Psalm 106:1–6 1Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever. 2Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can shew forth all his praise? 3Blessed are they that keep judgment, And he that doeth righteousness at all times. 4Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation; 5That I may see the good of thy chosen, That I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, That I may glory with thine inheritance. 6We have sinned with our fathers, We have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
“I want to play too”, I remember my young sons saying those words as I played video games. They wanted in on the fun, to be included in my N64 Goldeneye adventures.
Of course, I let them play too, not out of the kindness of my heart mind you, but because I get bad motion sickness playing some video games and I needed a break. I recovered, they felt included as they got in on the fun. I love and enjoy them now that they are grown, but I sure do miss those little fellers so much!
The psalmist asked to be included, it is as though he said, “I want to play too”. Look at what he said,
Psalm 106:4 Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;
He wants to be included with the favor that God promised his people and to share in the salvation provided for them.
Psalm 106:5 That I may see the good of thy chosen, That I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, That I may glory with thine inheritance.
This divinely inspired author wants to have a part in the rejoicing and gladness of the nation of Israel. He wants to get in on their inheritance.
Like my sons, the it is though this psalmist prays, “I want to play too”, “I want to be included in the fun”
Now here is a big big difference between the psalmist and my sons, I was having a good time when my sons asked to join (If making yourself sick and dizzy can be so called), but the nation of Israel was not in a period of prosperity, they were in time of great trouble.
The next to last verse of this Psalm gives us a hint as to the period in which it was penned.
Psalm 106:47 Save us, O Lord our God, And gather us from among the heathen, To give thanks unto thy holy name, And to triumph in thy praise.
This Psalm was written during the captivity of Israel when there was very little gladness or rejoicing. Though there was no apparent blessing upon the nation, by faith the Psalmist is asking to be included in future fun. He is trusting in the faithfulness of God and planning upon his promises.
What is the point for me?
My father included me.
Though I was not born a member of God’s chosen nation of Israel he has allowed me to share in the salvation first offered to them.
He is letting me play too!
I too must plan on promises.
There are plenty of times in which following this path is not fun but like the Psalmist I know that the party is coming and by his mercy I will partake.
How about you?
have you accepted your invitation? Have you asked to be included? He promised he would if you asked. Do you want to play too?