The diversity of the Psalms truly makes them one of the books of the Bible that are applicable to most aspects if not all aspects of life. In general, psalms are songs of praise and worship, but they are also prayers and supplications to the LORD. In my continuous reading, I stumbled upon a type of psalm that is not too common among the Psalms, and it is a psalm that I call “A Psalm of repentance”. As much as psalms are filled with extolling the greatness of God, worshipping His Holy Name, praising His might, giving thanks to the LORD, declaring His wonderful deeds, calling upon His Name for help and rescue, etc., Psalm 106 is a psalm that in addition to ascribing glory to the LORD adds repentance to the mix. It is a psalm that take us into the history of Israel’s journey including their rebellion against the LORD their God. It is a psalm that does not shy away from painting a bad light on Israel nor attempting to change the narrative. There is no “we used to be bad but now we are good” type of script, no, the psalmist is as truthful as it gets, his goal is not to impress people but to touch the heart of God. In today’s post, my goal is to show what real repentance looks like before the LORD by using the psalmist’s framework.
Many of us do not know how to repent which might also stems from the fact that we do not know what it means to repent. To repent is to turn away from sin, or change one’s mind (Merriam-Webster), it is to go the opposite direction you started on. When we repent of our sins, we essentially forfeit them and choose to walk in the direction of the LORD Jesus. Repenting is an action that ushers in the new order to live for the Christian. There is no way you can repent and continue in the old. That would mean there was no real repentance, and Christ would have died for nothing. I am not talking about falling short but rather that continuous life of sin that should no longer be your lot as a redeemed child of God. In Psalm 106, the psalmist provides a framework to repent which I have combined into four categories: worshipping the LORD, acknowledging your sin, confessing the specific sin before the LORD, and stating what the LORD has done while turning to God for salvation.
First, the psalmist starts by worshipping God through thanksgiving and extolling His greatness. He declares the holiness of the LORD by showing that only the righteous or those who constantly do what is right can have an acceptable worship before the LORD (verses 1-3). He also magnifies the LORD through His attributes. This is often the right way to approach God, He enjoys our worship; when we elevate Him, we are doing what we were created to do. He must increase and we must decrease (John 3:30). Starting your repentance framework with God allows you to put your focus on the reason for having to repent which is an offense to the Great I AM. God is the first being we sin against, so it is only natural that we bring our plea back to Him. Starting with who God is refocuses our mind to the might and greatness of God while giving us a right appreciation of our smallness.
Second, the psalmist acknowledges his sin or wrongdoing. In this context, the psalmist acknowledges the sin of the entire people, saying “We have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.” (Psalm 106:6). This is not the first time in the Bible that the intercessor acknowledges wrongdoing on behalf of others or identifies with the sin of the people even when the intercessor himself might be without fault. Think of Moses, Joshua or Daniel in their prayers to God. This teaches us that before a holy God the only recourse is humility. No one comes before the LORD touting his or her own horn, you come before the LORD in humility knowing that He is holy, and you are not. When we are before the LORD, there is no place for justification or argument we simply humble ourselves, we cannot declare ourselves righteous. Job taught us what not to do when he demanded a hearing before the LORD to defend his righteousness as we got from God’s response (Job 38). Indeed, acknowledging our sin is our surrendering.
Third, the psalmist confesses specifically the sins committed. There is no generalisation of anything, here the psalmist states truthfully everything that the people have done against the LORD: not giving any thought to the Lord’s miracles; not remembering the LORD’s kindness; forgetting what the LORD has done repeatedly; not waiting on God’s counsel; giving in to their craving; putting God to the test; forgetting the God who saved them; exchanging the Glory of God for an idol; despising the promises of God; grumbling against the LORD; disobeying the LORD (not destroying the people whose lands the LORD had given them as commanded by Him and mingling with them); yoking themselves to false gods, eating sacrifices offered to false gods, sacrificing their sons and daughters to demons, and shedding innocent blood (see verses 7-39). The list is quite long and these are not sins anyone could be proud of, yet the psalmist took courage and brought them all before the LORD. When we approach the One in whom there is no lie, the One who is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), we ought to be truthful. Lying does not have its place before a Holy God (1 John 1:5), this is the error that Ananias and Sapphira made when confronted by Peter (Acts 5:1-11). Let us be transparent before the One who can cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Fourth, the psalmist states what the LORD has done and turns to Him for salvation. This too must be our posture. When we state what the LORD has done, it reinforces the truthfulness and faithfulness of the LORD. He is a covenant keeping God who does exactly what He promises to do. When we turn to the LORD for salvation, we recognize and acknowledge that He alone is able to save us from our filth, from our sins and offer us a redemptive life. Stating what the LORD has done is a remedy for not forgetting what He has done which is not seen in the best light before the LORD.The word of God is clear, salvation belongs to our God, therefore we should submit to Him and look to Him for our salvation. He is a good God, a good Shepherd who loves and cares greatly about His sheep. I pray we learn to run to the LORD in repentance, not covering up our sins but quickly laying them before Him while there is still time for He is faithful and just to forgive us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). May we be people who live a life of repentance as the psalmist teaches. Amen.
A Word Aptly Spoken 