The book of Psalms is where I always go when I need to draw close to the Lord. It is also my favorite place to see all the wonderful doctrines of Scripture actually applied to real-life situations. I found myself spending time in Psalm 66 recently, and I want to share that with you over the next couple of weeks before we tackle that challenging section in 1 Corinthians 5.

Psalm 66 was written for the purpose of a choir director leading the congregation of God in praise. The choir director calls all the earth to worship and gives three words of instruction for them to do toward God in worship: shout, sing, and say. The whole earth is to shout joyfully, sing of His glory, and say to Him, “How awesome are your works” (Psalm 66:1-3).

The reason behind this worldwide worship scene is the great display of God’s power in His deeds toward men (v. 5). The very thought of the One who created the heavens and the earth doing anything toward us or for us should greatly humble us. Isaiah the prophet spoke of all humanity when he said “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way,” (Isaiah 53:6a, NASB). For God to move toward us is a great testimony to the character of our God. He is certainly a God who is compassionate, gracious, and slow to anger.

But the choir director has one of God’s particular deeds in mind. He calls us to a particular place to come and see what God has done. He calls us to stand on the far shore of the Red Sea alongside over a million Israelites, stare out into the waters, and see the power of God.

If you have spent much time in the Bible, you know what you are looking at. God had just delivered His people out of bondage in Egypt through 10 incredible plagues. The Lord led them to the shores of the Red Sea, but Pharaoh and his army were pursuing closely behind. As they stood on the shoreline, the Lord told Moses to raise his staff. As he did, the Lord sent a wind that divided the sea, and the Israelites crossed over safely. In fact, they walked through the sea on “dry land,” as the Psalmist reminds us (Psalm 66:6). Their feet were not muddy nor wet as they crossed over to the far shore. And as they turned around to see their enemies pursuing, God closed the waters on top of the Egyptians, destroying Pharaoh and his entire army.

I am quite sure that they were absolutely awestruck at what God had done on their behalf. Can you imagine God working such a great deliverance for you?

Now the choir director says, “There let us rejoice in Him!” (v. 6b, NASB). All the earth is summoned to the shore to stand and look across the waters in order to see what God has done in His great power. Anyone can guess what happened next for Israel – worship erupted on those shores. In fact, Exodus 15 is one long worship song that they wrote just for that day.

The earth is called to respond in the very same way. “Bless our God, O peoples, and sound His praise abroad,” (v. 8, NASB). Hopefully you understand why. A God that is this awesome deserves our devotion and worship. However, not everyone will respond in worship, so the Psalmist gives a warning, “Let not the rebellious exalt themselves,” (v. 7b, NASB). As it turns out, the far shore of the Red Sea is not just a place that elicits the worship of God. It is also a place that reminds us of the terrible judgment of God. Thousands upon thousands of Egyptians died in those same waters. The Red Sea is a place of great worship for those delivered, but it is also a terrifying place of judgment for those who reject God. Hopefully a place like that reminds you of a place called Golgotha. There are many that sing His praises for the greatest deliverance of all that took place on that cross. But unfortunately, that same place is a reminder of the wrath of God poured out on all those who reject God’s Son, Jesus Christ.