Continuing a chronologically ordered Bible study set forth by Skip Andrews, who stated, "Although we may not be able to precisely date these Psalms at this time, their general themes fit the topics we have just read in Deuteronomy":
(Psalm 106:1) Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord for goodness, for His mercy forever.
The author of this psalm is unknown as is the occasion on which it was written, but like Psalms 78 and 105, it contains ancient history of the Israelites and was written for instruction in gratitude and admonition. The psalmist begins by exhorting his listeners to praise their Lord God and thank Him for His goodness and mercy that endures forever.
(2) Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all His praise?
The psalmist asked who could ever have the right words or be able to enumerate the countless mighty acts of the Lord. Who could ever have words worthy enough to praise Him?
(3) Blessed are they who keep judgment, he who does righteousness at all times.
Blessed are the people who observe and execute the righteous judgment of God, the one who continually follows the righteousness of God in all times and circumstances.
This hits me hard at this particular time, a time in which people want to separate God from culture and politics. Today is Election Day and the end of "election season." There are Christians who won't vote because politics are dirty or won't vote for Donald Trump because he is an immoral man. However, they would vote for the opposition who kills babies up to the point of live birth, oversees the slave trade of 325,000 lost children coming across our borders, facilitates the death of a million young men in a war that cannot be won in Ukraine, for that matter, is pushing us toward World War III, encourages the sexual mutilation of children without their parents' consent, and on and on and on. How can any Christian follow the righteousness of God by turning a blind eye and not doing the one small thing he or she can do, vote against unrighteousness? As far as not voting for Donald Trump because he is immoral, David was an adulterer and a murderer, but he sought the righteousness of God and was called a man after God's own heart.
(4) Remember me, O Lord, with the favor to your people; O visit me with Your salvation.
The psalmist asked that the Lord remember him with the favor that He had for His people. He asked that the Lord come to him with His salvation. This looks to be a prophetic reference to the coming of Christ who would bring salvation.
(5) That I may see the good of Your chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your inheritance.
This is a prayer all Christians could pray. We want to see the blessings of God's chosen people. We desire to be called His people, and we do rejoice as His nation does. And we rejoice in the blessings of His people and nation and are grateful that we were allowed to be grafted into it, and we are able to glory with God's inheritance.
(6) We have sinned with our fathers; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedly.
The psalmist acknowledged that he with his nation of people had sinned and done wickedly just as their forefathers had done.
(7) Our fathers did not understand Your wonders in Egypt; they did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled at the sea, at the Red Sea.
Their forefathers had not totally understood the meaning behind God's miracles in Egypt. They were not just for the destruction of their enemies, but they proved the power of God, the one true God, over all the false gods of Egypt. As the one and only true God, He deserved all their worship and gratitude, but they did not remember all His mercies and provision for them. They often doubted God's power and providence when they had no reason to ever doubt it as He had always been there for them. Even so soon after they had seen all the miracles in Egypt, when they saw Pharaoh and his armies coming behind them at the Red Sea, they doubted God's power to save them and wished to go back to Egypt (Exodus 14:10-12).
(8) Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make His mighty power to be known.
However, God saved His people, even though they had no faith in Him at that moment. He saved them not for their sake, but that the world might know His mighty power to save His people. And we who read about that event are able to know of God's mighty power that we may have faith in Him.
(9) He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up, so He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
The Lord rebuked the Red Sea and made it dry up for a path for the escaping Israelites. He led them through the sea as if it were dry land just as the wilderness was.
(10) And He saved them from the hand 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.
The Lord saved His people from the Egyptians who hated them. Once His people had crossed through the sea, He brought the waters back down to destroy every one of their enemies.
(12) Then they believed His words; they sang His praise.
THEN they believed the Lord's words. They had to see it once again to believe, and then they sang His praises.
(13) They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, (14) But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted God in the desert.
However, once again, the people forgot His works of salvation and providence. They did not ask God for His counsel, but followed their own desires and wishes, like when they lusted after meat when God had provided them with manna, the perfect nutritious food for their needs.
(15) And He gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul.
The Lord gave them their request when He gave them more quail than they could eat, but in their lust and gluttony, they ate till many were sick and died. I believe the sense of the second part is that giving them what they desired rather than providing what God knew was better for them, it provided no good to them, but killed many and did nothing for their souls that would have greatly benefited if they had trusted in their Lord.
(16) They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, the saint of the Lord.
The people were jealous and gathered themselves against Moses, and Aaron, the Lord's anointed high priest (Numbers 16:3).
(17) The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram.
The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, one of the heads of the conspirators against Moses and Aaron. Likewise, it did the same to the company of Abiram and others not mentioned here (Numbers 16:32 and Deuteronomy 11:6).
(18) And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
The Lord sent a fire after that that consumed 250 men in their company of conspirators (Numbers 16:35).
(19) They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped the molded image.
The people urged Aaron to make an idol of a golden calf that they worshipped while Moses was on the mount with the Lord (Exodus 32:4).
(20) Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass.
The people had reduced their Lord, their glory, to a statue of a lowly ox that eats grass of the ground.
(21) They forgot God their Savior who had done great things in Egypt, (22) Wondrous works in the land of Ham, terrible things by the Red Sea.
Because Moses had tarried so long on the mount with the Lord, the people had forgotten their Lord and all the wondrous things He had done for them and turned to a false idol of gold to worship (Exodus 32:7-8).
(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.
The Lord threatened to destroy the people and instead make a great nation from Moses (Exodus 32:10), but Moses beseeched the Lord to not destroy them, not for their sake, but for the sake of His glory in the eyes of the Egyptians and for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to whom He had made the promise, and the Lord turned away from His plan (Exodus 32:11-14).
(24) Yes, they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His word, (25) But murmured in their tents and did not hearken to the voice of the Lord.
The people did not believe God's word about the fact that He was bringing them to their wonderful promised land flowing with milk and honey, but they murmured and complained that they should have never left Egypt (Numbers 14:2 and 14:27). It's the reason the Israelites had to wander in the wilderness for forty years.
(26) Therefore He lifted up His hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness, (27) To overthrow their descendants among the nations and to scatter them in the lands.
God resolved to cut off the present generation of His people from entering the promised land. That is the whole truth about why they had to wander in the wilderness for forty years. He told them their children would have to bear their parents' sins against the Lord and wander in the wilderness for forty years until that present generation had died there. Then their children would be the ones to inherit their promised land (Numbers 14:31-33). However, their children's nation would be eventually overthrown in the Babylonian captivity, something I have not yet studied in my chronological study, and they would be scattered in foreign lands.
(28) They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
God's people joined with the worshipers of Baal to worship him and eat the sacrifices of false dead idols (Numbers 25:2-3).
(29) Thus they provoked His anger with their inventions, and the plague broke in on them.
The Israelites provoked their Lord to anger with their imaginations and deeds. The plague that broke out on them referred to a plague of death (Numbers 25:5).
(30) Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment, and the plague was stayed.
When one Israelite had the audacity to bring a heathen woman into the camp and into his tent, Phinehas went into the man's tent and killed them both, and the Lord's anger was appeased, and the plague was stayed (Numbers 25:8 and 11).
(31) And that was counted to him as righteousness to all generations for evermore.
That action of Phinehas was counted to him as righteousness by the Lord, and He gave him a covenant of peace, to him and his descendants after him forever (Numbers 25:12-13).
(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 spoke unadvisedly with his lips.
The people angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah, which means "strife." Because Moses was angry with the people because they had once again provoked the Spirit of God to anger, he spoke and acted according to his own will and not according to the will of God (Numbers 20:10-12).
(34) They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord commanded them, (35) But were mingled among the heathen and learned their works.
The Lord had told His people to destroy the nations that inhabited their promised land (Numbers 33:52), but they did not completely destroy them. This takes place later chronologically, but the Lord had warned about what would happen to them if they failed to completely destroy their enemies (Numbers 33:55-56), and that appears to be just what happened; they were mingled among the heathen they did not destroy and learned their ways.
(36) And they served their idols which were a snare to them.
The Israelites served the false idols of the heathen which proved to be a snare to them. When we dabble in things we ought not dabble in, we open the door to trouble.
(37) Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils, (38) And shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.
The Israelites actually sacrificed their sons and daughters to false gods. They shed the innocent blood of their own children in sacrifice to the demon gods of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. The first reaction is to wonder how they could actually do that! But then immediately comes the realization that we do that in our country on a daily basis. The innocent blood of babies, sons and daughters, sacrificed to demons of sexual lust and convenience. Just yesterday I was thinking about this subject. My niece has a beautiful baby boy, now about two years old. She loves him dearly, more than life itself, but when she was pregnant and having some doubts and fears, she referred to him as a fetus. That was her beautiful baby boy all along, growing inside of her, but that "fetus" could have been killed if his complications had been too great. Would she ever dream of killing him now if he developed great complications? Of course not! Well, that was her sweet baby all along. If a mother chooses to kill that baby just because she hasn't come to know and love him yet, that is pure selfishness for her own feelings with no thought for her baby who can feel the pain of abortion. "There but for the grace of God go I." I can just hear my immature selfish self in my 20's saying that the government shouldn't be able to tell me what I could do with my own body. Totally cringe-worthy now; what about the body of that beautiful precious innocent baby growing inside of mine, totally dependent on me for life?
(39) Thus they were defiled with their own works and went whoring with their own inventions.
God's people were defiled by their own actions because they sought demon gods to deliver them. They were whoring after those false gods with their own imaginings of what they could do for them. God's relationship with His people is often spoken of as a marriage relationship. Jesus is often called the bridegroom and His elect are His bride. One is being adulterous if he seeks after a false idol.
(40) Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against His people, insomuch that He abhorred His own inheritance.
Once again the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people as a flaming fire to destroy them. Once again we read that the Lord abhorred His own people as we read in Psalm 78:59. And once again we must understand that God did not really hate His people, for God loves all His creation, including all sinners. He certainly hated their actions, and He treated them as if He abhorred them, rejecting them for a time.
(41) And He gave them into the hand of the heathen, and they who hated them ruled over them.
Chronologically, these events haven't happened yet in my study, but we know that the Lord would indeed allow their enemies to take them, and they would once again be ruled by people who hated them, back in their same situation before God led them out of bondage. How often does God lead us out of bondage only to have us return to it basically of our own accord?
(42) Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.
Their enemies once again oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. While that surely means they became subjects of their enemies, Dr. John Gill pointed out in his Exposition of the Bible, that the meaning may be that they were brought into subjection to their Lord by their enemies. By their enemies, they were humbled before the Lord and realized their need for Him. God's punishment of His people is always about bringing them back to Him, their only salvation.
(43) Many times He delivered them, but they provoked Him with their counsel and were brought low for their iniquity.
Many times the Lord delivered His people, but they always wound up provoking Him again with their thoughts and plans. Then they would be brought low again, only to call on the Lord again to deliver them.
(44) Nevertheless, He regarded their affliction when He heard their cry.
Their loving and merciful and oh so patient God, knowing how they would always return to their wicked ways, had compassion on them when He heard their cries. What a beautiful promise! Even when we are weak and keep falling back into our sins, if we sincerely call out to God for His deliverance, He will hear our cries.
(45) And He remembered for them His covenant and repented according to the multitude of His mercies.
It's not that God ever forgets anything, but for the sake of His people, He turned back toward His covenant and His promise. That is the Biblical meaning of repenting, changing course, turning back. He once again because of His unlimited mercy, turned back to His people to fulfill His promises.
(46) He made them also to be pitied by all those who carried them captives.
The Lord turned the hearts of His people's captors to have pity on them.
(47) Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise.
Although we don't know the occasion that prompted this psalm, the psalmist was recalling all the times that the people had sinned against their Lord, but in His great mercy, He always came to their aid. He was calling out to the Lord again to save His people and to gather them from the heathen where they might once again give thanks to their Lord for their triumph only in Him. These words could have been said any time in history. Think how pertinent they would have been after the Holocaust when God ultimately gathered His people back to their own state of Israel in 1948.
(48) Blessed the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting, and let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the Lord.
The psalmist ended with praises to the Lord God of Israel who was and is to be blessed forever. He is to be worshiped and praised forever for His mercies endure forever (Psalm 136). Let all the people say, "Amen," which literally means "sure, truly, so be it, truth." Praise the Lord!
Just like other psalms studied chronologically after Deuteronomy, this psalm included a history of the Israelites, but its main purpose was to show the mercies of God and to call on Him again. As I type this on Election Day 2024, I call on Him to have mercy on our country, a mercy I know we don't deserve, but when has His people ever deserved His goodness and mercy? Never! He gives it out of His loving goodness, and I pray for that again. Thank you, dear Lord!
