Psalm Chapter 106
Psalm 106 is the final psalm in Book 4. The main theme of this historical psalm is God’s steadfast love despite Israel’s unfaithfulness and rebellion.
Praise be to God!
Verses 1 to 5 serve as the introduction of this psalm. Like the three psalms preceding it, Psalm 106 begins (and ends) by praising God in verses 1 to 2.
The Psalmist then asks God to remember him when He shows favour to His people in verses 4 and 5. The Psalmist esteems being part of God’s chosen people and having a share in His inheritance, as he knows that the people of God will be blessed and glorious.
1. A forgetful and rebellious people; A faithful and loving God
Verses 6 to 46 outline the history of rebellion of the people of God, starting with the events at the Red Sea (v.6-12), followed by the many rebellions during the Exodus journey (v.13-33), and finally the people’s apostasy in the Promised Land that God had given to them (v.34-46).
The Israelites forgot the works of God in Egypt (v.7), and rebelled by the Red Sea. Although they sang His praises after seeing His deliverance at the Red Sea (v.12), they soon forgot His works and tested God with their many desires and lusts (v.14-15), even building a golden calf (v.21)! The forgetfulness of the people caused them to lack faith in His promise and despise the Promised Land (v.24). They disobeyed God and rebelled against Him by worshipping idols (v.24-29, 32-33).
After entering the Promised Land (v.34-46), they mixed with the nations and learnt from them (v.35), worshipping the idols of Canaan (v.36) and even sacrificing their children to them (v.37-38)! The people of God behaved like the foreign nations around them and played the harlot with their gods (v.39). Ironically, it would later be these nations who oppressed and subjected them (v.40-42).
However, despite how rebellious His people were, God remained faithful to His covenant with them. From the Red Sea crossing to the Exile, God regarded their afflictions and constantly saved them (v.8-11, 43-46). Despite how many times His people broke His heart, He still remembered His covenant and was merciful to His people.
How about us today? How many times has God helped and guided us in our lives? How many times has God comforted us when we cry out to Him in agony? Like the Israelites, we easily forget how God has worked greatly in our lives. We forget how God has previously saved and delivered us, especially when life goes on smoothly. We often doubt and rebel against Him; We frequently crave and desire. We have many spiritual idols that we place over God – we chase our ambitions and satisfy ourselves in this world, leaving our faith as a secondary pursuit.
2. Standing in the breach
This psalm records of two people who interceded and intervened to save God’s people from His destruction. Only a few months after God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, the Israelites made a golden calf to worship, forgetting how God had saved them (v.19-22). God was angry and was going to destroy them, but verse 23 tells us that Moses intervened. Moses prayed and God turned away His wrath.
The second incident happened nearly 40 years later, when Israel began to whore with the daughters of Moab and yoked himself to Baal of Peor (Num 25). When Phinehas saw one of the Simeonite chiefs bringing a Midianite woman to his family in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation, Phinehas was stirred up to act. How could someone be so defiant and sin so openly, while the rest of the congregation Israel were weeping over the plague punishing them for their sins? Phinehas took a spear and pierced both the man and the Midianite woman, putting an end to the plague. God praised Phinehas, making a covenant of peace with him and his descendants because he was jealous for God and made atonement for the people of Israel (Num 25:12-13).
Interestingly, Ezekiel 22:30-31 records the opposite situation. Before the captivity of Judah, God sought for someone among the people who would stand in the breach before Him for the land, that God should not destroy the land, but God found no one. Eventually, Judah was taken captive by the Babylonians. Today, do we have the moral courage to stand up for God and for what is right? Are we disgusted by the sin and filth in ourselves and among His people, or have we grown indifferent to them?
3. Have mercy on us again
After recounting God’s steadfast love and faithfulness despite His people’s stubbornness and rebellion, the Psalmist concludes by calling out to God to save them once more and gather them from among the nations. Similar to how Moses and Phinehas intervened and stood before God on behalf of the people, the Psalmist confesses the people’s sins in verse 6 and asks God to deliver and save them in verse 47.
This psalm was probably written during the exile when the Israelites were scattered away from the Promised Land and had no place to worship God. Yet, in verse 48 (just like in verses 1 and 2), the psalmist still praises God! Even though the psalmist was in exile and sought God’s salvation, recounting God’s steadfast love and faithfulness to His people in time past gave him the strength to be able to praise Him even in times of adversity.
As we face with hardships, let us continue to praise Him and remember His steadfast love to us in the past. Let us recount how He died for our sins and saved us. When we give thanks and are grateful, remembering how blessed we are, we will receive peace and find strength to face whatever lies ahead. Moreover, by recalling how God has helped us in time past, we know and can be rest assured that God will deliver us again from our current struggles! God is faithful. Let us have faith in His steadfast love and wait for His deliverance.
Final Reflections
The 4 Psalms concluding Book 4 praise God for His faithfulness to His covenant and His steadfast love to His creation and to His people. Despite our rebellion and sin, God continues to love us due to the multitude of His mercies (v.45). He esteems His covenant with us, made during our baptism. In our lives, we often falter and sin against God. Yet, whenever we turn back to Him and repent, He forgives us. He continues to be there for us whenever we are afraid and turn to Him. He continues to provide for our needs and sustains us through each day.
Lamentations 3:22-23 tell us that the mercy and compassions of God are renewed every morning. If we take time to reflect on how much God has provided for us in our lives, we will find that, indeed, great is God’s love and faithfulness towards us! Recalling His love and faithfulness towards us despite how underserving we are can bring us great comfort amidst our sufferings. However, how have we responded to Him? How should we respond to such love?
Reading of God’s steadfast love to us ought to move and motivate us to lead a life pleasing in His sight and to stop rebelling against Him. Like the Psalmist in verses 4-5, we ought to desire to have a part in the future His has for His people. This means to strive to keep ourselves in His love and grace, that we may have a share in His inheritance. Let us strive to lead a righteous life at all times (v.3) and always put Him first in our lives, that we may preserve ourselves in the great steadfast love of our Lord.