Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth! Sing about the glory of his name! Tell the world how glorious he is. Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Your enemies cringe before your mighty power. Everything on earth will worship you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs.” Interlude Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles he performs for people! He made a dry path through the Red Sea, and his people went across on foot. There we rejoiced in him. For by his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations; let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises. Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling. You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver. You captured us in your net and laid the burden of slavery on our backs. Then you put a leader over us. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance. Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings to fulfill the vows I made to you— yes, the sacred vows that I made when I was in deep trouble. That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you— the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma, and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Interlude Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.
Psalms 66:1-20 NLT
This psalm is a call to worship. Shout praises! Sing God’s glory! Tell the world about Him! The author wants the world to know the powerful love of the Lord. He invites people to hear the stories of God’s might, so they can join in the songs of praise. The psalm has the structure of a good prayer or worship service, beginning with prayer, then hearing the works of the Lord, then moving to a response. The psalmist has made vows and will keep them; sin has been confessed. The psalm ends with an invitation to tell others what God has personally done in the author’s life.
Pay attention to the pattern shown here. Before we can tell others, we need to experience God’s love. Jesus told us to be His witnesses, and that means we must witness Jesus’ love and power before we can tell others. Worship is a response to what God has done. Evangelism comes after the experience. Before we can pour out God’s love to others, we must be filled with His love. Most of us move too quickly to obedience, action, or the practical. We say we don’t have time for this, but 15 minutes can save hours of frustration during the day. It is worth taking the time to fill up your tank; a car can’t go far without fuel.
How can you take time daily to get filled up with God’s love? This psalm is an example of praise! What would change in your life if you practiced praising God throughout the day?
