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Psalm 68:32, 34 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the esrth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah….Ascribe strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.

Our God has overcome our enemies and established His people, the believers in Christ. Respond by singing praises unto God. The king of the universe is worthy of our praise and worship. Since the Lord God, Jesus Christ, is King and Savior of the kingdoms of earth, and everything is under His control, we may live out our lives singing praises unto God forever.

We have placed our trust in the Lord above all things. When we ascribe strength into the Lord we let go and let God. We simply obey the Lord, submit our will to Him, and enjoy His loving us and taking care of us. When we ascribe we acknowledge that Christ is our King and our God, and we believe that He is good to us and able to handle all things for our good. We can leave it in His strong and faithful hands. This is not natural or easy for us, but with God all things are possible. Ascribing comes from faith and strengthens faith. We pray to our father (who is kind and good) in heaven (who is strong enough to do it).

Psalm 68:3-4 But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.

With shouts of praise and sound of trumpets, David and his people took the Ark to Mt. Zion. It was time to praise God whose presence brings great joy. The Lord arose and drove away the enemy and the wicked perish at the presence of God. But the believers (the righteous) are glad and rejoice.

When we repent and believe and let Jesus into our heart to take up residence there and make His Presence known in our body, the temple. He drives away the enemies of our soul and brings only joy and peace. Fear, doubt, worry, anxiety, depression, and discouragement flee away, and joy rules. By the power of the Holy Spirit we invite Jesus into the heart to drive away fears and establish peace and love; and we reinvite every day to remind ourselves what we have and whose we are. The daily response is continual praise and exceeding rejoicing.

Psalm 67:3-5 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern govern the nations upon earth. Selah. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

The Psalmist asks God to bless us, so that through us His way will be known on earth and His saving health among all nations. The Savior of the nations shall come out of God’s chosen people, and His disciples will spread the Gospel of blessing to all the earth. Then the people, all the people, are commanded to respond with praise to God, be glad and sing for joy. Praise and song and joy is our response to hearing the Gospel of the Savior.

The exact working out of this prophecy could not be known, but the OT believers could believe God’s Promise. Believers in Christ will carry this salvation message to all nations, who will respond with praise and joy. We today are the people who have heard the Gospel, believed it, are glad, and praise the Lord every day and all the time. Life is truly good when all the people are praising the Lord.

Psalm 67:1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah.

The response of believers to their needs and to all life’s situations is to ask for mercy and blessing. We ask, not just hoping and wondering, but in faith, confident in the assurance that the Lord will grant mercy and blessing, because of Christ. We beg. We believe. God answers. We have what we ask for and what we need.

The Lord responds to our faith and prayer by smiling upon us. He “makes His face shine” and “lifts up His countenance” upon us. When He sees us, and He always does, He beams with joy over us as beloved children. Our Lord abundantly grants blessing and mercy (Jesus) as He responds to our needs and prayers. God’s mercy makes us happy, and, more surprisingly, we make Him happy. He smiles over us.

Psalm 66:18-20 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: but verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

The Psalmist is confidant in faith that God has heard his prayer, paid attention to it, and that He has not turned away the answer nor His mercy. If, however, if he had regarded iniquity in his heart, that is, cherished it and held on to sin, he knew the Lord would not hear him. But he has confessed his sin, repented, and let it go. In confession and faith, he received forgiveness. “But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.”

Instead of regarding sin in the heart, we respond to the promise of mercy by confessing both I am a sinner and that God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven me. Now having a clean heart, we come to Him in the prayer of faith, knowing that the Lord hears me. The response of confession, instead of holding it in, moves me to believe the gospel and receive grace. God hears my humble, believing prayer.

Psalm 66:15 I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats.

Offering and sacrificing to God is mistakenly seen as a way of getting God to do what you want. Some bargain with God. They might say, “If you help me now, I’ll obey you.” But then they forget their promise. That sounds like what the Psalmist could be saying here, but it’s just the opposite: we offer to God after we have received the blessing, the gift, the salvation, the answer.

As a response of thanks to God for His indescribable gift, unmerited favor, free mercy, awesome grace, answer to prayer, great salvation, and abundant blessing, we offer sacrifices of thanksgiving. It is not to obtain a blessing, but it is because we have already received it. We are so glad for the abundant riches God graced us with on account of Jesus that are excited to share God’s grace and blessing with others, even if it means sacrificing something to give it. We do not offer our time, money, and effort for the benefit of others in order to get something from God, but rather because we we have already gotten it.

Psalm 66:8 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard.

Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men (v. 5). The response to seeing and believing the great works of God in Creation and Salvation is to bless God (say good things about Him), and call on all to make the voice of His praise to be heard. Believing is seeing, and seeing the terrible love of God on the cross and the awesome power of God at the tomb calls forth blessing and praise as the natural response to the great power of God to save.

The Lord is terribly bad toward sin and evil, but terribly good toward the sinner. The Holy Spirit blesses us with faith through the Gospel to see. We believe. We see. We praise. Our New Life is full of blessing and praise.

Psalm 66:1-3 Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the honor of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.

Because God has done terrible works for us through the greatness of His power and the goodness of His love, we will respond by making a joyful noise, sing, praise, say, and worship the Lord. For He is good, His mercy endures forever, He has saved us, and made our enemies submit to Him.

Jesus Christ, in His life, death, and resurrection, has done it all for us and our salvation. And He sent the Holy Spirit to create faith in Christ. All that’s left for us to do is live lives of praise and worship everywhere and all the time. Even if we can’t sing well, we can make a joyful noise unto Him, say good things to God, and worship and praise God in our hearts all day long.

It is a victory song in our hearts and on our lips, for He has defeated all of our enemies decisively and forever. Everything will submit to God one day. Praise Jesus!

Psalm 65:4 Blessed is the man whom thou chooses, and cause the to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

The person whom God chooses is blessed, for He causes him to approach God and dwell in His Presence. There we will be satisfied with His goodness, kindness, and faithful love. The outcome of God, in love, sending His Son to die for us and then to live in us is that we may come to God at any time and live in His presence (courts). There, in the temple of God, which is our body, we will be satisfied with His goodness and mercy. Nothing can be more fulfilling than God living His life in us.

The Holy Spirit has brought us to Christ who brings us into the presence of God. He lives in us, dwells in His temple, and there He meets us to answer our prayers, to solve our problems, to fill our needs, to deliver us from evil, and to love us with unlimited, unconditional, and everlasting love. Life is good!

Psalm 64:10 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

The believer is accounted righteous because of faith in Jesus. Therefore, he responds to this work of Christ by being glad and rejoicing in the Lord. Joy is the fruit of the Spirit, and such gladness characterizes the life of the Christian. And no matter what happens he maintains a joyful spirit, for he trusts in Him for all things.

The Lord grants an upright heart, and because of that imputed righteousness we glory in the Lord. To glory is to boast in the cross of Christ and brag on God about how great and good He is. To glory is to live in God’s reflected glory, which we enjoy by grace through faith. The glory and kindness of God is reflected in us and comes out through us. God is always good, and we glory in that truth.