Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 66:16
Come [and] hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
16. all ye that fear God ] The whole drift of the Ps., especially Psa 66:1 ; Psa 66:5 ; Psa 66:8, is in favour of extending the phrase to include all who fear God wherever they are to be found, whether Israelites, or non-Israelites who have been won to worship Him by the sight of His works, rather than of limiting it to Israel, or an inner circle of the faithful in Israel.
what he hath done for my soul ] What he did for me when my very life was in danger. If Hezekiah is the speaker, he may be thinking at once of his own life (Isa 38:17) and of the life of the nation whose representative he was. He had prayed for both (Isa 37:15 ff; Isa 38:2); and the preservation of the one was a pledge of the preservation of the other (Isa 38:6).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
16 20. All who fear God are bidden to hear what He has done for the speaker. He had prayed in expectation of a favourable hearing, knowing that sincerity is the necessary condition of prayer; and the answer to his prayer had attested his sincerity. In conclusion he blesses God for this continuance of His lovingkindness.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Come and hear, all ye that fear God – All who are true worshippers of God – the idea of fear or reverence being put for worship in general. The call is on all who truly loved God to hear what he had done, in order that he might be suitably honored, and that due praise might be given him.
And I will declare what he hath done for my soul – This is probably the personification of an individual to represent the people, considered as delivered from oppression and bondage. The words for my soul are equivalent to for me. Literally, for my life. The phrase would embrace all that God had done by his gracious intervention in delivering the people from bondage. The language here is such as may be used by any one who is converted to God, in reference
(a) to all that God has done to redeem the soul;
(b) to all that he has done to pardon its guilt;
(c) to all that he has done to give it peace and joy;
(d) to all that he has done to enable it to overcome sin;
(e) to all that he has done to give it comfort in the prospect of death;
(f) to all that he has done to impart thee hope of heaven.
The principle here is one which it is right to apply to all such cases. It is right and proper for a converted sinner to call on others to hear what God has done for him;
(a) because it is due to God thus to honor him;
(b) because the converted heart naturally gives utterance to expressions of gratitude and praise, or wishes to make known the joy derived from pardoned sin;
(c) because there is in such a soul a strong desire that others may partake of the same blessedness, and find the same satisfaction and peace in the service of God.
It is the duty of those who are pardoned and converted thus to call on others to hear what God has done for them;
(a) because others have the same need of religion which they have;
(b) because the same salvation is provided for them which has been provided for those who have found peace;
(c) because all are under obligation to make known as far as possible the fact that God has provided salvation for sinners, and that all may be saved.
He who has no such sense of the mercy of God, manifested toward himself, as to desire that others may be saved – who sees no such value in the religion which he professes as to have an earnest wish that others may partake of it also – can have no real evidence that his own heart has ever been converted to God. Compare the notes at Rom 9:1-3; notes at Rom 10:1.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 66:16-20
Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul.
Godliness
I. In social talk. Come and hear, etc.
1. The subject of a good mans talk. What is it? The kindness of God to him. What He hath done for my soul. He hath enlightened me, renovated my nature, removed my guilt, brightened my prospects, etc.
2. The desire of a good man to communicate. Why does he wish to inform others of the blessings which God has conferred upon him? That he may do them good, inspire them with the desire to seek similar blessings.
3. The audience that a good man seeks. All ye that fear God. All ye that are reverent and religious, and that are in sympathy with me. Godliness is not ascetic. It does not shun, but craves for society.
II. In earnest prayer. I cried unto Him with my mouth. The expression cried indicates earnestness. Prayer is not words, but burning desires, uttered or unexpressed.
1. This earnest prayer was unobstructed by iniquity. If I regard (in purpose) iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Where the heart is full of worldly thoughts, corrupt desires, and iniquitous purposes, there can be no true prayer. True prayer can no more spring from such a heart than vegetation from marble just polished by the sculptors hand.
2. This earnest prayer was answered by God. Verily God hath heard me, etc. True prayer is always answered–answered in the increased buoyancy, vigour, and joyousness of the soul. Every pure desire of the heart brings with it satisfying good. Virtue is its own reward.
III. In devout thanksgiving. Blessed be God, etc. God has heard me, and therefore blessed be God. What we win by prayer we must wear with praise. Mercies in answer to prayer, do in a special manner oblige us to be thankful. (Homilist.)
The experience of a godly man
I. The godly man is anxious to impart his experience to others. Come and hear.
I. His confession is volunteered, not enforced.
2. Spiritual experiences should be told at suitable times. Come and hear. Many have brought religion into disrepute by preaching when they ought to have simply and unostentatiously practised its precepts.
3. Spiritual experience should be addressed to congenial hearers. All ye that fear God. Some preachers err greatly by discoursing of the deep things of experimental religion to those who need to be taught the first principles of the Gospel.
4. Spiritual experience should be strictly personal. What He hath done for my soul. Much that has obtained currency for experience, has been either fiction, or religious scandal.
II. The godly mans experience includes both penitence and praise.
1. He has to tell of sin mourned over. I cried unto Him. This is just the language that would describe the outburst of a penitent soul.
2. He has to tell of trouble endured. The trouble has been greater than he could bear; it has been more than he could fight against; hence he has cried to One higher than he.
3. He has to tell of mercies received. He was extolled with my tongue. This He has done for my soul: I sinned, and He forgave me; I was in trouble, and He helped me. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard, etc.
III. The godly mans logic. If I regard, etc. The Christians argument is this: If I cherish sin in my heart, God will not hear my prayer. But God has heard me. Therefore it is clear that His grace has been effective in my heart in subduing the power of sin. The answered prayer is the proof that I have been enabled by grace to overcome sin.
IV. The godly mans experience always culminates in a song of praise. Even when he has most plainly established his innocence, he ascribes the glory to God, whose mercy has not been withdrawn, and who still hears and answers prayer. This closing song implies three things–
1. That Gods mercy is continuous; else iniquity would prevail, and be cherished in the heart.
2. That God hears prayer unweariedly.
3. That the disposition to pray is also Gods gift. (Homiletic Magazine.)
The psalmists invitation
I. That God had done great things for his soul.
1. God had done great things for him, in a temporal point of view–making a king of a shepherd.
2. He here speaks, however, not as the King of Israel, but as a citizen of Zion. The soul, and not the body, the subject. Worldly riches and spiritual poverty are often combined.
3. What God did for the soul of David, He does for the soul of every believer.
(1) He decreed its salvation.
(2) He gave it to Christ.
(3) He sent it: His Spirit.
(4) He renews and sanctifies it by His grace.
(5) He has arranged in subserviency to it, the events of His providence.
(6) He has made present grace, the earnest of future glory, already prepared.
4. Has God done any of these things for you? If so, He has done them all.
II. That David noticed and recorded the things which God did for his soul.
1. Unless David had marked and treasured up Gods dealings with him, he could not have told them.
2. The whole of his psalms show that this was his practice.
3. Davids example is worthy of imitation–if we keep not a journal, let us at least recollect.
(1) Such is the only course, dictated by respect for God, in His procedure towards us.
(2) Such is the way in which we may be enabled intelligently to co-operate with God.
(3) Such is the only way in which the answer to prayer can be perceived.
(4) Such is the only way in which a song of thanksgiving can be learned.
4. Is the past a blank to you? Then you are not prepared to imitate David.
III. That he felt the obligation of declaring to others the dealings of God with his soul.
1. The general tendency and practice is to conceal Gods dealings–though silence on the subject of experience is often necessary from ignorance.
2. The motives which influenced David might be various.
(1) He would have others to learn what he had been taught.
(2) He would have others to unite with him in praising the Lord for His mercies.
(3) He would, in a practical way, acknowledge the unity of the Church.
(4) He yielded to present and strong feeling: out of the abundance of his heart his mouth spake.
IV. This invitation is addressed only to those who fear God.
1. Had he been preaching salvation to the lost, he would have addressed all.
2. But he is to speak of the experience of a living soul in its intercourse with God.
3. In such a case, believers only are addressed.
(1) Because they only will listen from actual interest in such a subject.
(2) Because they only can understand such a subject–these things must be felt to be known.
(3) Because they only will make a right use of such communications.
(4) Because David was seeking for Christian fellowship. (J. Stewart.)
The communization of Christian experience
I. Such as fear God take an interest is His doings to the souls of men, and are those, therefore, to whom such communications will be made. They cannot but be interested therein. But the godless, or the formal, will feel no such interest; that which the believer has to tell will be an unknown and unwelcome truth to them. But those who sincerely fear God will welcome the experience of others, knowing that whatever stage of the Christian life be told of, the communication cannot but be profitable and helpful.
II. Those to whose souls God has been gracious desire to tell of what God has done for them. Not for the sake of ostentation or pride, still less from hypocrisy, but from irrepressible gratitude to God. And with the view of honouring God, to whom they are so much indebted. Also that they may do good to those to whom they tell of what God has done. It does do them good, for practical and experimental statements are well suited to help others in the heavenward way. And the telling does good to his own soul likewise. He receives sympathy, awakens delight, so that he and they to whom he speaks are comforted, and rejoice together.
III. And those who thus communicate their religious experience have much to tell. Not merely of Gods general goodness to sinful men, but of what God has done specially for them–calling them, pleading with, converting, accepting, sustaining, helping them in every way. Let us then take this conduct of the psalmist as a model. Let no shyness or timidity hinder. But with seriousness, and sincerity, and simplicity do this. It is not essential to salvation, but it is greatly helpful thereto, for yourselves and for others. But what of those who have no such experience to tell? Should not this lead to serious thought? If you cannot talk of Gods saving mercy here, how can you hope to enjoy it hereafter? (A. Thompson, D. D.)
The good man grateful for deliverances
I. Every deliverance of our life ought to be attributed to God.
II. Every deliverance from temporal, still more from spiritual trouble and danger, will so affect the good mans mind as to excite his grateful acknowledgment of it.
III. While the devout man was anxious to stir up the whole nation to acknowledge the deliverance God had given to it, he was most desirous to address himself to those who possessed the fear of God.
1. What has God done for our souls?-anything? Oh yes! he has given us a distinguished mode of being, and has often put us, as it were, into a new life, after dreadful sicknesses, dangers, etc. He has also given to some of us a better, even a divine, life, and has often renewed it to us. Surely gratitude should actuate us.
2. But in what manner have these expressions of Gods goodness affected us? Have we acknowledged them openly, ingenuously, and piously? or have we in an ungrateful and cowardly manner kept silent for fear of man?
3. So far as any of us have walked unworthy of the divine goodness of God, in not having published it to others; and so far as we have trampled on this goodness, in neither having sought nor suffered ourselves to be put in possession of the divine life: so far ought we to be ashamed and abased before God, to pray to Him, etc.
4. It is our mercy that a due improvement of the present opportunity may yet lead to the most glorious results, as Jehovah will not turn away the prayer of the penitent, nor yet hide His mercy from him. (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)
Christian experience
I. What has God done for the soul of every Christian? The Christians God has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Each of this Divine Three has done many things for his soul, and whatever is done by either of them is done by God.
II. Why does the Christian wish to declare what God has done for his soul?
1. If we have seen or met with anything wonderful, we naturally wish to speak of it. That God should do such things for a sinful soul is beyond measure wonderful. It is by far the most wonderful of all His works. He Himself represents it as such. Well, then, may every one for whom He has done such wonders of grace and mercy, wish to declare it.
2. Regard for Gods glory prompts the Christian to speak.
3. Further, he wishes to declare what God has done for his soul, in order that others may assist him in praising the bountiful Benefactor.
III. Why does he wish to make this declaration to those only who fear God?
1. Because they alone can understand such a declaration.
2. Because they alone will really believe him.
3. Because they only will listen with interest, or join with him in praising his Benefactor.
IV. Improvement. Permit me to ask you, in view of this subject–
1. Whether the returns which God requires of you in the Gospel are not most reasonable?
2. Learn from this subject how inexcusable is your ingratitude, how much reason you have for sorrow, shame, and self-abasement. (E. Payson, D. D.)
Gratitude and generosity
Let each one put to himself the question, What hath God done for my soul? and may God, as we proceed, enable us so to answer the question, that our gratitude to Him may be kindled to a greater warmth, and bear fruit abundantly in generosity to man.
1. First of all, then, we declare with thankfulness what God hath done for our souls in the act of redeeming us. God sent His Son to bless us in turning every one of us from his iniquities. But salvation is not a mere momentary act, ending in itself. Gods plan is so to lay hold of our mind and heart that there may be continual growth and improvement. His desire is that we should advance in all spiritual knowledge, understanding what the will of the Lord is, and comprehending more and more with all saints what is the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of His love.
2. To this end He has given us the Holy Scriptures for our perpetual possession. Let us consider how great a blessing it is to have revealed knowledge laid up in store for us in a book. This gift to our souls is not a mere transient message, the impression of which may gradually fade away anal in time be totally forgotten, or the tradition of which may be corrupted and distorted without any power of correction; but God has so made His communication to us that we can keep it always fresh, can have it always ready at hand, can refer to it, can consult it again and again, can commit large portions of Divine truth to memory, can renew our impressions as they fade, can compare the different parts of the record together with care and deliberation, can study it more and more closely, and make it more and more our own every day that we live. But it is not merely as separate persons one by one that God has furnished us with blessings made ready to our souls.
3. We are members of a great society. The Holy Catholic Church is a part of the system of our religion. Not only does Christianity contain doctrines but likewise institutions. We are abundantly supplied with what may be called social ordinances in the Church. We have sacraments, and common prayer, and public instruction, and mutual help.
4. If, now, we are to single out a fourth thing which God hath done for our souls, I think it ought to be the blessing of providential care. How our life has been sheltered at dangerous times! What good directions have been given us by the word and example of others–what invitations to make ourselves well acquainted with Christ and His service, and with the peace which His faithful servants are permitted to possess! Whatever the result may have been, surely no thoughtful mind can hesitate to regard with thankfulness such providential care as one of the highest benefits which God bath conferred upon the soul. And especially let the mind dwell upon this providential care as intended for the discipline and training of the character for some real usefulness in life–as something intended to make us more thoughtful, more watchful, less frivolous, less selfish–something to give us the rare blessing of a right and well-balanced mind, so that we may be helpful to our friends, and that they may learn from us the lesson which we ourselves have been taught. But now we must advance one step further, and here we enter the inner circle of all. At this point especially the words of the psalm are addressed to those who fear God, and it is only they who can thoroughly enter into their meaning. O come hither and hearken, all ye that fear God; and I will tell you what He hath done for my soul. This desire to help others is a certain mark of a true conversion. If, indeed, there has been experience like that which I have just described, its practical result will take this form. Gratitude to God will find its natural development in generosity to man. (Dean Howson.)
What Christ has done for me
I. Let us try and tell the tale. What He hath done for my soul. What has He done?
1. He has done that which no one else could have done. From first to last the work is of His own right hand, and infinitely beyond the power of any other. No angel, nor any number of angels, could have done for me what He has done. They may, indeed, excel in strength, but the work required as far exceeded their strength as their might exceeds a gnats. Angels have done great things–see Egypt and Sennacherib–but they could not do this. He has done that which no minister, nor any number of them could do; and what I could never have done fox myself.
2. He has done that which requires many words to describe. Saved! Ah, that is a grand word worthy of being written in letters of gold. A saved soul includes many things. A saved soul is a God-pardoned soul; a God-reconciled soul; a sin-delivered soul; a heaven-entitled soul.
3. He has done that which can never be more completely done.
4. And which can never be undone.
5. He has done that for my soul which brings more glory to His name than all His other works. See Paul.
6. He hath done that for my soul which I am able to know is done. If a man does not know what God has done for his soul, there is some reason to believe that nothing has yet been done. Is conversion so minute a matter, so small a change that it can only be detected by the most delicate tests, and then never to a certainty? Nonsense. That is a poor kind of conversion that only remains a trembling hope and never develops into a conscious fact.
7. He has done for my soul that which will bear the test of eternity.
II. A few reasons that warrant telling the tale.
1. Saints in all ages have done the same. See Paul. Throughout all his epistles the same thing shines. He never forgets his own salvation. Glistening like little gems in a setting of gold are those personal allusions. I obtained mercy. Of whom I am chief. By the grace of God I am what I am. Too often we forget that we have been purged from our old sins; the day of our conversion grows dim in the distance, and our hearts love loses its fervour and intensity. The fire becomes caked over and gives out but little heat. Tell the tale, and in telling it, old memories spring into fresh life. The fire is stirred, its hardening crust is broken, and the flames leap out as bright as ever. Oh, it is a grand thing for ones own soul to live over again the day of conversion. Tell it, it is the best argument with sinners. The world can understand a fact far better than a theory. (Archibald O. Brown.)
Christian experience
I. Some of those things which the Lord has done for their souls, which call forth their feelings of gratitude and love to Him.
1. What He has done for their souls in the gift of Christ (Joh 3:16),
2. In enabling them to appropriate to themselves by faith the blessings of that salvation.
3. In the privilege which He gives to them, of drawing near to Him in prayer through Christ, and in the communications from Himself which are imparted to them frequently in the exercise of that privilege.
4. In their preservation from falling into open sin to the dishonour of His name and their own everlasting ruin (1Pe 1:5).
II. It is Gods will concerning His people that they should live in the lively apprehension of these benefits which have been thus conferred upon them. There are many who think lightly of Christian experience–who are ready to treat as enthusiastic, everything connected with it, and exclaim against it either as hypocrisy or delusion; but the operations of Gods Spirit do not consist in mere notions, but in his lively actings within the soul; where there is no experience of what God has done for the soul, there can be no real work of Gods Holy Spirit. Let none of us then be satisfied with mere notional religion, but see that we be able to rejoice in what our God, in His mercy and grace, has done for our souls.
III. We have here represented to us one of those effects which will ever be produced by that true Christian experience which is the result of the operation of Gods Holy Spirit in the soul.
It is, that it will produce the humble acknowledgment of the mercies which have been received–and that from the simple and sincere desire to glorify God and to benefit the souls of others.
1. To win the unconverted people of the world to the consideration of those subjects from which their hearts are alienated and with which they only associate ideas of gloom and melancholy.
2. For the consolation and encouragement and edification of the people of God. (Denis Browne, M. A.)
Tell others of Jesus
Dr. Valpy, the author of a great many class-books, wrote the following simple lines as his confession of faith:–
In peace let me resign my breath,
And Thy salvation see;
My sins deserve eternal death,
But Jesus died for me.
Valpy is dead and gone; but he gave those lines to dear old Dr. Marsh, the Rector of Beckenham, who put them over his study mantel-shelf. The Earl of Roden came in and read them. Will you give me a copy of those lines? said the good earl. I shall be glad, said Dr. Marsh, and copied them. Lord Roden took them home and put them over his mantel-shelf. General Taylor, a Waterloo hero, came into the room and noticed them. He read them over and over again, while staying with Earl Roden, till his lordship remarked, I say, friend Taylor, I should think you know those lines by heart. He answered, I do know them by heart; indeed, my very heart has grasped their meaning. He was brought to Christ by the humble rhyme. General Taylor handed those lines to an officer in the army, who was going out to the Crimean War. He came home to die; and when Dr. Marsh went to see him, the poor soul, in his weakness, said: Good sir, do you know this verse that General Taylor gave to me? It brought me to my Saviour, and I die in peace To Dr. Marshs surprise, he repeated the lines:–
In peace let me resign my breath, etc.
Only think of the good which four simple lines may do! Oh, tell the good news! Never mind how simple the language. Tell it out.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 16. Come and hear, all ye that fear God] While in captivity, the psalmist had sought the Lord with frequent prayer for his own personal salvation, and for the deliverance of the people; and God blessed him, heard his prayer, and turned the captivity. Now that he is returned in safety, he is determined to perform his vows to the Lord; and calls on all them that fear their Maker, who have any religious reverence for him, to attend to his account of the Lord’s gracious dealings with him. He proposes to tell them his spiritual experience, what he needed, what he earnestly prayed for, and what God has done for him. Thus he intended to teach them by example, more powerful always than precept, however weighty in itself, and impressively delivered.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
All ye that fear God; whether Israelites, or Gentiles proselyted to them. Let every Israelite take notice of what God hath done for the nation in general, and let the Gentiles observe Gods goodness to the children of Israel.
What he hath done for my soul; which he hath held in life, as he said, Psa 66:16, in the greatest dangers of death.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16-20. With these he unites hispublic thanks, inviting those who fear God (Psa 60:4;Psa 61:5, His true worshippers)to hear. He vindicates his sincerity, inasmuch as God would not hearhypocrites, but had heard him.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Come [and] hear, all ye that fear God,…. Who have a reverential affection for him, and by whom he is worshipped and served with reverence and godly fear; these have good things done for themselves, and will glorify God for what he does for others: these know the nature, worth, and value of the good things the Lord does for the souls of men, and hear them with pleasure and profit; when to tell them to others is casting pearl before swine, and giving that which is holy to dogs; and therefore only such as fear the Lord are called upon to come and hear what follows. Jarchi interprets this character of proselytes; see Ac 13:26;
and I will declare what he hath done for my soul: not what he had done for God, or offered unto him, or suffered for his sake; nor what God had done for his body in the make and preservation of it; but what he had done for his soul, and the salvation of that: what God the Father had done in setting him apart for himself; in making a sure, well ordered, and everlasting covenant with him in Christ; in blessing him with all spiritual blessings in him; in providing for the redemption of his soul by him; in pardoning his sins, justifying his person, adopting him into his family, and regenerating, quickening, and sanctifying him: also what God the Son had done for him; in engaging to assume a true body and a reasonable soul on his account; and to make that soul an offering for his sin, and thereby obtain for him eternal redemption, even the salvation of his immortal soul: likewise what God the Spirit had done for him; in quickening and enlightening his soul; in implanting principles of grace and holiness in it; in showing Christ unto him, and bringing near his righteousness, and leading him to him for salvation and eternal life; in applying exceeding great and precious promises to him, and remembering to him such on which he had caused him to hope; in delivering him out of temptation and troubles, and in carrying on the work of his grace in him hitherto: these are things that are not to be concealed in a man’s breast, but to be told to the church and people of God, to their joy and comfort, and to the glory of divine grace; see Mr 5:19.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The words in Psa 66:16 are addressed in the widest extent, as in Psa 66:5 and Psa 66:2, to all who fear God, wheresoever such are to be found on the face of the earth. To all these, for the glory of God and for their own profit, he would gladly relate what God has made him to experience. The individual-looking expression is not opposed to the fact of the occurrence of a marvellous answering of prayer, to which he refers, being one which has been experienced by him in common with the whole congregation. He cried unto God with his mouth (that is to say, not merely silently in spirit, but audibly and importunately), and a hymn ( ,
(Note: Kimchi (Michlol 146 a) and Parchon (under ) read with Pathach; and Heidenheim and Baer have adopted it.)
something that rises, collateral form to , as and to and ) was under my tongue; i.e., I became also at once so sure of my being heard, that I even had the song of praise in readiness (vid., Psa 10:7), with which I had determined to break forth when the help for which I had prayed, and which was assured to me, should arrive. For the purpose of his heart was not at any time, in contradiction to his words, , God-abhorred vileness or worthlessness; with the accusative, as in Gen 20:10; Psa 37:37: to aim at, or design anything, to have it in one’s eye. We render: If I had aimed at evil in my heart, the Lord would not hear; not: He would not have heard, but: He would not on any occasion hear. For a hypocritical prayer, coming from a heart which has not its aim sincerely directed towards Him, He does not hear. The idea that such a heart was not hidden behind his prayer is refuted in Psa 66:19 from the result, which is of a totally opposite character. In the closing doxology the accentuation rightly takes as belonging together. Prayer and mercy stand in the relation to one another of call and echo. When God turns away from a man his prayer and His mercy, He commands him to be silent and refuses him a favourable answer. The poet, however, praises God that He has deprived him neither of the joyfulness of prayer nor the proof of His favour. In this sense Augustine makes the following practical observation on this passage: Cum videris non a te amotam deprecationem tuam, securus esto, quia non est a te amota misericordia ejus .
(16) Come.Refers back to Psa. 66:9.
16. A beautiful illustration of a personal confession and experience of divine grace.
All ye that fear God He speaks to the covenant people, and such as fear God among the nations. Such only could understand or profit by the recital. Many among the heathen had learned to fear God by means of the miracles during the captivity, among whom were the kings Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, and Cyrus. Dan 3:28-29; Dan 4:37; Dan 6:25-28; Ezr 1:1-4
b) A Call To Consider The Way In Which God Has Answered His (or their) Prayer Because His (their) Heart Was Right Towards God ( Psa 66:16-20 ).
The Psalm ends with an emphasis on the fact that God has answered prayer. The king was an intercessory priest after the order of Melchizedek (see introduction to the Psalm above). But this would do no good unless his heart was pure before God. He recognised that it was only when he approached God as one who was right with Him, that his prayer was heard. God knows nothing of ex opere operato. This may thus be the cry of the king, praying as the people’s representative.
Alternately the cry is that of each individual (as part of the whole) as he recognises the wonderful way in which God has answered his prayer.
Psa 66:16
‘Come, and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what he has done for my life.’
First he calls on all who ‘fear God’, that is who recognise the Almightiness of YHWH, to come and hear while he declares what God has done for him which has so benefited his life. ‘All who fear God’ acknowledges the fact that even among the godless nations there were those who recognised and acknowledged the greatness of the God of Israel. Whilst Judah were His people ‘the fear of God’ was not limited to them. We can compare here Naaman the Syrian general and the Sidonian widow who succoured Elijah (Luk 4:26-27; 2Ki 5:17; 1Ki 17:9 ff.).
Psa 66:17
I cried to him with my mouth,
And he was extolled with my tongue.’
What he wanted them to recognise was that he had cried to God with his mouth, and had extolled Him with his tongue, and that God had heard him (Psa 66:19). Note the combination of prayer and praise. The idea is not that we somehow persuade Him to act by praising Him (the extolling comes after the praying), but that we not only look to Him to answer our prayers, but also give Him the worship and gratitude due to Him for His goodness.
Psa 66:18-19
‘If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear,
But truly God has heard,
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.’
However, he stresses the importance of approaching God with a pure heart. Unlike the so-called gods of other nations the God of Israel is concerned with the moral behaviour of His petitioners. He will only hear the prayers of those whose hearts are right with Him as revealed in their response to His covenant requirements and their behaviour towards others. There is nothing automatic about it. They will not be heard for their much speaking, but only when they approach Him with their hearts purified and free from known sin. Cherishing sin in the heart will result in God not hearing them. What they pray for must be right, and so must their attitude of heart. The importance of this fact cannot be overstated. It reminds us that God is only ‘bound’ to hear the prayers of those whose hearts are right with Him and whose motives are pure. And in this case God had truly heard his prayer, and had heard him as he prayed, precisely because he had prayed from a true heart and with a cleansed conscience. This was the basis on which their great deliverance had been enjoyed.
Again the idea is not that by our behaviour we somehow earn the right to be heard. Rather it is that a righteous and moral God will only act in accordance with righteousness.
Psa 66:20
‘Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor his covenant love from me.’
He finalises his prayer by blessing God for having heard him in accordance with His covenant. He never turns away from those who approach responsive to His covenant. For He Himself is always faithful to those to whom He has covenanted to act in love, that is to those who have responded to His freely offered love by entering into a covenant relationship with Him.
Psa 66:16. Come and hear, all ye, &c. Here we must suppose the Psalmist in the temple; speaking, as is frequently the case in other places of the psalms, to the assembled people, and declaring, to the honour of God, that he had heard and answered his prayer. He mentions no particular; probably it was a deliverance somewhat analogous to that of the Israelites which makes the subject of this psalm, and from some heathen nation who had oppressed them: he had, very likely, been a prisoner and made his escape; which makes him say, “If I had regarded vanity,” i.e. “If I had ever, while I was a captive among the heathen, been corrupted into any idolatrous practices, God would not have heard me;” &c. That this was a proper subject for thanksgiving we may see in Psa 107:2-9. Mudge.
REFLECTIONS.1st, We have here,
1. The persons called upon to unite in the praises of God: All lands, not merely the people of Israel, but all the ends of the earth. Note; Though God is merciful to all, we have peculiar reason to bless him for that full and glorious Gospel which he has sent to us.
2. The manner of their praises. They must make a joyful noise, sing aloud their Creator’s and Redeemer’s praises, proclaim his glory; and in their lives, as well as lips, shew forth his honour. 2nd, They who have an interest in God, as their covenant God, ought to make their voices of grateful praise to be heard. Particularly, 2. For the blessed issue of their trials. Many an enemy had harassed the land, they had been taken prisoners in the net of their oppressors, had suffered a variety of afflictions, been trampled upon and insulted by the Philistines and neighbouring nations; but it was to prove, not destroy them; and therefore they were delivered, and public tranquillity and plenty restored to them. Thus the church of Christ has been also in the furnace of affliction, under the man of sin, in Rome pagan and papal, has passed through variety of tortures by fire and water, terrible as those devouring elements, and been often reduced to the greatest distress, in order to prove the patience of the saints; but God will bring them into a wealthy or large place; as at the Reformation, when true religion reared its head; and as will be more eminently the case, when at last Christ shall come and reign over his saints gloriously. This also is the state of every faithful believer, who passes through temptation, painful as the action of fire, and deep as the floods; but the issue shall be peace; his graces, thus exercised, shall shine the brighter, and into his wealthy place, even a mansion in eternal glory, will he be brought: when he has suffered a little while for Christ, he shall reign with him for ever. 2. He calls on all who fear God to come and hear what God had done; what wonders of grace in pardoning, sanctifying, comforting, and saving his sinful soul; and this in answer to his constant and fervent prayer, which God, who knew the simplicity of his heart, had heard and granted; and for which he desires ever to bless and praise him, as for all his mercies. Note; (1.) We are bound, for God’s glory, and the encouragement of his people, to communicate our experience of his goodness; not as vain of our mercies, as if the favourites of heaven, but as thankfully terrifying our gratitude to him from whom we have received all. (2.) There can be no comfort obtained from prayer, nor any well-grounded confidence entertained of God’s acceptance of us, whilst allowed and indulged iniquity remains in the heart. (3.) They who lift up holy hands, without wrath and doubting, may rise from their knees continually blessing and praising God.
DISCOURSE: 606 Psa 66:16. Come and hear, all ye that fear God! and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
ANY person of benevolence who should have discovered an antidote, or remedy, to a very fatal disorder, would feel happy in communicating information respecting it, wherever such knowledge was required [Note: This has been done in reference to vaccination by the benevolent Dr. Jenner.]. If indeed great gain would accrue to him by concealment, we must concede to him the right of procuring to himself the advantages to which his superior knowledge has entitled him: but where the very act of communicating information will enrich, rather than impoverish, the instructor, and he himself will be made a gainer by imparting, he would be highly criminal if he withheld from the world the blessings he was enabled to coirfer. This is invariably the case in things pertaining to the soul: and hence we may expect to find all who have been taught of God, ready and willing to impart to others the benefits they have received. The early Apostles, Andrew and Philip, no sooner found the Messiah, than they sought to bring their brethren, Peter and Nathanael, to an acquaintance with him [Note: Joh 1:40; Joh 1:45.]. And the Samaritan woman was no sooner convinced herself of the Messiahship of Jesus, than she went to invite all the men of her city to come and see the person, whom she believed to be the Christ [Note: Joh 4:28-29.]. Thus it was with David: he communed much with God: he learned much from God: he was favoured with the richest communications which God himself could bestow. But he would not keep these things to himself: he hoped, by a free communication with pious characters, to bring them to a participation of all that he himself enjoyed: and therefore, filled with divine philanthropy, he sent out, as it were, this general invitation, Come and hear, all ye that fear God; and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
In discoursing on these words, we will shew,
I.
What God had done for his soul
David, as we are told in the foregoing context, had been involved in many troubles, from which nothing but a Divine interposition could have delivered him [Note: ver. 1012.]. But we must not confine the subject to temporal deliverances: he speaks of something which God had done for his soul; and more particularly specifies, that God had not turned away his mercy from him [Note: ver. 20.]; and makes that the peculiar ground of his praise and thanksgiving. We observe then that God had vouchsafed to him,
1.
The pardon of his sins
[This would have been an exceedingly rich mercy, even if David had never fallen from his former integrity. But, if we view the great enormities committed by him in the matter of Uriah, we see good reason why he should magnify Gods mercy beyond any other of the sons of men. Whether this psalm was written prior, or subsequent to his fall, we know not; and therefore we forbear to notice that as an aggravation of his guilt, or as enhancing the mercy vouchsafed to him. As a man, he was a sinner from his mothers womb: and the most perfect of men could no more stand than the vilest, if God should enter into judgment with him, and mark in him all that had been done amiss. David was sensible of this, and acknowledged it in these expressive terms: I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart; and I will glorify thy name for evermore: for great is thy mercy towards me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell [Note: Psa 86:12-13.]. Let us be sensible, how much we also stand in need of mercy; and let us seek it as that without which our souls must for ever perish: or, if we have received mercy, let us devoutly glorify our God for it as a benefit which no words can ever adequately express.]
2.
A manifestation of that pardon to his soul
[David had prayed earnestly to God, and had obtained an answer to his prayer. How this answer was conveyed to his mind, we are not informed: but he had no doubt in his own soul respecting it: he could say, Verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer [Note: ver. 19.]. O! who can estimate aright this mercy? See how the prophet Jeremiah speaks of it: I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee; thou saidst, Fear not [Note: Lam 3:55-57.]. How tender! how pathetic! how encouraging this acknowledgment! Such was Davids also, on another occasion: I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles [Note: Psa 34:4; Psa 34:6.]. Truly this is a great and blessed work which the Lord does for the souls of men: and it was with good reason that David said, Come and hear, all ye that fear God; and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.]
But it will be proper to state more particularly,
II.
Why he was so ready to speak of it
It was not from ostentation or vanity that he thus called the attention of others to his own concerns, but,
1.
From a sense of gratitude to God
[Such mercies call for the liveliest gratitude, and demand a tribute of praise from the whole world. Hence the soul that feels its obligations for them, would be glad to interest the whole creation in the blessed work of praise and thanksgiving. This David attempts in many of his psalms: I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me; and let us exalt his name together [Note: Psa 34:1-3; Psa 96:1-4.]! Had any reflection been cast on him for these devout acknowledgments, he would have replied, as on another occasion, Is there not a cause [Note: 1Sa 17:29.]? or rather, would have welcomed the disgrace, and said, I will yet be more vile than thus [Note: 1Sa 6:21.].]
2.
From a sense of love to his fellow-creatures
[Nothing is more gratifying to the saints than to see or hear what God has done for others. To them therefore David addresses himself. He speaks not to the ungodly; for that would be to cast pearls before swine: but to the godly he knew that the recital of his experience would be a rich source of comfort and encouragement. In another place he explicitly avows this very intention; and, for the promotion of that end, he gives a summary of the Lords dealings with him during his long impenitence, and on the very first symptoms of penitence and contrition [Note: Psa 32:3-6.]. It is with a similar view that Paul also records his own wickedness in persecuting the Church of Christ; and displays the enormous unparalleled exercise of Gods mercy towards him the chief of sinners: he declares, that this whole dispensation towards him was designed by God himself as a pattern for the encouragement of all penitents to the end of time [Note: 1Ti 1:13-16.]. We then, if we fear God, are the persons invited to come and listen to the voice of David. In all that he has spoken on this subject, he has sought our good: for it was not to him as a prophet that this mercy was vouchsafed, but as a saint, who feared God and wrought righteousness: and every one who in this respect resembles him, may hope to participate with him in his exalted privileges [Note: Compare Psa 65:2 and Isa 65:24 and Joh 14:13-14. with 1Jn 5:13-15.].]
As saints indeed we profess to have already enjoyed them in some measure: and therefore we are concerned to inquire,
III.
How we may know whether our souls be partakers of the same benefit
It is the privilege of all to have access to God, and to have their prayers answered by him: yea, and to know also that they have been answered. Of this we are assured on the authority of God himself But here the question arises, How shall these answers be clearly known to have come from God? Formerly God was pleased to make known to his people their interest in his favour by means which we are no longer to expect. He may indeed, if he see fit, still reveal his will to men by dreams and visions, by voices and signs; but we have no reason to think he either does, or will do so; and therefore we can place no confidence in any manifestations which are professedly derived from such sources. We may also say, that nothing certain can be known from any direct impressions of the Spirit of God upon the mind. We are far from affirming that no such impressions are ever made: for there can be no doubt but that God sheds abroad his love in the hearts of his people, and gives them a spirit of adoption, whereby they cry, Abba, Father, and by his Spirit witnesses with their spirits that they are the children of God, and even seals them by the Holy Spirit of promise unto the day of redemption. But still, great and glorious as these operations of the Spirit are, they are not sufficient of themselves to prove that God has shewn mercy to our souls: they must have the concurring evidence of good works resulting from them: the feelings themselves may be so closely imitated by Satan, that it shall be impossible for man certainly to distinguish between them: a person of a warm imagination and a confident mind may easily be wrought upon by that subtle spirit, so that he shall appear both to himself and others to be eminently distinguished by manifestations from God, whilst yet he is only under the influence of a Satanic delusion. The evidences whereby alone the work of God upon the soul can be satisfactorily ascertained are,
1.
The exercise of gracious affections
[Love, joy, peace, with all the train of Christian virtues, are the fruits of Gods Spirit alone. They cannot for any length of time be counterfeited: not even Satan himself can produce them. Hence we are told, by our blessed Lord, to look to them as the only certain marks and evidences whereby his people can be distinguished: By their fruits ye shall know them. Would you then know for certain whether God has had mercy on your souls, and whether the supposed manifestations of Gods love to your souls are genuine, see how the dispensation operates on your hearts and lives. If it lead you to a sense of lively gratitude to God, if it fill you with a determination to serve and glorify him with all your powers, if it encourage you to commit your every concern to his all-wise disposal, and if it stimulate you to seek by all possible means the welfare of your fellow-creatures, you may confidently say, He that hath wrought us to the selfsame thing is God.]
2.
The mortification of all sin
[David says, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me [Note: ver. 18.]. To fancy therefore that we have received answers to prayer, whilst there is any sinful temper or disposition harboured in the heart, is a fatal delusion. Even the ungodly Jews, who set themselves in opposition to Christ, were fully convinced of this truth: for, imagining him to he a sinner, and taking occasion from thence to deny the miracle he had wrought, they said, Now we know that God heareth not sinners; but if any man be a worshipper of God and do his will, him he heareth [Note: Joh 9:31.]. This then must be a point of diligent inquiry; Is sin in general dispossessed of its power over me? is my besetting sin in particular subdued and mortified? is my hatred to sin inveterate, uniform, unreserved? Unless this be our state, it is in vain that we pretend to communion with the Deity, and boast of our assured acceptance with him: if we are under the habitual influence of any one reigning lust, of whatever kind it be, we may make a great profession of religion, but we are hypocrites; we may make a noise about it, but we are as sounding brass, and as tinkling cymbals.]
In reference to this subject, we beg leave to offer some advice
1.
Be careful to notice the dealings of God with your souls
[Many set themselves against all kinds of Christian experience, and make even the very word, experience, a subject of continual ridicule and invective. That injudicious persons have given but too just ground of offence by their statements of their own feelings, must be confessed! but we must not therefore suppose that religion has nothing to do with the feelings, and that it is a matter purely intellectual. Why should that alone have no influence on the heart, when it is calculated more than any thing else to call into activity all the powers of our souls? or why should that be enthusiasm in religion, which is deemed reasonable in all the common affairs of life? Let a man be embarked in any thing that greatly involves his honour and interest throughout his life; a merchant in trade; a commander in war; a student in academic contests will he feel no anxieties? will he have no fluctuations of mind, no alternations of hope and fear, of joy and sorrow, according as his prospects brighten or are obscured? will the issue of his labours be to him such a matter of indifference, that he shall contemplate the probabilities of success or failure without any emotion? And if these diversified feelings are so called forth by things which pertain to this life, shall they have no scope for exercise in the things which relate to eternity? Call them by the name of Christian experience, or by any other name, they must have place in our souls; and if they have not, we are altogether dead in trespasses and sins. Let every one then take notice how he is affected with his everlasting concerns: for he can never have obtained mercy, who has not sought for mercy; nor he have received an answer to prayer, who never cried from his inmost soul to God. I must even go farther, and say, he has no hope, who never had a fear; nor shall he ever taste of joy, who has never been bowed down with penitential sorrow. As we deal with God, he will deal with us: If we seek him, he will be found of us; but if we forsake him, he will forsake us.]
2.
Learn to estimate them by a right standard
[If we judge of our emotions by their intenseness, or by the degree of elevation or depression produced by them, we shall deceive our own souls. The votaries of false religions are sometimes transported beyond the bounds of reason, and are agitated even to madness. A mistaken course of religion too, will often operate very strongly on the mind, and leave us, after all, in a, state of spiritual death. True religion is sober, discreet, practical: it consists in, or rather is inseparably connected with, a spirit of love, and of power, and of a sound mind. It directs to heaven; but does not lead us to neglect our earthly duties. It must be judged of by its practical effects. The grace that leaves us under the defilement of any spiritual or fleshly filthiness, is no grace. That alone comes from God, which leads to God; and that alone will have any saving efficacy, which assimilates us to the Divine image in righteousness and true holiness.]
3.
Endeavour to improve them for the good of others
[We are not proprietors of our talents, but stewards, to whom they are entrusted for the good of others. We must indeed be much on our guard against conceit, and talkativeness, and a readiness to draw attention to ourselves, and to make self the topic of our conversation. A person of this complexion is a very hateful and disgusting character: and too many such, it must be confessed, there are in the religious world. But whilst we avoid such a spirit as this, we must delight to communicate to others the blessings we have received, and to encourage from our own experience a diligent and patient waiting upon God. It is obvious, that if we can say, What my eyes have seen, my ears have heard, and my hands have handled of the word of life, that same declare I unto you, our words will come with tenfold weight. We repeat however, that a general communicating of our experiences in large companies is in our judgment highly inexpedient: it is a fruitful source of pride, discouragement, and hypocrisy. But in the confidence of friendship we may unbosom ourselves one to another, and declare, to the abundant edification both of ourselves and others, what God has done for our souls. In seasons of temptation and spiritual trouble, we may by such a communication administer unspeakable comfort to an afflicted brother [Note: 2Co 1:6.]. Nor is it necessary that we advert particularly to ourselves: if we give the result of our experience, the effect will be the same. The light we have received should not be hid under a bushel: if we have freely received, we should freely give.]
If we consider, in the first place, David’s Lord as the preacher here, these verses will be very blessed to our view. How was Christ exercised in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, onto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared? Heb 5:7 . And who so eminently as Christ could adopt this language? Who but Jesus could say, that iniquity had not been regarded in his heart? Of whom but Christ could it be said, the Lord hath heard, because there was no iniquity in him? And if we read the passage as referring to the church, or any individual of the church, we can only make application of it as considered in Jesus. Reader, can you invite the people that fear God, to come and hear what the Lord hath done for your soul? Can you tell them of Jesus, of his grace, his mercy, his love, his salvation, and your interest in him? If so, you will be able to close the Psalm in the same words as David. The Lord is indeed blessed when our prayers do not turn back unheard and unanswered; and when Jesus, the firstborn in the womb of mercy, nay, the whole sum and substance of mercy, even mercy itself, is looking upon us.
Psa 66:16 Come [and] hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
Ver. 16. Come and hear ] He had said before, “Come and see,” Psa 66:5 . He held it a greater honour prodesse quam praeesse.
All ye that fear God
And I will declare, &c. NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 66:16-20
16Come and hear, all who fear God,
And I will tell of what He has done for my soul.
17I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was extolled with my tongue.
18If I regard wickedness in my heart,
The Lord will not hear;
19But certainly God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.
Psa 66:16 Come and hear, all who fear God This phrase starts off with two Qal imperatives (see note at Psa 66:5). The Bible does not teach universalism, but it does teach God’s universal offer of grace to those who respond (cf. Joh 1:12; Joh 3:16; Joh 3:36; Joh 6:40; Joh 11:25-26; Rom 10:9-13). God responds to those who respond to Him. But notice the condition, all who fear God.
And I will tell of what He has done for my soul As Psa 66:9 expressed the corporate life of Israel, so Psa 66:13-20 express the individual life of this one worshiper (i.e., the psalmist). He describes his prayer life. Usually the Psalms start out with an individual and end in corporate praise but this Psalm is the opposite.
Psa 66:17 As there was no silent reading in the ANE, so too, no silent prayers (note 1Sa 1:13).
Psa 66:18 Attitude is crucial. See Special Topic: Prayer Unlimited, Yet Limited . Human unconfessed sin blinds the individual to God’s presence and love. There are consequences in time and eternity to sin for both the believer and the unbeliever.
Psa 66:19 Faithful followers believe that God hears (cf. Psa 18:6) and will respond appropriately! This is a faith assurance, not a certainty (see SPECIAL TOPIC: ASSURANCE ).
Psa 66:20 Blessed be God Blessing (BDB 138, KB 159, Qal passive participle, cf. Psa 68:35) comes from God and to God. There is no blessing apart from Him. He should be blessed/praised for
1. who He is (cf. Psa 66:10-12; 2Co 1:3)
2. what He has done (cf. Psa 66:1-3)
3. what He is doing
4. what He will bring to pass (cf. Psa 66:4; Psa 66:8)!
lovingkindness See SPECIAL TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (HESED) .
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. How is Psalms 66 related to 65 and 67?
2. Why is Psa 66:3 so difficult to translate?
3. Is there any biblical evidence for national angels (cf. Daniel 10)?
4. Why does God test individuals and nations?
5. List the items that relate to prayer in Psa 66:17-20.
my soul = me (emph.) Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
Let All the Peoples Praise Thee
Psa 66:16-20; Psa 67:1-7
Come and hear, Psa 66:16-20
The psalm began with Come and see, Psa 66:5. Compare Mar 5:19-20; Joh 4:29. It will be one of the employments of heaven to go from group to group to tell what God has done for us. But each hearer will have a tale as wonderful as ours. We must praise without stint, and pray with pure and unselfish motives. From such prayers God will not turn away.
Psa 67:1-7, like Psa 65:1-13, was composed for use at an annual festival. Bless us, say the saints in yearning prayer. God shall bless us, is the certain answer of faith, Psa 67:1; Psa 67:7. We desire blessing, not to hoard for ourselves, but that all mankind may share with us. Ask for Gods smile on yourself alone, and you will miss it; ask for it that you may reflect and pass it on, and the Lord will become your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be ended.
Four times the psalmist cries, Let the peoples praise thee, R.V. In answer to his appeal, it seemed as if the whole world had broken out into fresh fertility. Our own God, Psa 67:6. He has given Himself to us, and each may have the whole of the fullness as an estate of boundless extent and wealth, Num 18:20; Psa 16:5.
fear
(See Scofield “Psa 19:9”).
Come: Psa 66:5, Psa 34:2, Psa 34:11, Psa 71:18, Mal 3:16, 1Ti 1:15, 1Ti 1:16, 1Jo 1:3
and I will: Psa 22:23, Psa 22:24, Psa 32:5, Psa 32:6, Psa 71:20, 1Co 15:8-10
Reciprocal: Exo 18:8 – told Psa 22:25 – I will Psa 34:6 – This Psa 71:17 – hitherto Psa 73:28 – that I may Psa 107:32 – in the congregation Psa 119:74 – fear thee Dan 4:2 – that Mar 5:19 – Go home Mar 5:33 – and told Luk 2:17 – General Luk 8:39 – and published Luk 8:47 – she declared Act 12:17 – declared 2Co 1:4 – that Col 4:6 – your
Psa 66:16-17. Come and hear, all ye that fear God Whether Israelites, or Gentiles proselyted to them; come and hearken unto me (for it will afford you both instruction and encouragement, and will engage you to trust in God more than ever) while I relate what things God hath done for me, and what indubitable proofs he hath given me that he regards those that fear him; and I will declare what he hath done for my soul Not in pride and vain glory, that I may be thought more a favourite of heaven than other people; but for the honour of God, to which I owe this as a just debt, and for the edification of others. Thus we should be ready, on all proper occasions, to tell one another of the great and good things which God has done for us, and especially what he has done for our souls, the spiritual blessings with which he hath blessed us in heavenly things; as we ought to be most affected with these ourselves, so with these we ought to be most desirous to affect others. I cried unto him with my mouth With a loud voice and great fervency; and he was extolled with my tongue I soon had occasion to extol him for hearing and answering my petitions.
66:16 {i} Come [and] hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
(i) It is not enough to have received God’s benefits and to be mindful of it, but also we are bound to make others profit by it and praise God.
In these verses the writer addressed the congregated nation, not God. This is declarative praise. God had answered the psalmist’s petition that arose out of a pure heart. God will not listen to the prayer of a person who nurses sin in his or her heart. He hears it, of course, because He knows all, but He will not hear it in the sense of answering it, under normal circumstances. The psalm closes with the psalmist’s personal benediction to God for granting his petition and bestowing His loyal love.
When God’s people are in need they should purify their hearts and pray. When they do, He will answer and bless them. This should cause other people to honor and praise God.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
3. The reasons why they should thus praise him. [1.] Because of his terrible works and the greatness of his power, manifested in the abasement of his enemies. Note; Every antichristian foe will be made shortly to bow at the feet of the faithful, and to know that God hath loved them. [2.] For the mercies manifested to his church of old; the remembrance of which should be ever new; such as was the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, when the sea opened a way for them to pass over; there did we rejoice in him. Note; Our Father’s mercies are our own, and should awaken our praises. [3.] Because the same protection shall be for ever vouchsafed to all the faithful. As God ever rules, and ever sees the devices of their enemies, he will disappoint them, to the confusion of his people’s proud and rebellious foes. Note; Since all power is given to Christ in heaven and on earth, his faithful people may be assured that no powers of darkness shall be able to hurt them, but they shall with joy see them shortly put under his feet and theirs for ever.
1. For their lives; not only the preservation of bodily life, but more especially for the spiritual life which Christ has bestowed and maintains; and suffereth not our feet to be moved; though sore thrust at by temptation, yet by the power of grace our souls are preserved.
3rdly, The Psalmist here, in the person of the faithful, declares the effects that God’s grace and protection would have upon them.
1. He and they would offer the noblest sacrifices appointed under the law; the fattest beasts shall burn on God’s altar, according to the vows they had made in trouble. Note; Since Christ’s one oblation was offered, all other sacrifices of blood are abolished; but sacrifices of praise will never cease ascending from every faithful heart, and will go up with acceptance in the smoke which arises from the Saviour’s sacrifice, making all our offerings a sweet-smelling savour to God.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
ANSWERS TO FRAYER ACKNOWLEDGED
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)