Psalms 106:5-15

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.

Psalms 106:5-15 Meaning and Commentary

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.