Welcome to Day 2625 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2625 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 66:8-15 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2625 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2625 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. In today’s Wisdom Nugget, we’re continuing our exploration of Psalm 66 in the New Living Translation, picking up where we left off and delving into verses 8 through 15. In our last trek, we heard the psalmist’s exhilarating call for all the earth to shout joyful praises to God, acknowledging His awesome deeds and universal power. Now, the focus shifts slightly, moving from the broad scope of God’s global sovereignty to a more intimate look at His relationship with His people – how He preserves, tests, and ultimately delivers them. These verses speak to the sometimes challenging, yet always purposeful, path that God leads us on. They offer a perspective that would have resonated deeply with the Israelites, a nation whose history was a vivid tapestry of miraculous preservation and refining trials. As we journey through this passage, let’s consider what it meant to them, and what it means for us today on our own personal and collective wisdom treks. Let’s read Psalm 66, verses 8 through 12: (Reads Psalm 66:8-12 NLT) Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises. For he keeps us alive and prevents our feet from slipping. You, O God, have tested us, refining us like silver. You sent us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let our enemies trample over our heads. We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. Guthrie Chamberlain: The psalmist begins this section by echoing the universal call to praise from the opening verses, but with a slightly different emphasis: “Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises.” The word “bless” here implies a deep sense of reverence and thankfulness, acknowledging God as the source of all goodness. It’s a call for a vocal, audible expression of this blessing – not a silent gratitude, but a declared praise that can be heard by others. The reason for this renewed call to praise is deeply personal and communal for the people of God: “For he keeps us alive and prevents our feet from slipping.” In the ancient world, life was often precarious. The threat of disease, famine, war, and natural disaster was ever-present. To be kept alive, to have one’s “soul in life” (as some translations render the Hebrew), was a profound blessing worthy of continuous praise. The imagery of “preventing our feet from slipping” speaks to God’s protection from stumbling, falling, or being utterly overthrown by the dangers that surrounded them. Think of trekking on a narrow, treacherous mountain path – one wrong step could be disastrous. The psalmist is praising God for being the sure ground beneath their feet, their stability in a shaky world. Then comes a remarkable and perhaps, to our modern ears, a challenging declaration: “You, O God, have tested us, refining us like silver.” This isn’t the voice of someone complaining about hardship; it’s the voice of someone who
