Main Theme of Ps.106: See God’s steadfast love and faithfulness in the face of Israel’s constant rebellion.[1]
Or as Matthew Henry says, "Though men are false - God is faithful."
In this Psalm we are encouraged to praise the Lord. We are to do so for specific reasons: 1) because of the goodness of the Lord and 2) because of the steadfast love of the Lord. The historical context is significant. The people of Israel are living at a time in history when it seems that the Lord is NOT good and NOT steadfast in his love. These feelings are undoubtedly due to their present situation and as a result of their corporate/national (not to the exclusion of individual) sin. They are in exile most probably (v.47). They have no land, no righteous ruler to govern them, they are scattered (not a people), and it seems that the Lord has forsaken them (no presence). Given all present physical evidence, they forget what the Lord has promised. They forget history. They forget all of the mighty deeds and works that he had previously demonstrated, despite their sin, all to prove himself faithful to his covenant with their fathers (this is shown in Ps.105).
What is Steadfast Love?
It is absolute and objective. In all history, the foundation which has always existed, but is now being doubted (as the result of sin) must be restated: “Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” This truth is absolute and, in a way, objective.[2] It is never to be doubted, being founded upon the eternal counsels of God and witnessed countless times throughout the history of God’s people. VanGemeren comments on this phrase, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” – “This statement seems to have taken on an almost creedal status by the time these texts were worked into the canonical framework. Indeed, two psalms (Ps.118; 136) are lengthy, lyrical explorations of this very confession of faith.”[3] This is why the Scriptures are so important. They must be read and trusted. They must be practiced so that the heart (which is so often deceived by its own testimonies and witnesses in the sinful world) can see and feel its power. Even though we are perishing on this earth…The Lord IS good. What does it mean that the Lord’s is steadfast in his love?
The term is best expressed in the concept of faithfulness, steadfast love, or more generally kindness. It has a strong relational aspect that is essential to any proper definition of the term. It describes the disposition and beneficent actions of God toward the faithful, Israel his people, and humanity in general. [4] For all practical purposes, I will use the term steadfast love when speaking of divine hesed.
Steadfast Love is best witnessed in covenant (vv.4, 43-46). It is not wise to regard hesed as a specific ingredient in the covenant; rather the covenant “comes in to reinforce the commitment to hesed in a situation where its exercise is not naturally to be expected or is likely to be put under strain by future circumstances.”[5] In the midst of Israel’s rebellion, the Psalmist places his trust, in the covenant of God: “Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity. Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.” Therefore, we see the hesed of God best in his covenantal dealings with his people – Israel (in history) and his Church (presently).[6] In a word, when we see the covenantal expressions in the Scriptures, we must think of them as always being founded upon the hesed of God.
Steadfast love is witnessed by the mighty works of God (v.2): His works are too many to be counted and so mighty we can barely fathom them. Therefore the Psalmist proclaims, “Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise?”[7] These works are not to be seen outside of the context of the contrast between the faithfulness of God and Israel’s rebellion. Though Israel was a sinful people he delivered them at the Red Sea (v.8-12).
Being good at justice is not particular only to the Christian. All religions seem to be great at looking at the other man and judging whether his actions are right or not. Where the God of the Bible stands apart is in the strength of his mercy. He is mighty in mercy. It takes no strength whatsoever to judge someone. But it takes all the strength one can muster up to show mercy to someone who has wronged us. If you don't believe it - you've never tried it.
It was the explicit command of the Lord given to Moses to give to the first and second generation of Israel, to remember the works the that the Lord had done previously in their midst to deliver them. They were to share these stories with their children. They were to be meditated upon to cultivate a trusting heart – not forgotten. These mighty works show us just how strong and mighty he really is. They show us how just, righteous and holy he really is. Our God is an awesome God. His is to be feared among the nations. Ultimately, the works of God are displayed to show that he is a covenant keeping God. He will never go back on his promises – he will never break his covenantal oath!
Even though these things are true, sin deceives the heart. Is God really good? Is his love really steadfast? Does it really last forever? Is this not the enemies deception in the garden with Eve? The Lord knows the heart.[8] Therefore, our Father in heaven has given us records of his grace and loving-kindness throughout history.[9] These are to help us. We have already seen how he shows he is steadfast in love by entering into covenantal relationships with humanity.[10] He saved his people over and over again – he delivered them from Egypt through the Red Sea, He brought water from a rock, He defeated countless armies with very few – and all of this, not because they were more righteous or more in number than all the other nations, but simply because he loved them.[11]
Steadfast love reigns in Righteousness (v.3). So then we must be careful not to mix things up. The grace and steadfast love of God reigns in righteousness as the Psalmist is quick to note, “Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times.”[12] Because divine hesed is rooted in covenant, we must not fall into error. The term “blessed” here is used as a covenantal term – as apposed to “cursed”. Allow me to identify at least three errors that commonly arise (witnessed both biblically and practically) when we think of divine love in covenantal relationships.
1. The Sin of Forgetfulness and Doubt (vv.7, 13, and 21). The children of Israel forgot God’s mighty works! How can this happen?! Therefore, because of their present situation, they believed God not to be a good God who was steadfast in his love for them. He led them into the wilderness and forgot them! We all know what this is like. For some of us our present situations lead us to believe that God doesn’t love us. This can be seen many ways: 1) Relationally – like marriages that are experiencing difficult times; 2) Financially – like when we use credit cards or go to others outside of the church for help, or simply submit to the Lord’s provision; 3) Physically – it is hard to believe that God is faithful when we are sick or our loved ones are sick; and 4) Consciously - We also tend to believe this when our sins are so burdensome and so great, we are led to believe that God is either not strong enough to deliver us or he, because of our sin, is unwilling to deliver us. These times of seeming impossibility are the times that the strength of the Lord is best seen. It is times like this, when all things that are unfaithful fall away that the faithfulness of the Lord can be clearly seen!
We cannot forget the steadfast love of God. What once began with mere forgetfulness ends in the most detestable sins one could imagine (See, vv.37-39).
2. The Sin of Presumption (vv.16-18; 28-31). Many people forget that God’s love reigns in righteousness – the presume upon the hesed of God. See Rom 2:4. We all do this. We say, “Let us sin that grace may abound!” or we say, “God will forgive me on the other side of this sin.” When one surveys what people believe about God, he can hardly go without hearing, “God is love.” Or that, “I know God loves me and you.” Although this is true, it is often misunderstood. Why? Because the conclusion that God loves me or you is reached without considering the holiness and righteousness of God. In other words, one believes God loves them without considering exactly how he can love them AND be righteous at the same time. What we really believe when we think like this is that God just sweeps our sins under the rug. He just does away with them. Now I know intellectually we don’t think like this – but deep down there is a disconnect. When God loves us – we hardly ever say, “But God, you said if we sinned we deserve wrath not love. What about your justice?” Therefore, many people in thinking and considering the love of God really believe he is unjust – and they would rather him be. But history tells us that he is. When the people of Israel sinned by whoring after the daughters of Moab and bowing down to their gods, God sent a plague among them claimed 24,000 lives! He does not sweep our sins under the rug. The Cross of Christ is the chief example. Also consider the Genesis 3:7 decision.
3. Sin of Self-Reliance (vv.19 and 36-36). This is essentially idol worship – whether it be money, fame, or morality. The underlying presumption is human pride and autonomy. I choose! I choose even what God I will serve. Many people believe that Divine love is given after (or upon the condition of) covenant fidelity. This is the glory that we find in no other god but our God – the Christian God of the Scriptures, who became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn 1:14) – He is Jesus Christ. The love of God is what places us in his covenant community. It is a merciful initiation. We do not deserve it. There is nothing we can do to deserve or purchase it. It is the love of God that makes a dead sinner live. Not because he/she is righteous, but simply because the all-wise-God decided to love him/her (cf. Deut 7:6-11). This is the praise of God’s mercy and grace – that divine steadfast love is not given because meet covenant stipulations, but covenant stipulations are met BECAUSE God shows us his steadfast love! God’s love and kindness leads us to repentance![13] Our repentance does not merit the hesed of God. But Scott, what of all the verses that say he blesses those who are faithful to the covenant? Precisely! Without Divine Love we could not be faithful. We are faithful because he loves us.[14]
This is the power of the Gospel. In the history of redemption, God’s people had proven time and time again to be unfaithful. They rebelled and provoked the Lord to anger countless times. But the Lord has never been ignorant of the human heart. He knew that man would fall into sin and rebellion. Upon understanding this, one is likely to think that God therefore lowered his standard to man’s ability. But NO! Our God is a righteous God. He is a holy God.[15] The stipulations of the covenant MUST be met. Once we see the conditions of the covenant, those who are humble and contrite and honest will see that they cannot meet those conditions. They therefore look for another way into the covenant – God has provided a way! Through Jesus Christ! Because God is just – the conditions must be met. Because he is merciful and steadfast in his love – he provided a substitute, through whom we can become the people of God – despite our sin! Blessed are those who love justice and work righteousness. This is not a light verse that allows for persistent sin. The people of God are the recipients of God’s grace. They are a part of his New Covenant which Jesus Christ inaugurated. This covenant is greater than all previous ones. In this covenant, the conditions of the covenant are a part of the promises given in the covenant! This is amazing! We read about this in Jeremiah 31:31-34; 32:40.
Finally, in order to understand the foundations of the Gospel better, we must understand that divine hesed is given to the people of God as the result of a prior commitment or bond. This commitment or bond expects reciprocity and mutuality and demands service, fear, and even a corresponding exercise of hesed in return.[16] As the second generation Israelites were on the plains of Moab about to enter the Promised Land, Moses continually reminded them of the covenant and how it was sworn to their fathers.[17] But these covenants were just shadows that reflected and pointed to a greater covenant. The covenant that took place before the world began in the counsels of the Trinity – between the Father and the Son. This is called the Covenant of Redemption. The covenant of redemption is typically described as a covenant between the Father and the Son rather than as a covenant between all three members of the Godhead. This is because the Bible presents the Son as the Redeemer, not the Holy Spirit, and it presents the Father as the one who permits, commands and accepts the Son's sacrifice. The Holy Spirit is critically important to the salvation process, but the condition of redemption was to be fulfilled by the Son in obligation to the Father, and the Father was to reward the Son's obedience. This is the essence of the covenant of redemption: a condition laid on the Redeemer, and a reward promised to the Redeemer upon fulfillment of the condition.[18]
So, the answer is yes – our salvation, the salvation of the people of God IS conditional. For those who are loved of God – those conditions are met my the Savior Jesus Christ! This we learn in Romans 5:19, “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” This is the Gospel. His perfect obedience is credited to our account! When we are blessed with the presence of God, the Gospel tells us the Jesus was cursed and forsaken by God. The sins of God’s people were placed upon the shoulders of Christ on the Cross, while the love and liberty that Christ deserved was given to his people. He took the wrath of God. We now experience the unhindered smile of God. And because Jesus paid for all of the sins of his people, his people will rise with him in glorification![19]
How is steadfast love now to be understood? Because those who believe in Christ now have the righteousness of Christ, and are “in Christ,” the love that the Father has for the Son is rightly bestowed upon us.[20] Jesus Christ loves his own with the love with which the Father loves him! This is the greatest news in the universe! Praise the Lord. This is the steadfast love of God – that just as God the Father will never stop loving the Son, so to he will never stop loving those for whom his Son died! His hesed truly does last forever![21]
[1] In this Psalm and the other Salvation Historical psalms like it, the reader is to see God’s hesed in contrast to Israel’s unfaithfulness.
[2] Meaning, it’s validity is not dependent on present circumstances in the natural or material world. In other words, our subjective circumstances many times cause us to wrongfully forsake objective truths – this should not be. Rather, it is in times when the objective truths seem not to exist that the people of God are to trust them the most. These are those times of impossibility where our Lord proves himself most faithful and most mighty.
[3] VanGemeren, NIDOTTE, #2874.
[4] The term occurs in the OT 246x, over half of them in the Psalms.
[5] VanGemeren, #2874.
[6] Cf. Deut 7:12 “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers.” See also, Also cf. Deut 7:9; 1Kngs 8:23; 2Chron 6:14: Neh 1:5, 9:32; Ps 25:10; 89:28; 106:45; 54:10; Dan 9:14.
[7] He did these things, not because Israel was without sin – but so that he could free them from their captivity to sin. Thus we see in all his mighty works this pattern: Deliverance à Law à Obedience à Blessing. Notice that the deliverance came first. Sin would have us believe it other wise with Law à Obedience à Deliverance/Blessing. When reading, try and find this theme or progress: Deliverance then law (i.e. deliverance from Egypt to Mt. Sinai where the law was given). See Ps.105:43-45.
[8] In order for the heart of man to have a chance at change that heart must eventually stop beating. Thus we see the grace of God in the garden when he expelled Adam and Eve – making sure that the fruit leading to eternal life would remain uneaten by them. He did not want the sinful heart to also be the eternal heart. He also shortened their lifespan. Even though God changes the heart in this lifetime – he has not seen fit to rid man of all his sinful thorns. The repentant believer, with his new heart, has sin dwelling within – however, sin no longer has its dominion. The Strong Man has taken over. The weaker man still knocks on the door.
[9] This “history” in much of the literature is often called “Redemptive History.” Because the Lord is the creator of all things, even time and space – all of his creation is under his care. Humanity is under a more particular care – having been given the privilege and honor of being created in God’s image. Redemptive History can be seen in a certain progression: Creation à Fall à Covenants (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David) à New Covenant (Christ) Inauguration (Advent, death, resurrection) à The present day “Now but not yet” (After the death and resurrection of Christ but before his final return) à Consummation (Final Return of Christ).
[10] See Ps.105 for the covenantal emphasis esp. the covenant he made with Abraham (Gen 12, 15, 17). In this “Salvation Historical” Psalm, the emphasis is not hesed in light of covenant, but hesed in the face of rebellion and unfaithfulness.
[11] See Deut 7:6-11, “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be pa people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.”
[12] Cf. Rom 5:21.
[13] Cf. Rom 2:4, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, no knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”
[14] This truth brings to light so many Scriptures that were once either misunderstood or whose meaning was simply not known. Cf. 1Jn 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.” and 1Jn 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” See also 1Jn 3:1.
[15] Consider the holiness of God in the Garden in respect to Adam’s sin. He could have overlooked the sin and acted like it didn’t happen. But his holiness and righteousness would not allow the sin to go unpunished. His love for mankind would not allow Adam’s ultimate death. Therefore God send his Son to take Adam’s punishment and die Adam’s death! Imagine the decision God made at Gen 3:7!
[16] See VanGemeren, Ibid.
[17] These are seen most in the book of Deuteronomy, where Moses preaches 3 sermons to the children of Israel – the general theme of the sermons being Ultimate Covenant Fidelity of God and the petition to Covenant Obedience based on such. Cf. Deut 4:31; 7:12; 8:18; 31:20; Josh 9:15.
[18] Ra McLaughlin’s definition of the Covenant of Redemption. Other scholars may apply different terms when speaking of this inter-Trinitarian commitment.
Scriptural Data for the Covenant of Redemption: Eph. 1:4ff.; 3:11; II Thess. 2:13; II Tim. 1:9; Jas. 2:5; I Pet. 1:2, etc. Now here we find within the persons of the Holy Trinity a particular division of labor: The Father is the originator, the Son is the executor and the Holy Spirit is the applier. Berkhof states that this can only be the result of a voluntary agreement among the persons of the Trinity, so that their internal relations assume the form of a covenant life…a covenant in the proper and fullest sense of the word, the parties meeting on a footing of equality, a true suntheke (suntheke is one of the Greek terms for “covenant” where more bilaterality is assumed than in the other term “diatheke” – where more unilaterality is implied (but not to the exclusion of bilaterality). Diatheke is the LXX’s translation of the OT term berith (covenant).
There are present in the Scriptures the essential elements of a covenant (contracting parties, a promise or promises, and a condition):
- Ps. 2:7-9 – the parties are mentioned and a promise is indicated.
- Jn. 6:38,39; 10:18; 17:4 – Christ here repeatedly speaks of a task which the Father has entrusted to Him.
- Lk. 22:29 – Particularly important due to its terminology; namely, the verb used for ‘appoint’, diatithemi, the word from which diatheke is derived, which means to appoint by will, testament or covenant.
There are two OT passages which connect up the idea of the covenant immediately with the Messiah, namely, Ps. 89:3, which is based on II Sam. 7:12-14, and is proved to be a Messianic passage by Heb. 1:5 and Isa. 42:6, where the person referred to is the Servant of the Lord. It shows that this Servant is not merely Israel. There are passages in which the Messiah speaks of God as His God, thus using covenant language, namely, Ps. 22:1, 2 and Ps. 40:8.
[19] Cf. Rom 6:5ff, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his…Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him...”
[20] Perhaps no other biblical writer explains this more than the Apostle John. See, Jn 15:9, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” See also, Jn 14:21; 17:24. There are many others.
[21] The Scriptures use eschatological expressions when describing the love of Christ for his people – that is, how this love is expressed in the history of redemption. What I mean by this is, the people of God must have an eschatological view of time and reality – they must look to their “hope” which is “unseen” but is promised for them in glory (cf. Rom 8:24; Eph 1:10, 14, and many others).
