Psalms 106:45
in Psalms 106And He remembered His covenant with them, and relented by the abundance of His loving devotion.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he remembered for them his covenant, And repented according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
KJV
And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 106
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd he remembered for them his covenant. The covenant is the sure foundation of mercy, and when the whole fabric of outward grace manifested in the saints lies in ruins this is the fundamental basis of love which is never moved, and upon it the Lord proceeds to build again a new structure of grace. Covenant mercy is sure as the throne of God. And repented according to the multitude of his mercies. He did not carry out the destruction which he had commenced.
This site's exposition
the anger of the LORD burned
on Psalms 106:40-46
The anger of the LORD burned, and He abhorred His own inheritance. He handed them to nations that hated them, and verse 43 puts the cycle in one line, many rescues and a people bent on rebellion. He heard their cry, remembered His covenant, and relented.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Nevertheless, God, full of mercy, forsook them not. "And He saw when they were in adversity, when He heard their complaint" [Psalm 106:44]. "And He thought upon His covenant, and repented, according to the multitude of His mercies" [Psalm 106:45]. He says, "He repented," because He changed that wherewith He seemed about to destroy them. With God indeed all things are arranged and fixed; and when He seems to act upon sudden motive, He does nothing but what He foreknew that He should do from eternity; but in the temporal changes of creation, which He rules wonderfully, He, without any temporal change in Himself, is said to do by a sudden act of will what in the ordained causes of events He has arranged in the unchangeableness of His most secret counsel, according to which He does everything according to defined seasons, doing the present, and having already done the future. And who is capable of comprehending these things? [2 Corinthians 2:16] Let us therefore hear the Scripture, speaking high things humbly, giving food for the nourishment of children, and proposing subjects for the research of the older: that everlasting covenant "which He made with Abraham," not the old which is abolished, but the new which is hidden even in the old. "And pitied them," etc. He did that which He had covenanted, but He had foreknown that He would yield this to them when they prayed in their adversity; since even their very prayer, when it was not uttered, but was still to be uttered, undoubtedly was known unto God.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
They were chastened for their sins, but not destroyed, cast down, but not cast off. God appeared for them, [1.] As a God of mercy, who looked upon their grievances, regarded their affliction, beheld when distress was upon them (so some), who looked over their complaints, for he heard their cry with tender compassion ( Exod. iii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And he remembered for them his covenant,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
THIS Psalm deserves to be read very carefully. It mentions many of the afflictions of God's ancient people, but it clearly sets forth that their afflictions were the distinct result of their rebellions and sins. It is not so with all the afflictions of God's people. It is written, "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten." And again, "Every branch in me that bears fruit, He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit." Yet it is often so to this day that the servants of God smart because of disobedience.
And he remembered for them his covenant. The covenant is the sure foundation of mercy, and when the whole fabric of outward grace manifested in the saints lies in ruins this is the fundamental basis of love which is never moved, and upon it the Lord proceeds to build again a new structure of grace. Covenant mercy is sure as the throne of God. And repented according to the multitude of his mercies. He did not carry out the destruction which he had commenced. Speaking after the manner of men he changed his mind, and did not leave them to their enemies to be utterly cut off, because he saw that his covenant would in such a case have been broken. The Lord is so full of grace that he has not only mercy but mercies, yea a multitude of them, and these hive in the covenant and treasure up good for the erring sons of men.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
THIS Psalm deserves to be read very carefully. It mentions many of the afflictions of God's ancient people, but it clearly sets forth that their afflictions were the distinct result of their rebellions and sins. It is not so with all the afflictions of God's people. It is written, "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten." And again, "Every branch in me that bears fruit, He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit." Yet it is often so to this day that the servants of God smart because of disobedience. They are chastened for their sin, as it is written, "You only have I known of all the people of the earth, therefore I will punish you for your iniquities." Sin in a child of God cannot go unchastened. The rod of chastisement is included in the Covenant and, if we are in the Covenant, the Lord will keep His promise. "If his children forsake My law, and walk not in My judgments, then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes." The miseries of Israel of old were distinctly the result of their sins. They lived under a dispensation in which there was a visible reward for obedience and a prompt temporal punishment for disobedience. Therefore one might suppose that if the people fell into affliction willfully and through their own fault, the Lord might see fit to leave them in it. Did they not procure it unto themselves? Yet such is the abundant compassion of our God, that as soon as ever these people, smarting under the result of their sin, began to cry to Him, "He regarded their affliction when He heard their cry." He might have justly said, "Go to the gods that you have set up; tell your sorrows to the calves that you have made.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And he remembered for them his covenant - His solemn promises made to their fathers. He remembered that covenant in their behalf; or, on account of that, he came and blessed them. He had made gracious promises to the patriarchs; he had promised to be the God of their posterity; he had his own great purposes to accomplish through their nation in the distant future; and on these accounts, he came and blessed them. And repented - He averted impending judgments. He checked and arrested the calamities which he was bringing upon them for their sins. He acted toward them as though his mind had been changed; as though he was sorry for what he was doing. The word “repent” can be applied to God in no other sense than this. It cannot be applied to him in the sense that he felt or admitted that he had done wrong; or that he had made a mistake; or that he had changed his mind or purposes; or that he intended to enter on a new course of conduct; but it may be applied to him in the sense that his treatment of people is “as if” he had changed his mind, or “as if” he were sorry for what he had done: that is, a certain course of things which had been commenced, would be arrested and changed to meet existing circumstances, because “they” had changed - though all must have been foreseen and purposed in his eternal counsels. According to the multitude of his mercies - The greatness of his mercy; the disposition of his nature to show mercy; the repeated instances in which he had shown mercy in similar circumstances.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּזְכֹּ֣ר | vaiyizkor | and he remembered | H2142 → | 230 times |
| לָהֶ֣ם | lahem | to them | ||
| בְּרִית֑וֹ | berito | covenant his | H1285 → | 284 times |
| וַ֝יִּנָּחֵ֗ם | vaiyinachem | and he relented | H5162 → | 108 times |
| כְּרֹ֣ב | kero | according to [the] greatness of | H7230 → | 149 times |
| חֲסָדָֽיו׃ | chasadav | covenant loyalti<es> his | H2617 → | 247 times |
וַיִּזְכֹּ֣רand he remembered
vaiyizkorH2142 →230 times
לָהֶ֣םto them
lahem
בְּרִית֑וֹcovenant his
beritoH1285 →284 times
וַ֝יִּנָּחֵ֗םand he relented
vaiyinachemH5162 →108 times
כְּרֹ֣בaccording to [the] greatness of
keroH7230 →149 times
חֲסָדָֽיו׃covenant loyalti<es> his
chasadavH2617 →247 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 32:14So the LORD relented from the calamity He had threatened to bring on His people.
it leads to
- Jonah 3:10
When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.
- Jeremiah 26:13
So now, correct your ways and deeds, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, so that He might relent of the disaster He has pronounced against you.
- Jonah 3:10
Through
Lamentations 3:32Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:38
And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.
- Psalms 30:5
For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.
- Psalms 103:11
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.
- Psalms 106:43–45
Many times He rescued them, but they were bent on rebellion and sank down in their iniquity.
- Psalms 78:38
Through
Psalms 105:8He remembers His covenant forever, the word He ordained for a thousand generations—
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
- Deuteronomy 7:9
Through
2 Kings 13:23But the LORD was gracious to Israel and had compassion on them, and He turned toward them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day, the LORD has been…
it leads to
- Psalms 105:8
He remembers His covenant forever, the word He ordained for a thousand generations—
- Psalms 105:8
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 106; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1886: “God's Remembrance of His Covenant” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.