Psalm 106: ³ Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times. ⁴ Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people; help me when you deliver them; ⁵ that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory in your heritage. 

Verse three leads the reader to believe the psalmist is tooting his own horn – giving the assumption that he is among those “who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times”. I sort of roll my eyes when I read such things, knowing how God’s people failed to do this very thing over and over again. But then there’s a turn in v.4-5. Rather than highlight his deeds, the writer mentions the favor God shows to Israel, the prosperity of God’s chosen, “that I may glory in your heritage”.

The psalmist depends on is his identity as a child of a merciful God, not on his track record of righteous deeds.

Lord this passage is good news for me today. The truth is that I fall short of your justice and righteousness every single day. Were my future hanging on my deeds I would surely be condemned. The words of the psalmist remind me where my hope comes from. I hope in you, O God. I surrender myself to your mercies and trust in your abundance love to forgive my sin for Jesus’ sake. It is in his name I pray. Amen.