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Pentecost Season · Proper 23 · Year A

Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23

We Have Sinned Like Our Fathers

October 11, 2026

The Adoration of the Golden Calf, Nicolas Poussin
The Adoration of the Golden Calf, Nicolas Poussin, c. 1634National Gallery, London
Poussin gives the dancers a real circling rhythm, derived from classical reliefs, so the idolatry looks like a party. Moses is a tiny figure in the top corner, about to break the tablets.The reading is this scene, and Poussin makes the central point visually: everyone is enjoying themselves and nobody has noticed Moses.Nicolas PoussinA French painter who lived almost entirely in Rome, building his compositions from wax figures in a box, and became the model of classical order.National Gallery, LondonFounded in 1824 by buying one banker's collection, and deliberately placed in Trafalgar Square so that people from every part of London could walk to it.National Gallery, London
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelMatt. 22:1-14Mt 22:1-14
EpistlePhil. 4:1-9Phil 4:1-9
Old TestamentExod. 32:1-14Ex 32:1-14Alt. OTIsa. 25:1-9Is 25:1-9
PsalterPs. 106:1-6, 19-23Ps 106:1-6, 19-23Alt. PsalmPs. 23Ps 23

Overview & Insights

“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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Take it further: Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23

Commentary

Psalm 106 - Israel's Failure and God's FaithfulnessPs 106 - Israel's Failure and God's Faithfulness Enduring Word · David Guzik

A verse-by-verse evangelical study of the psalm's confession of national sin and God's mercy.

Psalm 106:1 CommentariesPs 106:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on the confession and the golden calf memory.

Psalm 106:1 Verse-by-Verse CommentaryPs 106:1 Verse-by-Verse Commentary StudyLight

A large library of expositors stacked verse by verse for a further voice on the psalm.

Background & Word Study

Psalms 106 (Hebrew and English)Ps 106 (Hebrew and English) Sefaria

The Hebrew of the psalm alongside English with linked Jewish commentary.

The Church Fathers

Psalms 106 (Catena)Ps 106 (Catena) Catena

Early church readings of the psalm of confession and remembered mercy.

Questions preachers ask

How does Psalm 106 fit the golden calf?

Psalm 106 is a confession of Israel’s repeated rebellion and God’s repeated mercy; verses 19–23 recall the calf at Horeb and Moses standing in the breach. It pairs with the Exodus reading as honest confession.

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