Psalms 66:3 · Clearspring

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Other translations

WEBBE

Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds! Through the greatness of your power, your enemies submit themselves to you.

BSB

Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies cower before You.

KJV

Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.

ASV

Say unto God, How terrible are thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.

BBE

Say to God, How greatly to be feared are your works! because of your great power your haters are forced to put themselves under your feet.

Original Hebrew

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אִמְרוּ 'im·ru say H559 לֵאלֹהִים le·lo·him to God H430 מַה־ mah- how H4100 נּוֹרָא no·ra' awesome H3372 מַעֲשֶׂיךָ ma·'a·sei·kha [are] deeds your H4639 בְּרֹב be·ro in [the] greatness of H7230 עֻזְּךָ 'u·ze·kha strength your H5797 יְכַחֲשׁוּ ye·kha·cha·shu they cringe H3584 לְךָ le·kha to you H9031 אֹיְבֶיךָ 'o·ye·vei·kha enemies your H341

The early church

"Say ye to God, How to be feared are Your works!" [Psalm 66:3]. Wherefore to be feared and not to be loved? Hear another voice of a Psalm: "Serve the Lord in fear, and exult unto Him with trembling." What means this? Hear the voice of the Apostle: "With fear," he says, "and trembling, work out your own salvation." [Philippians 2:12] Wherefore with fear and trembling? He has subjoined the reason: "for God it is that works in you both to will and to work according to good will." [Philippians 2:13] If therefore God works in you, by the Grace of God you work well, not by your strength. Therefore if you rejoice, fear also: lest perchance that which was given to a humble man be taken away from a proud one....Brethren, if against the Jews of old, cut off from the root of the Patriarchs, we ought not to exalt ourselves, but rather to fear and say to God, "How to be feared are Your works:" how much less ought we not to exalt ourselves against the fresh wounds of the cutting off! Before there had been cut off Jews, graffed in Gentiles; from the very graft there have been cut off heretics; but neither against them ought we to exalt ourselves; lest perchance he deserve to be cut off, that delights to revile them that are cut off. My brethren, a bishop's voice, however unworthy, has sounded to you: we pray you to beware, whosoever you are in the Church, do not revile them that are not within; but pray ye rather, that they too may be within. For God is able again to graft them in. [Romans 11:23] Of the very Jews the Apostle said this, and it was done in their case. The Lord rose again, and many believed: they perceived not when they crucified, nevertheless afterwards they believed in Him, and there was forgiven them so great a transgression. The shedding of the Lord's blood was forgiven the manslayers, not to say, God-slayers: "for if they had known, the Lord of glory they never would have crucified." [1 Corinthians 2:8] Now to the manslayers has been forgiven the shedding of the blood of Him innocent: and that same blood which through madness they shed, through grace they have drunk....O fullness of Gentiles, say thou to God, "How to be feared are Your works!" and so rejoice thou as that you may fear, be not exalted above the branches cut off.

Augustine of Hippo · d. 430Expositions on the Psalms

Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 1–7

The holy church throughout all the world lifts up her voice, to laud that Name which is above every name, to make the praise of Jesus glorious, both by word and deed; that others may be led to glorify him also. But nothing can bring men to do this aright, unless his effectual grace create their hearts anew unto holiness; and in the redemption by the death of Christ, and the glorious deliverances it effects, are more wondrous works than Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage.

Read Matthew Henry on Psalm 66 →

Spurgeon · Verse 3

Say unto God. Turn all your praises to him. Devotion, unless it be resolutely directed to the Lord, is no better than whistling to the wind. How terrible art thou in thy works. The mind is usually first arrested by those attributes which cause fear and trembling; and, even when the heart has come to love God, and rest in him, there is an increase of worship when the soul is awed by an extraordinary display of the more dreadful of the divine characteristics. Looking upon the convulsions which have shaken continents, the hurricanes which have devastated nations, the plagues which have desolated cities, and other great and amazing displays of divine working, men may well say: How terrible art thou in thy works. Till we see God in Christ, the terrible predominates in all our apprehensions of him. Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee; but, as the Hebrew clearly intimates, it will be a forced and false submission. Power brings a man to his knee, but love alone wins his heart. Pharaoh said he would let Israel go, but he lied unto God; he submitted in word but not in deed. Tens of thousands, both in earth and hell, are rendering this constrained homage to the Almighty; they only submit because they cannot do otherwise; it is not their loyalty, but his power, which keeps them subjects of his boundless dominion.

Read Spurgeon on Psalm 66 →

Cross-references

19

Topics

God