Psalm 106:1b "Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!"
Day 143 – Psalm 106
“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!” Psalm 106:1b
ANOTHER HISTORICAL PSALM
Psalm 106 is another “historical psalm” written in a similar vein as Psalm 105. While both of these historical psalms have something in common, that is “the history of Israel”, their literary approaches are different.
“Praise the LORD!
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.”
Psalm 106:1
1. “Praise the LORD”
a) Both anonymous psalmists began with a call to offer praise and thanks to God. (We assume that Psalms 105 and 106 had different authors.)
b) Both psalmists had hearts that moved them to praise the Lord.
c) They sought to encourage their readers to similarly praise God.
2. “Oh, give thanks to the LORD”
a) This was an even more direct appeal to encourage people to think about God.
b) A heartfelt faith in God would cause the individual to “give thanks to the LORD”.
3. Two reasons highlighted
a) “He is good”
i) Psalm 106 would attempt to trace the goodness of the Lord to Israel.
ii) The kindness of God to Israel would reveal His goodness.
iii) The good deeds of God reflect the essence of the nature of God- that He is good!
iv) The heart should naturally be moved to give thanks to God for being so good to the nation and to the individual who fears the Lord (Psalm 86:5).
b) “His mercy endures forever”
i) The mercy of the Lord is highlighted for good reason. Without God’s mercy, the nation of Israel would never have survived, let alone blessed!
ii) God’s mercy is highlighted in the core text where God revealed Himself to Moses
(Exodus 34:6-7).