is
a more personal call of one’s obligations to God when delivered.
It would do us well to weigh the words of this psalm in reference
to our deliverance from the slavery of sin through obeying the gospel.
Let us consider in this our need to broadcast the news to “the
nations” and our own personal responsibilities to keep our vows to God
for His deliverance and our hope.
a.
Vs. 1-2 is
a call for all to praise God in song.
In times of great victory there is loud rejoicing, i.e. victory parades.
In the history of Israel there were many occasions when we read of great
rejoicing, such as – 1
Chron. 15:28 when the Ark was brought to Jerusalem, the people shouted
and played music to God.
Again, when the Ark was brought into the temple by Solomon – 2 Chron.
5:12-13
Ezra 3:10-11 – when the foundation of the temple was laid.
b.
LESSON: Do
we rejoice when God is victorious?
Throughout life there are little victories where godliness
prevails. At other times,
hindsight reveals what seems to be the clear hand of God moving to
accomplish His will or vindicate His people.
How much do we rejoice in such?
Do we do so outwardly (i.e. not ashamed to own our Lord)?
Phil. 4:4 says, to rejoice always in the Lord.
c.
His works
are awesome and overcome the enemies.
Jeremiah 10:10 says, “But the Lord
is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth will tremble and the nations will not be
able to endure indignation.”
The message is that God is in control and He is to be feared!
Whether nation or person – it matters not.
Matt. 10:28,
d.
All the
earth shall worship You (4) – keeping in mind that God is in control,
while it seems that this world stands opposed to God and His will and is
winning, there will be a time when this world will be vindicated.
The ungodly WILL bow (Phil. 2:10-11) and all the earth WILL
acknowledge God and Christ.
Consider Romans 8:18-23 which speaks of humanity crying for the wrongs
to be righted. Paradise lost
in the garden will be gained for the righteous in heaven when our Lord
returns (2 Pet. 3:10-12)
a.
Come see
His works – again you have an invitation to consider how great our God
really is (cf. Romans 1:20).
What other god is there that can compare to Him?
The world has created many deities throughout its time, but can
any do what Jehovah God is able to do?
Does any have REAL power?
Usually what power is attributed to some supposed deity is
misdirected away from the ONE TRUE God in heaven.
Isaiah often challenged the
people to consider this (cf. Isa. 40:18-25)
Deut. 3:24, as Moses pleaded with God to enter Canaan he said, “O
Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your
mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do
anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds?”
LESSON: Will we tell others
about Him?
b.
He is
awesome in His doings towards the sons of men (5-7).
The KJV & ASV both use the word “terrible”.
The word is used more than 300
times in the Old Testament and has reference to how we ought to fear and
reverence Him (cf. Psa. 111:9).
Throughout history His works have declared His greatness – from the
fulfillment of promises to the deliverance of His people, to His
thundering voice at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 20), to numerous miraculous deeds and
events recorded in scripture, to the life of Jesus for us on this earth.
We know that all things have been done to give us hope and faith
in Him.
AN example of His awesome power is given in vs. 6 of this psalm - He
caused safe passage on dry land for Israel TWICE – the Red Sea crossing
(Ex. 14:21-22) and the Jordan River (Joshua 3).
But, here we are once again reminded that His AWESOME power is not just
demonstrated in His goodness, but it will be equally demonstrated in
His wrath AGAINST his enemies, (and ours).
The same history reminds us that
He destroyed the world by flood, put to flight armies (NOTE: Some
attribute this psalm to Hezekiah after God killed 185,000 of the
Assyrian forces under the guidance of Sennacherib to deliver Jerusalem –
cf. 2 Kings 18:13-37, Isa. 36-37), destroyed the Egyptians in the Red
Sea and devastated the land with plagues, justly poured out His hot
wrath against both Israel and Judah because of their sinful rebellion,
defeated ungodly nations, etc.
c.
As we
invite the world to consider God, let us not ignore these signs of His
greatness.
Romans 11:22 challenges us to consider both His goodness AND His
severity. 2 Thess. 1:8-9
frightfully reminds us of this as well.
As David said in vs. 7, “He
rules by His power forever; His eyes observe the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt
themselves.”
a.
Proclaim
it to others – this seems to be a recurring theme
b.
He keeps
our souls among the living – we know that God preserves His people.
Again we see God’s power and control. Throughout history man has
tried in many different ways to destroy God’s people.
Bible history records attempts as Sennacherib tried to destroy
Jerusalem, Haman tried to wipe out the Jews (Esther), King Herod had
infants in Bethlehem killed.
But according to God’s will, His people and His word survive.
This WILL continue until He returns.
c.
He tests
His people to bring them back (10-12) – God’s sustaining power does not
mean we will not face difficulties in this life.
We will fall into various trials and tribulations (Jas. 1:1-2)
and at times, when we are not behaving, we will experience the
chastening of the Lord (cf. Heb. 12:3-11, Prov. 3:11-12, 1 Cor. 11:32)
d.
He
delivered them – “You have brought us out to rich fulfillment.”
Friends, when we are delivered, let us make sure we express due
gratitude. The rest of this
psalm demonstrates some ways we can do this.
a.
Worship
God – is there any better way
to demonstrate your gratitude for God than to offer wholehearted worship
to Him? This will be
demonstrated not only in the QUALITY of our worship, but ALSO (not in
lie of) in the QUANTITY!
Doesn’t God deserve some time in our lives devoted to Him?
Should we not assemble as often as we can?
Should we not devote to Him true, PERSONAL worship in our lives?
b.
Do what
you promise for Him – in other
words, KEEP YOUR VOWS!
Ecclesiastes 5:4-6, we need to learn this well!
God finds great delight when we obey Him (1 John 5:2-3, 2:3,
etc.) Friends, NEVER
trivialize obedience!
NOTE: How often do we make vows when
things are not going well and fail to keep them when everything works
out? Be careful before you
do this!
c.
Give
Him your best – the author of
our Psalm want to offer burnt sacrifices from the fat.
The animals mentioned were the offerings of the wealthy (God made
provisions for the poor).
These were NOT leftovers.
Such is an insult to God (Mal. 1:7-8, 13-14; Mal 3:8 says, “Will a man
rob God?”; Col. 3:23, Rom. 14:7-8)
V. Prayers offered to God (16-20)
a.
In the
concluding section of this psalm, we find prayer is the avenue that
invoked God’s blessings.
Whether we are hurting or whether we are prospering let us never neglect
prayer in our lives (1 Thess. 5:17, James 5:13-18, 1 Peter 5:7).
Let us be reminded of this when we need forgiveness, when we need
strength to resist temptations, when we are facing difficulties AND when
we are abundantly blessed.
As mentioned by the psalmist, here are some considerations as we pray:
b.
I will
declare what He has done for my soul – don’t keep it to yourself.
If we truly appreciate His deliverance, can we keep from telling
others? Luke 24:32 – their hearts burned within them.
c.
Outward
cries with the mouth – not just inward prayers.
Sometimes our prayers are offered in private (Matt. 6:6), but at
other times we pray out loud (enlisting the help of others – such as
calling on the elders in James 5:14).
NOTE: It has been suggested by some, that even some of your
private prayers should be uttered outwardly with the mouth because there
is something to be said about verbal acknowledgement, even if it only
the Lord you are speaking to.
AND such is not really for Him but for you – a verbal commitment,
if you will.
d.
Understanding the need for sincerity (18) –“if I regard iniquity in my
heart, the Lord will not hear.”
First, when you pray to God don’t waste your time being insincere: HE
KNOWS! But we are here
reminded that prayers CAN be rejected if our heart is not right.
James 4:3 speaks of not receiving because we ask amiss.
James 1:6-8 speaks of the need for faith.
Before we can expect God’s forgiveness we must first repent!
Mentioning your sins to God when there is no intent to change is
an insult to Him. Prov. 28:9
says, “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer
is an abomination.” Prov.
15:8, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but
the prayer of the upright is His delight.”
e.
But God
HAS heard! Faith and effort to properly serve God.
He has attended to our prayers. (19-20)
The righteous can always take consolation in God hearing our prayers
because He does! He may not
answer them as we wish, but He hears them and He knows what is best for
us, often times even better than we do.
1 John 5:14 says, “Now
this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according
to His will, He hears us.”
1 John 3:22, “And whatever we ask
we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those
things that are pleasing in His sight.”
And thus we conclude the study of another
psalm (author unknown). It
offers us great comfort in our God whom we serve, BUT it also challenges
us to behave properly so that we can receive that great comfort.
Truly, His works are AWESOME!
May we never forget!