Psalm 106 is another of the
historical psalms that was intended to remind the people of Israel of God’s
faithfulness to them in the past especially as they faced a major challenge in
their nation. It is also another envelope psalm as it begins and ends with the
same Hebrew word, “Hallelujah”, or in our English language, “Praise the
LORD”. Psalm 106 is also the last
chapter in the fourth book of psalms and does so with the characteristic
doxology which marks the close of the other four books.
We do not know who wrote this
psalm. From the pleas of verse 47 it would seem it was written during the
captivity in Babylon. As usual, Spurgeon believed that David wrote this psalm.
Another commentator points out that Jeremiah possibly wrote it after the
Northern Kingdom of Israel went into the Assyrian captivity. One of my favorite
commentators thought that Daniel was the writer. He points out that “Daniel was a man who knew
how to pray the kind of confessional prayer we have in this psalm. Perhaps he
wrote it about the time he poured out his heart before God as recorded in
Daniel 9. If so, it was written by him when he was an old man of about
eighty-seven. The Babylonian empire had fallen. The time was ripe for old
prophecies to be fulfilled. Yet, there was still no sign of this happening. The
exiles were settling down at ease in Babylon, making the best of their new
home, and fast forgetting their history and their national destiny. Perhaps at
such a time this psalm was penned.”
After reading this psalm, we
might be tempted to say, "Those Israelites were certainly a sorry band of
sinners!" Instead, we ought to be commending the psalmist for telling the
truth about his own people. Most historians present their nations in the best
possible light and blame other nations rather than their own, but our anonymous
psalmist told the truth. The writer is also to be commended for identifying
himself with his struggling people and saying, "We have sinned"
and "Save us" (vv. 6 and 47).
You might remember that we
said Psalm 105 mentions nothing about Israel's failings, but that deficiency is
remedied by 106. It is clearly a companion to the previous psalm. The two stand
shoulder to shoulder. Psalm 105 tells us how God treated Israel; Psalm 106
tells us how Israel treated God. Psalm 105 deals with the faithfulness of God, while
Psalm 106 deals with the faithlessness of Israel. Psalm 105 reminded the people
that God is a covenant God who always keeps His promises and was written to
encourage the nation. Psalm 106 reminded the people of their repeated sins and
failures. However, the purpose of Psalm 106 is not to condemn Israel but to
extol the Lord for His longsuffering and mercy toward His people.
In order to glorify God, the
writer had to place God's mercies against the dark background of Israel's
repeated disobedience. After expressing his praise to the Lord (vv. 1-6), the
writer pointed out nine serious offenses the nation had committed. He began
with the Exodus and closed with the Babylonian captivity, and at the heart of
the list he placed Israel's rebellion at Kadesh Barnea. He did not arrange
these selected events in order of their occurrence, for his purpose was to
teach us about the patience and longsuffering of God and not chronology.
Today, maybe you feel
overwhelming condemnation for your repeated sins and failures. I’m convinced
that as long as you have breath in your lungs, a heart beating in your chest,
and a mind to think with, that God is patiently waiting for you with the open
arms of a loving Father to forgive and restore you to fellowship through the
blood of His Son Jesus Christ!
God bless!
