Psalm 106:6-48
We have sinned like our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; they did not remember Your abundant kindnesses, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name, that He might make His power known. Thus He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up, and He led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness. So He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them, and redeemed 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. They quickly forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but craved intensely in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. So He gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease among them. When they became envious of Moses in the camp, and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord, the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and engulfed the company of Abiram. And a fire blazed up in their company; the flame consumed the wicked. They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a molten image. Thus they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wonders in the land of Ham and awesome things by the Red Sea. Therefore He said that 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; they did not believe in His word, but grumbled in their tents; they did not listen to the voice of the Lord. Therefore He swore to them that He would cast them down in the wilderness, and that He would cast their seed among the nations and scatter them in the lands. They joined themselves also to Baal-peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, and the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and interposed, and so the plague was stayed. And it was reckoned to him for righteousness, to all generations forever. They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah, so that it went hard with Moses on their account; because they were rebellious against His Spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips. They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with the blood. Thus they became unclean in their practices, and played the harlot in their deeds. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people and He abhorred His inheritance. Then He gave them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were subdued under their power. Many times He would deliver them; they, however, were rebellious in their counsel, and so sank down in their iniquity. Nevertheless He looked upon their distress when He heard their cry; and He remembered His covenant for their sake, and relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness. He also made them objects of compassion in the presence of all their captors. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to Your holy name and glory in Your praise. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. And let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise the Lord!
Message: A call for us to remember
Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a
thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been
compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor
shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.
What the Lord is Saying:
The words of the first 5 verses of Psalm 106 yesterday, in my reading, can basically be summed up with the proclamation that "God is great; His deeds are mighty; His ways are true; so God, show Your favor on us."
The beginning focus, from this Psalm, is on the greatness of God and the only reason He would show favor to us is because He is great. I was reminded yesterday of my need to speak of His greatness, but also to remember the things that He has done in my life. I began a writing in which I would document those things. I must remember. We must remember. Without remembering, we forget what has occurred and the blessings that we have received. They happen and occur constantly.
As a kid and even as I got older, I always the theme of that 80s song from Edin-Adahl singing, "Bring back the joy of my salvation." It was a stark reminder that I remember the thrill that I experienced embracing the Gospel and its reality upon my life.
The rest of this Psalm, is dark, as it speaks to a people that did not remember God. It begins with the memory that we sinned, repeating iniquity (We have sinned like our fathers), and yet God saved us in order to show His power (Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name), rescuing them from their foes (redeemed them from the hand of the enemy). For a moment, they believe and sang his praise, but then forgot, got selfish, and blamed God (tempted God in the desert). But they did not simply forget, but they replaced their Love for God with a Love for something else (They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a molten image). God said He would destroy them, but Moses intervened. But they still did not surrender, but continued in their march away from God (They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt) and a plague resulted and their doom was near; but then Phinehas intervened (Phinehas stood up and interposed, and so the plague was stayed). But they continued abandoning God and their descent continued (they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols) and even as they spiraled down, He remembered His covenant with them (He remembered His covenant for their sake). We must praise God. Praise the Lord. He restores us and saves us despite our constant attempts to run the other way. We must stay close to Him and remember what we have received, and be thankful and not forget.
Promise: Remember what the Lord has done in my life. Don't forget.
