Psalm 66 · a question people ask

"If I cherished sin in my heart, the Lord wouldn’t have listened" (66:18). Does that mean God doesn't hear anyone who has sinned?

In the text

The verse speaks of the psalmist's own prayer, and it is an if. The next verse answers it: "But most certainly, God has listened. He has heard the voice of my prayer" (66:19). Cherished is ra'ah, the verb of 66:5's see (tap cherished), and the WEB's sin is aven (tap sin). The psalm doesn't say what the psalmist had done, or what was or wasn't held on to. Other Scripture speaks of sin and being heard in more than one way. Isaiah says, "Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save; nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear" (Isaiah 59:1), "But your iniquities have separated you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2). Proverbs says, "He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy" (Proverbs 28:13). And a psalm says, "I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity" (Psalm 32:5), and "you forgave the iniquity of my sin" (Psalm 32:5). These verses stand side by side in Scripture. These notes don't choose how they fit together, or say more about 66:18 than it says.

The verses

“Come, and see God’s deeds— awesome work on behalf of the children of men.”
Psalm 66:5 · World English Bible
“If I cherished sin in my heart, the Lord wouldn’t have listened. But most certainly, God has listened. He has heard the voice of my prayer.”
Psalm 66:18-19 · World English Bible
“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save; nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear. But your iniquities have separated you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”
Isaiah 59:1-2 · World English Bible
“He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
Proverbs 28:13 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 66

Psalm 66: Come and see, come and hear

Psalm 66 calls twice: "Come, and see" (66:5) and "Come and hear" (66:16). The same two verbs come back at the end: the WEB's cherished in "If I cherished sin in my heart" (66:18) is the see of 66:5, and both listeneds in 66:18-19 are the hear of 66:16.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions