Psalm One Hundred and Six

by Dr. Henry M. Morris

(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)

Psalm 106:1 Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 106:2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can show forth all his praise?

Psalm 106:3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.

Psalm 106:4 Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;

Psalm 106:5 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.

Psalm 106:6 We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.

Psalm 106:7 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.

Psalm 106:8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.

Psalm 106:9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

Psalm 106:10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

Psalm 106:11 And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.

Psalm 106:12 Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.

Psalm 106:13 They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:

Psalm 106:14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.

Psalm 106:15 And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

leanness. Instead of the nourishing manna, the “bread from heaven,” which they despised (Numbers 21:5), God sent them a surfeit of bird-meat, which became “loathsome” (Numbers 11:20) when it caused a great plague that took many lives (Numbers 11:33, 34). The word “leanness” refers basically to physical emaciation, but may here refer to an even more sobering warning. If our prayers focus primarily on physical rather than spiritual desires, God's answer may be one of physical satiation but spiritual poverty.

Psalm 106:16 They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD.

Psalm 106:17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.

Psalm 106:18 And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

Psalm 106:19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.

Psalm 106:20 Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.

Psalm 106:21 They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;

Psalm 106:22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.

land of Ham. As in Psalm 105:23, 27, the psalmist confirms that Egypt was originally settled by Ham and his sons (“Egypt” is Mizraim).

Psalm 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, lest he should destroy them.

Psalm 106:24 Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:

Psalm 106:25 But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD.

Psalm 106:26 Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness:

Psalm 106:27 To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.

Psalm 106:28 They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.

sacrifices of the dead. The “joining” of the Israelites to the licentious idol worship of the Moabites took place in the time of Moses (Numbers 25:1-3), and included the eating of sacrifices offered to the false gods of the Moabites, especially Baal. See note on Numbers 25:3. Although not mentioned in the Numbers account, this inspired commentary in the psalm intimates that these orgies, which included the sacrificing of infants (Psalm 106:37), may even have involved cannibalism. The terrible judgment of God as a result (Numbers 25:3-9) is understandable.

Psalm 106:29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.

Psalm 106:30 Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed.

Psalm 106:31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.

Psalm 106:32 They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:

Psalm 106:33 Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.

Psalm 106:34 They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them:

Psalm 106:35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.

Psalm 106:36 And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.

Psalm 106:37 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,

devils. This was (and still is, today, in a modern setting) the end result of professing believers compromising with evolutionary pantheism, which ascribes the work of creation to the forces of nature, perhaps as personified by various gods and goddesses. This compromise will eventually corrupt and destroy their own children.

Psalm 106:38 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.

Psalm 106:39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.

Psalm 106:40 Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.

Psalm 106:41 And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.

Psalm 106:42 Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.

Psalm 106:43 Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.

Psalm 106:44 Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:

Psalm 106:45 And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.

Psalm 106:46 He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.

Psalm 106:47 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.

O Lord our God. The last two verses of Psalm 106 correspond to the last two verses of David's psalm in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36. This further confirms the indications that Psalms 103-106 were all written by David as an integrated series. See note on Psalm 104:35 and note on Psalm 105:8.

Psalm 106:48 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.

all the people say, Amen. This is the last of sixteen times in the Bible where this or a similar statement occurs, noting that after an important statement, all the congregation was to respond with an “Amen!” (or “that's right”). The first twelve are in Deuteronomy 27:14-26. Also note 1 Chronicles 16:36 and Nehemiah 5:13; 8:6.

Blessed be the Lord. This is the doxology ending Book IV of the Psalms.