Psalm 107

¹Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

²Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

³And gathered out of the lands,

From the east and from the west,

From the north and from the south.

⁴They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;

They found no city to dwell in.

⁵Hungry and thirsty,

Their soul fainted in them.

⁶Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

And He delivered them out of their distresses.

⁷And He led them forth by the right way,

That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.

⁸Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

⁹For He satisfies the longing soul,

And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

¹⁰Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,

Bound in affliction and irons—

¹¹Because they rebelled against the words of God,

And despised the counsel of the Most High,

¹²Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;

They fell down, and there was none to help.

¹³Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

And He saved them out of their distresses.

¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,

And broke their chains in pieces.

¹⁵Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

¹⁶For He has broken the gates of bronze,

And cut the bars of iron in two.

¹⁷Fools, because of their transgression,

And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.

¹⁸Their soul abhorred all manner of food,

And they drew near to the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

And He saved them out of their distresses.

²⁰He sent His word and healed them,

And delivered them from their destructions.

²¹Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

²²Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,

And declare His works with rejoicing.

²³Those who go down to the sea in ships,

Who do business on great waters,

²⁴They see the works of the Lord,

And His wonders in the deep.

²⁵For He commands and raises the stormy wind,

Which lifts up the waves of the sea.

²⁶They mount up to the heavens,

They go down again to the depths;

Their soul melts because of trouble.

²⁷They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,

And are at their wits’ end.

²⁸Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,

And He brings them out of their distresses.

²⁹He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.

³⁰Then they are glad because they are quiet;

So He guides them to their desired haven.

³¹Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

³²Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,

And praise Him in the company of the elders.

³³He turns rivers into a wilderness,

And the watersprings into dry ground;

³⁴A fruitful land into barrenness,

For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

³⁵He turns a wilderness into pools of water,

And dry land into watersprings.

³⁶There He makes the hungry dwell,

That they may establish a city for a dwelling place,

³⁷And sow fields and plant vineyards,

That they may yield a fruitful harvest.

³⁸He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly;

And He does not let their cattle decrease.

³⁹When they are diminished and brought low

Through oppression, affliction and sorrow,

⁴⁰He pours contempt on princes,

And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;

⁴¹Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction,

And makes their families like a flock.

⁴²The righteous see it and rejoice,

And all iniquity stops its mouth.

⁴³Whoever is wise will observe these things,

And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.

Preamble: If Psalm 107 should be called anything, it should be called the Psalm of the redeemed. For that is what it does it celebrates the goodness of God towards us all who believe in Him, even while we were still alienated from Him, He watched over us.

Commentary

¹Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

²Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

³And gathered out of the lands,

From the east and from the west,

From the north and from the south.

This Psalm opens by foreseeing the Day when the Lord God gathers not just His people Israel, but all the people whom He has redeemed from the ends of the earth. That He has redeemed us from the hand of the enemy, is a clear declaration of His saving us from the enemy of our collective souls, Satan.

Vs. 4-9 ⁴They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;

They found no city to dwell in.

⁵Hungry and thirsty,

Their soul fainted in them.

⁶Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

And He delivered them out of their distresses.

⁷And He led them forth by the right way,

That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.

⁸Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

⁹For He satisfies the longing soul,

And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

In this first example of the Lord God’s amazing grace, we are told of people wandering in the wilderness, lost and in distress. Looking for a place to dwell, maybe even a place where they could fit in, but they find no city, no place that they can call home, and so they carry on in their travels hungry and thirsty, and soon their soul faints within them (vs. 4-5). It is then in their crises that they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivers them out of their distresses (vs.6), which is a beautiful statement, for He did so with no other conditions being met other then they; broken and beautiful as Mark Schultz’s song says; ask Him to save them. You want to know why God allows unsettling things in peoples lives well here is one answer, so that when they have come to end of themselves, when everything and everyone else has failed or deserted them, they will call upon Him and then He can deliver them, because they are now ready, willing and wanting Him to be in their persons and lives. Therefore, with the Lord as their Savior and Redeemer, He now leads them forth in the right way, not in the world’s ways, but in His Words way. That is the Spiritual application of this Psalm. That He leads them (and us) in the right way so that they may go to city for a dwelling place (vs. 7). Now ultimately that is the New Jerusalem, but down here it is giving them a place to live, where once they had none. Therefore, the Psalm in celebration of this now rejoicefully declares all of our (the redeemed) collective desires to see men give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men (vs. 8). “For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” ^{Vs. 9} This then is Lord Jesus Christ’s calling card to everyone who is hurting, longing, or lost.

Vs. 10-16 ¹⁰Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,

Bound in affliction and irons—

¹¹Because they rebelled against the words of God,

And despised the counsel of the Most High,

¹²Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;

They fell down, and there was none to help.

¹³Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

And He saved them out of their distresses.

¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,

And broke their chains in pieces.

¹⁵Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

¹⁶For He has broken the gates of bronze,

And cut the bars of iron in two.

These next individuals are people who willingly rebelled against the Words of God, indeed they even despised the counsel of the Most High. And so in rejecting His Word and counsels they eventually found themselves in all manner troubles. Maybe they even lived wicked lives for a season until their sins found them out. Here then we see them at their lowest, bound in chains, cast away from society, and left to sit in darkness and the shadow of death. Ancient prisons and captivity and slavery were not pretty places (Vs. 10-11). Even the Lord our God laid His burden upon them, bringing down their heart with labor,  and so they fell down under the weight of it all and there was none to help them (vs. 12). It is then with their pride and rebellious spirit broken that they cry out to the Lord in their trouble and He saves them from their distresses (vs. 13). For God does not desire the death, nor ruin, nor misery of anyone, what He desires though is repentance, and when it is His people who rebel against Him and His Word, He will move heaven and earth to bring them back to Himself. Therefore, with their crying out to Him, He then begins working out their restoration, which is wonderfully portrayed in verses 14, 16. Therefore let us all give the Lord thanks for not letting them, or us perish in our own sins and transgressions. For it is the Lord alone who wonderfully works deliverance and salvation and restoration for everyone who repents and believes in Him!

Vs. 17-22 ¹⁷Fools, because of their transgression,

And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.

¹⁸Their soul abhorred all manner of food,

And they drew near to the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

And He saved them out of their distresses.

²⁰He sent His word and healed them,

And delivered them from their destructions.

²¹Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

²²Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,

And declare His works with rejoicing.

Here we see the fool, the person who has no knowledge of God, (and yet probably thinks they are "wise"), who only lives by their vices and senses, and thus reaps the consequences of their sins and choices. And so here they are broken, and so afflicted that their soul abhorred all manner of food, they even drew near to the gates of death. Which indicates a deep and lasting melancholy or depression, maybe they even attempted suicide at some point, or had a prolonged sickness or illness? Whatever it was, it brought them to seeing their need for the Lord. And so, it is when they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, that He saved them out of their distresses (Vs. 17-19). “He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them out of their destructions.” ^{vs. 20} Which is what Gospel does, for it is God's Word sent to heal believing mankind (John 3:16). Verses twenty-one and twenty-two once again as if speaking for them (and us), say: “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

²²Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,

And declare His works with rejoicing.”

For that is the sacrifice that is always pleasing to God, not our money, or our “sacrificial” service, but our heartfelt thanksgiving to Him, and our praising Him on our lips, which then precipitates all of our giving and service (2 Cor. 2:8-9). 

Vs. 23-32 ²³Those who go down to the sea in ships,

Who do business on great waters,

²⁴They see the works of the Lord,

And His wonders in the deep.

²⁵For He commands and raises the stormy wind,

Which lifts up the waves of the sea.

²⁶They mount up to the heavens,

They go down again to the depths;

Their soul melts because of trouble.

²⁷They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,

And are at their wits’ end.

²⁸Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,

And He brings them out of their distresses.

²⁹He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.

³⁰Then they are glad because they are quiet;

So He guides them to their desired haven.

³¹Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

³²Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,

And praise Him in the company of the elders.

In this section we get to see the ancient mariners, those brave individuals who sailed the then unknown seas and oceans, hauling cargo and people from various ports around the Mediterranean Sea and beyond. These men then by the nature of their vocation became very astute at studying the works of the Lord in creation. For they observed and lived by the works of the Lord which they observed in the sky’s and in the nights heavens. As well they saw His wonders in the deep; all of the sea life that they observed on their voyages, or caught in their nets, then bore witness of Him to them (vs.23-24). But ultimately it was the stormy wind, which the Lord Himself commands, which lifts up the waves of the sea, that moved their hearts and souls to see their need for Him. For it is by these that the Lord brought them to their wits end (vs. 25-27, think Jonah on the ship and how the Lord moved those sailors with him to repentance, see Jonah 1:1-16). And so it was in their distress, and at their wits end, that they cried out to the Lord and He saved them out of their troubles. He even guided them safely to their desired haven (vs. 28-30). The Psalm then, as if speaking for them, now says to us all,

³¹Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

³²Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,

And praise Him in the company of the elders.

 Again this one of the key roles of the churches on earth, to recall and to celebrate the goodness of the Lord towards all. 

Vs. 34-38 ³³He turns rivers into a wilderness,

And the watersprings into dry ground;

³⁴A fruitful land into barrenness,

For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

³⁵He turns a wilderness into pools of water,

And dry land into watersprings.

³⁶There He makes the hungry dwell,

That they may establish a city for a dwelling place,

³⁷And sow fields and plant vineyards,

That they may yield a fruitful harvest.

³⁸He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly;

And He does not let their cattle decrease.

Moving then from the great waters back to the land, the Psalm now recalls some of the Lord God’s judgments on earth. Declaring in verse thirty-three how He turns rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground. for the wickedness of those who dwell in it (vs. 33-34). Thus droughts and floods (i.e., extreme weather events) can be, and have been, the judgment of God. This passage of then Scripture could resolve so many of humanities problems if they would only heed it. For its not climate change that will be the ruin of humanity, but the moral change, of now justifying all manner of wickedness which only brought about the absolute destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, will also bring about the judgment of the Lord, progressively more and more, on us all (consider Jude 7, 14-15).For it is obsoletely right for the Judge of all the earth to judge the wickedness He sees on it, when and how He sees fit. That said this Psalm is not about judgment, but about God's mercies and blessings and provisions, which far and away exceed in this life, His judgments towards us all. For if the Lord now judged all the wickedness that He observes on earth who could stand? For it is Lord our God who turns a wilderness into pools of water, and makes a dry land into watersprings (vs. 35) so that He might cause the hungry to dwell there; those then who are hungry will always find Him providing for them if they seek Him; so that they may establish a city to dwell in (vs. 36). And so, He gives them a place where they can sow fields and plants vineyards, and all the while He blesses the works of their hands so that they multiply greatly. He even watches over their livestock and does not allow their cattle to decrease (vs. 37-38). For this is how God intends for humanity to live with Him, always fruitful and always abounding in His goodness. However as this section of the Psalm warned at its beginning, if we shun Him, and starting running after the devil and all of his allurements to sin, which always promise us riches and pleasure, but only ruin and enslave us and others in the end, then we will reap the God given consequences of our sins and actions, both individually and collectively as societies and nations (Rom 2:5-10). For sin is never a self-contained thing, it always has far reaching tenacles that will affect others well beyond yourselves. The innocent will suffer from your sins and self centered choices, including those you love. 

Vs. 39-43 ³⁹When they are diminished and brought low

Through oppression, affliction and sorrow,

⁴⁰He pours contempt on princes,

And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;

⁴¹Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction,

And makes their families like a flock.

⁴²The righteous see it and rejoice,

And all iniquity stops its mouth.

⁴³Whoever is wise will observe these things,

And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.

And so it is that we now see that the Lord our God watches over everyone who fears and obeys Him. Thus, when they are diminished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, He responds by dealing with their oppressors, those princes and lets call them "power brokers" who oppress and trouble them will soon find themselves troubled by Him (2 Thess. 1:6-9)! For He causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way, no way out. Therefore, having dealt with them, He sets the poor on high, far from affliction and sorrow and makes their families like a flock (vs. 41). This will be most clearly seen in Christ’s Millennial Reign. Therefore the righteous rejoice and will rejoice to see this justice done towards the poor, and with it being done by the hand of the Lord all iniquity stops its mouth forever! (consider Job 5:15-16).

“Whoever is wise will observe these things,

And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.”

I hope then that you are wise enough to also observe and desire these things for yourselves, for the Lord Jesus Christ will bring about God’s blessings and goodness into your own person and life when you believe in Him.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.

Psalm 106

¹Praise the Lord!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

²Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?

Who can declare all His praise?

³Blessed are those who keep justice,

And he who does righteousness at all times!

⁴Remember me, O Lord, with the favor

You have toward Your people.

Oh, visit me with Your salvation,

⁵That I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones,

That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,

That I may glory with Your inheritance.

⁶We have sinned with our fathers,

We have committed iniquity,

We have done wickedly.

⁷Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;

They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies,

But rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.

⁸Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake,

That He might make His mighty power known.

⁹He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up;

So He led them through the depths,

As through the wilderness.

¹⁰He saved them from the hand of him who hated them,

And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹The waters covered their enemies;

There was not one of them left.

¹²Then they believed His words; They sang His praise.

¹³They soon forgot His works;

They did not wait for His counsel,

¹⁴But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,

And tested God in the desert.

¹⁵And He gave them their request,

But sent leanness into their soul.

¹⁶When they envied Moses in the camp,

And Aaron the saint of the Lord,

¹⁷The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan,

And covered the faction of Abiram.

¹⁸A fire was kindled in their company;

The flame burned up the wicked.

¹⁹They made a calf in Horeb,

And worshiped the molded image.

²⁰Thus they changed their glory

Into the image of an ox that eats grass.

²¹They forgot God their Savior,

Who had done great things in Egypt,

²²Wondrous works in the land of Ham,

Awesome things by the Red Sea.

²³Therefore He said that He would destroy them,

Had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach,

To turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.

²⁴Then they despised the pleasant land;

They did not believe His word,

²⁵But complained in their tents,

And did not heed the voice of the Lord.

²⁶Therefore He raised up His hand in an oath against them,

To overthrow them in the wilderness,

²⁷To overthrow their descendants among the nations,

And to scatter them in the lands.

²⁸They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor,

And ate sacrifices made to the dead.

²⁹Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,

And the plague broke out among them.

³⁰Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,

And the plague was stopped.

³¹And that was accounted to him for righteousness

To all generations forevermore.

³²They angered Him also at the waters of strife,

So that it went ill with Moses on account of them;

³³Because they rebelled against His Spirit,

So that he spoke rashly with his lips.

³⁴They did not destroy the peoples,

Concerning whom the Lord had commanded them,

³⁵But they mingled with the Gentiles

And learned their works;

³⁶They served their idols,

Which became a snare to them.

³⁷They even sacrificed their sons

And their daughters to demons,

³⁸And shed innocent blood,

The blood of their sons and daughters,

Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;

And the land was polluted with blood.

³⁹Thus they were defiled by their own works,

And played the harlot by their own deeds.

⁴⁰Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people,

So that He abhorred His own inheritance.

⁴¹And He gave them into the hand of the Gentiles,

And those who hated them ruled over them.

⁴²Their enemies also oppressed them,

And they were brought into subjection under their hand.

⁴³Many times He delivered them;

But they rebelled in their counsel,

And were brought low for their iniquity.

⁴⁴Nevertheless He regarded their affliction,

When He heard their cry;

⁴⁵And for their sake He remembered His covenant,

And relented according to the multitude of His mercies.

⁴⁶He also made them to be pitied

By all those who carried them away captive.

⁴⁷Save us, O Lord our God,

And gather us from among the Gentiles,

To give thanks to Your holy name,

To triumph in Your praise.

⁴⁸Blessed be the Lord God of Israel

From everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!

Commentary

Vs. 1 “Praise the Lord!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.”

Two reasons are given for praising and giving thanks to the Lord in this Psalms opening. First is that He is good, He alone is good because He alone is uncorrupted by sin. Everything He does then comes to us from His own goodness. The second reason giving for our praising Him is that His mercy endures forever. God then does give one salvation and take it away as some very misguided people teach and believe; who think that His mercy must be earned and kept by their own works and or “goodness”. Instead, all of us, everyone who believes in Him, in the Lord Jesus Christ has God’s everlasting mercies (John 5:24).

Vs. 2 “Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?

Who can declare all His praise?”

The inadequacy of us all before the Lord our God is now declared. This then is the place where humble worship always begins.

Vs. 3 “Blessed are those who keep justice,

And he who does righteousness at all times!”

This then is how blessing from God is born out in our lives. Not by making a mockery of His grace, but by doing and pursuing justice and righteousness in earth. For this the Christians calling card to keep justice and do righteousness at all times towards all people.

Vs. 4-5 ⁴Remember me, O Lord, with the favor

You have toward Your people.

Oh, visit me with Your salvation,

⁵That I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones,

That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,

That I may glory with Your inheritance.

Again, the psalmist dares not try to stand on some sort of presumed goodness within himself, but only on God’s grace and favor alone. For he wants to receive God's salvation and be apart of God’s redeemed people, he wants to see and  experience all the benefits of God’s chosen ones, so that he might also rejoice in the gladness of His nation, that he may glory with all of God’s inheritance; who again have been redeemed by the favor and grace of God alone (Eph. 2:8-9). It's a big ask then for a sinful man to ask of God, but not to big for the Lord our God to do and fulfill! 

Vs. 6 “We have sinned with our fathers,

We have committed iniquity,

We have done wickedly.”

The sad legacy of the nation of Israel is now declared, for it is not one of faith and obedience, but only  of rebellion and failure, of the nation having sinned with their fathers, (for even their fathers were not without iniquity), thus of their having committed iniquity, of their having done wickedly, all this is now openly acknowledged and confessed to our God. Now in case you might foolishly presume to look down on them, you/me need to remember that our own lives and faith have never been lived in blameless obedience to the Lord’s Word and Will. For we too have had our own sins, rebellions, and wickedness, that also needs to be confessed and repented of.

Vs. 7 “Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;

They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies,

But rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.”

Therefore their confession goes right back to the beginning of the Nation. when God brought His people out of Egypt. When they were follow our God by faith, instead they rebelled by the sea-the Red Sea. For they did not understand His wonders, they did not remember the multitude of His mercies towards them when He shielded them from all of His Judgments on the Egyptians; but instead, when faced with a perilous trial at the Red Sea they quickly turned against Him (see Exodus 14, vs. 10-12). And how many of us do the same in our own hearts and lives when faced with our own perils? How quickly do we also forget all that the Lord our God has done for us? Let us all remember then that no faith journey is without its own trials and perils. 

Vs. 8 “Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake,

That He might make His mighty power known.”

Even though their words and actions were deserving of the Lord our God’s wrath and judgment, He still saved them for His Name’s sake, so that He might make His mighty power known to all. No one then will ever mock Him as being incapable of working deliverance for His people, or anyone at anytime and in anyway He deems fit. Almighty God's Power then is to revered by us who believe, for it will be feared by all who don't.  

Vs. 9-12 ⁹He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up;

So He led them through the depths,

As through the wilderness.

¹⁰He saved them from the hand of him who hated them,

And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹The waters covered their enemies;

There was not one of them left.

¹²Then they believed His words; They sang His praise.

At the rebuked of the Lord our God the Red Sea was parted and land under it was dried up, so that all His people could cross safely to the other side. For it was He who led them through the depths of the sea as through the wilderness. For it was He who saved them from the hand of him who hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemies (vs. 10); here Pharoah and Egyptians, but in reality, Satan, who is always behind God’s people’s troubles and persecutions, both theirs and ours (consider Rev. 12:17). Nonetheless, at the Lord our God’s command the waters returned and covered all their enemies, drowning Pharoah and all of his forces with him, so that not even one escaped! Now when God’s people saw this, they believed His Words, and they sang His praise (see Exodus 14:24-15:21).

Vs. 13-15 ¹³They soon forgot His works;

They did not wait for His counsel,

¹⁴But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,

And tested God in the desert.

¹⁵And He gave them their request,

But sent leanness into their soul.

However, that momentous and victorious event at the Red Sea was not enough to keep them believing and trusting in Him. For they soon forgot His works and reverted back to their complaining. For when one’s faith is only built on one’s sight it only soon leaves them, for faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen… (Heb. 11:1). Therefore, they did not wait for His counsel; trusting Him to guide them; instead, they lusted exceeding in the wilderness for meat and tested God in the desert by doubting that He could provide them water to drink (Exodus 15:24; 16:2; 17:2; Num. 11, vs. 31-35). Thus, God gave them their desire, but He sent leanness into their souls (Vs. 15). Thus, they never really enjoyed a real faith and real fellowship with Him, because they always wanted or asked for or trusted in something other then Him and His Will be done. Be careful then what you ask for, for if it is only to satisfy your own lusts and cravings for… it may come at the expense of your own souls!

Vs. 16-18 ¹⁶When they envied Moses in the camp,

And Aaron the saint of the Lord,

¹⁷The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan,

And covered the faction of Abiram.

¹⁸A fire was kindled in their company;

The flame burned up the wicked.

Their grumbling and complaining then soon led to an open rebellion. For it was Korah and the evil company of men who joined him who then took their stand against Moses and Aaron. For these were not content to serve the Lord as His Levites, instead they went after Moses leadership and Aaron's priesthood as well (see Num. 16:1-30). Therefore, God’s judgment was swift upon them by opening up the earth and swallowing Korah and all of his alive down into it! And this He did in the presence of His people (vs. 17). While the 250 rebels who were offering up their profane incense farther away, these the Lord immediately consumed by His fire!

Vs. 19-23 ¹⁹They made a calf in Horeb,

And worshiped the molded image.

²⁰Thus they changed their glory

Into the image of an ox that eats grass.

²¹They forgot God their Savior,

Who had done great things in Egypt,

²²Wondrous works in the land of Ham,

Awesome things by the Red Sea.

²³Therefore He said that He would destroy them,

Had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach,

To turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.

From Korah and his company's individual rebellion, to the Israelites collective rebellion and failure in worshiping the golden calf which Aaron made for them is now recalled (Exodus 32:1-6). For it was when Moses was on Mount Sinai with the Lord receiving His Law and Commandments for them (Exodus 24:12-18 right to 31:18). The people once again reverted back to their restlessness an unbelief. And so Aaron in his own haste to appease them made a golden calf for them to worship. And this they did in spite of all that God their Savior did in revealing Himself to them by delivering them from their enslavement in Egypt, including defeating their Egyptian pursuers and parting the Red Sea for them (vs. 19-22). Therefore, when God saw what they had done He was furious, and He was going to destroy them had not Moses interceded for them (vs. 23; Exodus 32:7-35). However, as bad as that was, this is not then end of their rebellions against the Lord our God, but sadly, just one of many, as we will see.

Vs. 24-27 ²⁴Then they despised the pleasant land;

They did not believe His word,

²⁵But complained in their tents,

And did not heed the voice of the Lord.

²⁶Therefore He raised up His hand in an oath against them,

To overthrow them in the wilderness,

²⁷To overthrow their descendants among the nations,

And to scatter them in the lands.

Having then pardoned their great sin at Mount Sinai. the Lord our God brought them to the threshold of the Promised land and commanded them to enter it, and thus receive their inheritance from Him. However, when they sent their spies into it who then returned and gave them a bad report, saying, that they could not overtake the inhabitants of the land, the people collectively cried out against the Lord and Moses and Aaron and they all wanted to return to Egypt if you can believe it! Therefore, their own unbelief caused the Lord our God to raise His Hand and swear an oath against that evil generation that none of them would see the Promised Land except Joshua and Caleb who gave an honest report of the land and tried to compel the people to enter it (see Num. 14:1-45). However, the Psalm in verse twenty-seven moves beyond that unbelieving generation to their descendants; not their children who did believe the Lord our God, and thus He brought them into it, but their descendants; that is all of those who came after them, who acted just like them in their own unbelief towards the Lord our God. Therefore, His sworn oath went out first against them to overthrow them in the wilderness, then against their descendants, to overthrow them amongst the nations and to scatter them in the lands. For He foresaw their rebellions long before they came into being, and thus, He has dealt with them all according to His sworn oath. Which is a word of caution to us all, to not doubt, nor complain against the Lord our God in our own generations. Side note: Now the fact that all of these events are not being recalled in historical order gives testimony to spontaneity of this Psalm. That it was not rehearsed or  “researched”, but it came by the Spirit of God through His chosen vessel.

Vs. 28-31 ²⁸They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor,

And ate sacrifices made to the dead.

²⁹Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,

And the plague broke out among them.

³⁰Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,

And the plague was stopped.

³¹And that was accounted to him for righteousness

To all generations forevermore.

Now to Israel’s great shame they also became involved in Baal worship with the People of Moab. This pagan idolatry involved ritual harlotry, so that the men of Israel became joined to the women of Moab in their worship of Baal! Such then was our Lord God’s great anger at them for doing so that He immediately struck their congregation with a plague, and if it were not for Phinehas, Aaron’s son interceding by striking down the offending parties, by which the Lord then stopped His plague, they all would’ve perished. Therefore, Phinehas in doing so did was right in the sight of the Lord our God (vs. 31), He then made a covenant of peace with him, extending to all his descendants after him, because he was zealous for His God, for he made atonement for the children of Israel (see Num. 25:1-13).

Vs. 32-33 ³²They angered Him also at the waters of strife,

So that it went ill with Moses on account of them;

³³Because they rebelled against His Spirit,

So that he spoke rashly with his lips.

Now is recalled the Israelites grave unbelief and rebellion at Meribah (i.e., the waters of strife), where they fiercely contended with Moses and Aaron and bitterly complained against the Lord our God, even accusing Moses and Aaron of bringing them out into the wilderness to kill them by thirst! It was there then that the Lord our God commanded Moses to strike the rock with the rod so that it would bring forth water for the congregation to drink. However, Moses in his own haste and frustration with them then struck the rock not once as God commanded, but twice before all the people, and thus Moses for not hallowing the Lord before the congregation was then told by the Lord that he would not bring the assembly into the land God had given them (see Num. 20:2-13). Again, such were these people that they even caused Moses to momentarily "loose it" in his trying to quell them.

Vs. 34-36 ³⁴They did not destroy the peoples,

Concerning whom the Lord had commanded them,

³⁵But they mingled with the Gentiles

And learned their works;

³⁶They served their idols,

Which became a snare to them.

 Moving then farther along, when the Lord God our God brought the Israelites into the land of Canaan, they did not complete the work He gave them to do, which was to exterminate all of the Canaanite peoples, for those Canaanites were an utterly debased people who practiced the worst things imaginable, therefore the Lord our God brought Israel into that land as His army to remove them from it, so that He could give it to Israel forever. However, after Joshua and Phineas and all that generation died, they reverted back to their old ways and they willingly mingled with the Gentiles, with those very Canaanites that they were to drive out of the land, instead they became partakers with them in all of their deeds! For they learned their works and they served their idols, which became a snare to them. Just read the Book of Judges and Samuel and Kings to see how far they went astray from Him.

Vs. 37-42 ³⁷They even sacrificed their sons

And their daughters to demons,

³⁸And shed innocent blood,

The blood of their sons and daughters,

Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;

And the land was polluted with blood.

³⁹Thus they were defiled by their own works,

And played the harlot by their own deeds.

⁴⁰Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people,

So that He abhorred His own inheritance.

⁴¹And He gave them into the hand of the Gentiles,

And those who hated them ruled over them.

⁴²Their enemies also oppressed them,

And they were brought into subjection under their hand.

At their very worst, Israel’s own depravity became such that they even began to practice the ritual child sacrifices of the Canaanites, sacrificing even their own children to the idols of Canaan, offering up their children’s blood and lives to them (2 Kings 16:3; 17:17; Isaiah 57:5; Jeremiah 7:31, 19:5; Ezekiel 16:20-21; 20:26, 31; 23:37 etc.). And so instead of cleansing the land of all such things, the Israelites instead became partakers with Canaanites in their most depraved and wicked acts. Therefore, they defiled the land by their own works and played the harlot by their own deeds (vs. 37-39). And thus they themselves brought the wrath of the Lord our God upon themselves. Therefore the land instead of vomiting the Gentiles out of it, vomited them out! For the Lord God abhorred them for what they had done, therefore He gave them into the hands of the Gentiles, the cruelest of nations, who hated them, these then bore rule over them, and oppressed them continually, because they had forsaken Him (vs. 40-42).

Vs. 43-36 ⁴³Many times He delivered them;

But they rebelled in their counsel,

And were brought low for their iniquity.

⁴⁴Nevertheless He regarded their affliction,

When He heard their cry;

⁴⁵And for their sake He remembered His covenant,

And relented according to the multitude of His mercies.

⁴⁶He also made them to be pitied

By all those who carried them away captive.

The Spirit of our God  having then made the case against Israel, now turns our focus right onto the goodness of God, where it should be. For it is undeniably true that many times the Lord our God delivered Israel, (throughout their history), only to have them rebel against Him once again by their walking in their own counsels (vs. 43); doctrines and commandments of men can also be included in this. Nevertheless, the Lord our God has never forsaken them, but in their affliction, He regarded them when He heard their cry (vs. 44). Now think of yourselves as well in your own wilderness wanderings and prodigal misadventures has the Lord God ever forsaken you or did you forsake Him. Verse forty-five then says something quite remarkable that for their sake, not His Names sake, He remembered His covenant, (not the Old Covenant and Law given through Moses, for that would have meant their judgment and ruin), but His covenant, the covenant that He first spoke to Abraham, when He swore to Him that His seed would be His people. Therefore, in remembering this. He relented according to the multitude of His mercies (vs. 45). Indeed, the Scripture goes on to say that the Lord God even caused them to be pitied by all of those who carried them away (vs. 46). For even in their captivity He watched over them to preserve them as His people. 

Vs. 47-48 ⁴⁷Save us, O Lord our God,

And gather us from among the Gentiles,

To give thanks to Your holy name,

To triumph in Your praise.

⁴⁸Blessed be the Lord God of Israel

From everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!

In closing then there is a only cry to the Lord our God to save us; to gather all of His people from among the Gentiles where He has scattered them; in essence then to bring them all back to Himself and make them His redeemed and sanctified people, so that they all might give thanks to His Holy Name and triumph in His praise. The Psalm then closes with a doxology inviting all to partake in in anticipation of this, a prayer and a praise for all His redeemed people to recite, saying:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel

From everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!” ^{vs. 48}

 Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.