If you've ever been to a large amusement park, or zoo, or national/state park, you know that one of the most helpful things you can find there is a giant map with a little dot somewhere on it that says, "You are here." It's easy to get lost in the bigness of what you're experiencing, and get overwhelmed. When we lived in California, a regular feature of the nightly news was breathless searches for hikers who had gone up into the nearby mountains, and failed to come home. There was no giant sign for them, and if you go up far enough, there's no cell phone coverage. And the question was always, would the search teams find them before they ran out of water and died.
Without a sign saying, "You are here," it can be easy to get lost, and it can be easy to not find a way out.
Now, there's another reason why people sometimes find great comfort in those giant maps with the dots. Some of us are extreme Type A people. When we visit anywhere, we have a clear plan, and clear goals. We know exactly how every step of our journey is going to go. At a zoo, for example, we might spend 25 minutes in the reptile section, and 15 in the ape, and 3 in the bug. And if we are that type A person who always, somehow, seems to be the one guiding a larger family, or group, we stop at the giant map for a different reason. We point to the dot, and announce to everyone, "We are here." We don't do that because we are lost. We know, at every moment, where we are. We do that because we derive great comfort from have clear goals, and making sure that everyone with us shares those clear goals. We are orienting our group to our location, so that everyone is on the same page, and we can work together as a group to do the exhibits in the right order, at the right pace. We want to make sure that no one gets stuck in the wrong place for too long. We want to keep things moving.
Our psalm for this morning is basically a giant sign, with a convenient dot on the map, saying, "You are here." And the psalmist isn't lost. The psalmist is a Type A person, who knows exactly where everyone is, and knows where they need to go next. if you understand Type A people, you'll understand the psalm.
Now, the map in question today isn't a map of the geography of Israel, or of the wider Middle East. The map, is the seemingly endless looping pattern of God's history with his people. There is a cycle, a hamster wheel, that defines how God relates to his people, and how his people relate to God.
The cycle-- the hamster wheel-- goes like this:
(1) God rescues his people from their enemies, and blesses them.
(2) His people respond by sinning in creative, big, ever-changing ways.
(3) God responds, eventually, by getting angry, and bringing judgment on his own people.
(4) His people respond, eventually, by crying out to God, and asking God to help.
(1, 5) And God then helps: God rescues his people from their enemies, and blesses them.
Any guesses on what happens next?
His people respond by sinning in creative, big, ever-changing ways. And so on.
If you read the book of Judges, you find this cycle-- this hamster wheel-- play out over and over. But the catch in Judges, is that this cycle, this looping, is more like a toilet being flushed, than it is a hamster wheel. Things spin around, but in that spinning, the total situation gets lower, and lower. So if you can picture a toilet being flushed, and something slowly circling as it ultimately goes out the bottom of a toilet, then you can successfully picture the book of Judges.
In our psalm today, the psalmist retells the story of God and his people. It squeezes the entirety of Exodus
through 2 Kings into one chapter. And it does for a reason. This isn't a college class, or History 101. This is a story told, so that the psalmist can point out to a map, and say, "We are here." And the interesting thing about this, is that when the psalmist points to the map, he's not just talking to his Israelite brothers and sisters. He's telling God, "This is where we all are at, and this is where the hamster wheel needs to spin next." It's really important to the psalmist that everyone around him, and God, understand where things are at.
Let's start the psalm by cheating way ahead to verse 47.
(47) Save us, Yahweh our God,
and gather us from the nations
so that we can ("l") give thanks to your holy name,
so that we can ("l") praise your praiseworthy deeds (v. 2, 12).
Where on the hamster wheel is the psalmist, with his group? Where is the dot on the map?
They are right at the place where they need to cry out to God, and where God needs to help. This psalm was probably written after Jerusalem was conquered, and the people scattered across the Babylonian empire. And the psalmist hopes that God will once more listen, and rise up, and rescue.
It feels like cheating to jump ahead to verse 47, but the psalmist knows exactly where he's at, and doesn't need to explain everything at the start. We, though, in our way, need verse 47 to see the map.
Now, this is a huge psalm, so here's the plan, for you Type A people: We will work through the first six verses kind of slowly. Then, we'll walk quickly through most of it, and then slow down at the end.
Verse 1:
(1) Praise Yah! ["Hallelu-jah"]
Give thanks to Yahweh!
because good; ["good" is focused, but we find ourselves asking "What/who is good"?]
because forever, his loyalty [is]. ["forever" is focused, and with the parallelism, I assume that
his loyalty is both good, and forever]
The psalmist opens with an invitation to his community to praise Yahweh. "Hallelujah" is a two part word-- "Hallelu" is a 2nd person plural command to praise. And "Yah" is a shortened form of Yahweh. So Hallelujah is a command, to praise Yahweh.
The psalmist then invites people to give thanks to Yahweh because of the nature of his loyalty. God's loyalty is good, and it's forever.
Loyalty is a word we don't often use, or think about. But it's something we respect. And it's something we appreciate in our friends. A loyal friend is the one who keeps relationships going even when they're hurt, even when they're neglected. even when they've been set aside for a while. A loyal friend is the one who is committed, even when the other person does something terribly wrong, and terribly stupid.
Yahweh is the kind of God whose loyalty goes on forever, and whose loyalty is good.
In verse 2, the psalmist asks a question:
(2) Who will speak of the mighty acts of Yahweh?
Who will declare all of his praiseworthy deeds? [v. 12, 47]
Most English Bibles will translate the second line, "Who will declare his praise"? They have "praise," and not "praiseworthy deeds." That's possible, but the Hebrew word often has the more focused sense of actual deeds that God does. God does praiseworthy deeds that bring him praise, and if you see the parallelism between this line, and the one above, "the mighty acts" of Yahweh, I think that's pretty clearly the sense here.
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Clines, Dictionary of Classical Hebrew:
4. praise(s), i.e. praiseworthy deeds, praiseworthiness of Y. (Is 60:6; 63:7; Ps 9:15; 35:28; 78:4; 79:13; 102:22; 106:2, 47, 47?1 C 16:35),
Dictionary of Biblical Languages:
4. LN 42.7–42.28 deeds that are praiseworthy (Ps 78:4)
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Basically, God does stuff, and those things He does bring him praise. Does that make sense?
And so the psalmist looks around the room, and he asks, "Who will give praise to Yahweh because his praiseworthy deeds?"
This question maybe looks into the past, and helps us think about all the times God has historically done praiseworthy things for us. But we will see, the question maybe also looks into the future, because everyone hearing this psalm knows that they could really use, once again, praiseworthy deeds from Yahweh. We can praise God for what He's done in the past, and we absolutely do so. But there are times, especially when life is falling apart, when we are far more interested in what God is about to do for us. And that's perfectly ok.
Verse 3:
(3) Blessed are the ones keeping rule/law (Exodus 21:1),
the one practicing righteousness at every moment.
Right near the beginning of the psalm, the psalmist kind of pauses to offer some advice. Most of God's history with his people, and our history with God, looks like an ugly hamster wheel. There's a cycle of sin, and judgment, and crying out, and rescue, that seems like it can't be broken. It seems like there's no solution, and no alternative.
But what verse 3 does, is offer a better way. There is a path that leads to God's blessings (Psalm 1, 112), given to those who faithfully keep covenant with God. This is the way off the wheel. This is the way to a much better life. It would be easy to forget verse 3, or overlook it. But everything else we will read today is technically unnecessary. The rest of the psalm, pretty much, is for people who haven't chosen the path of blessing.
Verses 4-5:
(4) Call me to mind, Yahweh, at the time you show favor to your people;
visit me at the time you bring your salvation,
(5) so that I may see the prosperity (Deut. 30:9) of your chosen ones,
so that may I rejoice in the rejoicing of your nation,
so that I may boast with your inheritance.
Before the psalmist really dives in to exploring the hamster wheel, he now turns to address God (verse 3 was to people). The psalmist is confident that God will answer the prayer he's about to offer. He's confident that God is loyal, and that God will once again rescue. What the psalmist asks, is that God will do this soon enough for him to see it. The psalmist wants to see this renewed future, when God saves his people, and blesses them, and makes them prosperous. He wants to be able to rejoice with a rejoicing nation ("rejoice with those who rejoice"), and boast in God with God's inheritance-- with his people.
The question for the psalmist isn't how this will all end for the people. God is loyal. This will only end one way. The question is the role that the psalmist will get to play. Basically, he wants to be like Simeon in the Gospel of Luke, and get to share in what God does next.
Verse 6:
(6) We have sinned with our fathers;
we have done evil;
we have acted wickedly.
In verse 6, the psalmist embraces where he is in the hamster wheel. He, with the congregation, confesses his sin. "We have sinned."
We sometimes get the idea that in the OT, that there was no way for sin to be dealt with, except maybe from animal sacrifices. But we see here, that when you sin, you confess it to God. Not so different maybe.
So the psalmist, and his group, confess together that "we have sinned with our fathers."
And this mention of the fathers opens things up to exploring the dark, ugly hamster wheel of the way we've related to God. I've put the OT references to the different stories mentioned in the translation, so you can read them later (note to self: don't forget). But just notice the hamster wheel.
Verse 7-23:
(7) Our fathers [were] in Egypt;
they didn't have insight into your wonders;
they didn't call to mind the greatness of your loyalties,
(7) and they rebelled by the Sea,
at the Sea of Reeds,
(8) And He saved them
because of his Name,
so that He would make known his mighty acts (v. 2, first line),
(9) and He rebuked the Sea of Reeds,
and it dried up,
and He led them through the deep as like the desert/wilderness,
(10) and He saved them from the hand of the ones hating [them],
and He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy,
(11) and the waters covered their foes;
One from them wasn't left,
(12) and they trusted in his words;
they sang his praiseworthy deeds (v. 2, second line).
(13) They rushed;
they forgot his deeds;
they didn't wait for his advice/plan,
(14) and they craved a craving in the wilderness,
and they tested God (El) in the desert,
(15) and He gave to them their request,
and He sent a disease on them (woodenly, KJV style, "on their soul"; "nephesh")
(16) and they were jealous of Moses in the camp,
of Aaron the holy one of Yahweh.
(17) It was opening up -- the earth,
and it swallowed Dathan,
and it covered over the assembly of Abiram,
(18) and it burned-- fire-- against their assembly,
the flame was burning up the wicked (noun form of last verb of v. 6; "we were wicked").
(19) They made a calf at Horeb,
and they bowed down to a metal image,
(20) and they exchanged their glory with an image of an ox eating grass.
(21) They forgot God (El), The One saving them;
The One doing great things in Egypt,
wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
dreadful/scary deeds by the Sea of Reeds,
(23) and He said He would destroy them,
except that Moses his chosen one stood in the breach/gap before His face/presence to cause his anger to turn back from destroying [them],
Let's just pause here, for a second. So the people sinned, and God brought judgment. And He threatened to bring total judgment, and wipe them out. But, verse 23, Moses stood in the breach, and persuaded God to turn back from destroying them. Moses cried out, and saved the whole nation.
Verse 24-31:
(24) and they rejected/despised the desirable/delightful/pleasant land,
they didn't trust in his word (v. 12),
(25) and they grumbled against their God/Elohim;
they didn't heed the voice of Yahweh,
(26) and He lifted his hand toward them to cause them to fall in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:13),
(27) and to cause their descendants to fall among the nations,
and to scatter them throughout the lands,
(28) and they joined themselves to Baal--Peor,
and they ate sacrifices of the dead (?),
(29) and they provoked to anger with their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them,
(30) and Phinehas stood,
and he intervened,
and the plague was stopped,
(31) and it was considered to him as righteousness, from generation to generation, up to forever,
Let's pause here again. So the people sinned, and God brought judgment, and what happened next? Phinehas stood, and intervened, and the plague stopped. Phinehas, like Moses, rotated the hamster wheel forward.
Verse 32-42:
(32) and they provoked [him] to anger by the waters of Meribah,
and it went poorly for Moses because of them,
(33) because they made bitter his spirit (ruach),
and he spoke rashly/thoughtlessly (Lev. 5:4) with his lips,
(34) They didn't destroy the peoples
whom God told them [to destroy],
(35) and they mingled with the nations,
and they learned their deeds/practices,
(36) and they served their images/idols,
and they became to them a snare,
(37) and they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons (Duet. 32:17),
(38) and they poured out the blood of the innocent-- the blood of their sons and their daughters--
when they sacrificed to the images/idols of Canaan,
and the land was polluted by ("b") the blood,
(39) and they were unclean by/because of ("b") their acts,
and they prostituted/whored (Gen. 38:24) by ("b") their deeds,
(40) and the anger of Yahweh was hot against ("b") his people,
and He abhorred his inheritance/heritage,
(41) and He gave them into ("b") the hand of the nations,
and the ones hating them ruled over ("b") them,
(42) and their enemies pressed against (Num. 22:25; 2 Kings 6:32) them,
and they were humbled/subjected under their hand.
In verses 41-42, the psalmist is still describing the ugly history of Israel. But it's veered off toward his own situation. They are scattered across the nations. They are being ruled by people hating them. They are being squeezed.
And notice, there's no cry here for help. And God hasn't rescued. This is the dot on the giant map. "We are here."
In verse 43-46, the psalmist summarizes this whole story, and lays out the hamster wheel:
(43) Many times He delivered them,
while they rebelled in ("b") their plans/purposes,
and they sank by ("b") their evil/guilt,
and God looked on their distress/affliction when He heard their shout/cry,
(45) and He called to mind for them his covenant,
and He relented/changed because of ("k") the greatness of his loyalty,
(46) and He gave them compassions before all the ones who captured them.
God has a long history of being incredibly loyal to his people. He rescues them, only to see them go off and sin again. He looks on them, WHEN they turn to him, and cry out. He calls to mind the covenant He made, and turns from his wrath, and shows them compassion. God's loyalty is good, and it's forever.
So the psalmist retells the ugly story of Israel, and the amazing story of God's loyalty. He's told this story, in part, to remind his people about how all of this works. He's pointing to the map, to make sure everyone understands what should happen next. If God is the one who looks on you when you cry out, then cry out. Right?
The psalmist has also done this as an act of faith toward God. He's pointing to the map, and telling God, "We are here, and You are here." He started by praising God for his loyalty. And now, verse 47:
(47) Save us, Yahweh our God,
and gather us from the nations
so that we can ("l") give thanks to your holy name,
so that we can ("l") praise your praiseworthy deeds (v. 2, 12).
The psalmist here does what the heroes of Israel did in the past. Like Moses, and like Phinehas, the psalmist rises into the breach, stands, and cries out to God. He's in the same spot on the hamster wheel as they were, and he learns the right lesson from their example, and he copies them.
The psalmist knows he doesn't deserve God's compassions, or help, or rescue. They haven't chosen the path of blessing that comes from keeping covenant with God. All they can appeal to with God, at this point, is two things:
The first, is God's loyalty. It's when you know that God's loyalty is good, and that it's forever, that you find yourself able to crawl back toward God.
And the second thing you can appeal to with God, is a promise that the future will be better. You can point at the map, not at where you are, but where you could be. You can say, "God, we can spend time in this place-- a place of faithfulness, and praise, and mutual loyalty."
It'd be easy to read verse 47 as though the psalmist is trying to make a deal with God. Like, "If you help, I'll praise you." I think there are psalms like that, where the psalmist vows that if God helps, that he will praise God in the assembly. God wants his name to be honored (Matthew 6), and rescuing people tends to bring that about. [When you're asking God for help, you use what you have, and when you've been rebellious, you don't have much. All you can appeal to sometimes, is God's own character and interests.]
But here, in Psalm 106, I think the psalmist is painting a picture for God, of a better future. It's more like this: "God, save us, and gather us, so that our shared story can look how it ought." When God rescues his people, it's supposed to move us to a place of trust and praise (verse 12). And the psalmist is saying, "That's what this act of salvation will do. We will look like Israel looked, after you rescued them from Egypt, and killed off Pharaoh's whole army (verse 12)."
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There very well be times in our lives, as individuals, or as a church, where we find that we have rebelled in creative, imaginative ways. We don't call to mind the greatness of God's loyalty (v. 6). We fail to trust God's promises (v. 12, 24). We forget what God has done for us (v. 13). We rebel (v. 7). We test God (v. 14). We are jealous of the people in church who have positions of leadership. We want the power and authority, and push back against God's holy/consecrated ones (v. 16). We turn to idols (v. 28). We compromise with the world, embracing the world's values and lifestyles (v. 35).
When we do these things, we run the risk of God getting angry with us, and bringing judgment on us. It's possible that some of you think that's not possible. You think Jesus' death on the cross fundamentally changed how all of this works. You think no sin, and no rebellion, can separate you from Jesus' kindness and love. If that's you, and you struggle with this, read Revelation 1-3, and how Jesus threatens churches.
If you end up on the hamster wheel, of responding to God's kindness and salvation by rebellion, I'm convinced the wheel eventually turns, and it's followed by God's anger, and God's judgment. To say that Yahweh is a loyal God, isn't to say that God won't get angry, and won't punish. God's loyalty means that if you respond to God's judgment by calling out to Him, that God will respond by calling to mind the covenant, and showing mercy, and helping.
It'd be much better for us if we took the advice of verse 3.
(3) Blessed are the ones keeping rule/law (Exodus 21:1),
the one practicing righteousness at every moment.
But if you don't, or when you don't, Psalm 106 is a psalm that you can use as a giant map, to tell you exactly where you're at with God. When God's patience has run out, and He's angry with you, and bringing judgment on you, you can say, "We have sinned; we have done evil; we have acted wickedly." You can confess to God the creative ways that you have rebelled. And you can cry out to a merciful God, and be confident that God will hear, and God will turn, and God will rescue.
So when we praise Yahweh for his loyalty, for how good it is, and how long-lasting it is, that's what we mean. God is the one who takes us back, when we confess and turn.
