According to the New Testament, “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20). This principle is nowhere better illustrated than in the long and dismal spiritual history of Israel, part of which is outlined in Psalm 106. Forgetting their privilege as His “chosen ones” (v 5), the people of God were characterized by “wickedness” and “iniquity,” called out for having “rebelled” against Him at the Red Sea. Yet God graciously saved them (v 6-7). But the same pattern kept repeating itself throughout the years of their wilderness wandering. Every stanza of this poem makes the same point: we human beings fail to live as we should. We do not love God and neighbor. No matter how much God does for us, our hearts are not automatically changed. We are ungrateful (v 13), greedy and arrogant (v 14), full of envy and selfishness (v 16). We need God to transform us by giving us new hearts. Each of the episodes mentioned in this section of the psalm could be summed up by its opening verse: “But they soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel” (v 13). Examples? They demanded meat when they became dissatisfied with manna (v 14-15). They envied the leadership provided by Moses and Aaron (v 16-18). And they worshiped a golden calf (v 19-23). Having watched the Red Sea open up for their safe passage on dry ground, it seems like this experience should have stayed with them for a while! How could they forget the God who saved them and did such great and wondrous things on their behalf? (v 21-22). Good question, but are we really any different? We sing for joy whenever God comes through in answer to our prayers. But before long we are asking, “What have You done for me lately?” Whenever we begin to feel that way, we should not simply remind ourselves of yesterday’s blessings, although that’s never a bad idea. Better yet, we should meditate on what God did for us 2,000 years ago, when He sent His Son to die for our sins. When Israel provoked God’s anger through their idolatrous worship, “He said He would destroy them—had not Moses, His chosen one, stood in the breach before Him, to turn away His wrath” (v 23). In the same way, on the cross Jesus took the divine wrath on Himself. Apart from His mediating work, we would perish forever. But Jesus suffered in our place, so that if we believe in Him, there is no wrath left for us. So whenever you’re tempted to think that God doesn’t care, just think of the cross. If God never did another thing for us, how could we ever complain? For further meditation: