Psalm 66 – As a Nation's Salvation Becomes One's Own

TEXT (Hebrew text at the end)

1. For the leader. A song. A psalm.

Shout with joy to God, all the earth;

2. 1-sing out-1 the glory of His name, make His praise glorious2.

3. Say to God, ‘‘How awesome are Your deeds! Before Your great strength, Your enemies cower3;

4. all the earth bows to You, they sing out to You; they sing out Your name.”      Selah.

5. Come see the miracles4 of God, Awesome-of-feats, for humans. 

6. He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the waters5 on foot. There we rejoiced in Him.

7. Ruler forever by His might; His eyes survey the nations; let the rebellious not exalt themselves.      Selah.

8. O peoples, bless our God; cause the sound of His praise to be heard,

9. He Who has animated6 our life, and has not let our foot slip.

10. Indeed, You have tested us, O God, refined us as silver is refined.

11. You caused us to enter a net, set fetters7 round our loins.

12. You have let men ride over our heads; we entered fire and water. But You have brought us out to abundance.

13. I will enter Your house with burnt offerings, I will pay You my vows,

14. that my lips spoke, that my mouth uttered when I was in distress.

15. I will offer up fat offerings to You, with the burnt sacrifice of rams; doing (sacrifice of) bulls and goats.      Selah.

16. Come hear as I tell, all you who fear God, what He did for my life.

17. To Him I called out with my mouth, exaltation on8 my tongue.

18. Had I seen iniquity in my heart, my Lord would not hear.

19. But God did hear; He listened to the sound of my prayer.

20. Blessed be God who did not turn away my prayer or His loving-kindness from me.

Notes

1. “Sing out,” i.e., as a hymn, as in verse 4. Same root as “psalm” in verse 1.

2. Literally, "make His praise glory."

3. Alternatively, “dissemble” (i.e., feign obeisance).

4. That is, wondrous acts (cf. Ps. 46:9).

5. Literally, “river,” which can also mean ocean current.

6. Literally, "set" (same verb as v. 11) our souls among the living.

7. From the root meaning “oppressive.”

8. Hebrew reads “under.”

　

COMMENTARY

In Psalm 66, the psalmist moves radically from national to personal salvation, maintaining throughout an instructive tone, addressing others when not speaking to God directly. At one time scholars tended to see the psalm as an amalgam of two, one national (through v. 12) and one personal. That approach has been largely and rightly abandoned, as neither half is complete if independent. Moreover, several techniques bind the two sections. These include the bridging term “enter” (vv. 12, 13), an assonance based on the Hebrew letter bet (also vv. 12 and 13), the continuous address to God, (vv. 10–15), and such echoes as “come see” and “come hear” (vv. 5, 16). Thus the connection between the national and personal salvations is firm, one of the fascinating aspects of the psalm, to which I return below.

The division of the psalm is not very clear. Above I divide according to party addressed, but issues and word repetitions span all sections. The only word repetitions exclusive to a section are “name,” “sing out,” “all the earth,” and “glory” in the first section (the first two frame that section); “offer” in the fourth; and “prayer” in the last.

I first clarify a number of images and then discuss in turn the basing of faith in the Exodus, the striking claim that suffering is part of God’s plan, the relation between the speaker and the audience, and the connection between the individual and the nation.

Clarification of Images

“Refined us as silver is refined” (v. 10) – Silver is refined by being subjected to extreme heat. Refining silver is used as a metaphor for testing elsewhere (see Zech. 13:9); and “refined” alone is often used for God testing of people (e.g., Jer. 9:7; Ps. 17:3).

“Ride over our heads” (v. 12) – Some take this to be a general metaphor for defeat. However, it may have a more physical origin. Ancient monuments picture conquerors driving chariots across prostrate enemies.

“Entered fire and water” (v. 12) – This may have been a common turn of speech (cf. Isa. 43:2, where God protects Israel even when they go through water or fire). There are several possible specific references: purification [which involved fire and water for utensils (Num. 31:23)]; death through burning or drowning; and/or travel routes threatened by intense temperatures or raging rivers.

Verse 15 – This list of sacrifices is simply enormous, far beyond that ever required of any individual. Since there is mention of a (voluntary) vow, it could have been any amount, of course, though one would have to be remarkably rich to be able to afford such an offering. If hyperbole, the list perhaps highlights the magnificence of God’s deliverance. (Alternatively, the individual could speak for the group, the number being a combination of individual sacrifices, but that is not to what seems to be described).

Egypt - The Seminal Experience

“He turned the sea into dry land” (v. 6) refers to the Exodus, one of many biblical indications that this was the seminal experience of salvation for the Israelites. The impression here is particularly immediate. This, in turn, recalls the reality of the event from verse 5: “Come see.” The Exodus is, as it were, visible to the audience! The act of deliverance is relived in every generation. (I caution that my translation, "We rejoiced in him," is based like many similar translations on a less common but nevertheless possible use of the imperfect mode for the past tense. NJPS awkwardly forces into the present; "Therefore we rejoice in Him.")

Scholars differ on the other references to salvation, which may or may not describe the Exodus. The “river” of verse 6 is either sea currents (and therefore again the Red Sea in the Exodus) or the Jordan River, which parted when Joshua entered the land forty years later. Verse 7 could be a general reference, or again, the Exodus. There is also some question as to verses 10 through 12.Although many interpreters see this as a reference to an event or situation near the time the psalm was written, some (e.g., Broyles) wonder whether it is another poetic description of the slavery in Egypt.

In any case, the Exodus, whether the first or repeatedly mentioned deliverance, is, as Schaefer terms it, “an over-arching plan of salvation.”

Tests of Life, Tests of Theology

Does the psalmist thank God for the test and trials of life? Unlike many other psalms, in which troubles are the basis of laments addressed to God, Psalm 66 seems to indicate that they serve a positive role.

Psalmists are not reluctant to attribute suffering to God (as here, vv. 10–12), but the emphasis in Psalm 66, through the verses preceding and following, is on God removing Israel from these difficulties. How does the speaker understand God’s actions vis-à-vis the suffering that took place in between?

The suffering, attributed to God, it is part of a “test” (v. 10). There is no indication that it is punishment or abandonment. It is seen to have a positive result, and is a refining process. Parallel uses of the term “refining” in the Bible can indicate a process either of trial or of purification. Which is meant here is not clear, although the bottom line is that the people are saved. If the implication is a purification process, allowing for salvation, this would be a groundbreaking contention within Psalms, and if verses 10–12 refer to Egypt, this would also be a unique biblical understanding of that suffering. [Joseph as an individual is said to have been purged by his imprisonment (Ps. 105:19).] (The term “smelting” appears several times as “testing,” common enough a metaphor to lead modern translations to simply use “test” in English.).

In any case, the question remains. Does the thanksgiving refer only to the escape or does it also refer to the suffering that leads to the positive results? (I prefer at all times to assume that if the reader can see both, then the author intended both to be there.)

We and They

The reader overhears Psalm 66, addressed, respectively, to all the earth, the Israelites (v. 6, “let us”), all peoples, God, and fearers of God. There are a variety of imperative verbs addressed to the audiences (mostly in the first half, but also in v. 16), and the use of testimony appears in both halves. Whereas any reader could associate with one or two of those addressees, the psalm as such is not written for one specific audience. The effect of this variety is inclusiveness. The opening grand call to praise God is also addressed to all the earth, as re-echoed in the third section (“peoples”) and possibly also reflected in “fearers of God” in the final section. (That term at times refers to Israel, but elsewhere refers specifically to non-Jewish devotees of God.) The consistent use of “God” or "Lord" and non-use of LORD, His proper name, also befits such an international emphasis.

If the psalm radically avoids ethnocentricity, however, its international bent should be understood in its own terms. Monotheism is reflected here in both aspects of its exclusivity: God’s rule is not restricted to one nation, but just as surely Israelite monotheism is the one true religion. Here one finds both ethnic equality and religious internationality. (It is not quite imperialism, for there is no hint of force.) In fact, the reference to Egypt serves to recall God’s victory over other gods. He is Awesome-of-feats above men, He surveys nations, and the rebellious dare not exalt themselves. Peoples should praise “our” God. (Other sections of the Bible reflect a broader acceptance of other religions; see, e.g., Deut. 4:19f.) Reading this psalm can be an opportunity to consider the relationship between monotheism and other religious systems.

We and I

From verse 13, the term “we” disappears, and “I” enters. In fact, the first-person singular appears at least once in the Hebrew in every verse thereafter (in total, eighteen times).

As noted above, the poet has presented a speaker who moves seamlessly from the plural to the singular. In a manner of speaking, the psalm flows from the broadest possible stage to the individual. The terms in the last section are indeed extremely personal.

The reader is left to ponder this progression. Having expansively praised God's national rescue, the speaker ends by incorporating it in his individual story and world outlook. It is a bold adoption. One notes that the ever-present audience is not dismissed, and even the final verse of praise assumes that someone hears it. That said, the last verse does not scan as poetry, drawing the attention of the audience to its (radically individual) content. The peoples were told to “bless” God (v. 8) and yet the “blessing” the speaker leaves them in the last verse is personalized and individual. In doing so, he has also included a demand for righteous behavior as a condition for God’s response (v. 18). Perhaps that message is better communicated on the individual, rather than on the communal, level, but the lasting impression of the psalm is that the speaker does not divide the two realms. It is a challenging portrait.

　

　

The author of these essays is Rabbi Benjamin Segal, former president of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem　and author of The Song of Songs: A Woman in Love (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2009). This material is copyright by the author, and may not be reproduced. If you are interested in using the texts for study groups, please be in direct contact with the author, at psalmblog@gmail.

HEBREW TEXT

(א) לַמְנַצֵּחַ שִׁיר מִזְמוֹר הָרִיעוּ לֵאלֹהִים כָּל הָאָרֶץ:

(ב) זַמְּרוּ כְבוֹד שְׁמוֹ שִׂימוּ כָבוֹד תְּהִלָּתוֹ:

(ג) אִמְרוּ לֵאלֹהִים מַה נּוֹרָא מַעֲשֶׂיךָ בְּרֹב עֻזְּךָ יְכַחֲשׁוּ לְךָ אֹיְבֶיךָ:

(ד) כָּל הָאָרֶץ יִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְךָ וִיזַמְּרוּ לָךְ יְזַמְּרוּ שִׁמְךָ סֶלָה:

(ה) לְכוּ וּרְאוּ מִפְעֲלוֹת אֱלֹהִים נוֹרָא עֲלִילָה עַל בְּנֵי אָדָם:

(ו) הָפַךְ יָם לְיַבָּשָׁה בַּנָּהָר יַעַבְרוּ בְרָגֶל שָׁם נִשְׂמְחָה בּוֹ:

(ז) מֹשֵׁל בִּגְבוּרָתוֹ עוֹלָם עֵינָיו בַּגּוֹיִם תִּצְפֶּינָה הַסּוֹרְרִים אַל ירימו {יָרוּמוּ} לָמוֹ סֶלָה:

(ח) בָּרְכוּ עַמִּים אֱלֹהֵינוּ וְהַשְׁמִיעוּ קוֹל תְּהִלָּתוֹ:

(ט) הַשָּׂם נַפְשֵׁנוּ בַּחַיִּים וְלֹא נָתַן לַמּוֹט רַגְלֵנוּ:

(י) כִּי בְחַנְתָּנוּ אֱלֹהִים צְרַפְתָּנוּ כִּצְרָף כָּסֶף:

(יא) הֲבֵאתָנוּ בַמְּצוּדָה שַׂמְתָּ מוּעָקָה בְמָתְנֵינוּ:

(יב) הִרְכַּבְתָּ אֱנוֹשׁ לְרֹאשֵׁנוּ בָּאנוּ בָאֵשׁ וּבַמַּיִם וַתּוֹצִיאֵנוּ לָרְוָיָה:

(יג) אָבוֹא בֵיתְךָ בְעוֹלוֹת אֲשַׁלֵּם לְךָ נְדָרָי:

(יד) אֲשֶׁר פָּצוּ שְׂפָתָי וְדִבֶּר פִּי בַּצַּר לִי:

(טו) עֹלוֹת מֵיחִים אַעֲלֶה לָּךְ עִם קְטֹרֶת אֵילִים אֶעֱשֶׂה בָקָר עִם עַתּוּדִים סֶלָה:

(טז) לְכוּ שִׁמְעוּ וַאֲסַפְּרָה כָּל יִרְאֵי אֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְנַפְשִׁי:

(יז) אֵלָיו פִּי קָרָאתִי וְרוֹמַם תַּחַת לְשׁוֹנִי:

(יח) אָוֶן אִם רָאִיתִי בְלִבִּי לֹא יִשְׁמַע אֲדֹנָי:

(יט) אָכֵן שָׁמַע אֱלֹהִים הִקְשִׁיב בְּקוֹל תְּפִלָּתִי:

(כ) בָּרוּךְ אֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא הֵסִיר תְּפִלָּתִי וְחַסְדּוֹ מֵאִתִּי: