Praise for Answered Prayer Psalm 66:1-20biblestudyworkshop.com/download/old/psalms/Psalm66.pdf ·...

http://www.BibleStudyWorkshop.com 1

Commentary by Clyde M. Miller Questions by John C. Sewell

Praise for Answered Prayer

Psalm 66:1-20

Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.

http://www.BibleStudyWorkshop.com


Praise for Answered Prayer

Commentary

by

Clyde M. Miller Text: Psalm 66:1-20, 1. Shout with joy to God, all the earth! 2. Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! 3. Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. 4. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name." Selah 5. Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf! 6. He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— come, let us rejoice in him. 7. He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations— let not the rebellious rise up against him. Selah 8. Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; 9. he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. 10. For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. 11. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. 12. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. 13. I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you- 14. vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.




15. I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams; I will offer bulls and goats. Selah 16. Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. 17. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. 18. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have lis-tened; 19. but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. 20. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! (NIV) Introduction: I. The word for “a song” in the superscription is shir, which often suggests a song of celebration.

A. The word for “a psalm” is mizmor, which is the equivalent of the Greek word psal mos, from which the English word “psalm” is transliterated.

1. The plural form of this word is used for the English ti-tle of the book of Psalms.

II. Like Psalm 65, this is also a psalm of thanksgiving.

A. In verses 1-12, the psalmist speaks for the nation in the first person plural.

1. Psalm 66:1-12, Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name." Selah Come and




see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf! He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— come, let us re-joice in him. He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations— let not the rebellious rise up against him. Selah Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. . You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. (NIV)

B. In verses 13-20, he speaks as the leader of the assembly, possi-bly a king, in the first person singular.

1. Psalm 66:13-20, I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you- vows my lips prom-ised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble. I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams; I will offer bulls and goats. Selah Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! (NIV)

III. The psalm begins with an invitation for the nations, “all the earth”, are to “shout” and “sing” and “make his praise glorious” (1-2).

1. Psalm 66:1, 2, Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! (NIV)




D. The psalm ends with a declaration of “praise…to God”, who has not “withheld his (loyal) love, chesedh”. Verse 20 is the de-fining thought for the entire psalm.

1. Psalm 66:20, Praise be to God, who has not re-jected my prayer or withheld his love from me! (NIV)

II. The psalm begins with an invitation to the nations to praise God (1-12).

A. Psalm 66:1-12, Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name." Selah Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf! He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— come, let us re-joice in him. He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations— let not the rebellious rise up against him. Se-lah Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like sil-ver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. (NIV)

B. Verses 1-9 are addressed to the nations, and verses 10-12 are addressed to God.

IV. The Psalm then changes with the psalmist praising God (13-20).




A. Psalm 66:13-20, I will come to your temple with burnt of-ferings and fulfill my vows to you- vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble. I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams; I will offer bulls and goats. Selah Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cher-ished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or with-held his love from me! (NIV)

B. In verses 13-15, he addresses God, and in verses 16-20, he addresses the congregation. Psalm 66:1-9, national gratitude for deliverance 66:1-2.

Commentary:

National Gratitude for Deliverance Psalm 66:1, 2, Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! (NIV) I. The exhortation to “shout…to God” (1) is not here an isolated inci-dent in the psalms.

A. Shouting is coupled with “joy” in at least fourteen verses (20:5 33:3; 35:27; 47:1; 60:8; 65:13; 66:1; 71:23; 81:1; 95:1; 98:4,6; 100:1; 108:9).

1. Psalm 20:5, We will shout for joy when you are vic-torious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests. (NIV)




2. Psalm 33:3, Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. (NIV)

3. Psalm 35:27, May those who delight in my vindica-tion shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, "The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant." (NIV)

4. Psalm 47:1, Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. (NIV)

5. Psalm 60:8, Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph." (NIV)

6. Psalm 65:13, The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing. (NIV)

7. Psalm 66:1, Shout with joy to God, all the earth! (NIV)

8. Psalm 71:23, My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you— I, whom you have redeemed. (NIV)

9. Psalm 81:1, Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob! (NIV)

10. Psalm 95:1, Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salva-tion. (NIV)

11. Psalm 98:4, 6, Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; with




trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn— shout for joy before the LORD, the King. (NIV)

12. Psalm 100:1, Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. (NIV)

13. Psalm 108:9, Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph." (NIV)

II. “Sing the glory” (2a) means to glorify God by singing. A. Psalm 66:2a, Sing the glory of his name; (NIV) III. “Make his praise glorious” (2b) means use language that will glo-rify God. A. Psalm 66:2b, make his praise glorious! (NIV) Psalm 66:3, Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. (NIV) I. “Say to God” is a phrase that puts the exact words into the mouths of the singers.

A. The quote continues through verse 4.

1. Psalm 66:3, 4, Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name." Selah (NIV)

B. God is often described as “awesome” in the psalms (45:4; 47:2; 65:5; 66:3,5; 68:35; 89:7; 99:3; 106:22; 145:6).




1. Psalm 45:4, In your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness; let your right hand display awesome deeds. (NIV)

2. Psalm 47:2, How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth! (NIV)

3. Psalm 65:5, You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, (NIV)

4. Psalm 66:3, 5, Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf! (NIV)

5. Psalm 68:35, You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God! (NIV)

6. Psalm 89:7, In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who sur-round him. (NIV)

7. Psalm 99:3, Let them praise your great and awe-some name— he is holy. (NIV)

8. Psalm 106:22, miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. (NIV)

9. Psalm 145:6, They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. (NIV)




C. Several of these references connect God’s awesomeness with his deeds or works.

1. In the present context, God’s “great…power” strikes awe in the hearts of those who experience it.

2. God’s enemies will “cringe before” Him (Ps. 18:44; 66:3; 81:15).

a. Psalm 18:44, As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me. (NIV)

b. Psalm 66:3, Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. (NIV)

c. Psalm 81:15, Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. (NIV)

Psalm 66:4, All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name." Selah (NIV) I. The scene now changes from the nations cringing before God to their bowing down in worship and singing praise to Him.

A. Lines 2 and 3 in this climactic triplet are almost identical for emphasis.

1. The extension, “your name” designates the person of God.

Psalm 66:5, Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf! (NIV)




I. Verse 5 invites an inspection of “what God has done”, which phrase is literally, “the deeds of God”.

A. The invitation returns to the concept of God’s “awe-some…works” (cf. “awesome…deeds”, v. 3).

1. Psalm 66:3, Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf! (NIV)

B. “Deeds” (v. 3) and “works” (v.5) translate two familiar words, maUaceh and p>Ual, which are synonyms.

1. Psalm 66:3, 5, Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf! (NIV)

2. The second line is incomplete; “come and see” is to be understood although not written.

3. The works under consideration are for man’s benefit.

a. They are meant to instill awe and wonder in him.

Psalm 66:6, He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— come, let us rejoice in him. (NIV) I. The first two lines of this climactic triplet recall the passing through the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds) at the exodus from Egyptian bondage. II. The third line is the climax; it sets forth the proper response of re-joicing that should be forthcoming on the part of believers.




III. What God has done in the past He will do in the present and fu-ture. Psalm 66:7, He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the na-tions— let not the rebellious rise up against him. Selah (NIV) I. Verse 7 reveals that God’s creative power can become destructive against His impenitent enemies.

A. Rebellion against God is ultimately futile.

B. The creator is also the supreme ruler.

Psalm 66:8-9, Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. (NIV) I. The nations, that is, “peoples”, should praise God without shame or reservation; they should let their praise be heard.

A. The reason is that He has “preserved” the lives of Israel and kept them from “slipping”, that is, He has kept them from fal-tering under duress (9a,b).

1. Psalm 66:9, he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. (NIV)

B. The thought is that God is the universal God; what He has done for Israel he can do for the nations if they believe.




Direct National Address to God

Psalm 66:10-12, For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like sil-ver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. (NIV) Psalm 66:10, For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. (NIV) I. Verse 10 is a synonymous couplet.

A. “Tested us” and “refined us” are synonymous expressions.

B. “Like silver” designates a familiar process of separating the precious metal from the dross.

Psalm 66:11,You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. (NIV) I. Verse 11 is an allusion to the Egyptian bondage of Israel when they were treated harshly like a chain gang by their hard taskmasters (Ex. 1-5).

A. Exodus 1:1-22, These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reu-ben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Ben-jamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt. Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that genera-tion died, but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them. Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much too numerous




for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?" The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the mid-wives arrive." So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And be-cause the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live." (NIV)

B. Exodus 2:1-25, Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a dis-




tance to see what would happen to him. Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her atten-dants were walking along the river bank. She saw the bas-ket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said. Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?" "Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the baby's mother. Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water." One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fel-low Hebrew?" The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known." When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well. Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father's flock. Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock. When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, "Why have you returned so early today?" They answered, "An Egyptian rescued us from the shep-herds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock."




"And where is he?" he asked his daughters. "Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat." Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zippo-rah to Moses in marriage. Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have become an alien in a foreign land." During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remem-bered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. (NIV)

C. Exodus 3:1-22, Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up." When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Je-




busites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my peo-ple the Israelites out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Isra-elites out of Egypt?" And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name for-ever, the name by which I am to be remembered from gen-eration to generation. "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hit-tites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.' "The elders of Israel will lis-ten to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.' But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people,




so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians." (NIV)

D. Exodus 4:1-31, Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not ap-pear to you'?" Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. "This," said the LORD, "is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you." Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or lis-ten to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground." Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." But Moses




said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it." Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Let me go back to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive." Jethro said, "Go, and I wish you well." Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead." So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand. The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.' " At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met {Moses} and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin and touched {Moses'} feet with it. "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me," she said. So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said "bride-groom of blood," referring to circumcision.) The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the desert to meet Moses." So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. Then Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and also about all the miraculous signs he had com-manded him to perform. Moses and Aaron brought to-




gether all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. (NIV)

E. Exodus 5:1-23, Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Is-rael, says: 'Let my people go, so that they may hold a festi-val to me in the desert.'" Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go." Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword." But the king of Egypt said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!" Then Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working." That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and foremen in charge of the people: "You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don't reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' Make the work harder for the men so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies." Then the slave drivers and the foremen went out and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will not give you any more straw. Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.'" So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, "Complete the work required of you




for each day, just as when you had straw." The Israelite foremen appointed by Pharaoh's slave drivers were beaten and were asked, "Why didn't you meet your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?" Then the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: "Why have you treated your servants this way? Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, 'Make bricks!' Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people." Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that's what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.' Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must pro-duce your full quota of bricks." The Israelite foremen real-ized they were in trouble when they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day." When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, and they said, "May the LORD look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us." Moses returned to the LORD and said, "O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this peo-ple, and you have not rescued your people at all." (NIV)

II. “Laid burdens on our backs” defines the metaphor of their impris-onment.

A. Remember this was God’s doing.

B. His effort was not to destroy His people; He only wanted to refine their faith and obedience and thus purify them.

Psalm 66:12, You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. (NIV)




I. This climactic triplet continues the description of Israel’s burdens in the first two lines. II. The third line states the contrast of what happened when the refin-ing had served its purpose.

A. The land of Canaan was the “place of abundance”.

Personal Address to God Psalm 66:13-15, I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you- vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble. I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams; I will offer bulls and goats. Selah (NIV) Psalm 66:13-14, I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you- vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble. (NIV) I. In verses 13-15, the psalmist promises to fulfill his vows to God.

A. The payment of vows was to be made at God’s temple.

1. Although the temple was built by Solomon and his helpers, it was God’s in that He was the one honored and worshiper there.

II. The Pentateuch describes the various offerings to be made in con-junction with votive offerings (Num. 29:39).

A. Numbers 29:39, " 'In addition to what you vow and your freewill offerings, prepare these for the LORD at your ap-pointed feasts: your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings and fellowship offerings.'" (NIV)




B. “Burnt offerings” designated one’s consecration to God. III. Verse 14 describes the kind of circumstances in which vows were most often made.

A. Vows were voluntary, but it was essential that one keep the promises made with his vows (Deut. 23:21-23; Eccl. 5:4-5).

1. Deuteronomy 23:21-23, If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from mak-ing a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth. (NIV)

2. Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5, When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. (NIV)

Psalm 66:15, I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams; I will offer bulls and goats. Selah (NIV) I. The offerings specified here fulfill the requirements of the Penta-teuch (Lev. 22:18-23).

A. Leviticus 22:18-23, "Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: 'If any of you—either an Israelite or an alien living in Israel—presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be ac-cepted on your behalf. Do not bring anything with a defect,




because it will not be accepted on your behalf. When any-one brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the LORD to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable. Do not offer to the LORD the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as an offering made to the LORD by fire. You may, however, present as a freewill of-fering an ox or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow. (NIV)

B. “Fat animals” probably refers to the fat of the animals that was to be offered (Lev. 1:8-9, et al.).

1. Leviticus 1:8, 9, Then Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar. He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. (NIV)

Personal Address to the Congregation

Psalm 66:16-20, Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! (NIV) Psalm 66:16, Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. (NIV)




I. In verses 16-20, the psalmist no longer discusses what God has done for the nation Israel.

A. He rather discusses what God has done for him personally.

1. He probably thinks of himself as a representative leader of the nation.

B. God-fearers are the ones addressed.

1. Only they would be willing to “come and listen”.

Psalm 66:17, I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. (NIV) I. “I cried out to him” suggests a fervent prayer made in a time of dis-tress.

A. It is interesting that he praised God in conjunction with his plea.

Psalm 66:18-19, If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. (NIV) I. The conditional sentence in verse 18 is beautifully structured in a couplet.

A. “Cherished” is the key word in the first line.

B. Everyone sins, but sin must be forsaken in penitence in order for God to listen; that is, to answer.

C. The prayers of one who fails to heed God’s law are detest-able to Him (Prov. 28:9).




1. Proverbs 28:9, If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable. (NIV)

D. Iniquities of the impenitent hide God’s ear from him so that He will not hear (Isa. 59:1-2).

1. Isaiah 59:1, 2, Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (NIV)

E. The psalmist announces, however, that God has “listened and heard his voice”.

1. God has delivered him when he cried to Him (17).

a. Psalm 66:17, I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. (NIV)

b. This is evidence that his heart and his prayer were in keeping with the law of God.

Psalm 66:20, Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! (NIV) I. The word “love” renders chesedh, so often used to describe God’s loyal covenant love, his “steadfast love” (RSV), his “enduring love” (NIV).

A. God has not withheld his covenant benefits from the psalm-ist.

1. God has not rejected his prayer.




B. What a wonderful conclusion to a beautiful psalm!

Application: I. How wonderful it is to live in harmony with God’s will and to know that our prayers will be answered according to His will.

A. We can know God’s plan of salvation by searching the scriptures.

1. We should never pray contrary to that will.

B. We do not always know God’s will in a specific matter.

1. For instance, we may not know whether things we pray for are in our best interest, but we should pray that if it is His will He will hear us (1 John 5:14).

a. 1 John 5:14, This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (NIV)




Questions

Psalm 66:1-20

(Questions based on NIV text.) 1. “________________ with _______________ to _______________, _______________ the _______________! _______________ the _____________ of his ______________; make his _______________ _______________! Say to God, ‘How _________________ are y our _______________! So _______________ is your _______________ that your ____________ ____________ before you. _____________ the ______________ ________________ _______________ to you; they _____________ ______________ to you, they ______________ __________________ to your ___________________.’” 2. How do your words, attitudes and actions praise God’s glorious name? __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What awesome things has God done on man’s behalf? See verses 5-7. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




4. Because God rules with power, the _________________ had better not _______________ ___________________ __________________ ____________________. 5. When should we shout with joy to God? What does the Bible say? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. God’s people should praise him because he has _______________ their ____________ and ________________ their _______________ from _________________. God also _________________ them and __________________ them like __________________. 7. How did God test his people? For what purpose did he test them? _ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. When did God bring them into prison and laid burdens on their backs? In what prison did God incarcerate them? _______________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. When did God “let men ride over” his people’s heads? What does this phrase mean? _________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. When did God’s people go “through fire and water”? What was the “place of abundance” to which God brought them? ____________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11. When was Psalm 66 written and by whom? Where was the temple of verse 13 located? Give reasons for your answers. _____________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12. When you are in trouble do you ever ask God for blessings and make promises to God for answering your prayers? Do you always keep those promises? ______________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 13. What does the Bible say about vows? ______________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




14. “____________ and _____________, all you who ____________ _____________; let me ______________ you what ______________ _____________ ______________ _____________ _____________.” 15. What has God done for you? _____________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16. What have you done for God? ____________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17. Does God hear sinners when they pray? ____________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 18. Why did God hear the psalmist’s prayer? ___________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




19. “____________ be to _____________, who has not ___________ my _________________ or _______________ his _______________ from me!” 20. Psalm 66 is a psalm of ___________________. We are to use lan-guage that will ________________ ____________________. 21. What do the psalms say about the awesomeness of God? _______ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 22. Did the Israelites when they were exiting Egypt cross the Red Sea or the Sea of Reeds? Give reasons for your answer. ______________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 23. List advantages of living in keeping with God’s will. __________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 24. List disadvantages of living in keeping with God’s will. Think be-fore you answer. __________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 25. How can we know what is God’s will? Can we always know what is God’s will? Explain your answer. __________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Date post:	13-Jul-2020
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	2 times
Download:	0 times

Praise for Answered Prayer Psalm 66:1-20biblestudyworkshop.com/download/old/psalms/Psalm66.pdf ·...

Documents