Deeper Commentary
Psa 106:1
Praise Yahweh! Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good, for His grace
endures forever-
The previous Psalm 105 has asked God to restore the exiles, to come
through for them, because this is what He has done for His people in the
past. But there has been no acceptance of grace, of their sinfulness, or
of the consequence for sin. This Psalm presents a different picture of
Israel's history; it is of their sinfulness, and God's radical grace. And
the Psalm asks God to continue that grace. There is still not the total
confession of sin which we see in Daniel's prayer (Dan. 9) nor in Ezra's
(Ezra 9). But there is an acceptance of their sinfulness and God's grace,
and the final appeal for an "Amen" is asking the audience to accept this
and to ask for it to continue. "His grace endures forever" is a way of
effectively asking for that grace towards sinners to continue to the
exiles.
Psa 106:2
Who can utter the mighty acts of Yahweh, or fully declare all
His praise?-
The psalmist utters forth the mighty acts of God in this Psalm with
the preface enquiring as to who can adequately do this. And then proceeds
to do just that. He did so with a clear recognition of his own inadequacy.
The Psalms of praise are full of this theme. The mighty acts which will be
listed are those of radical forgiveness.
Psa 106:3
Blessed are those who keep justice. Blessed is the one who does
what is right-
David so often parallels righteousness and justice / truth (Ps. 9:8; 33:5;
37:6; 72:2; 94:15; 99:7; 103:6; 106:3). Indeed, this parallel is so common
in God's word. What it means is that the righteousness of God is a
just righteousness. It's not fake,
'I'll turn a blind eye'. It is true, real, valid, and has integrity
underpinned in the very essential justice of God Himself. Justice and
righteousness may appear abstract ideas, mere theology. But the result is
that the person who believes God's righteousness is imputed to him or
her... will
feel this, they will know it to be
true, they can by grace, in faith, quietly hold their head up before God.
And David after Bathsheba is our example. He believed and
felt this imputed righteousness.
It's not so much a case of 'forgiving ourselves' after God has forgiven
us, but rather of being swamped by this very real and legitimate sense
that truly, we have been counted righteous. And Paul in Romans holds up
David after Bathsheba as the personal example to " every one who is Godly"
in their time of spiritual need. See on Ps. 41:12.
At all times-
Consistency is most important in spiritual life rather than
occasional flashes of devotion and obedience.
Psa 106:4
Remember me, Yahweh, with the grace that You show to Your
people; visit me with Your salvation-
The psalmist, originally David but rewritten by someone else at the
time of the exile (perhaps Jeremiah, Ezra or Daniel), confesses that he
too on a personal level needs the grace which he is going to celebrate.
And he looks personally for salvation from a Divine 'visitation'. Perhaps
he perceived that salvation from Babylon in the restored Kingdom could
have been eternal; potentially. But the preconditions weren't met. But
that may well have been his legitimate hope.
Psa 106:5
that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen, that I may rejoice
in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your inheritance-
David saw his sufferings as being bound up with those of Israel; those who hated him hated Zion, those who blessed him blessed Zion, and God's salvation of Israel was being expressed through God's deliverance of him in the daily vicissitudes of life; as God had chosen Zion, so He had David His servant; David's joy was Zion's joy, and her exaltation would be David's (Ps. 51:18; 69:35; 87:2; 106:5; 121:3,4; 125:1; 128:5; 146:10; 149:2). This is how we are to make sense of suffering- by understanding that it plays a role in the salvation of others, and is part of a wider nexus of Divine operation. We suffer so that we may be able to minister the comfort we receive to others (2 Cor. 1:4). Job likewise came to realize that his sufferings were not so much for his personal maturing, but for the teaching and salvation of the friends.
Psa 106:6
We have sinned with our fathers-
Continuing the thought of :5, the Psalmist felt that he personally was
somehow involved in the sin of God’s people (“we have sinned”);
Ezra and Daniel prayed and felt likewise at the time of the exile. We
aren’t called to smug self righteousness, avoiding guilt by association; but rather
the opposite. We are to feel a
personal involvement in the failures and successes of God’s people as a
whole.
For Paul, his joy and crown would be to see his brethren accepted into
God's Kingdom at judgment day. David had the same spirit when he wrote of
how he longed to "see the prosperity of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in
the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance" (Ps.
106:5). His personal vision of God's Kingdom involved seeing others there;
there's no hint of spiritual selfishness in David. And he goes straight on
to comment: "We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed
iniquity... our fathers understood not..." (Ps. 106:6). David felt himself
very much at one with the community of God's children, both in their
failures and in their ultimate hope. Life with God simply can't be lived
in isolation from the rest of His people. Our salvation in that sense has
a collective aspect to it, and if we want 'out' with the community of
believers in this life, then we're really voting ourselves out of their
future glory.
Psa 106:7
Our fathers didn’t understand Your wonders in Egypt. They didn’t
remember the multitude of Your graces, but were rebellious at the sea,
even at the Red Sea-
Even at the very moment of their salvation they were rebellious. God
didn’t save them because they had reached a certain level of
righteousness, let alone "understanding", but because of His grace; see on
:12. The Red Sea crossing represents
our baptism (1 Cor. 10:1,2); God has saved us by His grace, not because of
our righteousness.
Because of the high degree of God manifestation in Moses, he was so severely punished for not sanctifying Yahweh in the eyes of Israel in his sin of smiting the rock. Israel provoking his spirit to sin at this time is spoken of in the context of the way in which they provoked God’s spirit (Ps. 106:7,29,33,43) - such was God’s manifestation in Moses even while he was sinning. And so God is manifest in sinful men like us too. Moses knew this, he knew his closeness to God through manifestation, and yet he yearned to see God physically, he struggled with his distance from God (Ex. 33:18,20). The spirit of Christ in the Psalms is similar. And for us too.
Psa 106:8
Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, that He might make
His mighty power known-
Salvation for His Name's sake is the same as saying that He saved
them by grace (:1). Grace is the quintessence of the Yahweh Name. The
"mighty power" that was made known was not so much His physical, material
ability to divide waters- but His grace and salvation of the unworthy
(:7).
Psa 106:9
He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; so He led them
through the depths, as through a desert-
As noted on :1, this is being cited in the context of exemplifying
God's saving grace to the unworthy. He saved those who didn't
"understand", who doubted right at the shores of the Red Sea (:7). But all
the same He led them through the Red Sea, which was made as dry as the
desert they would now be led through further. And God likewise can save
even without full faith and "understanding" at the time of our baptism (1
Cor. 10:1,2); if subsequently we believe in and cling to His saving
program for us.
Psa 106:10
He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed
them from the hand of the enemy-
Saving and redeeming are the words brought together elsewhere only in
the context of God's desire to be the "saviour and redeemer" of the exiles
through His offer of restoration (Is. 49:26; 60:16; 63:9). The redemption
of a misunderstanding and disbelieving people of God from Egypt could have
been the pattern for the salvation and redemption of the exiles from
Babylon. Deliverance from the hand of haters is an idea commonly used by
David about his salvation from Saul (Ps. 18:17,40 and often). This early
Psalm of David has been reworked, under Divine inspiration, to be relevant
to the exiles.
Psa 106:11
The waters covered their adversaries, there was not one of them
left-
The destruction of the Egyptians is cited here as an example of God's
grace to Israel (see on Ps. 106:1), and it is likewise used in Ps. 136:15.
One take on the situation is that God foreknew that if He had not killed
those Egyptians, they would have killed the Israelites.
Psa 106:12
Then they believed His words, they sang His praise-
All these examples from Israel's history are to exemplify God's
absolute saving grace. They only "believed His words" after they
had been saved through their Red Sea baptism (1 Cor. 10:1,2). And so it
can be in the Christian experience. This also explains why the New
Testament speaks of us being baptized, by God through the Spirit.
Grammatically, baptism is something done to us (1 Cor. 12:13). This has
its basis in how Israel were baptized into Moses by God (1 Cor. 10:1,2).
This is not to say that we should not first believe and then be baptized.
But nearly every honest Christian would surely accept that our
understanding and faith was weak at that point, and we were led by God's
Spirit (or "providence", if you prefer) to the waters of baptism. We were
saved as were Israel, but it is for us to believe it afterwards. See on
:7,22.
Psa 106:13
They soon forgot His works, they didn’t wait for His word-
This seems to describe Israel's rebellions in language relevant to Saul, as if he represented them
(1 Sam. 13:8). This Psalm likely started as one of David's, but was
rewritten under Divine inspiration as relevant to the exiles. The
impression is of haste: "They made haste, they forgot his works; they
waited not for his counsel" (LXX). God's word is not revealed to us all in
one go; His will is revealed in response to our patient response to what
we currently understand of His will. And Israel ought to have perceived
that God by grace had saved them. But they forgot that grace, and panicked
when things didn't appear to work out, and turned away from Him rather
than remembering His grace. And that was the lesson for the exiles.
Psa 106:14
but gave in to their craving in the desert, and tested God in the
wasteland-
God had provided them with manna; but they craved flesh, meat; the
same term is used in Num. 11:4. This is the phrase only elsewhere used for
Israel's coveting of meat in the wilderness (Num. 11:4), but it is used
once more, in Prov. 21:26. This explains that the reason for their lust
was because they were lazy (Prov. 21:25). They ought to have instead
thought of what they could give, rather than lusting for what they could
additionally get. This generous attitude is the antidote to lust.
Psa 106:15
He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul-
If we fulfil our fleshly craving, we will become internally and
spiritually hungry. Giving in to our cravings isn’t the way to happiness.
But the way God gave them their request is cited here as an example of
God's grace to Israel; for that is the theme of this Psalm. The idea is
repeated with the same words in Is. 10:16: "Therefore shall the Lord...
send among His fat ones leanness". Again we see the intended parallels
between Israel in dispersion and Israel in the wilderness.
Psa 106:16
They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, Yahweh’s saint-
Aaron was a "saint" in that he was a chosen one, separated unto God's
purpose. But the rebels were unprepared to accept God's choice of
saviours; and yet His saving purpose still continued with them, despite
punishing the rebels (:17). And this was the simple lesson for the exiles,
and for us all as we despair of our own weakness.
Psa 106:17
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company
of Abiram-
We note that "Korah" isn't mentioned here, although the rebellion was
by Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Perhaps this was because the "sons of Korah"
survived and were zealous in the temple service. Num. 16:32; 26:10 stress
that the "earth opened" (s.w.) and swallowed up Korah and his
followers. The pointed omission of "Korah" here is perhaps to point out
God's grace in working through Korah's descendants. And again, this was
the message the exiles needed to grasp; their fathers had sinned, they
were in captivity, but they needed to follow the pattern of the sons of
Korah.
Psa 106:18
A fire was kindled in their company, the flame burned up the
wicked-
The intention of this Psalm, as explained on :1, is to chronicle
God's grace to a very sinful Israel. The "fire kindled" is the term used
of the burning bush which was not consumed (Ex. 3:2), just as mount Sinai
was kindled with fire but not consumed (especially stressed in
Deuteronomy; Dt. 4:11; 5:23; 9;15). The idea is that although all Israel
had sinned, only some of them were consumed, but the people as a whole
were not consumed. The exiles would walk through kindled fire and not be
consumed (s.w. Is. 43:2). God's purposes with His people would stand, even
though the "fire was kindled" in the Babylon invasion (Jer. 4:4; Lam. 2:3
s.w.), but they would be saved out of condemnation and not be consumed as
a nation.
Psa 106:19
They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image-
We have just read of the fire kindled in God's wrath against His
people. But they kindled that fire themselves (Is. 9:18; Hos 7:6), and
used it to produce a molten image. Israel were to make no images
in worship, because the God they worshipped was real, existing in an
actual material form in heaven. They were to make no image of Him because
they were to believe He was for real, before their very eyes if they had
perceptive eyes of faith. And they were to realize that their own bodies
were in His image.
Psa 106:20
Thus they exchanged their glory for an image of a bull that
eats grass-
"Their glory" refers to God. It was unthinkable that a nation changed
their gods; they only did so when conquered by other nations who forced
them to do so. This was the awful sin of Israel, in exchanging Yahweh for
idols (Jer. 2:11). They of course didn't see it as "exchange", but rather
worshipping Yahweh through worshipping other idols; or worshipping Him as
well as idols. This is the kind of temptation we face all the time; but
here it is condemned as "exchanging" Yahweh for idols.
There is good reason to believe that Romans 1 is a description of Israel
in the wilderness; notice the past tenses there. Rom. 1:23 charges them
with changing "the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made
like... to four-footed beasts, and creeping things", clearly alluding to
Ps. 106:20 concerning how Israel in the wilderness "Changed their glory
into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass" by making the golden calf.
The effective atheism of Rom. 1 is matched by Ps. 106:21 "They forgat God
their saviour". The long catalogue of Israel's wilderness sins in Ps. 106
is similar to that in Rom.1. "Full of envy" (Rom. 1:29) corresponds to
them envying Moses (Ps. 106:16), "whisperers" (Rom. 1:29) to "murmurers"
(Ps. 106:25), and "inventors of evil things" (Rom. 1:30) to God being
angered with "their inventions" of false gods (Ps. 106:29). Because of
this "God gave them up" to continue in their sexual perversion and
bitterness with each other even to the extent of murder (Rom. 1:27,29). A
rabble of about 2 million people living in moral anarchy with little law
and order, driven on in their lust by the knowledge that God had rejected
them is surely a frightening thing to imagine. The emphasis on sexual sin
in Rom.1 is paralleled by 1 Cor. 10 stressing the frequent failure of
Israel in the wilderness in this regard. Against such an evil and God
forsaking background that young generation rebelled, to become one of the
most faithful groups of Israelites in their history. As such they set a
glorious example to the youth of today in rebelling against a world that
mocks any form of true spirituality.
Psa 106:21
They forgot God their Saviour who had done great things in
Egypt-
As discussed on Ps. 71:19, the "great / wondrous things" performed by
God were His forgiveness and salvation of a condemned sinner like David.
This is described in Ps. 71:19 as God doing "great things", the phrase
used of the great things worked in visible miracles in Egypt (Ps. 106:21)
and at creation (Ps. 136:7). But the forgiveness of people like David is
no less a great miracle. Such great things are done because of His mercy /
grace (Ps. 136:4).
Psa 106:22
wondrous works in the land of Ham-
Mizraim or Egypt was the descendant of Ham (Gen. 10:6; Ps. 105:23,27;
106:22). There may be an allusion to Khem, one of the main Egyptian gods.
For the purpose of all the plagues was to demonstrate that Yahweh was the
only God, and the Egyptian gods had no real existence.
And awesome things by the Red
Sea-
The awesome thing done "by" and not "in" the Red Sea was that there
on the shores of the Sea, Israel's faith collapsed. They did not
understand nor "believe His words" (:7,12). And yet God saved them by
grace. That was the wonderful work and awesome thing done by God which
should be praised and remembered by us.
Psa 106:23
Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His
chosen stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath, so that He
wouldn’t destroy them-
Here again is God's extreme grace. His intention to destroy Israel
and make a new nation from Moses was changed; indeed His intended
destruction of Aaron and Israel was turned away by Moses more than once
(Dt. 9:8,14,19,20,25). Such is His radical sensitivity, reflecting a love
for His people which is beyond words to describe. The very "chosen" Moses
whom the people had argued was not chosen (:16,17) was allowed to save
those people who had rejected him. This clearly looks forward to the
saving work of the Lord Jesus. Jeremiah likewise had stood before Yahweh
"to turn away His wrath" (s.w. Jer. 18:20); but the sin of the exiles was
apparently even worse than that of Israel. For the wrath came upon the
people and they were sent to Babylon. But in another sense, Jeremiah's
intercession was heard; for they were not 'destroyed' completely. They
could be restored. Daniel likewise prayed for the turning away of God's
wrath (s.w. Dan. 9:16); and the answer was in the seventy sevens prophecy.
Ultimately, God would not destroy His people but restore them, although in
His own way and in His own time. Which was not exactly as the exiles had
hoped. The exiles had broken the covenant and were therefore to be
destroyed (s.w. Dt. 28:20,24). But God was again open to changing His
stated purpose and saving them. It was all grace upon grace.
Psa 106:24
Yes, they despised the pleasant land. They didn’t believe His
word-
The word they disbelieved was the word of grace to Moses, that He
would not destroy them as He had earlier stated (see on :23). But God had
promised that although Israel despised the offer of the land, a "pleasant
land" in that it could have been God's Kingdom on earth, yet even in their
exile in the Gentile lands they preferred to His land, He would not
"despise" them (s.w. Lev. 26:44).
In the end, God gives us our dominant desire. Israel in the wilderness
didn’t really desire the
land, so they didn’t receive it. It was no "pleasant" to them, the 'land
of desire' (AVmg.). Israel both despised the land, and they
despised their God (Num. 14:11,23,31 RV). Our attitude as to whether or
not we want to be in the Kingdom is essentially our attitude to God. This
has far reaching implications. Ps. 107:30 likewise speaks of how the
faithful are brought to the haven of their desire (RVmg.). All those who
truly love the Lord’s appearing- with all that implies in practical life
and belief- will be accepted (2 Tim. 4:8). And yet Israel didn’t have the
dominant desire to be in the Kingdom, as Joshua and Caleb had. Why didn’t
they? It is vital that we understand the reasons for their failure – such
an understanding will be a safeguard to help prevent us from making the
same mistake (Rom.15:4).
Psa 106:25
but murmured in their tents, and didn’t listen to Yahweh’s voice-
In the face of God's amazing grace to them in not destroying them
(see on :23), Israel muttered and murmured about the immediate problems of
their lives. This obscured the wonderful voice of Yahweh assuring them of
His saving grace. And so it is to this day.
Psa 106:26
Therefore He swore to them that He would overthrow them in the
wilderness-
But He didn't, because Moses interceded. An almighty God who swears
but doesn't carry it out... is a God of amazing grace.
Psa 106:27
that He would overthrow their seed among the nations, and scatter
them in the gentile lands-
This suggests that Israel's scattering in Gentile lands had been
threatened at the time of the murmuring of :25; for the Psalm is
chronologically going through Israel's history. This isn't recorded in the
records; because by grace God changed from that purpose at the time,
because of Moses' intercession. But Israel are now reminded that in fact
their scattering amongst the Gentiles, which was then currently ongoing,
had been a judgment pronounced right back in the wilderness; and had not
been carried out because of the amazing patience of God.
Psa 106:28
They joined themselves also to Baal Peor, and ate the sacrifices of
the dead-
To join oneself is the language of marriage. To eat sacrifice was a
sign of fellowship with the god at whose table you were eating. And by
doing these things they were effectively breaking their covenant
relationship with Yahweh. But despite that, He still worked to save them
and to preserve them nationally as His people. His grace is the more
amazing, because He disregarded even their breaking of covenant with Him-
because He was and is so passionate to save.
Psa 106:29
Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds. The plague broke
in on them-
It could be argued that this too reflects God's grace. The threatened
judgment was complete destruction of the entire nation (:26), but in
reality the judgment was a plague which destroyed a relatively small
number of them.
Psa 106:30
Then Phinehas stood up, and executed judgment, so the plague was
stopped-
The grace of this was in that the plague was stopped, as it was at
the time of the earlier rebellion (Num. 16:48,50 cp. Num. 25:8); when it
had been in God's intention to totally destroy the entire people (:26).
But as Paul brings out in Rom. 1-8, that grace was all the same
articulated through justice / judgment being done.
Psa 106:31
That was credited to him for righteousness, for all generations to
come-
The grace of this was in that righteousness was counted to Phinehas.
For none are righteous in their own strength; as Paul explains in Romans,
it is credited to us by grace through faith. But how was it eternally
credited to him? For descendants aren't counted righteous just because of
their ancestors. The implication would therefore be that this imputed
righteousness meant that he would therefore not die eternally; but he
resurrected to life eternal. And this again is nothing but pure grace.
Psa 106:32
They angered Him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses
was troubled for their sakes-
In Dt. 9:18 Moses says that his prayer of Ex. 32:32 was heard- in that
he was not going to enter the land, but they would. Hence his urging of
them to go ahead and enter the land- to experience what his self-sacrifice
had enabled. In this we see the economy of God, and how He works even
through sin. On account of Moses’ temporary rashness of speech, he was
excluded- and yet by this, his prayer was heard. He was temporarily
blotted out of the book, so that they might enter. Moses’ fleeting
requests to enter the land must be read as a flagging from the height of
devotion he reached, rather like the Lord’s request to escape the cross in
Gethsemane. But ultimately he did what he intended- he gave his place in
the Kingdom / land so that they might enter [although of course he will be
in the future Kingdom]. This is why Moses stresses on the last day of his
life that he wouldn’t enter the land for Israel’s sake (Dt. 1:37; 3:26;
4:21). He saw that his sin had been worked through, and the essential
reason for him not entering was because of the offer he had made. It “went
ill with him for their sakes” (AV).
Psa 106:33
because they were rebellious against His spirit, he spoke
rashly with his lips-
Moses was willing to give his physical and eternal life for Israel's
salvation (Ex. 32:32). In a sense, his desire was heard. Because of the
sin of a moment, caused by the provocation of the people he loved, God
decreed that he could not enter the land of promise. For their sakes
he was barred from the land; this is the emphasis of the Spirit (Dt.
1:37; 3:26; 4:21); and Ps. 106:32,33 says that Moses was provoked to sin
because Israel angered God, and that therefore "it went ill with
Moses for their sakes". Truly, God by grace works through sinful man to
achieve His glory. Thus Moses says that he must die “Because ye
[plural] trespassed against me” (Dt. 32:51). This all helps explain why
the Lord Jesus Christ had to die, apart from the fact that He was mortal.
He died the death of a sinner for our salvation, He felt all the emotions
of the rejected, the full weight of God's curse; for "cursed is every one
that hangs on a tree" in crucifixion (Gal. 3:13). Moses is a superb and
accurate type of the Lord Jesus. Therefore Moses in his time of dying must
grant us insight into the death of our Lord, the prophet like him (Dt.
18:18).
Psa 106:34
They didn’t destroy the peoples as Yahweh commanded them-
Moses ‘prophesied’ that Ephraim would “push the people [Gentile
inhabitants of the land] together to the ends of the earth / land” (Dt.
33:17). And yet Hos. 7:8 cp. Ps. 106:34-36 criticize Ephraim for
failing to
push the people out of the land. Moses’ prophecies about the tribes sound
like predictions; but they were actually commands which those tribes had
the freewill to obey or not. Despite the promise of the Kingdom, Israel
didn't use that potential. And now at this point they were in exile
amongst the Gentiles, because they had actually liked those peoples and
chose their idols.
Psa 106:35
but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works-
And the exiles had done just the same, and even at the restoration
they likewise "mingled" with the nations through intermarriage (s.w. Ezra
9:2). Israel simply refused to learn from their history. "Learned their
works" refers to their eager learning the ways of idolatry (:36); these
are the "works" of :39.
Psa 106:36
They served their idols, which became a snare to them-
In fulfilment of the warning of Ex. 23:33. Idolatry itself leads to
further failure- as part of a downward spiral. The figure of a snare
suggests they were led to the point of being caught and slain by the
snare. The idea of riches being a snare (1 Tim. 6:9) connects with copious OT
references to idols as Israel's perpetual snare (Ex. 23:33; Dt. 7:16; Jud.
2:3; 8:27; Ps. 106:36; Hos. 5:1). Paul's point is surely that the desire
of wealth is the equivalent of OT idolatry.
Psa 106:37
Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons-
I noted on :36 that the figure of a snare suggests the idols killed
them; and here we have this developed, in that they literally killed their
children in the name of idols. Demons refer to idols (:36). Demons or idols have no real existence
(1 Cor. 8:4; 10:20). Therefore when we read of demons being cast out in
the Gospel records, this is the language of the day used for healing
various illnesses rather than any evidence that demons actually exist.
Psa 106:38
They shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their
daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. The land was
polluted with blood-
But they continued doing so, and it was for shedding innocent blood
like this that they went into captivity (s.w. Jer. 2:34; 19:4). And the
impenitent exiles did the same in their persecution and murder of the
restoration prophets (Is. 59:7). Again the point is being made that
despite hardening themselves against the voice of history, God still had a
willingness to try to work with them towards repentance.
Psa 106:39
Thus were they defiled with their works, and prostituted themselves
in their deeds-
The "works" are the idolatry of :35; the "works" of the Gentiles
(:35) had become "their own works" (:39 AV). They had fully adopted the
Gentile ways as their very own. They were thus unfaithful to Yahweh who
was their husband; they were morally and sexually defiled and therefore
liable to be stoned to death, burnt or at least divorced. These were the
Mosaic law options for a husband whose wife was unfaithful or a
prostitute. But the grace of it all is that like Hosea with Gomer
(representing God and Israel), they were not destroyed as a people. God as
it were broke His own law by seeking to have them back even after the
great divorce.
Psa 106:40
Therefore Yahweh burned with anger against His people-
This is the burning anger which arises from the abuse of love; it was
their prostitution which made God so furious (:39). But truly "the wrath
of God is the love of God", as Emil Brunner observed. The extent of His
anger was a reflection of the extent of His love for them which had been
so abused. The kindling of Yahweh's anger begins a series of allusions to
the book of Judges, here to Jud. 2:14,20 etc.
He abhorred His inheritance-
There is a mutuality between God and man. God and His
Kingdom are our inheritance (Ps. 78:55); but we are His inheritance. A man's
inheritance was the essence of Himself, all He had in the world. And this
is how we are to Him.
Psa 106:41
He gave them into the hand of the nations. Those who hated them
ruled over them-
"Into the hand of..." is the term repeatedly used in the Judges
record (Jud. 3:10,12,31; 4:2; 6:1; 10:7-18; 13:1). Even the restored
exiles were still "ruled over" by the "nations" (s.w. Neh. 9:37). The
restoration wasn't the degree of restoration of the Kingdom of God and His
people which the restoration prophecies had presented as potentially
possible.
Psa 106:42
Their enemies also oppressed them-
"Oppressed" is a common word in the record of the Judges (s.w. Jud.
1:34; 2:18; 4:3; 6:9; 10:12).
They were brought into subjection under their hand-
This again continues the allusion to the situation in the book of
Judges (Jud. 4:3,6-11; 10:8). The grace of it all is that time and again
they were saved by Yahweh's "saviours", the judges, who looked ahead to
Yehoshua, 'Yah's salvation', in the Lord Jesus. But the raising up of
these saviours was by grace alone.
Psa 106:43
Many times He delivered them-
The grace of it all was that each time, God said 'this is the last
time', and Israel responded later 'Yes, but please, just this once, have
mercy on us just once more'. And this went on many times. Each time God
showed them special grace.
But they were rebellious in their
ways, and were brought low in their iniquity-
Flesh must be humbled- either we do it now, we humble ourselves that we
may be exalted in due time; or it will have to be done to us through the
terror of rejection. Time and again ‘bringing low’ or ‘humiliation’ is the
result of condemnation (Dt. 28:43; 2 Chron. 28:19; Job 40:12; Ps. 106:43).
Psa 106:44
Nevertheless He regarded their distress, when He heard their
cry-
See on :43. Their lack of penitence was overlooked because God was
simply so sensitive to the distress of His wayward people. This was the
grace of it all.
Psa 106:45
He remembered for them His covenant, and relented according to
the multitude of His graces-
Israel kept their Passovers throughout the wilderness years, one would
assume- but they never remembered the day that God brought them out of
Egypt (Ps. 78:42)- although notice how although Israel didn't remember
God, yet He remembered them in His grace (Ps. 106:7, 45). We can read of
the cross, speak of it, memorialize it as Israel did the exodus through
the Passover ritual; and yet totally fail to realize the powerful
imperatives which abound in its’ message. God's covenant is here
demonstrated to be unilateral, from Him to man, by grace. The covenant in
view is that with Abraham made in Gen. 15, which featured God making
unilateral promises whilst Abraham was incapacitated and unable to do
anything in response. Neither was there any clause added making it
conditional upon his obedience. This is in sharp contrast with the law of
Moses, the old covenant. Jeremiah, Zechariah and Ezekiel all make the
point to the exiles that they had broken the old covenant, and therefore
they could only be saved by reaffirming their part in the new covenant.
For it was this covenant which is rightly paralleled here with the
multitude of God's great grace, "graces" being an intensive plural for His
great grace.
Psa 106:46
He made them also to be pitied by all those who carried them
captive-
The book of Esther reveals the relative popularity and success of the
Jews in Babylon / Persia. The descriptions of the exiles as captives
groaning in a prison house must therefore be understood in spiritual
terms. For the exiles were not under physical abuse. But they failed to
realize their awful spiritual environment, and therefore spurned the
opportunity for deliverance from it; and that is the reason so many reject
the message of God's Kingdom today. The exiles particularly were shown
"pity" by the powers of their day, allowing them to return to Zion and
rebuild it (s.w. Neh. 1:11 "mercy"). This "pity" or "mercy before them
that lead you captive" was specifically predicated upon their repentance
(s.w. 2 Chron. 30:9). But they didn't repent; and yet they were shown this
mercy / pity. That was the grace of it all. This "pity" was the pity of
God who would according to that pity / mercy regather them (s.w. Is. 54:7;
Zech. 1:16). He showed them that pity despite their impenitence; and yet
most of them preferred to spurn it by remaining in exile.
Psa 106:47
Save us, Yahweh, our God, gather us from among the nations, to
give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise!-
These last two verses are quoting from David's Psalm of thanksgiving
when the ark was brought to Zion (1 Chron. 16:35,36). But the inspired
Psalmist in Ps. 106:47 makes a slight change because he was using this
Psalm in the context of the exiles wanting to be restored: "Gather us
together and deliver us from the nations" is changed to "Gather us from
among the nations". The ark was lost; it was the Jews themselves who were
to come to Zion. The exile brought them to realize that the box called
"the ark" was mere religion; the essence of it was that the dwelling place
of God was no longer a box of acacia wood, but God's own repentant people.
Psa 106:48
Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to
everlasting! Let all the people say, Amen. Praise Yah!-
This psalm has been a prayer of confession of sin. The people are asked to
say "Amen!" to it all, recognizing their sinfulness as a people and as
individuals; and yet with the confession, to also praise God for His
abiding grace to His people. As noted on :47, this is a slightly adapted
quotation from David's Psalm of praise when the ark was brought to Zion.
The people were asked to understand that their return to Zion was
to be like the return of the ark after a period in Gentile captivity. The
dwelling place of God was no longer to be over a box of acacia wood, but
over God's own repentant people.
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