Psalms 106

1 Halelu-JAH. O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever.

2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can show forth all his praise?

3 Happy are those that keep judgment and he that does righteousness at all times.

4 Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou dost bear unto thy people; O visit me with thy saving health,

5 that I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.

6 We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedly.

7 Our fathers did not understand thy wonders in Egypt; they did not remember the multitude of thy mercies but rebelled by the sea, even at the Red sea.

8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.

9 He reprehended the Red sea also, 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 him that hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

11 And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.

12 Then they believed his words; they sang his praise.

13 They became rash. They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel:

14 They gave themselves over to lust in the wilderness and tempted God in the desert.

15 And he gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.

16 Then they envied Moses in the camp and Aaron the saint of the LORD.

17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram.

18 And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

19 They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped the molten image.

20 Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eats grass.

21 They forgot the God of their saving health, who had done great things in Egypt,

22 wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things upon the Red sea.

23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath lest he should destroy them.

24 And they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his word:

25 But murmured in their tents and did not hearken unto the voice of the LORD.

26 Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness,

27 to overthrow their seed also among the Gentiles, and to scatter them in the lands.

28 They also joined themselves unto Baalpeor and ate the sacrifices for the dead.

29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions; and the plague broke in upon them.

30 Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment, and so the plague was stayed.

31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness from generation to generation for evermore.

32 They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:

33 Because they provoked his spirit to rebel, and he spoke it with his lips.

34 They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them:

35 But were mingled among the Gentiles and learned their works.

36 And they served their idols, which were a snare unto them.

37 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils

38 and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood.

39 Thus they were defiled with their own works and went a whoring with their own inventions.

40 Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.

41 And he gave them into the hand of the Gentiles, and those that hated them ruled over them.

42 Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.

43 He delivered them many times, but they rebelled at his counsel and were brought low for their iniquity.

44 Nevertheless he would look upon their affliction and hear their cry

45 and remember his covenant with them and repent according to the multitude of his mercies.

46 He also caused those that carried them captives to have mercy upon them.

47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the Gentiles, that we might lift up thy holy name, that we might glory in thy praise.

48 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting; and let all the people say, Amen. Halelu-JAH.

Psalms 106 Commentary

Chapter 106

The happiness of God's people. (1-5) Israel's sins. (6-12) Their provocations. (13-33) Their rebellions in Canaan. (34-46) Prayer for more complete deliverance. (47,48)

Verses 1-5 None of our sins or sufferings should prevent our ascribing glory and praise to the Lord. The more unworthy we are, the more is his kindness to be admired. And those who depend on the Redeemer's righteousness will endeavour to copy his example, and by word and deed to show forth his praise. God's people have reason to be cheerful people; and need not envy the children of men their pleasure or pride.

Verses 6-12 Here begins a confession of sin; for we must acknowledge that the Lord has done right, and we have done wickedly. We are encouraged to hope that though justly corrected, yet we shall not be utterly forsaken. God's afflicted people own themselves guilty before him. God is distrusted because his favours are not remembered. If he did not save us for his own name's sake, and to the praise of his power and grace, we should all perish.

Verses 13-33 Those that will not wait for God's counsel, shall justly be given up to their own hearts' lusts, to walk in their own counsels. An undue desire, even for lawful things, becomes sinful. God showed his displeasure for this. He filled them with uneasiness of mind, terror of conscience, and self-reproach. Many that fare deliciously every day, and whose bodies are healthful, have leanness in their souls: no love to God, no thankfulness, no appetite for the Bread of life, and then the soul must be lean. Those wretchedly forget themselves, that feast their bodies and starve their souls. Even the true believer will see abundant cause to say, It is of the Lord's mercies that I am not consumed. Often have we set up idols in our hearts, cleaved to some forbidden object; so that if a greater than Moses had not stood to turn away the anger of the Lord, we should have been destroyed. If God dealt severely with Moses for unadvised words, what do those deserve who speak many proud and wicked words? It is just in God to remove those relations that are blessings to us, when we are peevish and provoking to them, and grieve their spirits.

Verses 34-48 The conduct of the Israelites in Canaan, and God's dealings with them, show that the way of sin is down-hill; omissions make way for commissions: when they neglected to destroy the heathen, they learned their works. One sin led to many more, and brought the judgments of God on them. Their sin was, in part, their own punishment. Sinners often see themselves ruined by those who led them into evil. Satan, who is a tempter, will be a tormentor. At length, God showed pity to his people for his covenant's sake. The unchangeableness of God's merciful nature and love to his people, makes him change the course of justice into mercy; and no other change is meant by God's repentance. Our case is awful when the outward church is considered. When nations professing Christianity, are so guilty as we are, no wonder if the Lord brings them low for their sins. Unless there is general and deep repentance, there can be no prospect but of increasing calamities. The psalm concludes with prayer for completing the deliverance of God's people, and praise for the beginning and progress of it. May all the people of the earth, ere long, add their Amen.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 106

This psalm is without the name of its author, as the Syriac interpreter observes. Aben Ezra, on Ps 106:47, says, that one of the wise men of Egypt (perhaps Maimonides) was of opinion that it was written in the time of the judges, when there was no king in Israel; and another, he says, thought it was written in Babylon: but he was of opinion it was wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, or by a prophetic spirit, concerning their present captivity; and so Kimchi. The petition in Ps 106:47, "gather us from among the Heathen", has led most interpreters to conclude that it was written either in the Babylonish captivity, or, as some, in the times of Antiochus: but by comparing it with 1Ch 16:7, it appears that it was written by David, at the time of the bringing up of the ark to Zion; since the first and two last verses of it are there expressly mentioned, in the psalm he gave Asaph to sing on that occasion, Ps 106:34-36, who therein might have respect to the Israelites that had been taken captive by some of their neighbours, as the Philistines, and still retained; though there is no difficulty in supposing that David, under a prophetic spirit, foresaw future captivities, and represents those that were in them. As the preceding psalm treats of the mercies and favours God bestowed upon Israel, this of their sins and provocations amidst those blessings, and of the goodness of God unto them; that notwithstanding he did not destroy them from being a people; for which they had reason to be thankful.