Outline of Chapter 106:

       vv.    1–5        The Psalmist Praises God

       vv.    6–12      Israel of the Generation of the Psalmist, Sins Like Israel at the Sea of Reeds

       vv.   13–15      A Summary of the Failures of Gen X; the Sin of their Craving for Meat

       vv.   16–18      The Sin of Dathan and Abiram

       vv.   19–23      The Sin of the Golden Calf

       vv.   24–27      The Sin of Not Taking the Land of Promise

       vv.   28–31      The Sin of Israel’s Worship of Baal-Peor

       vv.   32–33      The Sin of Meribah

       vv.   34–39      The Sin of Heinous Idolatry

       vv.   40–46      God Gave Israel into the Hand of Their Enemies and Then He Delivered Them

       vv.   47–48      The Exiled Psalmist Calls for God’s Deliverance

Charts and Maps:

       Introduction    The Varied Purposes of the Historic Psalms

       Introduction    Barnes’ Outline

       v.      6           The Eight Failures of Israel as Recorded by the Psalmist

       v.      7           Which Aspects of God were Revealed by His Miracles?

       v.      7           Exodus 14:5–31 World English Bible

       v.      9           Examples of God’s Authority over the Natural Elements

       v.      9           Psalm 18:5–19 (WEB)

       v.     12           Exodus 15:1–19 (World English Bible)

       v.     13           Some Examples of Israel’s Reactions to Testing

       v.     15           Selection Portions of Numbers 11:1–35 (World English Bible Translation)

       v.     15           Psalm 78:26–33 (World English Bible)

       v.     17           Numbers 16:1–40 (World English Bible Translation)

       v.     19           Apis, the Egyptian God

       v.     19           Exodus 32:1–6 (World English Bible Text)

       v.     22           A Brief Look at the Four Sons of Ham

       v.     23           Exodus 32:9–14 (World English Bible Text)

       v.     26           Num. 14:1–38 (World English Bible Translation)

       v.     27           Leviticus 26:27, 32–34 (World English Bible Translation)

       v.     28           Numbers 25:1–9 (World English Bible)

       v.     32           Numbers 20:2–13 (World English Bible Version)

       v.     32           All of Israel’s Failures in the Desert-Wilderness; God’s Grace and/or Discipline

       v.     32           Why Did Moses Receive the Brunt of God’s Anger at the Waters of Meribah?

       v.     34           Judges 1:21–36 (World English Bible Translation)

I ntroduction: Psalm 106 is an overview of the failures of Israel, despite of God’s tremendous grace. Primarily, the psalmist concentrates on the record of Moses (Exodus through Deuteronomy). This particular psalm is often associated with Psalms 78, 81 and 105, which are also historic treatises. This is the final psalm of book 4 of the psalms. Each book of the five sections of psalms can only be grouped together by topic in the most general term; book 4 are the Psalms of Praise.

Interestingly enough, it appears as though the author is from the dispersion (although it is not clear which one and during which time period). My guess is that this psalmist came from the southern kingdom and was a part of the second dispersion. He knows the many sins that Israel committed while in the desert-wilderness. His Old Testament knowledge suggests that this psalmist, even while in exile, had access to the Holy Scriptures (which is in keeping with what we know about the exiled southern kingdom). This is because it appears that he knows what he knows by study, and not by being taught a few Bible stories by his elders. Just like Psalm 105, it appeared as though the psalmist studied the books of Moses, and then was inspired to write this psalm.

Psalms 104–106 appear to form a trilogy; the first deals with God’s intelligent creation; the second with God’s provision for Israel; and the third, Israel’s failure and God’s grace. The latter two psalms appear to be the result of studying the writings of Moses. The first psalm, although an ode to God’s creation, is not nearly as dependent upon a knowledge of the book of Genesis. However, since Psalm 105 occurs in part in I Chron. 16, we would assume that it had been written around that time or prior to (since it is read during the time of David and Asaph). Psalm 106 appears to have been written a lot later, as has been discussed. Another possibility is that the writer of this psalm took the psalm found in I Chron. 16 and added to it, and then wrote this psalm as a companion psalm.

My feeling is that this psalmist is justifying the present condition of the Jews as an exiled people. In v. 6, he writes, We have sinned like our fathers... and then goes on to describe how the Jews of the exodus sinned against God in their faithlessness and their idolatry. At the end of the psalm, the writer pleads Deliver us, O Jehovah, our Elohim, and gather us from among the nations. I think that these two verses taken together pretty clearly indicate that this is a psalm written from the exile, with a tri-fold purpose: (1) to acknowledge the sin of Israel which brought them to the exile; (2) to give a history of Israel’s failures during the exodus, to indicate that this is a pattern of Israel; and (3) to plead with God to return them to the land. The overall key to this is that the psalmist knows that Israel has sinned; he knows that they are under discipline; and he knows that God is putting the screws to them as He has in the past. However, he also knows that God has delivered Israel in the past, and he is asking for God to do the same once again for his generation.

There are some topics which I spend time with which may not appear, at first, to have any bearing on the actual exegesis of a particular chapter or psalm. For instance, in this psalm and the previous psalm, I spent no little time discussing the authorship, and the time and circumstance of the author. What this does is add another dimension to this psalm; it gives a greater depth of understanding to what the author is saying and why he is expressing these things. Furthermore, when we see this man in chains, possibly separated from his family, taken out of his own home, removed from his homeland in chains, and taken to a inhospitable environment, then we develop a much greater appreciation for his composition. In other words, this is not some flaccid piety spouted by some Levite while sitting overlooking a vineyard on a cool, sunny day, but this comes from the heart of a man who is, for all intents and purposes, unjustly grouped with a rebellious Israel; a man who accepts their punishment which is also applied to him, despite the fact that he probably had nothing to do with the actions that brought Israel to this place of woe.

The Psalmist Praises God

Here is how others have handled this verse:

CEV                                       We will celebrate and praise you, Lord!

You are good to us, and your love never fails.

God’s Word™                         Hallelujah!

Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,

because his mercy endures forever.

JPS (Tanakh)                        Hallelujah.

Praise the Lord for He is good;

His steadfast love is eternal.

NASB                                    Praise the Lord! [or, Hallelujah!]

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

NLT                                Praise the Lord!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!

His faithful love endures forever.

The Septuagint                                                         Alleluia!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy [is] forever.

Young's Literal Translation    Praise ye Jah, give thanks to Jehovah,

For good, for to the age, is His kindness.

What is the gist of this verse? Hallelujah appears to be a title; better yet, this phrase functions as bookends for this psalm, as it is found at the end as well. God is given thanks for His goodness and because His grace is forever.

Translation: Hallelujah! Or, Praise God! As several translations have indicated, this is not really a line of poetry, but a title or half of a bookend. This would make this psalm one of the hallelujah psalms. This seems to be connected to the previous psalm, which ends with Hallelujah! Both psalms possess very similar themes.

Translation: Give thanks to Y^ehowah for [He is] good;... Good is a masculine singular noun and has to refer back to someone or something. It is more logical for it to refer to God, which is from whence we have inserted He is.

The divisions found in Scripture are sometimes hard to fathom. This marks the end of book 4; however, the psalms on both sides of Psalm 106 begin with, Give thanks to Y^ehowah,... (Psalm 105:1a 107:1a). And, apart from the Hallelujah! found in this psalm, Psalm 106:1 and 107:1 are identical. The implication is that these three psalms are possibly associated in some way or another with each other (written by the same author during roughly the same time; or one psalm inspired the next psalm). We have a similar phrase found in Psalm 100:4b–5: Give thanks to Him; bless His name, for Jehovah is good; His graciousness is everlasting and His faithfulness [is] to all generations.

The psalmist describes what our feelings or response should be towards God. We should thank God because He is good. This seems to be a fairly elementary concept until one ponders the world and all of the suffering in the world. Everywhere that you look, there is pain and want, so to call God, the Creator of this World, good, is a theological jump. Add to this that the author had probably been taken from Jerusalem in the dispersion and that the Jews were now living outside their land under the control of another nation, and beginning a psalm as he does this one seems even more incongruous with his circumstances. However, the psalmist will back these words up with situation after situation where God’s grace and goodness was clearly revealed.

Translation: His grace [is] forever! One of the most important aspects of God’s character, insofar as we are concerned, is His grace. It is because of His grace that we survive and are blessed from day to day.

This particular verse is almost identical to I Chron. 16:34, which is a part of a psalm embedded in I Chronicles (which psalm is identical to the first part of Psalm 105). My thought is that the author of Psalm 106 studied both Exodus through Numbers and I Chron. 16, and was inspired to write this psalm, thus accounting for the similarities of the psalms. Whereas some of the themes and subject matter of the two psalms are similar, this second psalm seems to examine Israel’s failures in much greater detail, and then God’s grace is considered.

This particular phrase, like the previous one, appears religiously innocuous at first. God’s grace is forever! However, when the plight of the author is considered, this is a great expression of hope and faith. This author, having been taken from his home and from his country by an antagonistic enemy, looks back in this psalm at what God has done in the past on behalf of Israel—he looks back at Israel’s repeated failures and God’s tremendous grace and provision—and he declares, God’s grace is forever! As of the past few years, I have been under great pressure and have faced things which were exceedingly unfair. And, you know, the first thing on my mind was not God’s grace is forever! The first thing on my mind was, when are you going to strike these people dead, God? And yet the suffering and the disruption to my life was not even one-tenth the suffering and disruption that the psalmist faced. Yet he declares, God’s grace is forever! And this psalmist will not simply utter these words, seemingly in opposition to everything around him, but he will back up his faith and confidence with historical incidents which confirm his declaration.

One of the reasons I examine this psalm to determine who wrote it and when, is that such knowledge gives us greater appreciation for what the psalmist is saying. It’s one thing to live in great wealth and splendor and express appreciation for all that God has given you; it is quite another to lie in a hospital bed, your insides being alternately ravaged by cancer and chemotherapy, and to give thanks to God for His graciousness. Most people, placed in the circumstances of the psalmist, would be asking, “Where is God?” The psalmist not only knows that God is with Israel, but that God is good, deserving of praise, and that His grace is everlasting.

To continue your study of God’s grace, may I refer you to Psalm 136, which is a psalm all about God’s grace.