This is a Psalm which highlights how quickly God’s people forget about His faithfulness to them. The opening verses are a call to praise (v1-3). The Psalmist then prays for blessing so as to give further cause for praise (v4-5).

The focus then turns to the sin of God’s people (v6-7). Even at the Red Sea they were rebelling against the Lord. Despite this, the Lord saved them in a miraculous way (v8-11).

This great deliverance led to praise among God’s people (v12). But sadly again, they quickly forgot God’s goodness (v13-15). The rebellion wasn’t just against the Lord but also Moses and the Lord brought judgment (v16-18).

Other times of sin recounted included the golden calf (v19-23), the rebellion at not entering the Promised Land (v24-27), being seduced at Baal of Peor (v28-31) and the rebellion at the waters of Meribah (32-33). All of these acts of rebellion had at their root the failure to remember the Lord and His goodness to His people.

Verses 43-45 summarise the story of Israel and the Lord well. A forgetful people but continuously patient and merciful God.