TLIC Psalms. October 5. They Were Rebellious.

Read Psalm 106:40-48. ⁴⁰Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage; ⁴¹he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them. ⁴²Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power. ⁴³Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity. ⁴⁴Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. ⁴⁵For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love. ⁴⁶He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive. ⁴⁷Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. ⁴⁸Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!

In all of antiquity there is nothing else like the Bible in terms of its sheer honesty through penitence. Most of Psalm 106, for example, is a record of Israel’s many failings. This section is no exception – they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity. That is the sort of phrase you simply will not find in Egyptian, Babylonian, or Persian inscriptions. Their kings always won the battle, and were always blessed by their gods.

But the true God, the God of Israel, the God who is the Christ, wants us to come to him in honest confession. He wants us to embrace reality, not just some version of it that we make up in order to look good to those around us. He wants us to remember our sinful state that oppressed us even as we rejected his grace and mercy. Why? So that then we can give him all the praise – Save us…that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.

To live is Christ is always this mixture of repentance and rejoicing, penitence and praise. Yes, they can and must live together in our prayer life. We must constantly remember who we would be without Christ and who we are with him.

Prayer. Jesus, without your indwelling life my purposes would be rebellious and my way iniquitous. Even with you I stumble constantly. Keep me by your steadfast love and faithfulness. I know you will. Amen.