Psalm One Hundred and Six
by Dr. Henry M. Morris
(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)
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 106:6 We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
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 106:24 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 106:30 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 106:33 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 106:44 Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:
Psalm 106:46 He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.
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.
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.