Psalm 106

The loving God of Psalm 105, Who cares for His people is also very longsuffering toward His wayward people......

Where Psalm 105 recounted God's great care for Israel in choosing and establishing her, here is recounted her ungratefulness and rebellion.  Still, though, God is praised for His mercy and forgiveness. His hand of judgement and discipline is acknowledged, along with His sovereignty, so rather than recoil in anger, the Psalmist prays for deliverance and help.

First he offers words of praise and thanksgiving, for the Lord is good!  He is ever merciful.....beyond any capability we may have of understanding Him or rightly praising Him.  Blessed are those who 'keep justice', and 'do righteousness', because they seek Him and obey Him.

God is implored to remember His people, and save them.....so that they can see the benefit of being His chosen, rejoicing in being His nation, and inheritance.

Confession follows......not individual confession, but confession of the sins of the nation throughout their history.

After all the mighty wonders God did in Egypt, destroying the Egyptians and saving the Hebrews; and after He led them out so miraculously, they rebelled immediately 'by the Sea", when Pharaoh chased them.  But God saved them, and parted the Sea for them to cross on dry land, then destroyed Pharaoh's army in the same place.  After this, they believed, and praised Him.

But soon, they forgot.  They craved meat and whined and complained about the little they had in the wilderness over against the food they had in Egypt (nevermind the fact that thy were slaves!).  So God sent them meat.....and in the enjoying of it they suffered. (Numbers 11).

Then Korah and Dathan rebelled against Moses, thinking more highly of themselves than they
should, and the Lord consumed them.  

They made an image....a golden calf, to worship @ Horeb.  They forgot the God who'd saved them.  God said He would destroy them, but in response to Moses plea, they were saved, yet again.

When spies went into the Promised Land and returned with tales of a wonderful land, but filled with mighty peoples, they did not believe God's promise to drive out those peoples and establish them in the land.  They complained and rebelled, and God kept them in the wilderness until that generation died.(Numbers 13, 14)  

They worshiped other gods....Baal of Peor, and joined themselves to the pagans, even bringing them into God's dwelling place....provoking a plague from the Lord against them. The righteous actions of Phinehas averted the plague. (Numbers 25)

They angered God at the 'waters of strife' (Numbers 20)Moses was even angered to the point of sin, and thus he did not get to enter the promised land either.

Once in the Promised Land, they did not do as the Lord had commanded them.  They did not drive the people out; they intermarried with them, and worshiped their gods.  They sacrificed their sons and daughters to these pagan gods, angering the Lord, so that He gave them over to destruction, allowing them to be ruled by the nations and carried away into captivity.

And yet......He still heard their cry, and remembered His covenant and relented.

I love verse 47...."Save us O Lord our God, and gather us from among the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise."

NKJV notes on this verse:  "No claims upon God can be advanced.  Only pure mercy and concern for His holy name could motivate Him to restore such a persistently rebellious people."
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I am moved to examine His great mercy toward me.
For I am as rebellious as they.

It is overwhelming.