Single lesson
Psalm 106: Give Thanks to the LORD, for He Is Good
Psalms 106:1–48
Psalm 106 begins and ends with praise to Yahweh, but the middle of the psalm becomes a long prayer of confession and remembering. Students will trace how the speaker moves from thanks, to sin, to rescue, and back to prayerful praise.
Before you teach
This psalm speaks to Yahweh about his goodness and enduring loving kindness, then remembers repeated sins by “our fathers” and by “we”. It recalls rebellion, idolatry, judgment, rescue, distress, and a closing request for God to save and gather his people so they may give thanks to his holy name.
Students will identify how Psalm 106 uses praise, confession, remembered history, and a final plea for salvation to show both human unfaithfulness and Yahweh’s enduring loving kindness.
Welcome: listen for movement in the psalm
5 minRead Psalms 106:1-5 aloud twice. Ask students to listen for the opening mood and the speaker’s request. Point out the praise words, “he is good” and “his loving kindness endures forever”, then the personal prayer, “Remember me” and “Visit me with your salvation”. Explain that this psalm is both worship and request.
Psalms 106:1, Psalms 106:4, Psalms 106:5
Read and explain: from praise into confession
10 minRead Psalms 106:6-23. Trace the order carefully. The speaker says, “We have sinned”, then remembers rebellion at the Red Sea, quick forgetting, craving, envy, and the calf in Horeb. Also notice Yahweh’s actions: he saved, led, redeemed, and did great things. Moses is described as one who stood before God “in the breach”.
Psalms 106:6, Psalms 106:7, Psalms 106:8, Psalms 106:9, Psalms 106:10, Psalms 106:13, Psalms 106:16, Psalms 106:19, Psalms 106:23
Discuss: repeated rebellion and serious consequences
10 minRead Psalms 106:24-46 in sections. Ask students to note the repeated pattern: the people did not believe, murmured, joined themselves to idols, learned the nations’ works, and served idols. The passage also describes grave evil and heavy consequences, including plague, scattering, oppression, distress, and being brought low. Yet the psalm still says Yahweh heard their cry and remembered his covenant.
Psalms 106:24, Psalms 106:25, Psalms 106:28, Psalms 106:35, Psalms 106:36, Psalms 106:37, Psalms 106:41, Psalms 106:42, Psalms 106:44, Psalms 106:45
Make and respond: prayer movement card
10 minStudents create a four-part card titled Praise, Sin, Mercy, Prayer. In each part they copy one short phrase from the psalm and add a simple image or colour that matches it. Encourage them to choose phrases from the opening praise, the confession, God’s rescue or compassion, and the closing request to be saved and gathered.
Psalms 106:1, Psalms 106:6, Psalms 106:8, Psalms 106:44, Psalms 106:47
Closing: end where the psalm ends
5 minRead Psalms 106:47-48 together. Ask students to say in one sentence how the psalm moves from beginning to end. Emphasise that the final request is for God to save and gather his people so they may give thanks to his holy name, and the psalm closes with blessing, “Amen,” and “Praise Yah.”
Psalms 106:47, Psalms 106:48
Questions to explore
What words in the opening show that the psalm is more than a song of thanks and also includes a personal request?
Look for the shift from public praise in verse 1 to “Remember me” and “Visit me with your salvation” in verses 4-5.
Psalms 106:1, Psalms 106:4, Psalms 106:5
Which repeated problem appears through the middle of the psalm: forgetting, listening, or speaking boldly?
Notice how the people “didn’t remember”, “soon forgot”, “didn’t believe”, and “didn’t listen”. These repeated words help explain the confession.
Psalms 106:7, Psalms 106:13, Psalms 106:24, Psalms 106:25
How do verses 44-47 change the tone after the descriptions of sin and distress?
These verses say Yahweh regarded their distress, heard their cry, remembered his covenant, and lead into the prayer, “Save us, Yahweh, our God”.
Psalms 106:44, Psalms 106:45, Psalms 106:47
Make, think or respond
Praise, Sin, Mercy, Prayer Card
What you’ll need
- paper or card
- pens or pencils
- coloured pencils or markers
- Bible text
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into four sections and label them Praise, Sin, Mercy, and Prayer.
- Choose one short phrase from Psalm 106 for each section and copy it carefully.
- Draw one simple symbol or image to match each phrase, such as hands lifted, a broken line, a listening ear, or gathered people.
- Share the card with a partner and explain why you chose those four phrases.
This activity helps students see the movement of Psalm 106 from praise to confession, then to mercy and a final prayer for salvation.
Adapt for your group
- For younger or less confident readers, pre-select four verses for the card: Psalms 106:1, Psalms 106:6, Psalms 106:44, and Psalms 106:47.
- For older students, ask them to add a fifth section called Pattern and summarise the repeated cycle they see across Psalms 106:7-46.
An optional closing prayer
“Yahweh our God, thank you that you are good and that your loving kindness endures forever. Help us to remember your works, tell the truth about sin, and join in praise to your holy name. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Psalms 106
1 Praise Yahweh! Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
2 Who can utter the mighty acts of Yahweh, or fully declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are those who keep justice. Blessed is one who does what is right at all times.
4 Remember me, Yahweh, with the favor that you show to your people. Visit me with your salvation,
5 that I may see the prosperity of your chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly.
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.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; so he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
10 He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 The waters covered their adversaries. There was not one of them left.
12 Then they believed his words. They sang his praise.
13 They soon forgot his works. They didn’t wait for his counsel,
14 but gave in to craving in the desert, and tested God in the wasteland.
15 He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.
16 They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, Yahweh’s saint.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
18 A fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked.
19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image.
20 Thus they exchanged their glory for an image of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome things by the Red Sea.
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.
24 Yes, they despised the pleasant land. They didn’t believe his word,
25 but murmured in their tents, and didn’t listen to Yahweh’s voice.
26 Therefore he swore to them that he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
27 that he would overthrow their offspring among the nations, and scatter them in the lands.
28 They joined themselves also to Baal Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds. The plague broke in on them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment, so the plague was stopped.
31 That was credited to him for righteousness, for all generations to come.
32 They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled for their sakes;
33 because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They didn’t destroy the peoples, as Yahweh commanded them,
35 but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works.
36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
37 Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
38 They shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. The land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they were defiled with their works, and prostituted themselves in their deeds.
40 Therefore Yahweh burned with anger against his people. He abhorred his inheritance.
41 He gave them into the hand of the nations. Those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them. They were brought into subjection under their hand.
43 He rescued them many times, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity.
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.
47 Save us, Yahweh, our God, gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise!
48 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting! Let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise Yah!
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.