Catholic Commentary on Psalm 66

"Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me." (Psalm 66:16)

Shout to God

Psalm 66 opens with a universal summons to praise: Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. Say to God, How awesome are your deeds! The address is to all the earth, not just to Israel. The deeds of God are so magnificent that they deserve acknowledgment from every nation. The enemies will cringe before him, the whole earth will bow down and sing praise to his name.

The community then recalls the great acts of salvation history: the crossing of the Red Sea, the crossing of the Jordan on dry ground. These specific historical events ground the praise. The God who is praised is not a vague divine principle but the God who acted specifically in history, who divided the sea and led his people through. The Catechism roots all Christian prayer in this same historical specificity: we pray to a God who has acted, whose actions can be named and recalled (CCC 2568).

The Refining of the Soul

The middle of the psalm is a meditation on trial: For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. The trial is real and it is described as God's doing: you tested us, you refined us. The Catechism acknowledges that suffering can be a divine pedagogy, a purification that prepares the soul for the abundance that follows (CCC 1508). Fire and water and the place of abundance: this is the pattern of purification and blessing.

Personal Testimony

Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. The communal praise becomes personal testimony. What God has done in history he has also done for me, individually, in my specific life. The invitation to come and hear is the invitation that every believer can extend: come and let me tell you what he has done for me. The personal testimony is the most accessible form of evangelization and the most powerful.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, what has God done for you? Not in general, but specifically, in your life, in this year, in this difficulty? Name it. Then extend the invitation of Psalm 66: come and hear. Tell someone today. The testimony of what God has done for you is the beginning of their faith.

Prayer

How awesome are your deeds, O God! You tested us and refined us and brought us to a place of abundance. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

66
Make a Joyful Noise
(Psalms 100:1–5)
For the choirmaster. A song. A Psalm.
 
1 Make a joyful noise to God,
all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of His name;
make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!
So great is Your power
that Your enemies cower before You.
4 All the earth bows down to You;
they sing praise to You;
they sing praise to Your name.”
Selah
5 Come and see the works of God;
how awesome are His deeds toward mankind.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the waters on foot;
there we rejoiced in Him.
7 He rules forever by His power;
His eyes watch the nations.
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.
Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of His praise be heard.
9 He preserves our lives
and keeps our feet from slipping.
 
10 For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us like silver.
11 You led us into the net;
You laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but You brought us into abundance.
 
13 I will enter Your house with burnt offerings;
I will fulfill my vows to You—
14 the vows that my lips promised
and my mouth spoke in my distress.
15 I will offer You fatlings as burnt offerings,
with the fragrant smoke of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.
Selah
16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will declare what He has done for me.
17 I cried out to Him with my mouth
and praised Him with my tongue.* 66:17 Or and His praise was on my tongue
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God has surely heard;
He has attended to the sound of my prayer.
 
20 Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld from me His loving devotion!

*66:17 66:17 Or and His praise was on my tongue

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