November 9, 2021 – Psalms 66-70

The psalmist gives instruction to all the earth: “Shout for joy to God, all the earth . . . All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name” (66:1,4). He wished, for the praise of God, that “your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” (67:2,3). David tells us his great desire: “May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, ‘God is great!’” (70:4)

All the earth, all the nations, all who seek the Lord . . . another reminder that God’s mercies extend far beyond merely biological Israel. Charles Spurgeon commented, “As showers which first fall upon the hills afterwards run down in streams into the valleys, so the blessing of the Most High comes upon the world through the church. We are blessed for the sake of others as well as ourselves. God deals in a way of mercy with his saints, and then they make that way know far and wide, and the Lord’s name is made famous in the earth.”

From all that dwell below the skies,

Let the Creator's praise arise;

Let the Redeemer's name be sung

Through ev’ry land by ev’ry tongue.

Eternal are Thy mercies Lord;

Eternal truth attends Thy Word;

Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore

Till suns shall rise and set no more. -- Isaac Watts (1719)