God of All—of Many—of One
Psalm 66 starts with praise to the God of all creation (Psalm 66:1-7). It moves with intensity to praise the God who is faithful to His people (Psalm 66:8-12). The intensity grows. But it doesn’t stop there, the writer get personal, very personal. He shares his heart in praise and devotion (Psalm 66:13-15). Then the intensity of this writer goes to the next level. He invites all who fear the Lord to come and hear what the Lord has done for his soul (Psalm 66:16).
Note that the Psalmist does not invite people to come and hear what the Lord has done for his social life, or to his finances, or to make his life more comfortable or fun. As Christians we need to keep in mind that the Lord Jesus Christ came for our soul. To cleanse our soul and make it whole before the Holy and Just God. To reconcile us with the One who made us for His good pleasure.
This Psalm calls us to praise the God who creates galaxies, calls and chooses a people to be His own special people, AND … to the One who gets personal with each of his children. The Old Testament scholar–Derek Kidner, titles Psalm 66: “God of All—of Many—of One.” Perfect!
The dive goes deeper and more personal in the last four verses of the Psalm. We’ll dissect those next.