Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23

“They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt.” (Psalm 106:21)

Like Psalm 105, this psalm rehearses Israel’s early history, but the differences between the two psalms could not be more striking—they are so divergent, in fact, that one might call them contradictory. This is particularly evident in their accounts of God’s provision of quail in the wilderness (105:40; 106:14–15). Also like Psalm 105, this psalm begins with the hymnic call to praise (Give thanks to the LORD), but then in verse 3 a “blessing” takes us in a very different direction. Our focus changes from that of God’s saving acts to human obligation: Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right. The petition of verse 4 then brings us entirely out of the realm of praise to that of the prayer psalm: Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people. Giving praise, from the perspective of this psalm, is thus future (v. 5).

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