What is the meaning of Psalm 66:15? I will offer You fatlings as burnt offerings • “Fatlings” signals giving the very best, the choicest animals (see Leviticus 3:9, “From the sacrifice of the peace offering he shall offer...the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails”). • A “burnt offering” was wholly consumed on the altar, symbolizing total dedication (Leviticus 1:9). The psalmist pledges unreserved surrender of all he is and has. • This echoes Abraham’s readiness to offer Isaac (Genesis 22:2–13) and foreshadows the call in Romans 12:1 to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” with the fragrant smoke of rams • Scripture often links the rising aroma of sacrifice with God’s pleasure: “The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma” (Genesis 8:21). • Rams were used for consecration (Exodus 29:18) and covenant confirmation (Genesis 22:13). Their “fragrant smoke” pictures worship that ascends and delights the Lord. • Christ fulfilled this imagery: “Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God” (Ephesians 5:2), showing that true worship reaches its climax in Him. I will offer bulls and goats • Bulls and goats were staples of sin and fellowship offerings (Leviticus 4:3; 9:3). Mentioning multiple species points to lavish, varied devotion—nothing held back. • The verse anticipates the insufficiency of animal blood alone, hinted at in Psalm 40:6 and stated plainly in Hebrews 10:4, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Such sacrifices pointed forward to the perfect substitute, Jesus (Hebrews 9:13-14). • Yet the psalmist’s heart attitude remains timeless: cheerful, generous giving (2 Corinthians 9:7) out of gratitude for deliverance (Psalm 66:8-12). Selah • This musical pause invites reflection. Psalm 46 and Psalm 62 use “Selah” the same way—stop, ponder, worship. • Here it urges the reader to consider the magnitude of wholehearted sacrifice and the God who receives it with pleasure (Malachi 1:11). summary Psalm 66:15 portrays a worshiper promising his very best—fatlings, rams, bulls, goats—offered entirely to God. The fragrant smoke pictures sacrifice rising to heaven, pleasing the Lord and pointing ahead to Christ, the ultimate fragrant offering. “Selah” calls us to pause and let the weight of that costly, joyous devotion shape our own wholehearted surrender today. |
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