Single lesson
Psalm 66: Make a Joyful Noise
Psalms 66:1–20
Psalm 66 begins with a call for all the earth to praise God, remembers God’s mighty deeds, speaks about testing and rescue for ‘us’, and ends with one person thanking God for hearing prayer.
Before you teach
This psalm is a prayer-poem that speaks both to God and to other people. It opens with commands to shout, sing and worship, then says, ‘Come, and see God’s deeds’. Later it speaks about testing and rescue, and finishes with one worshipper telling what God has done for his soul.
Students will identify the movement of Psalm 66 from public praise, to God’s deeds, to testing and rescue, to vows and offerings, to personal testimony about prayer.
Welcome: Hear the opening call to praise
4 minSay the title and ask children what a joyful shout sounds like. Read verses 1 to 4 aloud with expression. Point out the action words: shout, sing, offer praise, tell God, and worship. Explain that the psalm begins by calling all the earth to honour God’s name and awesome deeds.
Psalms 66:1, Psalms 66:2, Psalms 66:3, Psalms 66:4
Read and explain: Map the poem’s movement
7 minShow the poem’s order with verse markers. In verses 1 to 4, all the earth is called to praise. In verses 5 to 7, the psalm says, ‘Come, and see God’s deeds’. In verses 8 to 12, ‘us’ and ‘our’ describe testing and rescue. In verses 13 to 20, one person speaks as ‘I’.
Psalms 66:1, Psalms 66:4, Psalms 66:5, Psalms 66:7, Psalms 66:8, Psalms 66:12, Psalms 66:13, Psalms 66:20
Discuss: Deeds, testing and rescue
6 minRead verses 5 to 12. Notice the pictures in the poem: sea turned to dry land, a river crossed on foot, silver being refined, prison, burdens, fire and water. Explain that the group speaking says God tested ‘us’, yet also says, ‘you brought us to the place of abundance’.
Psalms 66:5, Psalms 66:6, Psalms 66:10, Psalms 66:11, Psalms 66:12
Make and respond: Vows, offerings and prayer card
8 minRead verses 13 to 20. Explain simply that the speaker says, ‘I will come into your temple’, bring burnt offerings, and pay vows promised in distress. That means he plans a real act of worship after calling to God in trouble. Also note verse 18, where he says cherishing sin in his heart would block this prayer.
Psalms 66:13, Psalms 66:14, Psalms 66:15, Psalms 66:17, Psalms 66:18, Psalms 66:19
Closing: God listened
5 minFinish by reading verses 19 and 20 together. Review the poem’s movement: praise from all the earth, God’s deeds remembered, testing and rescue for ‘us’, worship through vows and offerings, and one person’s testimony that God heard prayer. Invite each child to name one image or one line they noticed.
Psalms 66:19, Psalms 66:20, Psalms 66:1, Psalms 66:5, Psalms 66:10, Psalms 66:13, Psalms 66:16
Questions to explore
How does Psalm 66 move from the many to the one?
Trace the speakers with the verse numbers: all the earth in 66:1-4, ‘us’ and ‘our’ in 66:8-12, and ‘I’ in 66:13-20.
Psalms 66:1, Psalms 66:8, Psalms 66:9, Psalms 66:13, Psalms 66:16
What pictures does the psalm use to describe trouble and rescue?
Look for the sea and river, then the testing images of refined silver, prison, burden, fire and water, and finally being brought to abundance.
Psalms 66:6, Psalms 66:10, Psalms 66:11, Psalms 66:12
What does the speaker say about worship and prayer near the end of the psalm?
Notice the temple, burnt offerings and vows in 66:13-15, the cry to God in 66:17, the warning about cherishing sin in 66:18, and the confidence that God listened in 66:19-20.
Psalms 66:13, Psalms 66:14, Psalms 66:15, Psalms 66:17, Psalms 66:18, Psalms 66:19, Psalms 66:20
Make, think or respond
Psalm 66 Image and Prayer Card
What you’ll need
- paper or card
- pencils or textas
- Bible or printed verses
- optional coloured pencils or crayons
Try it together
- Fold a sheet in half, or divide it into two sections.
- Choose one image from Psalm 66, such as the whole earth praising, dry land through the sea, fire and water, or praying lips, and draw it on one side.
- On the other side, copy a short line from the psalm that matches the image, or write a brief prayer of praise using the psalm’s words.
- Share the card with a partner and explain where your picture fits in the psalm’s movement.
This activity helps children notice the psalm’s images and follow its movement from praise, to remembered deeds, to testing, to worship and thankful prayer.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, offer two or three image choices from the psalm and let them copy only a few key words such as ‘Praise our God’ or ‘God has listened’.
- For older or more confident children, ask them to label their card with the five parts of the psalm using verse numbers: 66:1-4, 66:5-7, 66:8-12, 66:13-15, 66:16-20.
An optional closing prayer
‘God, we praise you for your great deeds. Help us understand this psalm, speak truthfully to you, and thank you for hearing prayer.’
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Psalms 66
1 Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
2 Sing to the glory of his name! Offer glory and praise!
3 Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds! Through the greatness of your power, your enemies submit themselves to you.
4 All the earth will worship you, and will sing to you; they will sing to your name.” Selah.
5 Come, and see God’s deeds— awesome work on behalf of the children of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land. They went through the river on foot. There, we rejoiced in him.
7 He rules by his might forever. His eyes watch the nations. Don’t let the rebellious rise up against him. Selah.
8 Praise our God, you peoples! Make the sound of his praise heard,
9 who preserves our life among the living, and doesn’t allow our feet to be moved.
10 For you, God, have tested us. You have refined us, as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into prison. You laid a burden on our backs.
12 You allowed men to ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water, but you brought us to the place of abundance.
13 I will come into your temple with burnt offerings. I will pay my vows to you,
14 which my lips promised, and my mouth spoke, when I was in distress.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fat animals, with the offering of rams, I will offer bulls with goats. Selah.
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God. I will declare what he has done for my soul.
17 I cried to him with my mouth. He was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I cherished sin in my heart, the Lord wouldn’t have listened.
19 But most certainly, God has listened. He has heard the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor his loving kindness from me.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.