May 3 — Confession and Thanksgiving for the Redeemed (Copy)
Scripture Reading (KJV)
Psalms 106-107
SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 106
¹ Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
² Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise?
³ Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.
⁴ Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;
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.
⁶ We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
⁷ Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
⁸ Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
⁹ He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
¹⁰ And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
¹¹ And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.
¹² Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
¹³ They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:
¹⁴ But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
¹⁵ And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
¹⁶ They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD.
¹⁷ The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram.
¹⁸ And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
¹⁹ They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.
²⁰ Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
²¹ They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
²² Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.
²³ Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
²⁴ Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:
²⁵ But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD.
²⁶ Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness:
²⁷ To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.
²⁸ They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
²⁹ Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.
³⁰ Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed.
³¹ And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
³² They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:
³³ Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
³⁴ They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them:
³⁵ But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.
³⁶ And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
³⁷ Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,
³⁸ And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
³⁹ Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.
⁴⁰ Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.
⁴¹ And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.
⁴² Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.
⁴³ Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
⁴⁴ Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:
⁴⁵ And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
⁴⁶ He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.
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.
⁴⁸ Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 107
¹ O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
² Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
³ And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
⁵ Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
⁶ Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
⁷ And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
⁸ Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
⁹ For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
¹⁰ Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
¹¹ Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
¹² Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
¹³ Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
¹⁵ Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
¹⁶ For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
¹⁷ Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
¹⁸ Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
¹⁹ Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
²⁰ He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
²¹ Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
²² And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
²³ They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
²⁴ These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
²⁵ For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
²⁶ They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
²⁷ They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end.
²⁸ Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
²⁹ He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
³⁰ Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
³¹ Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
³² Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
³³ He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
³⁴ A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
³⁵ He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
³⁶ And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
³⁷ And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
³⁸ He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
³⁹ Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
⁴⁰ He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
⁴¹ Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
⁴² The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
⁴³ Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
DEVOTIONAL:
Psalms 106 and 107 stand like a hinge in the Psalter: one looks back over Israel’s long story of rebellion and rescue, and the next calls the redeemed to speak. Psalm 106 tells the truth without varnish. It remembers God’s mighty works and then recounts how often the people answered mercy with forgetfulness, fear, and idolatry. Yet even as sin is named plainly, the psalm keeps returning to a steady hope: the LORD is good, and His covenant mercy does not fail.
In the Scriptures, remembering is not mere nostalgia. To remember is to live in faithful response to what God has done, and to forget is to drift into spiritual dullness. Psalm 106 traces that drift: gratitude collapses into complaining, desire hardens into rebellion, and borrowed worship becomes shame. The psalm also gives us a needed posture when we read Israel’s story: it invites us to say, with humility, “We have sinned,” refusing the temptation to stand above the text as judges rather than as needy hearers.
That confession is not the end of the song, because God’s mercy is not fragile. Psalm 106 speaks of the LORD remembering His covenant and turning toward His people with compassion. The language of God repenting in this psalm does not mean that He is fickle, but that He relents from judgment and acts in mercy according to His steadfast love. In Jesus the Messiah, this covenant mercy reaches its fullest expression, for He bears the consequences of our rebellion and brings sinners into a forgiveness grounded in His own blood.
Psalm 107 turns the gaze from confession to testimony. It describes people wandering in deserts, sitting in darkness and chains, sick because of iniquity, and sinking in storms at sea. Again and again the pattern is the same: “Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivereth them.” Praise in this psalm is not vague cheerfulness; it is specific thanksgiving to the God who breaks gates, guides the lost, heals the afflicted, and stills the waves. The repeated call to praise trains us to attach gratitude to the actual rescues of God.
Taken together, these psalms teach us to hold honesty and hope in the same hand. We do not soften sin, and we do not minimize mercy. A mature faith learns to name where it has wandered and then to name, with deeper joy, how the Lord brought it home. When the redeemed of the LORD learn to say so, the church becomes a community where confession opens into worship and where testimony strengthens the weary.
In daily life, practice faithful remembering. Rehearse the Lord’s works by staying close to Scripture, telling the stories of God’s deliverance in your home, and letting gratitude become a habit instead of a mood. When trouble comes, follow Psalm 107’s simple direction: cry to the Lord, then look for ways to thank Him out loud. In relationships, confess quickly, forgive freely, and let mercy shape the words you choose.
In U.S. civic life, the civic virtue of humility is strengthened when we can admit, like Psalm 106, that we have sinned and have needed mercy. Let us pray for leaders and citizens to practice truthful confession, grateful remembrance of God’s kindness, and compassionate care for neighbors who feel trapped, wandering, or overwhelmed. Christians should show up as people who tell the truth, give thanks without cynicism, and serve those in distress with steady love.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
How does Psalm 106 model confession without excusing sin?
What kinds of forgetting God’s works are most tempting for you, and how can Scripture reshape your memory?
In Psalm 107, which picture of deliverance speaks most directly to your current season, and why?
How can you make your gratitude more specific and more public this week in a way that points to the Redeemer?
What would humility and gratitude look like for you in conversations about your community and nation?
PRAYER:
ADORATION:
O LORD, thou art good, and thy mercy endureth for ever. Thou dost rule with faithfulness, and thy covenant love stands when our hearts have wandered.
CONFESSION:
We confess that we have forgotten thy works and doubted thy wisdom. We have complained when we should have praised, and we have chased lesser loves instead of seeking thy face. Cleanse us from ingratitude and unbelief.
THANKSGIVING:
We thank thee for delivering us from trouble again and again. We bless thee for redeeming grace in Jesus the Messiah, who brought us out of darkness and made us thy people by His blood.
SUPPLICATION – GENERAL:
Teach us to remember rightly and to walk in repentance. Strengthen those who feel lost, bound, sick, or afraid, and bring them the comfort of thy promises. Put a song of thanksgiving in our mouths that is rooted in real deliverance and real trust.
SUPPLICATION – U.S. / CIVIC:
Grant humility to our leaders and to our public life. Turn hearts away from pride and self-justification, and cultivate gratitude and compassion in our communities. Make thy church quick to confess, eager to forgive, and ready to serve those who suffer.
SCRIPTURE:
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.