Psalm 106:1-8, 13-14, 16, 19-20, 24-25, 28, 32-33, 35-37, 40-41, 44-48 NIV
Praise the Lord.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise?
Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right.
Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people,
come to my aid when you save them,
that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that I may share in the joy of your nation
and join your inheritance in giving praise.
We have sinned, even as our ancestors did;
we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
When our ancestors were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles;
they did not remember your many kindnesses,
and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.
But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.
In the desert they gave in to their craving;
in the wilderness they put God to the test.
In the camp they grew envious of Moses and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord .
At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
They exchanged their glorious God for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise.
They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the Lord.
They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord,
and trouble came to Moses because of them;
for they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
and rash words came from Moses’ lips.
They mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.
They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.
They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to false gods.
Therefore the Lord was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance.
He gave them into the hands of the nations, and their foes ruled over them.
Yet he took note of their distress when he heard their cry;
for their sake he remembered his covenant
and out of his great love he relented.
He caused all who held them captive to show them mercy.
Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 106 is a prayer of confession. It's a national prayer of confession. The psalm functions as a history lesson recounting the sins of God's people during the exodus and leading to the exile.
Here is a link to the full text of Psalm 106.
By remembering the sins of the past by their ancestors a light is shined upon their own failings. The psalmist acknowledges that his contemporaries living in exile have sinned against God too. The psalmist does not mention any of their own specific sins. He uses the sins of the freed slaves during the time of Moses as a way of pointing to their own.
Have you considered the communal nature of sin? We all have sin working within us. All fall short of the glory of God. (Rom 3:23) Sinfulness is something all humans at all places and in every generation hold in common.
That's why reading the Bible is so illuminating. It shines a light on the human condition. I've led bible studies and more than once heard someone comment that humans haven't changed much since biblical times. We're still struggling with the same weaknesses. We see ourselves in the sins of Israel. Israel's story helps us to understand our own.
What moves me about this psalm, as a sinner in need of salvation, is the continual contrasting of Israel's sinful failings and God's faithfulness. The people forget God's miracles in Egypt at the Red Sea and cry out in fear and mistrust as Pharaoh and his chariots bear down on them. But God splits the sea and rescued them.
They grumble in the desert craving meat. God feeds them quail but not without culling the populace a bit of the rabble. A plague takes many lives. Moses intercedes and the plague stops.
I could go on restating what the psalm says, but let's just focus on the point of the psalm. We all are in need of rescue from exile. Just as Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise, our sins estrange us from God. Separation from God is separation from life. Life is diminished in our exile from the Lifegiver.
And though we fail to be holy as God is holy, God continues to be faithful to us. Yes, we bear the consequences of our sin, but these invite us to repent and seek the Lord for salvation. God is always ready to hear our heartfelt confession and restore us to a right standing with Him. His mercy is immeasurable. His grace is amazing and abundant.
As the sins of the past shine a light on your own, be encouraged to repent. Confess your sins and seek redemption. The Lord is good. His love endures forever. He will show you mercy and lead you to places of refreshment.
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