Psalm 106

1 Give thanks to the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever.

2 Who shall tell the mighty acts of the Lord? who shall cause all his praises to be heard?

3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and do righteousness at all times.

4 Remember us, O Lord, with the favour thou hast to thy people: visit us with thy salvation;

5 that we may behold the good of thine elect, that we may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that we may glory with thine inheritance.

6 We have sinned with our fathers, we have transgressed, we have done unrighteously.

7 Our fathers in Egypt understood not thy wonders, and remembered not the multitude of thy mercy; but provoked him as they went up by the Red Sea.

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

9 And he rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up: so he led them through the deep as through the wilderness.

10 And he saved them out of the hand of them that hated them, and redeemed them out of the hand of the enemy.

11 The water covered those that oppressed them: there was not one of them left.

12 Then they believed his words, and celebrated his praise.

13 They made haste, they forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel.

14 And they lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the dry land.

15 And he gave them their request, and sent fullness into their souls.

16 They provoked Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the holy one of the Lord.

17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and closed upon the congregation of Abiron.

18 And a fire was kindled in their congregation, and a flame burnt up the sinners.

19 And they made a calf in Choreb, and worshipped the graven image,

20 and they changed their glory into the similitude of a calf that feeds on grass.

21 They forgot God that saved them, who had wrought great deeds in Egypt;

22 wondrous works in the land of Cham, and terrible things at the Red Sea.

23 So he said that he would have destroyed them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn him away from the fierceness of his anger, so that he should not destroy them.

24 Moreover they set at nought the desirable land, and believed not his word.

25 And they murmured in their tents: they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord.

26 So he lifted up his hand against them, to cast them down in the wilderness;

27 and to cast down their seed among the nations, and to scatter them in the countries.

28 They were joined also to Beelphegor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. And they provoked him with their devices;

29 and destruction, was multiplied among them.

30 Then Phinees stood up, and made atonement: and the plague ceased.

31 And it was counted to him for righteousness, to all generations for ever.

32 They provoked him also at the water of Strife, and Moses was hurt for their sakes;

33 for they provoked his spirit, and he spoke unadvisedly with his lips.

34 They destroyed not the nations which the Lord told them to destroy;

35 but were mingled with the heathen, and learned their works.

36 And they served their graven images; and it became an offence to them.

37 And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils,

38 and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Chanaan; and the land was defiled with blood.

39 and was polluted with their works; and they went a whoring with their own devices.

40 So the Lord was very angry with his people, and he abhorred his inheritance.

41 And he delivered them into the hands of their enemies; and they that hated them ruled over them.

42 Ands their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought down under their hands.

43 Many a time he delivered them; but they provoked him by their counsel, and they were brought low by their iniquities.

44 Ye the Lord looked upon their affliction, when he heard their petition.

45 And he remembered his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercy.

46 And he caused them to be pitied in the sight of all who carried them captive.

47 Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, that we may glory in thy praise.

48 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting and to everlasting; and all the people shall say, Amen, Amen.

Psalm 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.