#DailyDevotion What Do Have To Praise The LORD For?
Psalm 106 Praise the LORD! Thank the LORD because He is good and merciful forever. 2Who can say what mighty things the LORD has done and tell about everything we should praise Him for?
Like many of the psalms in this section of the Psalter, there is a call to praise the LORD and to thank Him because He is good and merciful forever. Good and merciful are the attributes of God. He calls us to participate in them. Often people may scoff at this because they read about how the LORD punished people, wiped people out and exacted His anger out on them. They seem to forget He sent prophets to these people to call them to repentance. We forget He is being merciful to us through their examples to repent ourselves of our own sins and to turn to Him for grace and mercy. Instead we see His anger and spurn Him all the more. Then when we receive our just deserts, when “karma” hits us, we get angry with Him instead of admitting we were wrong and He is right.
Verse two asks who can tell of all the mighty things the LORD has done and everything we should praise Him for. John writes something similar towards the end of his gospel in ch. 21, “25Jesus also did many other things. If every one of these were written down, I suppose the world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Well many of the psalms in this section of the Psalter will attempt to do this.
3Blessed are those who practice justice and always do what is right. 4Remember me, O LORD, when You are kind to Your people; come and help me when You save them, 5so I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones, enjoy the happiness of Your people, and boast with those who are Your own.
I don’t think verse three is positing there are people who never sin or do wrong. We must remember the Law has all sorts of provisions in it for when we sin and do wrong. When these people sin and miss the mark, they repent and perform the proper sacrifices or other requirements of the Law. We as Christians are called to do the same things. When we do sin, we are called to repent, confess our sins, receive forgiveness, amend our way and make use of our baptism, absolution and the LORD’s Supper.
The psalmist wants to be remembered when the LORD is kind to His people. He wants to be among the number whom the LORD comes and helps when He saves them. He wants to enjoy the prosperity of the LORD’s chosen ones and enjoy their happiness. Sounds a lot like the song, “When the saints go marching in.”
What is the happiness and the prosperity of the LORD’s chosen ones? Isn’t it the LORD Himself? Isn’t it His presence? The LORD is our inheritance. Certainly the LORD may with Himself bring material blessings which we may enjoy. He does promise the meek shall inherit the earth. But our greatest blessing, happiness and joy must be possessing the LORD and being possessed by Him. It’s like nothing else matters when we are caught up being with the one we love. The earth may melt away under us but we don’t care. We should have that sort of love for our LORD Jesus Christ, the Father and the Holy Spirit. If we lack any good thing we should turn to Him and trust He will provide it. If we don’t have it, perhaps having that thing isn’t what is best for us. Jesus told us though, the Father knows what we need and we are worth more to Him than anything else. The proof is in the crucifixion of His Son, Jesus Christ. If the Father so loves us He would sacrifice His Son so we could be in communion with Him, despite our sins, surely we can see this great love for us and rejoice in it.
Good and merciful Father, grant that we take great joy in all Your goodness and receive from Your hands mercy every day so we may praise You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.