Read
Psalm 66:12
You allowed men to ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water, but you brought us to the place of abundance.
10For you, God, have tested us. You have refined us, as silver is refined.
11You brought us into prison. You laid a burden on our backs.
12You allowed men to ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water, but you brought us to the place of abundance.
13I will come into your temple with burnt offerings. I will pay my vows to you,
14which my lips promised, and my mouth spoke, when I was in distress.
Notice
Men riding over people's heads makes the claim that God allowed their suffering hard to pass over, even as the song reaches abundance.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What would you want to say to God about the words “You allowed”?
Write on thisWhat, if anything, in your own experience helps you understand “the place of abundance”?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Isaiah 43:2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be …Both passages describe passing through water and fire, with God bringing his people through danger.
Isaiah 43:1–2But now the LORD who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel, says: “Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You …The psalm credits God with deliverance from suffering; Isaiah names God as Israel's creator and redeemer.
Exodus 3:2The LORD’s angel appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the middle of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not …Fire appears in both passages: the people pass through it in the psalm, while the bush burns without being consumed.
Isaiah 51:23I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to your soul, ‘Bow down, that we may walk over you;’ and you have laid your back as the …Both passages portray oppression as people being walked or ridden over, naming the humiliation inflicted by others.
James 5:11Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of …The psalm recounts suffering followed by God's provision; James recalls Job's endurance and the Lord's compassion in the outcome.
Psalm 40:2–3He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.Both psalms credit God with bringing people out of distress into a changed place: abundance here, firm ground in Psalm 40.
1 Thessalonians 3:3–4that no one would be moved by these afflictions. For you know that we are appointed to this task.Both passages speak of affliction within God's purposes, without treating faith as protection from hardship.
Job 36:16Yes, he would have allured you out of distress, into a wide place, where there is no restriction. That which is set on your table would be full of fatness.The psalm recounts God bringing people into abundance; Elihu speaks to Job of relief from distress and a plentiful table.
Acts 14:22strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must enter into God’s Kingdom.Both passages describe passing through affliction, though Acts names God's Kingdom as the destination and the psalm names abundance.
Revelation 7:14–17I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great suffering. They washed their robes and made them white in the Lamb’s …Both passages describe a people who have come through suffering; Revelation also names the Lamb's blood.
Psalm 107:35–37He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs.Both passages describe God changing harsh conditions: Psalm 66 reaches abundance after suffering, while Psalm 107 describes dry land receiving water.
Isaiah 35:6–7Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing; for waters will break out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.Psalm 66 ends in abundance after danger; Isaiah describes water in the wilderness and bodies freed from affliction.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. gratitude. doubt.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
You need not make suffering sound gentle to speak of God's goodness. This song names oppression without disguise and credits God with bringing his people into abundance.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).