My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 66:1 To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm. Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
Psalm 66:2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!
Psalm 66:3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
Psalm 66:4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah
This psalm is anonymous and no particular time is referenced in the passage. It is a psalm of praise for all the earth to enter into.
Note that right from the very first verse, the message is joy, loud joy, and that it is expected from all the earth. Joy and praise to the God of all creation.
The psalmist even gives us practical guidance on how we are to praise the Lord. Say to God, that is speak out to God the contents of verse 3 & 4.
“How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.”
At the risk of analyzing this expression of joy to the point of dryness and mere facts, let us nevertheless consider the psalmist’s direction.
Awesome Deeds
To speak of the awesomeness of His deeds, means we need to rehearse in our hearts the very deeds He has performed. The many personal acts of rescue He has performed in your life, the many ways He has provided for you and your loved ones, the protection He has provided. In the midst of this exercise, be specific.
Beyond the personal ministry the Lord has performed in you own life, think beyond your own world and consider the many awesome deeds He has performed recently in your church, at your work, amongst your friends.
Let us not forget the many ways God has moved amongst the nations, how He has delivered many from difficult circumstances of national crisis, or weather related catastrophes. His hand is in the mess!
Even greater deeds are worthy to praise Him for, as we remember the history of the church, of the many ways He has brought about growth and continuity through the years, especially through persecution, trials and tribulations. The church is still marching on, in the midst of a rising hatred of the true God.
One awesome deed that I cannot ignore is the Word of God, it’s existence for our guidance and life giving message. Many are the attacks on the Word, yet it stands against all foes!
The awesome deed that takes the cake? For us in the modern era, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus shines forth, is the capstone of all awesome deeds, representing the tremendous love of God for fallen humans, the glory of God hanging on a cross, suffering for lost men and women. A death that is to be remembered, not only due the depth of injustice performed on an innocent – no a righteous man – but also by the willingness of the Savior to take the death, to suffer the torture, to lay His own life down. This mighty deed is most mighty! And yet three days later, He rose from the dead.
When we as believer’s think of the awesome deeds of God, we are not a poverty stricken people. We are rich in the knowledge of the many many mighty and awesome deeds of the Lord.
As the Psalmist teaches us, speak out of the mighty and awesome deeds of God. He is not a God who is far away, distant from His people, and away from the heartbeat of each of us. Say to God, whether we feel like it or not, of the mighty deeds He has performed. Though our inner man may praise God through out the day, we as believers are the only ones who will speak of the mighty awesome deeds of God to God, and those within earshot!
One thing the psalmist does not direct us to do in this passage is to argue for the truth. Simply speak it out. There is power, and great joy in the speaking of the truth. There are times when we are to defend the truth, to exercise an “apologetic” a robust argument for the truth of the gospel! The psalmist is directing us to simply speak it out, to say it to God with our voice, to offer the sacrifice of our lips unto God
In the next passage, the psalmist continues to speaks of the awesome deeds God has done, and refers back to the crossing of the Red Sea, and the Jordan river. He makes much of the deeds that were in the past for the nation.
We have so much more!
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Considering the Bible 