Psalm 66: Pray, Praise and Give Thanks

God is great and good, awesome and terrible, powerful and magnificent. He rules all things by His great power; by His power He makes all His enemies submit to Him. All the earth and all the rebellious nations must worship and praise Him. Therefore, I and we will praise and bless him loudly and joyfully.

In addition, I and we will also give Him thanks for the specific things he has done for us and for me. We praise him for who he is, but praise alone can tend to make God seem more distant, which is good; then we need to thank him to make God seem closer and more personal. The OT believer looks back to the Exodus Redemption Event in thanksgiving; the NT believer looks back to the Christ Redemption Event in thanksgiving. Then both OT and NT believers thank God for testing them through fire and water and bringing them to a place of abundance.

After that, the OT believer sacrifices and prays; the NT believer repents and prays (Repentance and faith is offering a sacrifice, remembering Baptism.) Thus I know I do not regard sin in my heart and God will hear my prayer. Bless God for His mercy.