Psalm 106. Psalm 106. Psalm 105 deals with the history
of Israel between Abraham and Exodus, and Psalm 106 deals with
the history of Israel between Exodus and the carrying away
of the children of Israel into Babylon. Psalm 106, verse one. Praise ye the Lord. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Who can utter
the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all his praise? Blessed are they that keep judgment,
and he that doeth righteousness at all times. Remember me, oh
Lord, with the favor that thou barest unto thy people. Oh, visit
me with thy salvation, 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. We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. 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. Nevertheless, he saved them for his namesake,
that he might make his mighty power to be known. He rebuked
the Red Sea also, and it was dried up. So he led them through
the depths as through the wilderness. And he saved them from the hand
of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
And the waters covered their enemies. There was not one of
them left. Then believed they his words. They sang his praise. They soon forgot his works. They waited not for his counsel,
but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted God in
the desert. And he gave them their request.
but sent leanness into their soul. They envied Moses also
in the camp and Aaron the saint of the Lord. The earth opened
and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram. And a
fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked.
They made a calf in Oreb and worshiped the molten image. Thus
they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox. that
eateth grass. They forgot God their Savior,
which had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the
land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red Sea. 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. Yea, they despised the pleasant
Lamb. They believed not his word, but
murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice
of the Lord. Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to
overthrow them in the wilderness, to overthrow their seed also
among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands. They joined
themselves also unto Baal Peor, that's the god of the Moabites,
and ate the sacrifices of the dead." Remember, these are the people
of God we're reading about. These are the things they did.
Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions, and the
plague break in upon them. Then stood up Phinehas and executed
judgment, and so the plague was stayed. And that was counted
unto him for righteousness unto all generations forevermore.
They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it
went ill with Moses for their sakes, because they provoked
his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips. They
did not destroy the nations concerning whom the Lord commanded them,
but were mingled among the heathen and learned their works. And
they served their idols, and they were a snare unto them.
Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils
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. Thus were they defiled with their
own works and went a whoring with their own inventions. Therefore
was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, insomuch
that he abhorred his own inheritance. And he gave them into the hand
of the heathen, and they hated them. And they that hated them
ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed
them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.
Many times did he deliver them. but they provoked him with their
counsel and were brought low for their iniquity. Nevertheless, he regarded their affliction
when he heard their cry and he remembered for them his covenant
and repented according to the multitude of his mercies. He made them also to be pitied
of all those that carried them captives. Save us, O Lord our
God, and gather us from among the heathen to give thanks unto
thy name, thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise. Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. And
let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the Lord. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for who
you are. How we thank you that you're
a gracious and merciful God. Lord, when we read this psalm. We see ourselves. And we pray that we might be
saved by your grace. Lord, cause your gospel to be
preached in the power of your spirit. Meet with us for Christ's sake,
forgive us of our sins. Be with all your people wherever
they meet together. And Lord, accept our thanksgiving. We're
so thankful for who you are. In Christ's name we pray, amen. Now this is the third of the
historical Psalms, Psalm 78, Psalm 105, and Psalm 106. And as we read this Psalm, you
could see that this is a confession of sin. It's a confession of
800 years of sin in behalf of the children of Israel. Look in verse six. Here's where this confession
begins. We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. Now that is the confession of
the psalmist. Let me. name this narrative of
confession. You'll notice if you have a Cambridge
Bible, this is called The Story of Israel's Rebellion and God's
Great Mercies. Now we read that they soon forgot. They waited not. They lusted
exceedingly. They tempted God. They envied. They made a calf and worshiped
the golden image. They forgot God, their savior. They despised the pleasant land. They believed not his word. They
murmured. They joined themselves to Baal,
Baal Peor, the god of the Moabites. They did not destroy the nations
that God commanded them to destroy. They mingled among the heathen
and served their idols. They sacrificed their sons and
their daughters to devils. They were defiled with their
own works. This catalog of sins is Shocking,
it's 800 years of the history of Israel, and that will be and is me and
you, apart from the grace of God. If you don't see that about yourself,
if I don't see that about myself, it's because I am in a hardened,
desensitized and self-deluded state of myself. What a shocking,
I mean, even sacrificing their children unto false gods. Now these were what we would
call the people of God doing all these things. Now in verse one, The psalmist
begins, praise ye the Lord. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord
for he is good. I wish I could describe that
as it ought to be described. He is good. All the time. He is good. I'm so thankful for that. He
brings good out of evil. all the time. He is good all
the time. His mercy endures eternally,
forever. Who can utter the mighty acts
of the Lord? Who can show forth his praise?
Who can give sufficient language, sufficient words to describe
his greatness? I can't. You can't. The psalmist
couldn't. I love it when Paul said, thanks
be unto God for his unspeakable, indescribable gift. He says in verse three, blessed
are they that keep judgment and he that doeth righteousness at
all times. Now the only way I can understand that is in light of
justification. I've done righteousness at all
times. Jesus Christ did righteousness
at all times. He's the only one, and I did
too, in Him. So blessed are they that keep
judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. And that describes
every believer. Remember me, O Lord, with the
favor that Thou bearest unto Thy people. O, visit me with
Thy salvation, 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. Have mercy on me. Give me the
favor of thy chosen. Give me the favor of thy people.
Now that's in our heart, isn't it? Lord, treat me the way you
treat your chosen, your people, the people Christ died for. Give
me your favor and your grace. Now he begins his confession
of sin. We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. I wonder when the last time I've
had a confession like that from my heart saying what the psalmist
says in my own personal confession of my sin. We've done wickedly. We've committed iniquity. We sinned. Now he talks about
our fathers. Our fathers, and this is who
he's given this history of, 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. They were ungrateful. They were spiritually stupid.
They understood not. They were provoking. They provoked
God by their sin. Nevertheless, Martin Lloyd-Jones
said the whole gospel is found in this word, nevertheless. Nevertheless,
in spite of what they were, nevertheless, he saved them because of their
confession of sin, because of their sorrow and their regret
over what they did. No, he saved them for his namesake. for Christ's sake, that he might
make his mighty power to be known. He rebuked the Red Sea also,
and it was dried up. Don't you love to think about
the Red Sea parting the way it did, and then walking through
dry ground? He rebuked the Red Sea, and it
was dried up, so he led them through the depths as through
the wilderness. And he saved them from the hand of him that
hated him, talking about Pharaoh, and redeemed them from the hand
of the enemies. And the waters covered their enemies, so there
was not one of them left. Now, I love to think of the Egyptian
army washed up dead on the sea, but here's the main teaching.
Do you know what? There's not one of your sins
left. covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not one
sin left. Verse 12, then believe they his
words. They sang his praise. Oh, they
were so happy. You can read about it in Exodus
chapter 15. They soon forgot his works and
waited not for his counsel. but lusted exceedingly in the
wilderness and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them
their request, but seen leanness unto their soul." Now this is
what is happening in Numbers chapter 11. They'd been having
manna for a couple of months and he was getting old. They
said, we want meat. This isn't good enough, this
manna. We want meat. And God said, okay,
I'll give you meat. And he sent quails so that they
ate till it was coming out their nostrils. And then the wrath
of God struck them at that time. And they were, uh, diseased,
hurt because of this lust for meat. We want meat. He sent them quails. They lusted
exceedingly, tempted God in the desert, and he gave them their
request, but he sent leanness into their soul. Now, what is that leanness into
their soul? It's what the Lord called lukewarmness. Luke warmness. You're not hot. You're not cold. Hot is a state
of discomfort. Cold is a state of discomfort.
When you're lukewarm, I'm okay. I'm all right. Leanness into
their soul. They lost that need of Christ. They lost that amazement of his
grace. Leanness into their soul. Hard
heartedness. Verse 16, they envied Moses also
in the camp. And Aaron the saint of the Lord,
now that's when Dathan and Abiram, they were jealous of Moses, and
they were jealous of Aaron, and they said, we're as holy as they
are. We're the Lord's people just like you are. We can offer
sacrifice. And they took their censers,
and that's when God opened up the ground and swallowed them
right then. Look in verse 16, they envied
Moses also in the camp. And Aaron, the saint of the Lord,
the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company
of Abiram. And a fire was kindled in their
company and the flame burned up the wicked." Now, verse 19,
they made a calf in Horeb or Mount Sinai and worshiped the
molten image. Thus they changed their glory,
the God of glory, into the similitude of an ox. that Edith Grass, they
forgot God their savior, which had done great things in Egypt.
Now, you think about this. This was just weeks after their
deliverance. Moses goes up into Mount Sinai. He's there for 40 days. And what
do they do? They make a golden calf and worship
it. And they change their glory. the God of glory into an image
like a four-footed beast that eats grass. I love it when Moses
says to Aaron, why'd you do this? How did you let the people do
this? Where'd this calf come from? Oh, Aaron says, well, we
threw the gold in the fire and out came this calf. Wouldn't
even take responsibility for what he'd done. That's the way
we are. And this is what took place. These are the people who
experienced this great deliverance, the parting of the Red Sea. And
they make an image and bring God down to the likeness of an
ox that eats grass. Verse 21, they forgot God, their
savior, which had done great things in Egypt. wondrous works
in the land of Ham and terrible things by the Red Sea." This
is talking about the 10 plagues and the parting of the Red Sea.
They forgot it all. Verse 23, therefore said he that
he would destroy them. Had not Moses his chosen stood
up before him in the breach to turn away his wrath lest he should
destroy them. This is talking about when Moses
prayed for him in Exodus 32 and 33. God said, I'm going to kill
him. And Moses prayed for him. You know, I thought this before. Every time Moses prayed for somebody,
the Lord delivered him. He's a type of Christ there.
Christ prays for you. I think of what he said to Peter. Peter, I prayed for you. That
your faith fail not. You know what? His faith didn't
fail because Christ prayed for it. Moses prayed for him to turn
away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. Yea, they despised
the pleasant land. They believed not his word. He
had promised them the land of Canaan and they despised it. They believed not his word, but
murmured in their tents, that's their disapproval. and hearken
not unto the voice of the Lord. Therefore he lifted up his hand
against them to overthrow them in the wilderness, to overthrow
their seed also among the nations and to scatter them in the lands. They joined themselves also to
Baal Peor. This is in Numbers chapter 25,
the God of the Moabites. They joined themselves also into
Baal Peor and ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they provoked
him to anger with their inventions and the plague break in upon
them. Now, during this time, when they were joined themselves
to Baal Peor, the scripture also says they committed fornication
with the Moabites. And the Lord sent a plague and
destroyed 24,000 people at that time, when they
joined themselves to Baal Peor. Then, verse 30, then stood up
Phinehas, and executed judgment, so the plague was stayed, and
that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations
forevermore." Now, when this plague had started and people
were dying because they had mingled with the Moabites and made some
kind of joint effort with them, All of a sudden, while the people
were mourning after these people died, a man came in brazenly
named Zimri, I think was his name, and he had a Moabitish
woman. And he just went into the tent with her right in front
of Moses and Aaron. And that's when Phinehas got
up with the javelin and thrust them both through. And the scripture
says the plague was stayed. Somebody says, what's that got
to do with the gospel? Well, when Christ was made sin
and the javelin came through him of God's wrath, the plague
was stayed. They angered him, verse 32. They
angered him also with the waters of strife, so they went ill with
Moses for their sakes, because they provoked his spirit, so
that he spake unadvisedly with his lips. That's when they said,
we don't have any water. And Moses got angry at that time. Moses had a temper and he said,
you bunch of rebels, must we fetch water out of the rock?
And God said, speak to the rock. Remember, the rock had already
been smitten. Christ is not to be smitten twice.
The rock had already been smitten. God said, speak to the rock.
and water will come out. What did Moses do? He smote the
rock three times. And through that sin, he was
not allowed to go into the promised land. You see, Moses represents
the law, and the law is not going to bring anybody into the promised
land. He smote the rock three times
and spake unadvisedly with his lips, and God said, you're not
going to enter the promised land because of that. Verse 34, they
did not destroy the nations concerning whom the Lord commanded them,
but were mingled among the heathen and learned their works and they
served their idols, which was a snare unto them. Now, he said,
destroy these nations. And he tells them in the book
of Deuteronomy, I'm not telling you to destroy those nations
because you're better than them. but because of their wickedness,
because of the things that they have done. And if you mix with
them, you will be influenced by them and you will do what
they do. That happens every time when
I mingle, when we mingle with that which is contrary to God,
they always bring us down to their level and we never bring
them up. They mingled with the heathen. They served their idols, which
was a snare unto them." Verse 37, "'Yea, they sacrificed their
sons and their daughters unto devils, 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.'" Now you think about that. They took their children. Could they do that? They did
it. Not could they, they did it. This is how they were influenced
by these false idols and false gods. They took their children
and sacrificed them to the gods of that land and polluted the
land. polluted by innocent blood. A
lot of times when people are talking about the evils of abortion,
they will use this scripture and say, this is what's going
on today. Well, I guess you could use that argument, but that's
not the main teaching here. The main teaching is how far
they had fallen from God to sacrifice their children to the idols of
the land. Verse 40, Verse 39, that thus
were they defiled with their own works and when a whoring
with their own inventions, therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled
against his people in so much that he abhorred his own inheritance. Never think of your sin or my
sin as a thing of indifference. The thing David did displeased
the Lord. Never think of your sin as something
the Lord is indifferent about. Therefore was the wrath of the
Lord kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his
own inheritance. Here's his divine chastening.
He gave them into the hand of the heathen, and they that hated
them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed
them, and they were brought unto subjection under their hands.
Many times did he deliver them, many times. But they provoked
him with their counsel and were brought low for their iniquity."
Now here we have this glorious word, nevertheless. Could a people be worse than
these people? I don't see how. Nevertheless. Nevertheless, he regarded their
affliction when he heard their cry. Now this is the difference between
the people of God and the people who are not God's people. All
of God's people, there's going to be a cry. There's going to be a cry from
their heart when he heard their cry. Hold your finger there and
turn to Exodus chapter two. Verse 23, and it came to pass
in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. And the children
of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage. And they cried. And their cry came up unto God
by reason of the bondage, just like these people crying in Psalm
106. And God heard their groaning
and God remembered. His covenant with Abraham, with
Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children
of Israel and God had respect. What a powerful word. God had
respect unto them. You see, he respects his son
and he respects his covenant. And because of that, he hears
the cry. Turn back to Psalm 106. Look
at the language in verse 45. And he remembered for them. They forgot. He remembered for
them. Oh, I want the Lord to remember
me, don't you? Just like the thief. He remembered
for them. His covenant and repented according
to the multitude of his mercies. He made them also to be pitied
of all those that carried them captives." Now, isn't that glorious?
Even when they're carried captive, the Lord causes their enemies
to pity them. He's in control of everybody's
minds. I love to think about this. I
just love this. God is completely sovereign over
everything that goes on in the mind of every human being. He's sovereign. Over the free,
people do what they want to do. Uncoerced, people do what they
want to do. And God completely, sovereignly
controls everything. So they're even made to pity.
These enemies of Israel made to pity. They're captives. Now, he says in verse 47. Save us. Oh, Lord, our God. Is there ever a time when this
is not an appropriate prayer? Save me. Save me from my sin. Save me from the messes I've
made. Save me from my circumstances. Save me. Oh, this Lord, save
me. Oh, this is the prayer. Save me. When I'm saying save
me, I'm knowing who he is and I'm knowing who I am. Save me. Save us, O Lord our God, and
gather us from among the heathen to give thanks unto thy holy
name and to triumph or to glory or to rejoice or to boast in
thy praise. Blessed be. Now, here's how he
ends this. Psalm of Confession, 800 years
of the history of Israel. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the Lord.