Psalm 106 - The Contemplative Bible Meditation Series

Psalm 106 is a sacred mirror.

It reflects our shared human story,

A longing for the divine,

A forgetfulness,

A flattering and ultimately the unyielding mercy that draws us back to centre.

This psalm,

Steeped in memory and grace,

Calls modern readers into the timeless pattern of spiritual relationship,

Gratitude,

Rebellion,

Repentance and restoration.

In an age of relentless distraction and emotional fragmentation,

Psalm 106 becomes a gentle anchor.

It is both history and therapy,

Tracing the psyche's tendency to resist what heals it and the soul's deep yearning for the one who never abandons.

It reminds us that while the surface of our lives may seem scattered and chaotic,

The deeper currents of mercy and grace flow constant.

Let us move through this psalm slowly,

With open hearts.

Allow each verse to be a breath,

An invitation into greater awareness of your relationship with yourself,

With others and with the divine.

Psalm 106 O give thanks to the Lord for he is good,

For his mercy endures forever.

Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord,

Who can declare all his praise?

Blessed are those who keep justice and he who does righteousness at all times.

Remember me,

O Lord,

With the favour you have toward your people.

O visit me with your salvation,

That I may see the benefit of your chosen ones,

That I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

That I may glow thee with your inheritance.

We have sinned with our fathers,

We have committed iniquity,

We have done wickedly.

Our fathers in Egypt did not understand your wonders,

They did not remember the multitude of your mercies,

But rebelled by the sea,

The Dead Sea.

Nevertheless,

He saved them for his name's sake,

That he might make his mighty power known.

He rebuked the Dead Sea also and it dried up,

So he led them through the depths as through the wilderness.

He saved them from the hand of him who hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

The waters covered their enemies,

There was not one of them left.

Then they believed his words,

They sang his praise.

They soon forgot his works,

They did not wait for his counsel,

But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tested God in the desert.

And he gave them their request,

But sent leanness into their soul.

When they envied Moses in the camp and Aaron the saint of the Lord,

The earth opened up and sallowed Dathan and covered the faction of Abiram.

A fire was kindled in their company,

The flame burnt up the wicked.

They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped the moulded image.

Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass.

They forgot God,

Their saviour,

Who had done great things in Egypt.

Wondrous works in the land of Ham,

Awesome things by the Red Sea.

Therefore,

He said that he would destroy them,

Had not Moses,

His chosen one,

Stood before him in the breach to turn away his wrath,

Lest he destroy them.

Then they despised the pleasant land,

They did not believe his word,

But complained in their tents and did not heed the voice of the Lord.

Therefore,

He raised his hand in an oath against them,

To overthrow them in the wilderness,

To overthrow their descendants among the nations and to scatter them in the lands.

They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices made to the dead.

Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds and the plague broke out among them.

Then Phinehas stood up and intervened and the plague was stopped,

And that was accounted to him for righteousness to all generations forevermore.

They angered him also at the waters of Strife,

So that it went ill with Moses on account of them,

Because they rebelled against his spirit so that he spoke rashly with his lips.

They did not destroy the peoples concerning whom the Lord had commanded them,

But they mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works.

They served their idols,

Which became a snare to them.

They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons and shed innocent blood,

The blood of their sons and daughters,

Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,

And the land was polluted with blood.

Thus they were defiled by their own works and played the harlot by their own deeds.

Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against his people,

So that he abhorred his own inheritance,

And he gave them into the hand of the Gentiles,

And those who hated them ruled over them.

Their enemies also oppressed them,

And they were brought into subjection under their hand.

Many times he delivered them,

But they rebelled in their counsel and were brought low for their iniquity.

Nevertheless,

He regarded their affliction when he heard their cry,

And for their sake he remembered his covenant and relented according to the multitude of his mercies.

He also made them to be pitied by all those who carried them away captive.

Save us,

O Lord our God,

And gather us from among the Gentiles,

To give thanks in your holy name,

To triumph in your praise.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

From everlasting to everlasting.

And let all the people say,

Amen.

Praise the Lord.

O give thanks to the Lord,

For he is good,

For his mercy endures for ever.

Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?

Who can declare all his praise?

Blessed are those who keep justice,

And he who does righteousness at all times.

Remember me,

O Lord,

With the favor you have toward your people.

O visit me with your salvation,

That I may see the benefit of your chosen ones,

That I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

That I may glory with your inheritance.

We begin with praise.

Praise is not just a command,

But an orientation.

Gratitude aligns us with grace.

When we start with thanksgiving,

We clear space within the heart for light to enter.

The soul instinctively knows we are sustained not by merit,

But by mercy.

Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?

Who can declare all his praise?

Awe humbles the ego.

We realize the divine cannot be contained by intellect.

We are not called to understand as much as to witness.

This verse asks us to surrender the need for certainty and live in wonder.

The soul aches to be seen,

To be included,

And there is no shame in this longing.

We know that we are wired for connection.

Spiritually,

We seek union to see and be seen by love itself.

At our core is a longing not only to be saved,

But to be remembered,

Valued,

And rejoiced over.

We have sinned with our fathers.

We have committed iniquity.

We have done wickedly.

Our fathers in Egypt did not understand your wonders.

They did not remember the multitude of your mercies,

But rebelled by the sea,

The Red Sea.

Nevertheless,

He saved them for his name's sake,

That he might make his mighty power known.

He rebuked the Red Sea also,

And it dried up.

So he led them to the depths as to the wilderness.

He saved them from the hand of him who hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

The waters covered their enemies.

There was not one of them left.

Then they believed his words and sang his praise.

These verses start with a courageous moment.

Confession Not of individual failure alone,

But a collective forgetting.

This is not about guilt,

It's about honesty.

Healing begins when we own the truth.

We nowadays call this shadow work,

Bringing to light whatever we have disowned.

But despite the rebellion,

Despite the rebellion of his people,

Mercy flows.

This is the beginning of trust.

In life,

We often fear rejection when we fail.

But this psalm says that God remains.

The mercy of God is not based on your performance,

But it's rooted in identity.

We are loved because of who God is.

And when we remember,

When we remember all we have been given,

How easy it is to return to joy.

Not naive optimism,

But it's the emotional cycle of the soul.

We fall,

We return,

We rejoice.

And every time we turn back,

It reaffirms our spiritual resilience.

Verses 13-33 They soon forgot his works,

They did not wait for his counsel,

But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tested God in the desert.

And he gave them their request,

But sent leanness into their soul.

When they envied Moses in the camp and Aaron the saint of the Lord,

The earth opened up and sallowed Dathan and covered the faction of Abiram.

A fire was kindled in their company,

The flame burned up the wicked.

They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped the moulded image.

Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass.

They forgot God their saviour who had done great things in Egypt,

Wondrous works in the land of Ham,

Awesome things by the Red Sea.

Therefore,

He said that he would destroy them.

Had not Moses,

His chosen one,

Stood before him in the breach to turn away his wrath lest he destroy them?

Then they despised the pleasant land,

They did not believe his word,

But complained in their tents and did not heed the voice of the Lord.

Therefore,

He raised his hand in an oath against them to overthrow them in the wilderness,

To overthrow their descendants among the nations and to scatter them in the lands.

They joined themselves also to Baal of Pur and its sacrifices made to the dead.

Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds,

And the plague broke out among them.

Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,

And the plague was stopped.

And that was accounted to him for righteousness to all generations forevermore.

They angered him also at the waters of Strife,

So that it went ill with Moses on account of them,

Because they rebelled against his spirit,

So that he spoke rashly with his lips.

The Pattern of Rebellion and Mercy These verses recount Israel's many failings,

Forgetting God's works,

Envying leaders,

Worshipping idols,

Testing the divine and complaining.

This is a pattern of disconnection,

The refusal to stay in the present moment where God's love resides.

Desire is not sinful,

But compulsive desire.

It detaches us from presence.

When we chase what isn't real,

We miss what is.

And most of our anxiety can be traced back to our craving for something that is outside of us,

For something that is outside of now.

There are times when what we get isn't what we need.

A lean soul is one fed on what doesn't satisfy.

True nourishment is in our stillness and divine intimacy.

This is a warning,

Not against wanting,

But against misdirected longing.

And in each of us there is a Phineas,

The Phineas who stood up and intervened,

Phineas,

The part of us that rises to interrupt the cycle.

This is the healing impulse,

The therapist within,

The inner intercessor.

This psalm teaches us that transformation often begins with one bold,

Loving choice.

Verses 34-46 They did not destroy the peoples concerning whom the Lord had commanded them,

But they mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works.

They served their idols which became a snare to them.

They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons and shed innocent blood,

The blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,

And the land was polluted with blood.

Thus they were defiled by their own works and played the harlot by their own deeds.

Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people so that He abhorred His own inheritance.

And He gave them into the hand of the Gentiles and those who hated them ruled over them.

Their enemies also oppressed them and they were brought into subjection under their hand.

Many times He delivered them,

But they rebelled in their counsel and were brought low for their iniquity.

These verses talk about the consequences of forgetting.

The people mingled with the nations and adopted harmful practices.

This is not about cultural purity.

It's about energetic resonance.

When we forget our sacred identity,

We take on what doesn't serve our peace.

The soul suffers when it forgets its source.

They even sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.

A chilling metaphor.

What do we sacrifice today?

Our time,

Our joy,

Our authenticity.

Do we sacrifice these things,

Maybe for approval,

Maybe for success?

These verses hold a mirror to our misplaced devotions.

When our inner altar hosts false gods,

Fear,

Ego,

Control,

Our actions lose alignment.

But nevertheless He regarded their afflictions when He heard their cry.

And here this divine posture ever attuned to suffering.

God does not withdraw.

He remembers covenant.

He moves with compassion.

Even when we lose the tread,

The divine never does.

Verses 47 and 48 Save us,

O Lord our God,

And gather us from among the Gentiles to give thanks in your holy name to triumph in your praise.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting and let all the people say Amen.

Praise the Lord.

The journey ends where it began with praise.

But this is a seasoned praise,

Not naive but mature.

This is a praise born of wandering and returning,

Of knowing that the one we seek has always been seeking us.

Restoration is not the reversal of wounds but the weaving of them into wisdom.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting let all the people say Amen.

Amen.

Let it be so.

This is the mantra of surrender and trust.

It is our collective breath.

Our echo of divine assurance.

A prayer.

Beloved presence,

You who are patient beyond measure.

Thank you for remembering us when we forget ourselves.

Thank you for calling us back when we wander into shadows.

Plant within us a deep remembrance of your mercy.

When we falter,

Remind us we are still held.

Shape our forgetfulness into longing,

Our longing into the turning and our returning into joy.

May our days be shaped by gratitude,

Our hearts guarded by awe and our souls grounded in peace.

Amen.