Psalm 66

1 Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
2 Sing about the glory of his name! Tell the world how glorious he is.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
4 Everything on earth will worship you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs.”

Interlude

5 Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles he performs for people!
6 He made a dry path through the Red Sea, and his people went across on foot. There we rejoiced in him.
7 For by his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations; let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude
8 Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises.
9 Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling.
10 You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver.
11 You captured us in your net and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.
12 Then you put a leader over us. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance.
13 Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings to fulfill the vows I made to you—
14 yes, the sacred vows that I made when I was in deep trouble.
15 That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you— the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma, and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats.

Interlude

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer.
20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

There seems to be agreement that this psalm alludes to the deliverance of Israel by the Messiah. So, it is a future psalm referring to Christ.

To the point, what does our psalmist tell us about the coming of the Messiah that we can apply to our lives today...as we await our Messiah?

This psalm tells us what we should be doing...

• First, "Sing about the glory of his name! Tell the world how glorious he is." Much of the church has gone off message and believes our mission is to transform our culture. I don't see it. What I see is this: Our task is consistent with the Great Commission." We are to be bearers of the "Good News." If we allow God's Spirit to transform us...any cultural transformation that interests God will be accomplished. The problem is, we don't want to be transformed...we want to be transformers.
• Next, "Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! " My middle son drove to Dallas to visit his brother last weekend...it was Erik's birthday. Erik was really touched by the gesture and texted me Sunday. He said "Dad, Christian is so awesome!" And, Christian is. But that's not the point. the point is Erik recognized it and also expressed it. That 's what Christ desires in our lives. How long has it been since we have been so wrapped up in God that we couldn't help it. We just had to say... "Dude, you are so awesome!"
• Our psalmist makes a covenant with God and says "Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings to fulfill the vows I made to you—yes, the sacred vows that I made when I was in deep trouble." This is probably our greatest area of weakness...our inability of faithfully maintain our devotion to Christ. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. In spite of that, God wants us to remember the vows we have made to Him and work to fulfill them every day. Our relationship with God is not at it's best when we are lazy or undisciplined.

The psalm also infuses us with hope.

• In case we thinkthis great historical event will only impact those who "get it", we need to remember that "Everything on earth will worship (Him)." This means no injustice... anywhere. We won't have to be consumed and distracted by the wickedness that rages around us today. All of that will be gone and peace will prevail...the lion will lie down withthe lamb.
• And, just to make it extra amazing? "By his great power he rules forever." I'm old. It seem like I've lived a lifetime. Well, I guess it actually is a lifetime. Living it more than once might be more than I could stand...lots of highs and lows, you see. But...When Christ returns and puts things right...it will last forever. Now think about the possibilities of living your live again, 2, 5, 100 times...and more, but not making some of those embarrassing mistakes. I could do that!

Probably the most comforting part of this psalm, for me..."If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer." There is a wonderful old hymn..."Yesterday, today, forever Jesus is the same. All may change but Jesus never. Glory to His name." We need to think seriously about the message of this psalm: Nothing has changed. The same grace that saves us today is what brought David into relationship with God. The symmetry of the old and new is comforting to me.
But, you know...that is not comforting for everybody...
Live boldly out there today...