Psalms 105 and 106 belong together. They represent two different ways of telling the same story. Psalm 105 tells the story of Israel from the perspective of God’s faithfulness in His covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Psalm 106 reviews the story from the point of view of Israel’s unfaithfulness to that same covenant and over the same period of history. The Hebrew scholar Derek Kidner describes the 106th Psalm as “the dark counterpart of its predecessor, a shadow cast by human self-will in the long struggle against the light.” Yet he also helpfully adds, “For all its exposure of man’s ingratitude, this is a song of praise, for it is God’s extraordinary longsuffering that emerges as the real theme. This is the basis of the final prayer (v 47), and this gives reality to the doxology that closes not only the psalm but the fourth book of the Psalter (Psalms 90-106).” Like several other psalms, this one begins and ends with “Hallelujah.” So if Israel’s history is basically one long recital of human sin and divine discipline, why should anyone want to celebrate this with a shout of praise? The answer is given immediately. It is because God is “good” and “His steadfast love endures forever.” Although the people continually rebelled, God did not reject them as they deserved. Instead, He remained faithful to His covenant with Israel and restored them, again and again. In fact, God’s grace and patience stand out all the more brightly in light of their sin and unbelief. But we too offer our own thanks to God, not because He is wonderful and so are we! We praise Him because He is kind to us even though we continually sin and prove ourselves unworthy of His acceptance. Still, He loves us and forgives our sins, though they are many. “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!” (v 1-2). We might assume that anyone with such endless supplies of mercy would be a pushover, with low expectations of others. But God is gracious even while maintaining His unbending demands for righteousness. Our gratitude for salvation must never deteriorate into a careless lifestyle. Rather, the grace of God motivates and empowers us “do righteousness at all times” (v 3). And as we rejoice in God’s grace, it’s important that we remember our place within the community of believers. God sees the individual in the crowd, yet our faith was never meant to be private. So pray for your church and all God’s people. But pray for yourself, too, that you might not miss out on the blessing He will surely pour out on all who confess their sins and look to Him (v 4-5). For further meditation: