Psalms 106

Psalms 106

DESCRIPTIVE TITLE

Humbled Israel Confessing Her Sins as a Nation.

ANALYSIS

Enclosed within an Introduction of Praise and Prayer, Psalms 106:1-5, and a Conclusion of Prayer and Doxology, Psalms 106:47-48, stands a National Confession of Sin, Psalms 106:6-46, Relieved only by the Merciful Deliverances of Jehovah, the Intercession of Moses, Psalms 106:23, the Interposition of Phinehas, Psalms 106:30, and the Compassion of Israel's Captors, Psalms 106:46. The Sins Confessed are chiefly the following:Incredulity, Psalms 106:7; Murmuring for Food and Drink, Psalms 106:13; Rebellion against their Leaders, Psalms 106:16; Worship of the Golden Calf, Psalms 106:19; Refusal of the Land, Psalms 106:24; Worship of the Moabitish Baal, Psalms 106:28; Rebellion against Moses and Aaron, Psalms 106:32; Non-Extermination of Idolatrous Peoples, and the Taking Part in their Licentious and Cruel Idolatry, Psalms 106:34-40.

(P.R.I.) Praise ye Yah![434]

[434] Cp. 105 notes at beginning and end.

1

Give ye thanks unto Jehovah for he is good,

for to the ages is his kindness.[435]

[435] Cp. refrain of 136; also 1 Chronicles 16:34, Ezra 3:11, Jeremiah 33:11.

2

Who can express the mighty deeds of Jehovah?

cause to be heard all his praise?

3

How happy they who observe justice,

he that doeth[436] righteousness at all times!

[436] Some cod. (w. Aram., Sep., Syr., Vul.): they that doGn.

4

Remember me[437] O Jehovah when thou favourest thy people, [438]

[437] Some cod. (w. Sep., Syr., Vul.): usGn.

visit me[438] with thy salvation:

[438] When thou again (cp. Psalms 106:47) showest thyself gracious unto themDel.

5

That I[439] may gaze upon the good things of thy chosen ones,

[439] Or: we (according to the pronoun adopted above).

may rejoice in the rejoicing of thy nation,

may glory with thine inheritance.

6

We have sinned[440] with our fathers,

[440] Here begins the confession of sin. Cp. 1 Kings 8:46-53, Nehemiah 9

we have acted perversely have been lawless:

7

Our fathers in Egypt heeded not thy wondrous works,

they remembered not the abundance of thy kindnesses,

but rebelled against the Most High[441] at the Red-sea.[442]

[441] So Gt. Cp. Psalms 78:17; Psalms 78:56Gn. So also Br.

[442] Cp. Exodus 14:11-12.

8

Yet saved he them for the sake of his name,

to make known his heroic might:

9

So he rebuked the Red-sea and it dried up,[443]

[443] Exodus 14:21-29.

and he led them in the deeps as a wilderness.[444]

[444] Isaiah 63:13.

10

Thus saved he them from the hand of a hater,

and redeemed them from the hand of a foe;

11

And the waters covered their adversaries,

not one from among them was left:

12

So they believed in his words,[445]

[445] Exodus 14:30-31.

they sang his praise.[446]

[446] Exodus 15.

13

They soon forgot his works,[447]

[447] Or: doings.

they tarried not for his counsel:

14

But longed a longing in the desert,

and put GOD to the proof in the waste;[448]

[448] Exodus 15:16, Exodus 15:17; Numbers 11.

15

And he gave them their request,

and sent them food[449] to their desire.[450]

[449] So Br. The most probable reading of a difficult passage [mazon for razon]. Maclaren, content with razon [leanness, wasting] smartly says: Full-fed flesh makes starved souls.

[450] Ml.: soul. Cp. Psalms 78:18.

16

And they were jealous of Moses in the camp,

of Aaron the consecrated one of Jehovah:[451]

[451] Numbers 16:17.

17

Earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

and covered the company[452] of Abiram;

[452] U.: congregation.

18

And a fire consumed their company, [452]

a flame licked up the lawless ones.

19

They made a calf in Horeb,[453]

[453] Exodus 32; Deuteronomy 9:8-12.

and bowed down to a molten image;

20

And changed my[454] glory

[454] So it was originally; but was changed by the Sopherim to their glory. G. Intro., 360. Cp. ante, Intro., Chap. I., Obs. 1.

for the similitude of an ox eating herbage.

21

They forgot GOD their saviour,

though he had done[455] great things in Egypt,

[455] Ml.: Doing.

22

Wondrous works in the land of Ham,

fearful things at the Red-sea.

23

Then would he have commanded to destroy them,

had not Moses his chosen

stood forth in the breach before him,
to turn back his wrath from inflicting ruin.

24

Moreover they refused the desired land,[456]

[456] Numbers 13:14.

they believed not his word;

25

And they murmured in their tents,

they hearkened not unto the voice of Jehovah.

26

Then lifted he his hand unto them,

that he would let them fall[457] in the desert;

[457] The permissive hiphil. There is no need to introduce active causation here.

27

And would disperse[458] their seed among the nations,

[458] So it shd. be (w. Syr.; cp. Ezekiel 20:23)Gn.

and would scatter them through the lands.

28

And they joined[459] themselves to Baal-peor,[460]

[459] Points to the prostitution with which Baal Peor, this Moabitish Priapus, was worshippedDel.

[460] Baal of PeorDr. Numbers 25:2-5.

and did eat the sacrifices of the dead:

29

So they gave provocation by their doings,

and a plague made a breach among them.

30

Then stood forth Phinehas[461] and interposed,

[461] Numbers 25:7-13.

and stayed was the plague;

31

And it was accounted to him as righteousness,

to generation after generation unto the ages.

32

And they gave provocation at the waters of Meribah,

and it fared ill with Moses for their sakes;

33

For they embittered his spirit,

and he spake rashly with his lips.[462]

[462] Numbers 20:11 f, Deuteronomy 1:37; Deuteronomy 32:51.

34

They did not destroy the peoples,

of whom Jehovah had spoken to them;[463]

[463] Exodus 23:32; Exodus 34:12, Deuteronomy 7:16, Judges 1:36.

35

But had fellowship with the nations,

and learnt their doings.

36

And they served their idols,

and they[464] became to them a lure;

[464] Some cod. (w. Sep., Vul.): itGn.

37

And they sacrificed their sons

and their daughters unto demons.[465]

[465] Unto Shedim: Or: demi-gods; mentioned besides only in Deuteronomy 32:17Dr. Cp. Deuteronomy 12:31.

38

And they poured out innocent blood,

the blood of their sons and their daughters,
whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan,
and polluted was the land with bloodshed:

39

And they became unclean in their deeds,

and unchaste in their practices;

40

And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against his people,

and he abhorred his inheritance.

41

So he gave them over into the hand of the nations,

and they who hated them ruled over them;

42

And their enemies oppressed them,

and they had to bow down under their hand.

43

Many times he rescued them,

but they rebelled in their counsel,
and sank low in their iniquity.

44

Then looked he on the strait they were in,

when he heard their piercing[466] cry;

[466] U.: ringing. As in I. K. 8:28. rinnah is a loud lamentationDel.

45

And he remembered for them his covenant,

and was moved to pity according to the abundance of his kindnesses;[467]

[467] Authorities divided between singular and plural.

46

And gave them to be objects of compassion

before all their captors.

47

Save us Jehovah our God,

and gather us from among the nations:
to give thanks unto thy holy name,
to make our boast of thy praise.

48

Blessed be Jehovah God of Israel,

from antiquity even unto futurity![468]

[468] Ml. (as at the close of Book I., Psalms 41): From the age (concealed duration in the past) even unto the age (concealed duration in the future).

and let all the people sayAmen.[469]

[469] M.T.: Praise ye Yah (not found in Sep. or Syr.Gn.) carried forward to head of next psalm. See notes at beginning and end of Psalms 105.

(Nm.)

PARAPHRASE

Psalms 106

Hallelujah! Thank You, Lord! How good You are! Your love for us continues on forever.
2 Who can ever list the glorious miracles of God? Who can ever praise Him half enough?
3 Happiness comes to those who are fair to others and are always just and good.
4 Remember me too, O Lord, while You are blessing and saving Your people.
5 Let me share in Your chosen ones-' prosperity and rejoice in all their joys, and receive the glory You gave to them.
6 Both we and our fathers have sinned so much.
7 They weren-'t impressed by the wonder of Your miracles in Egypt, and soon forgot Your many acts of kindness to them. Instead they rebelled against You at the Red Sea.
8 Even so You saved themto defend the honor of Your name and demonstrate Your power to all the world.
9 You commanded the Red Sea to divide, forming a dry road across its bottom. Yes, as dry as any desert!
10 Thus You rescued them from their enemies.
11 Then the water returned and covered the road and drowned their foes; not one survived.
12 Then at last His people believed Him. Then they finally sang His praise.
13 Yet how quickly they forgot again! They wouldn-'t wait for Him to act,
14 But demanded better food,[470] testing God's patience to the breaking point.

[470] Literally, lusted exceedingly.

15 So He gave them their demands, but sent them leanness in their souls.[471]

[471] Or, but sent a plague to punish them.

16 They were envious of Moses; yes, and Aaron, too, the man anointed[472] by God as His priest.

[472] Literally, the holy one of Jehovah.

17 Because of this the earth opened and swallowed Dathan, Abiram and his friends;
18 And fire fell from heaven to consume these wicked men.
19, 20 For they preferred a statue of an ox that eats grass, to the glorious presence of God Himself.
21, 22 Thus they despised their Savior who had done such mighty miracles in Egypt and at the Sea.
23 So the Lord declared He would destroy them. But Moses, His chosen one, stepped into the breach between the people and their God and begged Him to turn from His wrath, and not destroy them.
24 They refused to enter the Promised Land, for they wouldn-'t believe His solemn oath to care for them.
25 Instead, they pouted in their tents and mourned and despised His command.
26 Therefore He swore that He would kill them in the wilderness
27 And send their children away to distant lands as exiles.
28 Then our fathers joined the worshipers of Baal at Peor and even offered sacrifices to the dead![473]

[473] Or, to lifeless idols.

29 With all these things they angered Himand so a plague broke out upon them
30 And continued until Phineas executed those whose sins had caused the plague to start.
31 (For this good deed Phineas will be remembered forever.)
32 At Meribah, too, Israel angered God, causing Moses serious trouble,
33 For he became angry and spoke foolishly.
34 Nor did Israel destroy the nations in the land as God had told them to,
35 But mingled in among the heathen and learned their evil ways,
36 Sacrificing to their idols, and were led away from God.
37, 38 They even sacrificed their little children to the demonsthe idols of Canaanshedding innocent blood and polluting the land with murder.
39 Their evil deeds defiled them, for their love of idols was adultery in the sight of God.
40 That is why Jehovah's anger burned against His people, and He abhorred them.
41, 42 That is why He let the heathen nations crush them. They were ruled by those who hated them and oppressed by their enemies.
43 Again and again He delivered them from their slavery, but they continued to rebel against Him, and were finally destroyed by their sin.
44 Yet, even so, He listened to their cries and heeded their distress;
45 He remembered His promises to them and relented because of His great love,
46 And caused even their enemies who captured them to pity them.
47 O Lord God, save us! Regather us from the nations so we can thank Your holy name and rejoice and praise You.

*

*

*

*

*

48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, Amen! Hallelujah!

EXPOSITION

Attention has already been called to this psalm (see Exposition of 105) as not only one of a series of historical psalmsand as such serving an important purpose in the training of the people,but especially as a national confession of sin. This characteristic is so marked, and morally so significant, as to be worthy of further thought. Not only are our minds arrested by the evident honesty of the nation, and especially its prophets, in thus recording their own shame; but we are made to pause and ponder in presence of this spiritual phenomenon. If we try to conceive of this psalm as being originated earlier than the Exile, we shall probably fail. We can easily imagine an Isaiah or a Jeremiah charging sin home upon the people; but we find the greatest difficulty in representing it to ourselves as possible that they could have led the way in a national confession such as this psalm supplies. The time was not ripe for this: the atmosphere of public confession did not yet exist. As we read the great national confession of sin preserved in Nehemiah 9, or that found in the early part of Daniel 9 which though not national in form is nevertheless intensely and intentionally national in spirit, we feel at home in the prayer and realise that the prayer is at home in its historical and literary surroundings. It fits in with the time: is the genuine product of the strange and startling events which have come to pass in Israelitish history. There had been earlier invasions of the holy land, and the lessons of Divine providence had sunk deep into the best and most thoughtful minds in Israel; but nothing like this had happened before: that Jerusalem itself should be overthrown, and the whole land permanently brought under the heel of the Foreigner. The effect on the minds of the people must have been profound. There was no denying the great, sad fact of Hebrew humiliation; and though many of the people may have shrewdly and stoically adapted themselves to this revolutionary change in their environment, yet the moral only needed to be pointedly drawn and strongly driven home by prophetic voices in and after the Babylonish Exile, to carry home conviction to the average Hebrew mind. This is not to say, that the spiritual sense of humiliation was equally deep in all minds; but it is to say, that when prophets declaredOur sins as a nation have brought these evils upon us, the general conscience must have respondedThere is no denying it! This acquiescence in the undeniable, it was, which created the atmosphere in which public confession of national sin could live; for it should be well noted that both these elementsthat the confession is public and the sin nationalare involved in the case now before us. Its being publicly made with general consent silences cavil; and the sins being national lifts them up to the level of undeniable notoriety. From this point of view, survey the long catalogue of sins, beginning with the first protests of incredulity in Egypt, down to the latest practices of licentious cruelty perpetrated in Palestine. Imagine the humiliation and severe spiritual discipline involved in reciting so many national sins in a single psalm. What spiritual authority in these Western Isles would dare to draw up such a catalogue of national offences against the laws of God and man? How can we picture to ourselves congregations throughout our land publicly humbling themselves under the piled-up iniquities of many centuries? The attempt to conceive these things may open our eyes to something of the startlingly unique spiritual phenomenon which the ancient temple-use of this psalm presents to our view. No man can study the Hebrew nation successfully who does not study its solidarity; and no man can appreciate its solidarity in the highest realm of the spirit, who does not bend his mind to the spectacle of a nation confessing the sins it had committed from the Exodus to the Exile. That is the spectacle we have here.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.

What is the major emphasis of this psalm?

2.

How is the element of honesty of the nation and their prophets seen?

3.

At about what time was this psalm originated?

4.

What other texts seem to be like this psalm?

5.

There seems to be the most profound of impressions involved in this psalm. Why?

6.

When the prophets said: Our sins as a nation have brought these evils upon uswhat was the response?

7.

Catalogue the sins of Israel and relate them to America. What should be our attitude?

8.

Rotherham cannot imagine the British Isles confessing their sins in 1909. What has happened since should teach us something. Discuss.