Psalm
106:1 ¶ Praise ye the LORD. O give
thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for
ever. 2 Who can utter the mighty acts of
the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise? 3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and
he that doeth righteousness at all times. 4
Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy
people: O visit me with thy salvation; 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.
Although we might regard the word salvation
as referring to eternal salvation when you do a study of the word
throughout the Bible it is often a reference to temporal salvation from
something, on this earth. But we, when we pray, can literally use this as
gratitude for our eternal salvation in Christ.
Praising God is a theme of the Psalms.
God is the only thing that is absolutely good and we would do well to
understand that. His mercy endures forever, which is just one reason we know He
is not done with the Jews as a people and that He will never abandon us.
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without
covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
And there is no being, human or spirit,
in the universe or beyond who can do what God does and can praise Him completely
and perfectly.
As salvation through Christ is not a
religion of works but of belief and trust we can view verse 3 as being blessed
if we adopt God’s point of view, His decisions, His commands, His judgments and
trust in the righteousness of Christ at all times. We are truly blessed and on
a sure foundation with Christ.
We, too, can ask for God to visit His
blessings and protection on us as we come up against spiritual forces that
would destroy us if possible. As the Psalmist seeks to rejoice in God’s mercy
to His people and kingdom, and wants to rejoice in God’s promises so can we
rejoice in God’s mercy to His people and rejoice in His promises.
Psalm 40:5 Many, O LORD my
God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are
to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare
and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
Psalm 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for
ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
Psalm 147:19 He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes
and his judgments unto Israel.
20
He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they
have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.
1John 2:29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that
every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
Psalm 50:14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows
unto the most High:
15
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou
shalt glorify me…23 Whoso offereth
praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I
shew the salvation of God.
Next will be a confession of national
sins.
Psalm
106:6 ¶ We have sinned with our fathers,
we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. 7 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in
Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him
at 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 rebuked
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 believed they his words; they sang his
praise.
If you read the books of the history of
Israel in the ancient times you will see this very clearly. Israel failed God
but God did not fail Israel. He saved them and the Jews, even to this day,
still exist as a people not because they were faithful, because they weren’t,
but because He is faithful. It is the same with the individual Christian. You
are still saved, as many stupid and sinful things as you have done, if you are
His, because of His faithfulness not yours. It is by Christ’s righteousness
that we are saved and held fast. Perhaps not the best example in the Old
Testament but one of my favorite verses is;
Lamenation 3:22 It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not
consumed, because his compassions fail not.
And consider this;
Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth.
Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
And so, we are sealed by God until the
day we are face to face in eternity.
2Corinthians 1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the
earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard
the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye
believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God,
whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Psalm
106:13 ¶ They soon forgat his works;
they waited not for his counsel: 14 But
lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. 15 And he gave them their request; but sent
leanness into their soul. 16 They envied
Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD. 17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and
covered the company of Abiram. 18 And a
fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked. 19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the
molten image. 20 Thus they changed their
glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass. 21 They forgat God their saviour, which had done
great things in Egypt; 22 Wondrous works
in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea. 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, lest he should destroy them. 24
Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:
25 But murmured in their tents, and
hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD. 26
Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the
wilderness: 27 To overthrow their seed
also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands. 28 They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor,
and ate the sacrifices of the dead. 29
Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the
plague brake in upon them. 30 Then stood
up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed.
31 And that was counted unto him for
righteousness unto all generations for evermore. 32 They angered him also at the waters of
strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: 33 Because they provoked his spirit, so that he
spake unadvisedly with his lips.
A review of the events of this part of
Psalm 106 could take several pages. I think we all know these events and I have
talked about them, at least in written form, as they were presented in the
Bible narrative. You can review Exodus through Deuteronomy to see these events
as they unfold.
One thing I might say about this
particular passage is that we, too, have probably been chastised from time to
time. God has blessed us, shown us great mercy, and we have done wrong, it has
not worked out, and we were led back to God’s plan for our lives. If my theory
that each Christian is a type of the ancient nation of Israel then we can
compare our own deliverance from our Egypt, our passage through our own Red
Sea, then perhaps our Wilderness wanderings, and then our own Promised Land in
life which we did not so much secure as we held on to it by the skin of our
teeth and God’s mercy. I know for the first 16 years of my Christian life I
wasn’t worth the proverbial shot and powder it would have taken to shoot me
into the Lake of Fire.
Verses 21 and 22 refer to the land of
Ham, as Egypt was founded by Mizraim, Ham’s son.
Psalm
106:34 ¶ They did not destroy the
nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: 35 But were mingled among the heathen, and
learned their works. 36 And they served
their idols: which were a snare unto them. 37
Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, 38 And shed innocent blood, even the
blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols
of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. 39 Thus were they defiled with their own works,
and went a whoring with their own inventions. 40 Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled
against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. 41 And he gave them into the hand of the
heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them. 42 Their enemies also oppressed them, and they
were brought into subjection under their hand. 43 Many times did he deliver them; but they
provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their
iniquity. 44 Nevertheless he regarded
their affliction, when he heard their cry: 45
And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the
multitude of his mercies. 46 He made
them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives. 47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from
among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in
thy praise. 48 Blessed be the
LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say,
Amen. Praise ye the LORD.
The Psalmist continues with his sad
history of Israel’s failure. It does not show that he loves Israel any less for
exposing its faults any more than an honest history of America balancing its
sins against its benefits for the world shows a lack of love for one’s country
if one is an American.
If each of us Christians took a truthful
examination of our lives we would see that because of our disobedience God has
led us through some tough times of reproof but has never left us alone. He is
there always and will have mercy on us. Whether the storm is of our own making
or if we are innocent victims of someone else’s sin or even of what we perceive
as “bad luck” God is always with us and we would do well to remember that and
His infinite mercy.
Again I want to read this; Hebrews
13:5 Let your conversation be without
covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will
never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
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