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Psalm 106

A Confession of Israel’s Sins

Praise the L ord!

O give thanks to the L ord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Who can utter the mighty doings of the L ord,

or declare all his praise?

Happy are those who observe justice,

who do righteousness at all times.

Remember me, O L ord, when you show favor to your people;

help me when you deliver them;

that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,

that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

that I may glory in your heritage.

Both we and our ancestors have sinned;

we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.

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.

Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,

so that he might make known his mighty power.

He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry;

he led them through the deep as through a desert.

So he saved them from the hand of the foe,

and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.

The waters covered their adversaries;

not one of them was left.

Then they believed his words;

they sang his praise.

But they soon forgot his works;

they did not wait for his counsel.

But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,

and put God to the test in the desert;

he gave them what they asked,

but sent a wasting disease among them.

They were jealous of Moses in the camp,

and of Aaron, the holy one of the L ord.

The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

and covered the faction of Abiram.

Fire also broke out in their company;

the flame burned up the wicked.

They made a calf at Horeb

and worshiped a cast image.

They exchanged the glory of God

for the image of an ox that eats grass.

They forgot God, their Savior,

who had done great things in Egypt,

wondrous works in the land of Ham,

and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

Therefore he said he would destroy them—

had not Moses, his chosen one,

stood in the breach before him,

to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

Then they despised the pleasant land,

having no faith in his promise.

They grumbled in their tents,

and did not obey the voice of the L ord.

Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them

that he would make them fall in the wilderness,

and would disperse their descendants among the nations,

scattering them over the lands.

Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,

and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;

they provoked the L ord to anger with their deeds,

and a plague broke out among them.

Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,

and the plague was stopped.

And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness

from generation to generation forever.

They angered the L ord at the waters of Meribah,

and it went ill with Moses on their account;

for they made his spirit bitter,

and he spoke words that were rash.

They did not destroy the peoples,

as the L ord commanded them,

but they mingled with the nations

and learned to do as they did.

They served their idols,

which became a snare to them.

They sacrificed their sons

and their daughters to the demons;

they poured out innocent blood,

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;

and the land was polluted with blood.

Thus they became unclean by their acts,

and prostituted themselves in their doings.

Then the anger of the L ord was kindled against his people,

and he abhorred his heritage;

he gave them into the hand of the nations,

so that those who hated them ruled over them.

Their enemies oppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power.

Many times he delivered them,

but they were rebellious in their purposes,

and were brought low through their iniquity.

Nevertheless he regarded their distress

when he heard their cry.

For their sake he remembered his covenant,

and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

He caused them to be pitied

by all who held them captive.

Save us, O L ord our God,

and gather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.

Blessed be the L ord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

And let all the people say, “Amen.”

Praise the L ord!

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

3 Blessed are they that keep judgment I make a distinction between this and the preceding verse, and yet so as to preserve the connection between them. For the prophet, having declared the magnitude of God’s power to be such that no tongue could utter all its praises, now says, that the praises of the lip merely are not acceptable to God, but that the concurrence of the heart is indispensable, nay, that even the whole of our deportment must be in unison with this exercise. Now, when he first commands to keep judgment, and then to work righteousness, he gives us a short description of genuine godliness. I have no doubt, that in the former clause he describes the sincere affection of the heart, and that, in the latter, he refers to external works. For we know, there is nothing but the mere shadow of righteousness, unless a man cordially devote himself to the practice of honesty. He requires perseverance, too, that no one may imagine that he has discharged this duty properly, excepting he whose constant and continued aim it is to live righteously and justly. We behold not a few who have only an empty profession; others show some signs of virtue, but do not maintain a consistent course of conduct.

4 Remember me By these words the prophet declares it to be his chief desire, that God would extend to him that love which he bore towards the Church, that he might thus become a participator of all the blessings which, from the very first, he bestows upon his chosen, and which day by day he continues with them. Nor does he desire this for himself alone, but in name of the Church Catholic, offers up a prayer alike for all, that, by his example, he might stimulate the faithful to present similar petitions.

Remember me, says he, with the good will which thou bearest towards thy people; that is to say, grant to me the same unmerited kindness which thou art pleased to confer upon thy people, that so I may never be cut off from thy Church, but always be included among the number of thy children; for the phrase, good will towards thy people, is to be understood passively of that love which God graciously bears to his elect. It is, however, by a metonymy employed by the prophet to point out the marks of God’s love. For from this gracious source flows that proof which he actually and experimentally gives of his grace. But the prophet, if accounted to belong to the number of the people of God, would consider this to be the summit of true happiness; because, by this means, he would feel that God was reconciled to him, (than which nothing is more desirables) and thus, too, he would experience that he was bountiful. The term, remember, relates to the circumstance of time, as we shall see towards the end of the psalm that it was penned when the people were in a state so sad and calamitous, that the faithful might entertain some secret apprehension that their God had forgotten them. To obviate this is the tendency of the next clause, visit me with thy salvation For God is said to visit those from whom he had apparently withdrawn himself; and their salvation is a demonstration of his good-will towards them. In the next verse he repeats the same sentiment, that I may see the good of thy chosen For he desires to be an associate and participator of the blessings which are constantly realised by the elect of God. The verb to see, is very plainly taken to denote the enjoyment of the blessings, as “to see the kingdom of God,” (John 3:3;) and “to see good and life” (1 Peter 3:10,) denote the corresponding blessings. Those who expound it, that I may see thee do good to the chosen, are mistaken; because the preceding verse upon which this depends will not bear this interpretation, and the exposition which I have given is supported by the words which follow, that I may rejoice in the joy of thy nation, and glory with thy heritage For it is quite obvious that the prophet is solicitous to become a sharer in all the benefits which are the portion of the chosen, that, satisfied with God alone, he may, under his providential care, live joyfully and happily. Whatever might be the then mournful state of the Church, the prophet, amid all such tumult, still clings fast by this principle, that there is nothing better than to be regarded as belonging to the flock and people of God, who will always prove the best of fathers to his own, and the faithful guardian of their welfare. All that he asks is, that God would deal with him, as he is wont to deal with his Church; and declares that he could not bear the thought of being severed or separated from the common lot of the Church. These words, however, imply a tacit complaint that at that time God was withholding his loving-kindness from his afflicted Church, as if he had cast her off altogether.