A record of wrong

 

Psalm 106

Psalm 106 offers a national confession of sin. "Both we and our ancestors have sinned" (106:6). Reaching through his peoples' history, the psalmist acknowledges what we read in scripture. Israel is full of contradiction. Saved by God only to turn from God. For about thirty verses, the psalmist recounts various episodes of this. It's a reminder that Israel's faithful memory was always short. The psalmist also includes God's faithfulness in this confession. Even though the nation proved unfaithful, "for their sake he remembered his covenant (100:45). God will always show compassion. What is missing, though, is a telling of the psalmist's sin. Yes, he includes himself and the people he knows now among those who have sinned. But he only reminds us of Israel's past sin. He never fills us in on how he and his people have sinned today. Or has he? We don't need his record of wrongs laid out before us to know they're probably in line with what we read in the Bible. In so many ways, no matter what our sins are (yes, ours), they're nothing new. Certainly not to God. We should include our sin and confession because like the psalmist and his people and like his ancestors, our faithful memory is poor. Yours. Mine. And ours. Most of us, I imagine, would say we are trying to do and be better. Praise God! But don't you think that was true of others before us, too? Of course. So, as we read how the people of God failed God, we aren't only learning something about them. We are acknowledging something about ourselves, too. When you read how the Israelites sinned against God, you can see how what you are (or aren't) and what you do (or don't do) is nothing new to God. God's people today share the same struggles with faith and obedience as all God's people have. The good news? God will always show compassion. Stay blessed...john