PSALM 106

 

PSALM 106: 1-5; 20-24 

The grace of God and the sin of the people
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost - 11^th October 2020

Some commentators have tried to link Psalm 105 and 106 into one because the material and theme are so similar. They both have an initial acknowledgement of the grace of God that brought them into their ‘Promised Land’. Thanksgiving is the appropriate attitude. The psalm echoes the liturgy of covenant renewal as found in the Essene community of the Dead Sea where these two psalms were used in tandem, the first as a remembrance of God’s graciousness as they came out of Egypt. This one recalls the rough road of the journey in the wilderness where the people grumbled and even went astray.

1          Praise the Lord
O give thanks to the Lord for he is good:
and his mercy endures for ever.

2          Who can express the mighty acts of the Lord:
or fully voice his praise?

3          Blessed are those who act according to justice:
who at all times do the right.

4          Remember me O Lord
when you visit your people with your favour:
and come to me also with your salvation

5          That I may see the prosperity of your chosen
that I may rejoice with the rejoicing of your people
and exult with those who are your Own

This part of our psalm begins with the ‘recognition of God’s righteousness and mercy’. Verses 4 & 5 are a personal prayer for prosperity as a member of a prospering nation.

If you continue the read the rest of the psalm all the way to verse 45 you will be struck by the ‘lament’ form of the psalm. It runs as a confession of national sin by naming the acts of unfaithfulness done by the Israelites on their journey to the promised land.

The ‘lament’ is a confession of national sin which uses the exodus period to set up a contrast between the saving and forgiving God and his rebellious people.

20        At Horeb they made themselves a calf:
and bowed down in worship to an image.

21        And so they exchanged the glory of God:
for the likeness of an ox that eats hay.

Israel’s sin is her disposition to test God by his willingness to fulfil her demands promptly on order and, when he does not do so, to turn to more amiable deities. It’s a reminder that their ancestors were unfaithful and that people need to assess where they are in their relationship with their God.

22        They forgot God who was their saviour:
that had done such great things in Egypt,

23        Who had worked his wonders in the land of Ham:
and his terrible deeds at the Red Sea.

24        Therefore he thought to destroy them:
had not Moses his servant stood before him in the breach
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

This verse has in it a wonderful activity found in the words, ‘Moses his servant stood before him in the breach’. Here is a saving activity found in the human being such that Moses at this time was prepared to sacrifice himself for disobedient Israel. If we think about it, Jesus stood in the breach between our sin and the disappointed love of God.

This psalm reminds us again and again that it is all about love, the love of God for us and our love for Him.

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for your weekly commentary on the appointed psalm/