Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

Psalm 106. This historical psalm (see notes on Psalms 78 and 105) recites a series of events from Israel's history to illustrate God's steadfast love in the face of Israel's rebellion and unfaithfulness. The events are selected from Israel's time following Moses in the wilderness (Exodus and Numbers) and from the time when Israel repeatedly indulged in rebellion against the Lord after the death of Joshua (Judges). All of the episodes are instances of the whole people being unfaithful, and of God's continuing commitment to maintain this people and to foster among them the conditions in which piety can flourish. The focus is therefore on corporate unfaithfulness and forgiveness. The psalm begins by calling on the people to give thanks and praise to God (Ps. 106:1-3); and it ends in a prayer that the God who has shown such forbearance will once again deliver his people, apparently this time from exile (v. 47). In view of where the psalm ends up, it is best to call it a community lament. The specific occasion for this psalm is some kind of exile, in which the people must be gathered "from among the nations" (v. 47). The obvious candidate for this is the Babylonian exile. One difficulty with this conclusion is that there is no mention of the dynasty of David, so caution is appropriate. In any case, the psalm is suited for a variety of recurring situations in which the people of God (including some Christians even today) are in a crisis that results from their persistent unfaithfulness. A version of vv. 47-48 appears in 1 Chron. 16:35-36 as part of the song for bringing the ark to Jerusalem. Assuming that Chronicles records something like the actual song on the occasion, then probably the psalmist adapted the words of that song for his purposes (see notes on Psalms 96; 105).

106:1-3 Praise to the Lord for His Mighty Deeds. The psalm begins in a way reminiscent of Psalm 105, calling the people to give thanks and to reflect on his mighty deeds. Verse 3 of Psalm 106, with its description of covenant faithfulness for the members of Israel (observe justice and do righteousness at all times; cf. 1 John 2:29; 3:7; Rev. 22:11), reminds the singing congregation that they must authentically take hold of God's grace--an authenticity that is absent in most of the events described in this psalm.