Psalm 106 (Selected Verses)

1 Praise the Lord!
    O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures for ever.
2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,
    or declare all his praise?
3 Happy are those who observe justice,
    who do righteousness at all times….

6 Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
    we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.
7 Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
    did not consider your wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
    but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
    so that he might make known his mighty power….
12 Then they believed his words;
    they sang his praise.

13 But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel….
19 They made a calf at Horeb and worshipped a cast image.
20 They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.

24 Then they despised the pleasant land,
    having no faith in his promise.
25 They grumbled in their tents,
    and did not obey the voice of the Lord….

40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
    and he abhorred his heritage;
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
    but they were rebellious in their purposes,
    and were brought low through their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless, he regarded their distress
    when he heard their cry.

45 For their sake he remembered his covenant,
    and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
46 He caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive.

47 Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.

48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
And let all the people say, ‘Amen.’ Praise the Lord!

The reading has been shortened due to the length of the psalm.

Psalm 104 provided a description of why God should be praised for God’s work in creation. Psalm 105 provided an account of why the faithful God should be praised for God’s work in keeping God’s promises.

Now Psalm 106 describes the ways in which the people of Israel disobeyed, grumbled, turned their backs on, and disrespected God. The ways in which they talked down the good God did for them, the ways in which they rejected God’s hopes that they would choose to follow his pattern in response to God’s acts of grace and love.

In this the people of Israel were like all human beings who in the face of God’s love, care, grace and goodness, choose again and again to turn our backs in God, choose to disrespect God, choose to downplay the good God has done. All of this in an effort to justify our not obeying God’s pattern in our lives.

The psalm ends with the only possible answer – a cry to God for mercy from the judgement that is so richly deserved. A cry for salvation from the punishment that should be meted out on us. A cry for mercy, even as it affirms anew that God is worthy of our praise even as we are disciplined. A shout of praise, blessing God, even as we face the difficult consequences of our failure to follow God.

God is the Creator and God is the faithful Covenant-keeper – and he is worthy of our praise, no matter what our circumstance may be.

PRAYER:

O Lord, we confess that we have disrespected you – we have minimized your gifts to us, we have presumed on your forgiveness, and we have chosen to ignore the ways you envisioned for people to live. We are unworthy of your grace, mercy, and love. But without them we are lost and without hope. We plead for mercy even as we praise your might, majesty, and justice. In Jesus’ name. Amen.      

Psalm 105 (Selected verses)

1 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
    make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.
3 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice….

7 He is the Lord our God;
    his judgements are in all the earth.
8 He is mindful of his covenant for ever,
    of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
    his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as your portion for an inheritance.’

12 When they were few in number,
    of little account, and strangers in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them…

16 When he summoned famine against the land,
    and broke every staff of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
    Joseph, who was sold as a slave….

23 Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham….

26 He sent his servant Moses,
    and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them,
    and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
    they rebelled against his words….
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
    the first issue of all their strength.

37 Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
    and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
    for dread of them had fallen upon it….
42 For he remembered his holy promise,
    and Abraham, his servant.

43 So he brought his people out with joy,
    his chosen ones with singing….
45 that they might keep his statutes
    and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!

The reading has been shortened due to the length of the psalm.

This psalm of praise builds on Psalm 104 – which praised God for making creation and providing for creation – this psalm (105) celebrates God’s actions in the life of the people of Israel. God’s faithfulness to God’s covenant.

God made promises to Abraham, which were continued in Isaac, Jacob and on to Joseph. As the people left the promised land to find food, food that God provided in continuation of the Covenant. Then God brought the people back to the Promised Land in Moses – having kept the promise to Abraham.

God keeps promises, God is faithful.

While we may not connect to the promises made to Abraham and fulfilled in the Exodus – God made promises in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit. Promises to be with us, promises to lead and guide us, promises to bring us forgiveness and salvation – and God has been faithful to those promises. And so we can join with the people of God through to ages in praising God for God’s faithfulness.

Such praise and thanksgiving involves songs of joy and obeying the commands of God. The faithful God invites us to faithfulness to him. Our thankful response includes both shouts of praise and a heart turned to living God’s way in the world.

PRAYER:

Faithful God, you made a Covenant with Abraham, and through the twists and turns of the story of your people, you kept the promise you made in the Covenant. You, O Lord, are faithful and true above all others. In your faithfulness you have drawn us into your promise, adopting us as your children. Shape us that we would live as your children, rejoicing in your faithfulness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.