Psalm 106 - 2.18.22

Scripture - What stood out?

PSALM 106:44-46

Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,

    when he heard their cry.

For their sake he remembered his covenant,

    and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

He caused them to be pitied

    by all those who held them captive.

Observation - What does it say?

Psalm 106 is a retelling of the time Israel spent wandering the desert and then inhabiting the promised land. It is written in broader strokes to highlight the multiple moments throughout their history that the nation failed to honor and love God. 

Understanding - What does it mean?

The word that the Holy Spirit highlighted to me this morning was “nevertheless” and “for their sake”. As I was reading 1 Samuel 9 in conjunction with today’s psalm I remembered how earlier in the bible God made it very clear to us that Israel had rejected Him as their leader when they decided they wanted an earthly king. We…rejected God as our leader…too many times to count in the bible! That feeling of ‘boy we sure got that one wrong’ never fully left me as I read the rest of the daily bible entries. (I say we a lot in reference to my identifying with the Israel nation who I have always viewed as a second Adam rather than just a nation)

Then I read the word nevertheless. It was as if I was listening to that one note in that one song timed perfectly that just pierces your heart every time. We wronged him so many times…nevertheless…for their sake….ln the old testament we read so much about God’s namesake for HIS sake that I overlook these moments. 

God loves us. For our sake. God loves me. For my sake.

Life Application - How can I apply this to my life today?

I’m not sure what a modern day crying out to God looks like, Lord. Please teach me.

Holy Spirit help me to cry out to God today. Just like we used to do way back when. But something okay to do in 2022. So that He may look upon me favorably, nevertheless - for my sake.