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.
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
New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.
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