Fire & Water

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by elizabethaudet

by elizabethaudet

Psalm 66:1-20

Not only is the Psalmist remembering God's Everlasting Kingship from the very beginning, but he is also looking forward to the future when God's Kingdom will come to fulfillment. However we can be grateful right now for the benefits of God's Kingdom Control. We need to praise God for the past, present and future, NOW!
   Thus we begin Psalm 66:1-4-(NKJV)-"Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!" (Not just Israel, but "all the earth"; Psalm 100:1; 87:3)
"Sing out the honor of His Name." (Psalm 96:1-2; Exodus 3:14-15)
"Make His Praise Glorious." (Exodus 15:2)
"Say to God, 'HOW AWESOME ARE YOUR WORKS ." (Because we trust in Him we can say as David in Psalm 18:1-2-"I will love You, O Lord, my Strength. The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress, in whom I will trust...")
"Through the greatness of Your Power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You."
(This submit means cringe)
"All the earth shall worship You" (worship here means bow down, or kneel. A humble attitude of acknowledgment of the Greater Power and Authority of God)
"And sing praises to You; they shall sing praises to Your Name." (This is a call for all earth inhabitants to worship God because of His Great Authority and Glory!)
   With this same PRAISE & WORSHIP thought in mind, the Psalmist says in Psalm 66:5-7-(TLB)-"Come and See the glorious things God has done":
1. "What marvelous miracles happen to His people!" (Exodus 14:30)
2. "He made the dry road through the sea for them." (Exodus 14:21)
3. "They went across on foot." (Exodus 14:22)
4. "What excitement and joy there was that day!" (Exodus 14:31-15:1-19, 20-21)
5. (Why?) "Because of His Great Power He rules forever." (Joshua 3:13-17)
6. "He watches every movement of the nations."
7. "O, Rebel land, He will deflate your pride." (God is ever Victorious to all who serve Him! Woe to those who do not!)
   The Praises continued in Psalm 66:8-12-(TEV)-"PRAISE OUR GOD, ALL NATIONS;" (NKJV says, "You people"; remember verses 1 and 4-"all the earth"; verse 5-"all nations"). So start praising Him who is worthy of all our praise. The reasons are evident!
"Let Your praise be heard ":
1. "He has kept us alive, and He has not allowed us to fall." (Psalm 103:17)
2. "You have put us to the test, God; as silver is purified by fire so You have tested us." (Psalm 17:3; 1 Peter 1:7)
3. "You let us fall into a trap and placed heavy burdens on our backs." (Lamentations 1:13)
4. "You have let our enemies trample us;" (Doormats for God!; Isaiah 51:23)
5. "We went through fire and flood," (Isaiah 43:2)
The results of these hard spots are:
   "But now You have brought us to a place of safety." Bad events only make us seek God more and turn us toward God and away from self and sinful enticements. (Psalm 66:12-(CEB)-"But You brought us out to freedom!")
   Now the Psalmist uses the I, I, I's in Psalm 66:13-15-(CEB)-"So I'll:
1. "Enter Your house with entirely burned offerings." (Psalms 100:4; 116:17, 19)
2. "Keep my PROMISES I made to You." (Psalm 116:14, 18; Ecclesiastes 5:4)
3. "The ones my lips uttered," (Psalm 40:1-3)
4. "The ones my mouth spoke when I was in deep trouble." (Psalm 61:5, 8)
5. "I will offer the best burned offerings to You" (Psalms 76:11; 116:17; The sacrifice of praise is our responsibility today!)
6. "Along with the smoke of sacrificed rams." (Our praises rise to God as a Sweet Savor from our Sacrifices of Praise.)
7. "I will offer both bulls and goats." (Bulls and rams were required for the burnt offerings but goats were the sin offerings. There were 5 offerings required of Israel: The bunt offering; the sin offering; the trespass offering; the meal offering; and the peace offering. We will not break them all down here as they are lengthy and may be covered in another book on the tabernacle later. We are dealing with the offerings as they are mentioned in Psalm 66 only now.)
   Let's continue in Psalm 66:16-19-(TEV). This is a sharp contrast between the listeners and non-listeners of God plus the effect on them for listening.
"Come and listen, all who honor God, and I will tell you what He has done for me.":
1. "I cried to Him for help;" (Psalm 121:2)
2. "I was ready to praise Him with songs." (Psalm 144:9; Isaiah 51:11)
3. "If I had ignored my sins, the Lord would not have listened to me." (Psalm 32:1-2; Isaiah [1:15-18)
4. "But God has indeed heard me;"
5. "He has listened to my prayer." (Psalm 116:1-2)
So we have a reason to rejoice and sing PRAISE & WORSHIP TO the Lord God of our Salvation! How much clearer can the Word of God be? We cry for help, we are ready to praise Him, we do no ignore our sins but repent and let God clean us up! Because He hears and listens when we pray, we are ready to sing.
   The Conclusion in Psalm 66:20 is evident in (NKJV)-BLESSED BE GOD!" (Since "I" is the theme of this section, I did not ignore my sins so YOU ANSWERED-HALLELUJAH!)
"WHO HAS NOT TURNED AWAY MY PRAYER, NOR HIS MERCY FROM ME!"
(Psalm 86:7; Isaiah 58:9; Job 13:22)
   YES, WE ARE HIS SO HE LISTENS TO US! THE ONLY PRAYER HE HEEDS OF A SINNER IS THE PRAYER OF REPENTANCE. CALL ON HIM IN REPENTANCE AND HE WILL HEAR AND ANSWER YOU. HE LOVES YOU AND CARES ABOUT YOU!

   Next time...