Book Iv: Psalms 90–106

1–5 This short but beautiful psalm calls us to praise the Lord; similar themes are also found in Psalm 95:1–7. Notice here—and throughout the psalms—how praise and thanksgiving always go together (verse 4): we praise God for who He is, and we thank Him for what He has done for us.

PSALM 101

1–4 In this psalm David, God’s anointed king, pledges to lead a blameless life both in his personal affairs—in my house²¹⁰ (verse 2)—and in his administrative duties. The word “blameless” refers to one’s integrity: a blameless person is upright both in his inner, private life and in his outer, public life. This psalm refutes the modern notion that as long as one does his job well it doesn’t matter what his character is like. Such a notion is false. In verse 7, David clearly says that he won’t let anyone work with him who lacks integrity—no matter how competent that person is in his work.²¹¹

In verse 2, David interrupts his pledge by asking God: . . . when will you come to me? David is asking God: When will you come to help me keep my pledge to lead a blameless life? David knew he couldn’t do it without God’s continued help. Indeed, we know that David failed terribly in his attempt to remain blameless (see 2 Samuel 11:1–27). Only Jesus, the Son of David, has been able to perfectly fulfill the pledge David has made in this psalm.²¹²

5–8 Here David talks about his administration. He will not only separate from evildoers but he will also silence (punish) them (verses 5,8). It is not enough for leaders to merely avoid evil; they must also oppose it by punishing—“cutting off”—those who engage in it (verse 8). At the same time, leaders must surround themselves with those who are faithful and blameless (verse 6).

PSALM 102

1–11 According to its title, Psalm 102 is the prayer of an afflicted man. The nature of the psalmist’s affliction or distress is uncertain; it may have been caused by an illness or it may have been associated with a national catastrophe, such as the fall of Jerusalem and the exile of its people.²¹³ Whatever the direct cause was, the psalmist recognizes that the Lord’s great wrath was behind his distress (verse 10). Perhaps the psalmist had committed some sin, which is not mentioned. In any event, as is true of most human distress, there could have been more than one cause. Thus all people who are enduring affliction can identify with the words of this psalm.²¹⁴

In verses 3–11, the psalmist gives a figurative and dramatic picture of his suffering; his experience is similar to that of Job. He “eats” ashes as his food (verse 9); the ashes represent sorrow and mourning. His sadness is so great that it seems as if his diet consisted of ashes and tears.

12–17 But you, O LORD. . . (verse 12). Suddenly the psalmist lifts his eyes from his circumstances to the Lord enthroned in heaven, the Lord who controls all circumstances. The psalmist is confident that the Lord will arise; he believes the appointed time for Zion’s restoration has come (verse 13).

Was the psalmist wrong? Was his confidence misplaced? It’s possible that the psalmist did not live to see the “restoration of Zion.” Or perhaps, if he lived during the Exile, he may have witnessed the return of the exiles to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the city. That would have constituted a “partial restoration”—a restoration without the throne of David. But even if the psalmist never saw any kind of restoration in his lifetime, his confidence was certainly not misplaced. For the psalmist’s prayer was indeed heard by God; the “appointed time” had indeed been set. God’s plan for the restoration of Zion was to begin with the coming of Jesus Christ into the world, and it will be completed when Jesus comes again to reign. Ultimately, the restoration of Zion will take the form of a new earth and a new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1–4), at which time Jesus Christ will sit on David’s throne and, together with God, will rule forever (Hebrews 12:22–24; Revelation 22:1–5).

18–22 In verse 18, the psalmist mentions a people not yet created who will praise the LORD. He is referring not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles who would be brought into God’s kingdom through faith in Christ. Even now, believers from all peoples and kingdoms are assembling in Christ’s church around the world to worship the LORD (verse 22).

23–28 In these final verses, the psalmist summarizes what he has previously said. But of particular interest are verses 25–29, in which the psalmist states that God has created the earth and the heavens (verse 25); one day, however, the earth and heavens will perish (verse 26), but God will remain the same and His years will never end (verse 27). The writer of Hebrews quotes verses 25–27; but instead of the psalmist addressing these words to God, the writer of Hebrews (inspired by the Holy Spirit) has God addressing these same words to His Son (see Hebrews 1:1012). It is God who has testified that Jesus is the Creator of the universe (John1:1–3; Colossians 1:15–16), and that He will “remain the same” forever²¹⁵ (Hebrews 13:8).

Because God remains the same (verse 27), we human beings can have confidence that our own future will be secure—not necessarily “secure” in an earthly sense, but secure in an eternal sense (John 14:19). This security we can pass on to our children and to their descendants (verse 28); they will be among the “people not yet created” who will praise the Lord forever. Thus the psalmist, also inspired by the Holy Spirit, looks forward into the future (verse 18) and pictures Jesus (verses 25–27)—also an “afflicted man”—who at the “appointed time” would bear the sins of the world and reestablish Zion as the kingdom of God on earth.

PSALM 103

1–5 This psalm of praise written by David is one of the most beloved of all the psalms. First David encourages himself to praise God for all His personal mercies to him (verses 1–5). Then David reflects on God’s righteousness and love, manifested in His covenant mercies to the nation of Israel (verses 6–19). Finally, David calls upon the angels themselves—the heavenly hosts—to praise the Lord (verses 20–22). Likewise, let each of us make this psalm our own song of praise to God.²¹⁶

6–19 In this central section of the psalm, David recites many of the covenant blessings that God had promised His people. God had made known to Moses that He was a God of righteousness and love (verses 6–8), and that He would forgive the people’s transgressions (verse 12); at the same time, however, His righteousness demanded that the guilty not be left unpunished (see Exodus 34:4–7 and comment).

The covenant blessings described in these verses are not granted to God’s people unconditionally: the LORD’s love is with those . . . who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts (verses 17–18). These are the very conditions that God laid down at Sinai when He made His original covenant with Israel (see Exodus 19:5–6; Leviticus 26:3–13 and comments).

But for those who do earnestly seek to keep God’s covenant, God’s eternal blessings will come true. He will not treat us as our sins deserve (verse 10). He will remove our transgressions far, far away—as far as the east is from the west (verse 12)—so far away that they will never be held against us or even remembered (Hebrews 8:12).

20–22 If the angels are required to praise the Lord—the mighty ones who do his bidding (verse 20)—how much more ought we to praise Him, who are mere humans made from dust! (verse 14). Four times in these final verses, David calls to all in heaven and on earth to praise the Lord (see Psalm 9:1–2 and comment).

PSALM 104

1–23 This psalm is a song of praise to God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. The psalmist bases his poem on Genesis Chapter 1, and then he imagines in figurative terms how God went about His creative work. The expressions the psalmist uses are not meant to be taken literally; they are meant to stir our hearts to praise God for His greatness and His goodness.

The psalmist describes God as being “wrapped in light” (verse 2). God created light on the first day (Genesis 1:3); indeed, God is light (1 John 1:5). In verses 5–8, the psalmist describes the separation of the waters from the land (Genesis 1:6–10); and in verse 9, he says that the waters will never again cover the earth (see Genesis 9:15).

We must note an important point: God is distinct from His creation. Many people consider God and nature to be the same; they worship nature, or “Mother Earth,” or the celestial bodies, as if they were God Himself. But God is over and above all the things He has created; He has existed forever, but all these other things have existed only since He created them.

But even though God is distinct from His creation, He is not separate from it; He indwells it. He is present in the heavens and on the earth; He “dwells” with His people; indeed, through His Holy Spirit (verse 30), He dwells within each of us who trusts in Him.

24–30 God’s creation is teeming with creatures . . . large and small (verse 25); even the sea monster, the leviathan,²¹⁷ is merely God’s “pet” frolicking in the sea (verse 26).

All these creatures, unbeknown to them, are dependent on God for everything, even for life itself. God’s life—giving Spirit brought them to life in the beginning and His Spirit has sustained their life ever since (verse 30). God’s breath (Spirit) gives them life (Genesis 2:7); when God takes away that “breath,” they die (verse 29).

Creation, then, is not merely a one—time event that occurred in the beginning; it is an ongoing process in which everything is being continuously sustained and renewed. God is as active in creation today as He was at the beginning.

31–35 There is only one intelligent response to such a Creator God, and that is to praise Him and to rejoice in Him (verses 33–34). Those who reject God or ignore Him are without excuse (Romans 1:20); they have placed themselves outside God’s covenant and God’s grace. In His sight, they are among the sinners, the wicked, who will not share in God’s covenant blessings; instead, they will vanish and be no more (verse 35). Only one thing can mar God’s creation, and that is sin; those who engage in it and do not repent will never enter God’s eternal kingdom²¹⁸ (Revelation 21:27).

PSALM 105

(1 Chronicles 16:8–22)

1–4 This psalm is a call to give thanks and praise to God (verses 1–2); it also calls us to look to Him and seek His face (verse 4). As always, thanks and praise go together. But here one more element is added to praise: proclamation. We are to make known among the nations what our God has done; we are to tell of all his wonderful acts (verses 1–2). Just standing in church singing praise songs to God is not enough; we must then go out from our churches into the world and proclaim what God has done (see Psalm 9:1–2 and comment).

This psalm proclaims in some detail what God has done: He chose the Israelites (verse 6); He gave them covenant promises(verses 8–11); He protected them (verses 12–15); He multiplied them in Egypt (verses 16–25); He delivered them from Egypt (verses 26–41); and He brought them into the promised land in accordance with His promise (verses 42–45). All of this is indeed reason to praise and thank the Lord! God had saved His people and remembered His covenant; that is the subject of this psalm.²¹⁹

5–15 God remembers his covenant forever . . . for a thousand generations²²⁰ (verse 8). God’s covenant with Abraham was an everlasting covenant (verses 9–10). It was made initially with Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3,7; 15:7–21) and then confirmed with Isaac (Genesis 26:2–5) and with Jacob (Genesis 28:10–15). The particular aspect of the covenant emphasized in this psalm is the promise of the land (verse 11). Though individual Israelites might forfeit the enjoyment of the land because of disobedience, God’s promise of the land stands firm forever: God will remember His covenant!²²¹ (see Leviticus 26:40–45 and comment).

In verses 12–15, the psalmist describes how God protected Abraham and his descendants while they were still strangers in the promised land (verse 12). Even when they made serious errors of judgment, God protected them (verse 14); for their sake he rebuked kings (see Genesis 12:10–20; 20:1–18; 26:1–11). God told the kings: Do not touch my anointed ones²²² (verse 15) my chosen ones (verse 6); they are my treasured possession (Exodus 19:5–6).

16–22 In these verses, the psalmist describes how a famine came to the land of Canaan (Genesis 41:56–57). But God had already sent a man (Joseph) into Egypt (verse 17); God had arranged for him to be sold into slavery by his own brothers! (Genesis 37:12–36; 45:4–11; 50:20). In verses 18–22, the psalmist describes how Joseph rose to power in Egypt and was able to save many from starvation—including his own family (Genesis Chapters 39–41).

23–36 In these verses, the psalmist deals with the four hundred years the Israelites spent in Egypt, from the time Israel (Jacob) entered Egypt (Genesis 46:1–7) to the time God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. God was in control of everything that happened to them. God was the One who made the Israelites fruitful in Egypt (verse 24), so that they became too numerous for the Egyptians (see Exodus 1:6–10). God was the One who turned the heart of Pharaoh (verse 25) to hate the Israelites (see Exodus 4:21; 7:1–5 and comments). And God was the One who struck the Egyptians with plagues²²³ (verses 26–36), which finally caused Pharaoh to free the Israelites from bondage (Exodus Chapters 7–11).

37–41 Here the psalmist describes the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt and God’s provision for them in the desert. In verse 37, he says that God brought the Israelites out laden with silver and gold (see Exodus 12:35–36). Egypt was glad when they left, because that meant an end to the plagues (verse 38). God spread out a cloud to protect the Israelites (verse 39) and provided fire to give them light (Exodus 13:20–22; 14:19–20). In the desert, God continued to provide for the Israelites (verses 40–41); He gave them food and drink (Exodus 16:4,14–16; 17:1–7).

42–45 God did all these things because He remembered his holy promise to Abraham (verse 42). He brought them into the land of Canaan—the lands of the nations (verse 44)—which was inhabited by many godless peoples (Genesis 15:19–21). Why did God redeem His people? Why did He give them the land of Canaan? So that they might keep his precepts (verse 45). This is the reason God chose the Israelites: that they might lead godly lives, so that through their witness the nations of the world might be blessed (Genesis 12:3; 18:18–19). This is the reason God made them His holy nation (Exodus 19:6). This is why He blessed them. And this is why He blesses us—that we might “keep His precepts.” The psalm begins with God’s people looking to Him—trusting in Him (verse 4). The psalm ends with God’s people observing—obeying—His laws (verse 45). Trust and obey: this is the essence of our spiritual walk with God.

There is a final thing we can learn from this psalm: God cares for His own. Note His loving care for the Israelites throughout their history: He chose them, He protected them, He provided for them, and He prospered them. In the same way, God will care for us who keep his precepts and observe his laws (see Leviticus 26:3–13 and comment).

PSALM 106

1–5 This psalm is a prayer of confession. The psalmist describes Israel’s repeated unfaithfulness and rebellion from the time of the Exodus up until the fall of Jerusalem, and he asks God to once again save His people (verse 47). The psalmist, who himself was probably an exiled Levite, asks God to include him in the salvation of the Israelites (verses 4–5).

Almost the entire psalm consists of a list of Israel’s sins. And yet over and over we see God forgiving and restoring His rebellious people whenever they cried to Him for help. In this we see God’s enduring love (verse 1). The theme of this psalm could be called, “God’s faithfulness and man’s unfaithfulness.”

6–12 The psalmist begins his list of Israel’s sins by confessing the sins of his own generation (verse 6). Then, in verse 7, he states that the sins of the Israelites began in Egypt; they had seen God’s miracles (the plagues) but they gave no thought to them, and they rebelled—even before they crossed the Red Sea (Exodus 14:10–12).

In verses 8–11, the psalmist describes how God parted the waters of the sea and redeemed (delivered) His people (see Exodus 14:13–30). Even though His people had rebelled, He saved them for his name’s sake (verse 8), that His power might be known (Exodus 14:17–18). When the Israelites saw His power (Exodus 14:31), then they believed his promises (verse 12)—but only for a short time.

13–15 Then they soon forgot what he had done (verse 13). Those who forget the works of God soon forget God, because God makes Himself known through His works.

In these verses, the psalmist describes how the Israelites tested God in the early days of their wilderness journey (see Exodus 15:22–25; 16:1–16; 17:1–7; Numbers 11:4–13,31–34). In verse 15, the psalmist says: God gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them.²²⁴ This reminds us to be careful what we ask for from God. Sometimes we are so sure we know God’s will that we persist in asking for something that is not in our best interest. And sometimes, to discipline us, God grants our request but at the same time takes something more important from us-our physical health, our spiritual power, our closeness to Him. When we pray we must, above all, seek to pray according to God’s will and not according to our own.

16–18 Later on in their wilderness journey, the Israelites began to oppose Moses and Aaron, God’s chosen leaders;²²⁵ God punished the evildoers severely (Numbers 16:1–35).

19–23 These verses deal with the sad incident of the golden calf (see Exodus 32:130), when the Israelites exchanged their Glory (verse 20)—that is, their Glorious One (God)—for the image of a bull (calf). Again they had forgotten what God had done for them in Egypt, the land of Ham (verse 22).

So God decided to destroy the Israelites. But Moses stood in the breach (verse 23); that is, he stood between the Israelites and God, and pleaded with God on their behalf.²²⁶ And God relented, and did not completely destroy the Israelites (Exodus 32:9–14,31–35).

24–27 Here the psalmist describes Israel’s great sin of disobedience—the sin that prevented that generation of Israelites from entering the pleasant land (verse 24)—the promised land (see Numbers 14:1–35). In verse 27, the psalmist looks ahead to the fate of the descendants of that generation, who would fall among the nations where God would scatter them (Leviticus 26:33). The exiled psalmist knew that his own generation had been included in that punishment.

28–31 These verses deal with another episode of idolatry on the part of the Israelites (see Numbers 25:1–9). At that time Phinehas the priest intervened (verse 30), and because of his righteousness he and his descendants received a lasting priesthood (Numbers 25:10–13)one that would last for endless generations (verse 31).

32–33 Here the psalmist mentions Moses’ sin at the waters of Meribah, the sin which prevented Moses from entering the promised land (see Numbers 20:1–13).

34–43 In these verses the psalmist describes the sins of the Israelites after they had entered the promised land. They didn’t destroy the godless nations (verse 34), as the Lord had commanded (Exodus 34:1116; Deuteronomy 7:1–6). Instead, they began to worship their idols; they even sacrificed their children to Molech (Leviticus 18:21; 2 Kings 16:3; 21:6), thereby shedding innocent blood (verses 37–38) which desecrated the land (see Numbers 35:33–34). In this way the Israelites defiled themselves and their land (Leviticus 18:24–28). They prostituted themselves (verse 39), because they forsook their true God and committed spiritual adultery with the false gods of the Canaanites.

The Israelites committed all these sins from the time they entered Canaan right up until the time of the Exile. Verses 4043 refer not only to the period of the judges (see the book of Judges) but also to the period of the monarchy (see the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings). For hundreds of years the Lord endured the Israelites’ recurring idolatry and rebellion; but finally His patience came to an end, and He handed them over to the nations (verse 41)—in particular, to the Assyrians and the Babylonians.

44–48 But that was not the end of the story! God preserved a remnant of His people. He heard their cry and remembered his covenant (verses 44–45). Some of the Jewish exiles began to return (see the books of Ezra and Nehemiah); but here the still—exiled psalmist calls out to God: Save us . . . gather us from the nations (verse 47).

That is also our cry, the cry of the Church in our generation. We too stumble and sin and compromise. We too need to be continuously “gathered from the nations”consecrated, set apart—so that we might fulfill our calling to be Christ’s witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).