106
📚Praise the LORD 📖!Oh, give thanks to the LORD,
for he is good,
for his mercy continues on
forever.
2 📚Who can utter the mighty acts
of the LORD?
Who can declare
all his praise?
3 📚Blessed are those
who maintain justice,
and the one who
practices righteousness
at all times.
4 📚Remember me, O LORD,
with the favour
that you have toward
your people.
Oh, visit me with your salvation,
5 📚That I may see the good
enjoyed by your
chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness
of your nation,
that I may glory with your
inheritance.
6 📚We have sinned along
with our fathers.
We have done evil.
We have acted wickedly.
106:1-6 This psalm, like 78 and 105, is a review of the history of Israel, but the purpose here is different. Here we have a confession of Israel’s many sins and a description of how God dealt with them because of their sins. The first 6 verses are an introduction. Then there are alternating portions describing Israel’s sins and God’s response. In v 7 we see Israel’s sins in Egypt, in vs 13-33 their sins in the wilderness, and in vs 34-43 their sins in the land of Canaan. Of all their many sins three are repeated three times – forgetting (vs 7,13,21), rebellion (vs 7,33,43), and idolatry (vs 19,28,36-39).
The recurring lesson of the psalm is this: when God’s people sin they must expect God’s chastisement. He is a God of love, mercy and holiness, and so cannot let His people rebel and transgress His laws without punishing and disciplining them. That would be to encourage them to sin, and to ruin their character.⚜
106:6 Like all the saints in the Bible the author knows that he and his generation are no better than the previous generation that sinned grievously against the Lord (1 Kings 8:47; Ezra 9:7; Neh 1:7; Jer 3:25; Dan 9:5).⚜
7 📚Our fathers did not understand
your wonders in Egypt.
They did not remember 📖
your many deeds
of mercy,
but provoked you 📖
at the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 📚Nevertheless, he saved them
for his name’s sake,
so that he might make his mighty
power known.
9 📚He also rebuked the Red Sea,
and it was dried up;
so he led them through
the depths,
as through the wilderness.
10 📚And he saved them from
the hand of the one
who hated them,
and redeemed them from
the hand of the enemy.
11 📚And the waters covered
their enemies;
not one of them was left.
12 📚Then they believed
his words;
they sang his praise.
106:9-12 See Ex 14:21-31; 15:1-21; Ps 78:42, 53; Isa 51:10. God saved Israel from Egypt, not because they were good, but because He is.⚜
13 📚They soon forgot his works.
They did not wait for his counsel,
14 📚But lusted exceedingly
in the wilderness,
and put God to the test
in the desert.
15 📚And he gave them
their request,
but sent leanness into their soul.
106:15 See Ps 78:29. It is dangerous for us to insist that God answer prayers not in His will. The answer He gives may result in great trouble to both body and soul.⚜
16 📚They also envied Moses
in the camp,
and Aaron, the saint
of the LORD.
17 📚The earth opened up and
swallowed Dathan,
and covered the company
of Abiram.
18 📚And a fire blazed in their
company;
the flame burned up the wicked.
19 📚They made a calf in Horeb,
and worshipped the cast metal
image.
20 📚Thus they exchanged
their glory for the
likeness of an ox that eats grass.
21 📚They forgot God their saviour,
who had done great things
in Egypt,
22 📚Wonderful deeds in the land
of Ham,
and awe-inspiring things
by the Red Sea.
106:22 This means they refused to keep those things in mind and to live in the light of them.⚜
23 📚Therefore he said that he
would destroy them,
had not Moses his chosen
one stood before him
in the breach,
to turn away his wrath so that
he would not destroy them.
24 📚Yes, they despised the pleasant
land.
They did not believe his word,
106:24 Num 14:31. If they had believed God’s promises they would have gone in and possessed the land. True faith always produces action in obedience to God’s Word.⚜
25 📚But murmured in their tents,
and did not listen
to the voice of the LORD.
26 📚Therefore he raised
his hand against them,
to overthrow them
in the desert,
106:26 Num 14:28-35. Sin brings penalties. It is not a light thing that God can overlook in His people.⚜
27 📚To overthrow their offspring
also among the nations,
and to scatter them in the lands.
28 📚They joined themselves also
to Baal-Peor,
and ate sacrifices made
to the dead.
29 📚Thus they provoked him
to anger with their deeds;
and the plague broke out
among them.
30 📚Then Phinehas stood up
and executed judgment,
and so the plague was stopped.
31 📚And that was counted to him
as righteousness to all generations
forevermore.
106:28-31 Num 25:1-13. God observes and honors those who take a righteous stand for Him.⚜
32 📚They also angered him
at the waters of strife,
so that it went ill with Moses
on their account;
33 📚Because they provoked
his Spirit,
so that Moses spoke
rashly with his lips.
106:13-33 Their sins in the wilderness were many and very grievous. These verses mention events recorded in Exodus chapters 15,16,17,32 and Numbers chapters 11,14,16,20,25. They give a sad picture of continual unbelief and rebellion.⚜
34 📚They did not destroy
the nations,
concerning whom the LORD
had given command to them,
35 📚But mingled with the nations,
and learned their deeds.
36 📚And they served their idols;
which became a snare to them.
106:34-36 Israel did not stop sinning when they finally arrived in Canaan. A change of location did not mean a change of heart. They went on sinning and God continued to punish them for it.⚜
37 📚Yes, they sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons,
38 📚And shed innocent blood,
even the blood of their
sons and of their daughters,
whom they sacrificed
to the idols of Canaan.
And the land was polluted
with blood.
39 📚Thus they were defiled
with their own actions,
and behaved like a prostitute 📖
with their own deeds.
40 📚Therefore the wrath 📖
of the LORD
burned against his people,
so that he abhorred his own
inheritance.
41 📚And he gave them into
the hands of the nations,
and those who hated them ruled
over them.
42 📚And their enemies oppressed
them,
and they were brought low under
their hand.
43 📚Many times he rescued them,
but they rebelled against him
with their counsel,
and were brought low for
their wickedness.
44 📚Nevertheless he regarded
their affliction,
when he heard their cry,
45 📚And for their sake
he remembered his covenant,
and relented in accordance
with his many deeds of mercy.
46 📚He also caused them to be
pitied by all those who carried
them away captives.
106:44-46 Though God had to punish them for their sins He remained faithful, compassionate, and loving (Mal 3:6). The unchangeable goodness of God is the only ground of hope for any of us.⚜
47 📚Save us, O LORD our God,
and gather us from among
the nations,
to give thanks to your holy name,
and to triumph
in your praise.
48 📚Blessed be the LORD
God of Israel from everlasting
to everlasting;
and let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the LORD!