Psalm 66 - Thanksgiving Hymn to God

    [New International Version] Psalm 66 belongs to Book II of the Book of Psalms. The glory of God is raised to its peak. The Psalmist resorts to God's actions to praise his action and claim divine protection over all good men.

    The PS 66 belong to Book II of the book of PS composed of a collection of texts 150 arranged by 5 poetry books. The Book of Psalms, for its wisdom and basic principles of human action , is considered the heart of the Old Testament. Book II comprises the PS 42 the 72 . The PS 66 is divided into 20 verses. The Psalms are poems-prayers addressed to God, being the privileged way to address and speak to Him. These prayers represent human experiences and religious conscience . They portray the common man , with his faults, insecurities, fears and hopes and, even today, we can identify with the Psalmist and draw inspiration from these texts to pray and plead with God when we feel lost and anguished or to express our gratitude for some blessing received. "There are enemies or friends, there is life or death, health or illness, pain or joy and, most of the time, there are no changes or gradations. Words are like stones and poetry like boulders carved by chisel"; "The Psalms are a bit like mountain paths, simple, especially when walking on snow, but they lead to the peaks; they are paths toward the peaks of meeting the Lord." - Carlo Maria Martini, Cardinal of Milan

    Psalm 66 - Thanksgiving Hymn

    1  To the director. Song. Psalm . Shout to God, whole earth, 2   Sing the glory of his name, give him glory and praise! 3  Say to God, "How wonderful are your works! By your mighty power your enemies bow down to you. 4  All the land worships you and sings, sings hymns to your name." 5  Come and see the wonders of God, awesome wonders in behalf of human beings. 6 He  turned the sea to dry land, and they crossed the river on dry foot. So we rejoice in it. 7  The world governs from his eternal strength; His eyes are watching the people, so that the rebels do not rise up against Him. 8  Bless, O people, our God; let the voice of his praise resound. 9  It was He who kept our soul alive and did not let our feet slip. 10  Yea, Thou hast put us to the test, O God, and hast purified us as silver is purified. 11  You have made us fall into the trap, you have placed a heavy burden on our backs. 12  You let them ride on our heads, we passed through fire and water, but you brought us out to comfort. 13  I will come into your house with burnt offerings, I will fulfill the promises I made to you. 14  These are promises that my lips uttered, words of my mouth, when I was in distress. 15  I will offer you fat animals for a burnt offering; with the smoke of the sacrifices of rams, I will present young bulls and goats. 16  Come and hear, all you that fear God; I'm going to tell you what He did for me. 17  With my mouth I cried out for Him, and His praise was already on my tongue. 18  If I had seen evil in my heart, the Lord would not have listened to me. 19  Yet God has heard me, he has answered the cry of my supplication. 20  Blessed be God, who refused neither my prayer nor his mercy toward me.

    Meaning and interpretation

    The Psalm 66 is a collective prayer of thanksgiving . The wonders of God are glorified to the fullest extent (Verses 1-7). God is the guarantee against enemies and wrongdoers. Verse 6 refers to crossing the Red Sea and Jordan to enter the promised land and serves to recall and summarize for the Hebrews all the prodigious past that God provided for them. The metaphors used in Verses 10-12 are part of the frequent literary resources in the Bible to describe experiences of suffering and catastrophe . From verse 13 onwards, the text of the Psalm is proclaimed by one person despite speaking of themes that affect the entire community . According to experts, this character would be someone with the ability to continue to represent the common interests of the entire community, such as the king. The Psalms of Supplication are very present in the Book of Psalms. They speak of human frailty and the most basic feelings of your mortal condition. Times of peace and plenty contrast with war and individual or community destruction. The Psalmist pleads for God's help and asks him to end his situation of affliction , ending with the certainty of having been heard . In spiritual practice, the supplication and request to God reflects a lot the meaning of prayer, being the privileged way to establish contact and raise the voice to the Divine. In numerous Psalms, supplication seems to be the most immediate motivation and the greatest concern. When turning to God, the speaker / Psalmist finds tenderness, justice, compassion, reconciliation, purification, in short, peace itself. The narratives and feelings involved in these prayers are varied and basic; affect Humanity over the millennia, and are still current today. They reflect multiple interior , individual and collective experiences, and the relationship between people and peoples. They address topics such as the deadly threat of disease, persecution, aging, violence, war, betrayal, loneliness, enemy aggression and how these feelings alter consciousness we have of ourselves, of our relationship with others and with God. Situations that prompt supplication can be bitter and desperate , but the Psalms generally express a state of mind of trust and end in thanksgiving . The Psalmist cries out to God for his help and forgiveness in a profound expression of limitless trust in divine compassion and justice. Even the cry of the Psalmist is already a fighting speech, change will, of inner transformation, confidence and hope for a free future evil, the suffering and the wicked . The Psalms of Supplication they are classified as individual supplication and collective supplication. Those of Individual Supplication comprise Psalm 3; 5-7; 13; 17; 22; 26; 27; 28; 31; 35; 39; 42-43; 51; 54-57; 59; 61; 63; 64; 69-71; 88; 102; 109; 120; 130; 140-143. and those of  Collective Supplication Ps 12; 44; 58; 60; 74; 80; 83; 85; 90; 94; 108; 123; 127.

    The Book of Psalms

    The Joy and Happiness of the Righteous in Communion with God

    The Psalms are prayer-poems addressed to God, being the privileged way to address and speak with Him. Depicting the common man , with his failures, insecurities, fears and hopes, we can still identify with the Psalmist and be inspired today in Psalms to make prayers and supplications to God in times of trouble or express our gratitude for some blessing received. The Psalms, despite being written in Antiquity, still move , sensitize , awaken feelings , inspire and enchant . In them, we can identify anguish and joy , deeply human feelings, praises, supplications, teachings of reflection on spiritual wisdom and prophetic words. Written for different situations , some Psalms are intimate, revealing the author's personal relationship with God; others provide guidelines and advice for life, others are compositions for specific liturgical events such as rituals and pilgrimages. The Book of Psalms is composed of a collection of 150 poetic texts and is divided into five parts, called Psalm Books or Booklets. Each Book closes with short hymns of praise to God . The division into five parts was considered to correspond to the five books of Moses and it is assumed that each passage in the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible, called Torah by the Jews) was read in parallel with the corresponding Psalm. Its main forms are lamentation , supplication , praise and gratitude .

    The Power of Prayer in Dialogue with the Divine

    The Psalms elevate our thoughts to the Divine and prayer is the power of the word . Prayer is the language of faith. Any thought, word or image addressed to God is called prayer . It is through it that we come into contact with our God within and, therefore, it is so powerful in transforming life . Prayer can produce miracles , turn dreams into reality, give us hope for change , harmony and peace with ourselves and the world. Each Psalm has an intention that helps us meditate and walk with our God . For many theologians, the Book of Psalms has a prophetic or messianic tone as its verses refer to the coming of Christ into the world of men to guide them through the uncertainty and doubts of Human existence. The prayer has the power to call the Spiritual Universe full mode, honest, sincere, conscious, for the purpose of spiritual self-protection, family protection and those who are dear to us, to have peace of mind, spiritual and physical, for prosperity and success, to protect health and relationships, to ward off negative energies and, above all, to connect us to something bigger than ourselves. From this peace , well-being, hope and goodness in front of everyone and everything result. The faith can change our lives. It gives us tranquility and spiritual strength to face challenges. It helps us to meditate on our mission in life and to create a balanced and healthy environment for ourselves and those we love. When you pray, fill your heart with love and determination . The Psalms will guide you on a path of peace and communion with the higher energy .