Come and Hear

Psalm 66, a song and a Psalm for the Chief Musician, does not name its author. It moves from the whole world to one person. It opens with a universal call: Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! All the earth will worship you. Then it invites the nations to look at history: Come, and see God's deeds. He turned the sea into dry land. They went through the river on foot.

The middle section reinterprets suffering. You have refined us, as silver is refined. You brought us into prison. You laid a burden on our backs. We went through fire and through water, but you brought us to the place of abundance. The hardships were real, but they were not pointless. Like a refiner, God used them to purify his people.

In the last section a single worshiper speaks. He brings offerings to pay the vows his lips promised when he was in distress. He also tells his testimony: Come and hear, all you who fear God. I will declare what he has done for my soul. Honest about sin, he notes that cherished sin would block prayer, but God has listened. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor his loving kindness from me.