Psalm 106:12

Psalm 106:12, in plain English

After witnessing all of this, the people finally believed God's promises and sang songs praising Him.

Why it's here

For a moment—just a moment—the people's faith matched their circumstances. They saw what God did, they believed His word, and they responded with worship. The psalmist marks this as the high point before the fall. It's a beautiful moment of alignment between God's faithfulness and human response.

Who's speaking

The psalmist, noting the people's brief faith

Where it sits in the story

This connects to the Song of Moses in Exodus 15, where Israel celebrates their deliverance. It's a snapshot of what faith looks like when it's working—seeing God's faithfulness and responding with gratitude and trust.

The scholarly reading

For a moment, Israel's response was proper—they believed God's promise and sang praises, demonstrating the theology that right belief yields right worship.

Language and setting

The verse stands as a narrative pivot: belief and praise are the appropriate response to witnessing divine deliverance. The verbs 'believed' (he'eminu) and 'sang' (ya'siru) suggest a brief, shining moment of orthodoxy and orthopraxy (right belief and right practice) occurring together. This verse implicitly sets up the subsequent verses' tragedy—this ideal response was ephemeral.

Voice

The psalmist recording Israel's moment of spiritual clarity.

Significance

This is the scene of Exodus 15, where Moses and Miriam lead Israel in the 'Song of the Sea.' Commentators from Augustine to Brevard Childs note that this moment of worship establishes the pattern Israel should have sustained—but didn't.

10He saved them from the hand that hated them; He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

11The waters covered their foes; not one of them remained.

12Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.

13Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel.

14They craved intensely in the wilderness and tested God in the desert.

Read all of Psalm 106 — The other side of Psalm 105. Israel's history retold through the lens of rebellion — yet God saved them again and again for His name's sake.