Psalm 106 is a long song of confession and thanksgiving. It recounts Israel’s repeated failures in the wilderness and the steadfast mercy of God that kept returning them to his care. These questions are written for a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study, and they follow the chapter from start to finish so that a leader can guide the conversation without preparing a separate summary.
Psalm 106 at a Glance
The psalm opens with a call to praise and a reflection on God’s goodness. It then recalls the Exodus, where Israel saw God’s wonders yet quickly forgot them and grumbled in the desert. Verses 19 through 33 describe the golden calf, the rebellion at Meribah, and the sin at Baal Peor, while Moses and Phinehas appear as figures who stood in the breach.
The second half turns to Israel’s exile and the cycle of judgment and mercy. Verses 44 through 46 mark the turning point, where God hears the cry of his people and remembers his covenant. The psalm closes with a plea for gathering and a doxology.
Observation Questions
Use these questions at the start of the session to get everyone reading the text closely before anyone offers an opinion. Ask a volunteer to read the passage aloud, then go through the questions in order, letting people point to specific words before explaining them.
Psalm 106:1
Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
(WEB)
Read this opening call at the start of the session to set a tone of thanksgiving. It names God’s goodness and enduring love as the foundation for everything that follows in the psalm.
Psalm 106:7-8
7 Our fathers didn’t understand your wonders in Egypt. They didn’t remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, but were rebellious 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 known.
(WEB)
These verses name Israel’s forgetfulness at the sea and God’s saving action for his name’s sake. Reading them together helps the group see the honest pattern of failure and grace from the start.
Psalm 106:23
Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn’t destroy them.
(WEB)
Reading this verse aloud draws attention to Moses standing in the breach. It gives the group a concrete picture of intercession that can lead into a discussion of prayer for others.
Psalm 106:44-46
44 Nevertheless he regarded their distress, when he heard their cry. 45 He remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses. 46 He made them also to be pitied by all those who carried them captive.
(WEB)
This passage is the turning point of the psalm, where God hears the cry of his people and remembers his covenant. Reading it aloud allows the group to feel the shift from judgment to mercy.
Psalm 106:47-48
47 Save us, the LORD, our God, gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise! 48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting! Let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise Yah!
(WEB)
The closing plea and doxology bring the psalm back to praise. Reading these final verses together ends the session with a call to bless the Lord.
Memory Verse for Psalm 106
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who have often forgotten your works and wandered from your ways. Thank you that your loving kindness endures forever and that you hear our cries when we turn back to you. Help us to remember what you have done, to wait for your counsel, and to stand in the breach for one another in prayer. Make our lives a song of thanksgiving to your holy name. Amen.
