Psalms 106 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Psalm 106

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

106:1   Praise the LORD!
  Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2   Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD,
    or declare all his praise?
3   Blessed are they who observe justice,
    who do righteousness at all times!
4   Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people;
    help me when you save them,¹
5   that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones,
    that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
    that I may glory with your inheritance.
6   Both we and our fathers have sinned;
    we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
7   Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
    did not consider your wondrous works;
  they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
    but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8   Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
    that he might make known his mighty power.
9   He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,
    and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10   So he saved them from the hand of the foe
    and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11   And the waters covered their adversaries;
    not one of them was left.
12   Then they believed his words;
    they sang his praise.
13   But they soon forgot his works;
    they did not wait for his counsel.
14   But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
    and put God to the test in the desert;
15   he gave them what they asked,
    but sent a wasting disease among them.
16   When men in the camp were jealous of Moses
    and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,
17   the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
    and covered the company of Abiram.
18   Fire also broke out in their company;
    the flame burned up the wicked.
19   They made a calf in Horeb
    and worshiped a metal image.
20   They exchanged the glory of God²
    for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21   They forgot God, their Savior,
    who had done great things in Egypt,
22   wondrous works in the land of Ham,
    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23   Therefore he said he would destroy them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
  stood in the breach before him,
    to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24   Then they despised the pleasant land,
    having no faith in his promise.
25   They murmured in their tents,
    and did not obey the voice of the LORD.
26   Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27   and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
    scattering them among the lands.
28   Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,
    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
29   they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,
    and a plague broke out among them.
30   Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was stayed.
31   And that was counted to him as righteousness
    from generation to generation forever.
32   They angered him at the waters of Meribah,
    and it went ill with Moses on their account,
33   for they made his spirit bitter,³
    and he spoke rashly with his lips.
34   They did not destroy the peoples,
    as the LORD commanded them,
35   but they mixed with the nations
    and learned to do as they did.
36   They served their idols,
    which became a snare to them.
37   They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons;
38   they poured out innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters,
  whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was polluted with blood.
39   Thus they became unclean by their acts,
    and played the whore in their deeds.
40   Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
    and he abhorred his heritage;
41   he gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42   Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43   Many times he delivered them,
    but they were rebellious in their purposes
    and were brought low through their iniquity.
44   Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
    when he heard their cry.
45   For their sake he remembered his covenant,
    and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
46   He caused them to be pitied
    by all those who held them captive.
47   Save us, O LORD our God,
    and gather us from among the nations,
  that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.
48   Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
  And let all the people say, “Amen!”
    Praise the LORD!

Footnotes

[1] 106:4 Or Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you show to your people; help me with your salvation
[2] 106:20 Hebrew exchanged their glory
[3] 106:33 Or they rebelled against God’s Spirit

Commentary

Rebellion and forgiveness in Israel's history. This is the same story as Ps 105, but highlights Israel's rebellion.

v1-7: Introduction, showing the cycles of Israel's history; praise and petition and penitence. The overall emphasis on God's goodness is clear. His worthiness does not depend on the failures of His people.

The writer identifies with his people's sins, "We have sinned...we have done wrong and acted wickedly." Modern day thinking tends to emphasise individual experience; the O.T. frequently speaks of a corporate experience of God or, as here, a corporate departure from God. These words summarise the story; the Psalm goes on to provide detail of the people's sin and rebellion, which take many forms.

The psalm presents reasons that the people departed from God, and explains the gradual increase in the seriousness of their sins.

Reason 1 - they did not understand, and they did not remember; there was neglect (Heb 2.3) and complacency, and a lack of spiritual desire (Ps 103.2). Even in the time of great blessing, the people soon forgot what God had done for them. Notice too that they first rebelled by the Red Sea, very soon after leaving Egypt.

The application is obvious - take time to choose to remember all that God has done.

v8-11: God's deliverance by the Red Sea. This was not dependent upon their obedience or their rebellion.

v12: This deliverance encouraged faith and promoted praise.

v13-14: Reason 2 - they forgot His works, and were dissatisfied with God's provision for them.

v15: The result of their attitude here; leanness of soul, as God gave them what they set their hearts upon. The RAV says that God 'sent leanness into their soul'.

v16: Reason 3 - the people despised the divinely-appointed leaders, even those men who had saved their lives.

v17-18: Judgment fell upon the leaders of the rebellion.

v19-20: Reason 4 - true worship was supplanted by idolatry, man-made worship.

v21-22: In their idolatry, they forgot God, and all He had done for them. There is a simple lesson for us here, that we remember God's blessings upon our lives.

v23: Moses interceded for the people, and saved them (Ex 32.9-14).

v24: Reason 5 - they despised the promises of God. In Num 16.13, they even described Egypt as a land flowing with milk and honey. They came to believe what God had promised was no better than what they were delivered from.

v25: Then they grumbled and disobeyed.

v26-27: The judgment upon that generation was that they would not see the promised land. They did not want it, so they would not receive it.

v28-29: Reason 6 - they joined with idolaters, being influenced by the prophecies of Balaam. Although Balaam said many things that are commendable, he broke down the barriers between those who worshipped the true God and idolaters.

v30-31: Phinehas, like Moses, interceded for the people, which averted further judgment. This act of intercession brought great blessings from God.

v32-33: Reason 7 - they rebelled at Meribah, even causing Moses to lose his temper, and to lose the blessing.

v34-35: Reason 8 - they mingled with unbelieving Gentiles, and failed to destroy them. They began to learn their ways.

v36-39: They fell into the serious sins that were associated with idolatry. These verses give us some insight into typical behaviour in pagan nations at the time. The laws of Israel, if obeyed, would set that nation apart from the other nations.

v40-46: The cycle of Judg 2.14-19; sin, captivity, prayer, deliverance. What had happened in the wilderness continued in the land of Canaan as the people continued to disobey God. Their failure to destroy and cast out the Canaanite nations ultimately led to servitude under them.

We are amazed at God's mercies and patience with a disobedient people.

v47: The psalmist concludes with a prayer. He does not want to see the people of God, his own people, so low again. Have they not learned the lessons of their own history?

v48: Closing doxology, completing the fourth book of the Psalms.