All My Praise

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, July 6th, 2025:
​Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

---

Psalm 66

R. Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!

Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise. Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!”

R. Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!

“All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name.” Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among the children of Adam.

R. Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!

He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There we rejoiced in him, who rules by his might forever.

R. Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!

Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.

R. Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

I have a confession. When I read psalms of praise and thanksgiving, I have trouble entering into prayer with them. I skim the words, making assumptions about what comes next. God is good. God is all powerful, steadfast, and loving. Yeah, yeah, I know all that. This is not a good disposition, and I am not proud of it. Skimming over God’s awesome deeds is a surefire route to ingratitude. So, I am grateful for the opportunity to take time with the psalm for this coming Sunday and allow it to sink into my heart. Albert Einstein once said that there are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. I don’t know about you, but I definitely choose the latter. 

In Psalm 66, an actual miracle is cited: 

He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot.

The Israelites were freed from slavery, only to be pursued again by the Egyptians because Pharoah had a change of heart. They came to the proverbial “end of the road,” with seemingly no place to go. Then God instructed Moses to lift up his staff and stretch his hand over the sea. I can’t even imagine what it must have felt like to witness the parting of the Red Sea. Perhaps a mix of fear, incredulity, and hopefulness? God never left His people – protecting them and providing for them every step of the way. He led them to safety and destroyed their enemies. Now that calls for some serious praise! Time to break out the tambourines and lyres and make a joyful noise to the Lord. 

Rejoicing doesn’t always have to follow a miracle of this magnitude. In fact, rejoicing doesn’t have to follow a specific event at all. We are called to praise God in good times and bad – not because of our current situation, but because of who He is. 

Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.

Nothing that happens in our world can ever change the fact that God sent His only son to conquer death, to save us from sin, and to make a way for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He has made a way for us to be in relationship with Him for eternity. That’s how much He loves us. And that deserves all my praise, all the time.

Lord, may I sing the glory of Your name my whole life long. 

(And Lord, please help me to not skim over the psalms anymore. Amen.)




Lisa Matheson

---