When you look back over your life, can you recognize the ways God has been faithful—even through seasons you would never have chosen for yourself?
Key Verse:
“Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul.” — Psalm 66:16 (NASB)
Background Context:
Psalm 66 is a joyful call to praise God for His mighty works. The psalmist begins by inviting all the earth to worship, then looks backward to God’s historical deliverance of His people through the sea. From there, the focus becomes more personal as he reflects on seasons of testing, God’s faithful deliverance, and finally what the Lord has done in his own life.
There is a beautiful movement throughout the psalm. First we are invited to “come and see the works of God.” Later we are invited to “come and hear” what He has done personally. Remembering God’s faithfulness in Scripture gives us confidence during our own trials, and experiencing His faithfulness gives us a testimony worth sharing with others.
(Continued and expanded after scripture.)
Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.
For the choir director. A Song. A Psalm.
1Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
2Sing the glory of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You.
4“All the earth will worship You,
And will sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.”
5Come and see the works of God,
Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
6He turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through the river on foot;
There let us rejoice in Him!
7He rules by His might forever;
His eyes keep watch on the nations;
Let not the rebellious exalt themselves.
8Bless our God, O peoples,
And sound His praise abroad,
9Who keeps us in life
And does not allow our feet to slip.
10For You have tried us, O God;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11You brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
12You made men ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water,
Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.
13I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall pay You my vows,
14Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was in distress.
15I shall offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts,
With the smoke of rams;
I shall make an offering of bulls with male goats.
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.
Reflection on Psalm 66:
Psalm 66 begins with exuberant praise: “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; sing the glory of His name.” The psalmist’s vision extends far beyond Israel. He calls the whole earth to recognize the greatness of God and bow before Him. Our God is not merely a local or personal deity. He is the sovereign Lord over all creation, and ultimately all the earth will acknowledge His greatness.
The psalmist then invites us to look backward: “Come and see the works of God.” He remembers how God turned the sea into dry land, clearly pointing back to His miraculous deliverance of His people. Remembering what God has already done is an important part of strengthening our faith. When present circumstances make us uncertain about what God is doing, Scripture reminds us of what He has done before. The God who delivered His people then remains the same God we trust today.
But remembering God’s faithfulness does not mean pretending that His people never experience hardship. The tone changes significantly in verse 10: “For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.” The psalmist describes being brought into a net, carrying heavy burdens, and passing “through fire and through water.” These were not comfortable experiences, yet looking backward he could recognize that God had been at work even in the difficulty.
The image of refining silver is especially helpful. Refining involves intense heat, but the purpose of the heat is not destruction. It removes impurities and produces something purer. In the same way, God can use difficult seasons to expose what is in our hearts, deepen our dependence upon Him, strengthen our faith, and shape our character. We should be careful not to assume that every hardship is God’s direct punishment or that we will always understand why He permits a particular trial. But Scripture repeatedly teaches that God can work through suffering to refine His people.
Importantly, the fire is not where the psalmist’s story ends. He declares, “We went through fire and through water, yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.” God had not abandoned His people in their testing. He brought them through it. What may have felt overwhelming while they were experiencing it became another testimony to God’s faithfulness when they looked back.
The psalmist responds by worshiping God and fulfilling the commitments he made during his distress. Then the focus becomes deeply personal: “Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul.” Earlier he said, Come and see what God has done. Now he says, Come and hear what God has done for me. God’s mighty works recorded in Scripture have become joined with the psalmist’s own experience of God’s faithfulness.
That is an important part of our witness as well. We should certainly tell people what Scripture says about God, but we can also tell them how His truth has intersected with our own lives. We can share how He has answered prayer, carried us through hardship, corrected us, provided for us, forgiven us, or strengthened our faith. Our personal testimony does not replace Scripture, but it can point others toward the God revealed in Scripture.
The psalmist adds an important warning about prayer: “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” He is not claiming that God only listens to sinless people. If that were true, none of us could pray. Rather, he recognizes the contradiction of deliberately holding onto sin while expecting intimate fellowship with a holy God. Genuine relationship with God includes repentance and a willingness to submit our lives to Him.
The psalm concludes with gratitude: “Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer nor His lovingkindness from me.” After remembering national deliverance, personal refining, and answered prayer, the psalmist arrives at the same destination: praise.
Psalm 66 invites us to do the same. Remember what God has done. Trust Him while He is refining you. And when you have experienced His faithfulness, tell someone else about it. The trials we would never choose for ourselves may eventually become part of the testimony through which we encourage someone else to trust Him.
Application:
- Spend time remembering specific examples of God’s faithfulness, both in Scripture and in your own life.
- When you are going through difficulty, ask God how He may be using the season to refine your faith and character.
- Do not assume that hardship means God has abandoned you; remember that He can bring His people through fire and water.
- Examine your heart for sin you are knowingly holding onto, and respond to God’s conviction with repentance.
- Share with someone what God has done in your life, allowing your testimony to point them toward Him.
- Praise God not only for removing difficulties, but also for His faithfulness while carrying you through them.
Closing Prayer:
Father, thank You for the many ways You have demonstrated Your faithfulness throughout Scripture and throughout my own life. When I pass through seasons of testing, help me to trust that You have not abandoned me. Use even difficult circumstances to refine my faith, remove what does not please You, and draw me closer to You. Help me remember what You have done so that I will trust You with what I am facing today. Give me opportunities and courage to tell others about Your goodness and faithfulness. Thank You for hearing my prayers and for never removing Your lovingkindness from me. In Yeshua’s name, Amen.
May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you.
John Golda
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