Psalm 66

“Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name. Make His praise glorious.” (Psalm 66:1–2, NKJV)

People get very excited at sporting events. We want our team to win, and we are not afraid to show it. When they score a touchdown, we shout about it!

When we see our God conquer forces of evil, when we see Him answer prayer, when we are overwhelmed with His goodness, should we not also shout about it? At least we ought to break forth in spontaneous praise and thanksgiving! This is the theme of Psalm 66. We could call it Route 66: joyfully and loudly praise the Lord!

On our last trip to Romania, we learned a new worship song that we later introduced to our church. It was so beautiful and powerful that many people talked about it after the service. Later I heard my wife singing it in our living room. But if we have the joy of the Lord in our hearts, then this should be our regular habit. Isn’t He always worthy of our praise? Shouldn’t we declare His mighty works and make His praise known before others? One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11). So why not start now?

But in this song of exuberant praise, the psalmist makes a sobering observation:

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” (Psalm 66:18, NKJV)

The LORD is enthroned in our praises (Psalm 22:3). But if we cherish sin in our hearts, rather than confessing and renouncing it, then God will not hear our praises or our prayers. We must first judge ourselves, and then the communication line will be opened.

So let us worship the LORD today in a joyful shout and song, and when we become aware of sin, let us promptly confess it, putting to death the very thing that put our Lord to death.