PSALM 106
1. Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? who can show forth all his praise?
3. Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.
4. Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;
5. 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.
6. We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
7. 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.
8. Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
9. He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
10. And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11. And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.
12. Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
13. They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:
14. But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
15. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
16. They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord.
17. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
18. And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
19. They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.
20. Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
21. They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
22. Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.
23. 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.
24. Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:
25. But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.
26. Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness:
27. To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.
28. They joined themselves also unto Baal-poer, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
29. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.
30. Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed.
31. And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
32. They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that if went ill with Moses for their sakes:
33. Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
34. They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord commanded them:
35. But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.
36. And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
37. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,
38. 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.
39. Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.
40. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.
41. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.
42. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.
43. Many tines did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
44. Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:
45. And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
46. He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.
47. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise.
48. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the Lord.
Here endeth the fourth book of the Psalms.
God’s Grace and Israel’s Sin
I. Introduction (1-5)
II. A confession of Israel’s sin (6-46)
A. Rebellion at the Red Sea (6-12) Ex.14:10 - 15:1
B. Murmuring for the fleshpots of Egypt (13-15)
Num. 11:1-35; Ex. 15:22 – 17:7
C. Jealousy toward Moses and Aaron (16-18) Num
16; Deut 11:6
D. Making and worshiping the golden calf (19-23)
Ex. 32:1-35; Deut 9:18-21
E. Unbelief and disobedience after the return of the
spies (24-27) Num. 13-14
F. Participation in Moabite worship (28-31) Num
25:1-8; Ex 34:15
G. Murmuring at Meribah (32-33) Num 20:1-13
H. Pollution through sharing in Canaanite practices(34-39)
I. Repeated disobedience in the period of the Judges
(40-46)
III. Concluding prayer for restoration (47)
National Confession
I. A sound heart (1-6)
A. An exciting note of praise (1-3)
1. Remembering the Lord’s person (1a)
2. Remembering the Lord’s pity (1b)
3. Remembering the Lord’s power (1c-2)
4. Remembering the Lord’s people (3)
B. An explicit need for prayer (4-6)
1. The Psalmist’s concern (4-5)
2. The Psalmist’s confession (6)
II. A sad history (7-46)
A. Natural blindness in the place of bondage–Egypt (7-12)
1. Ungrateful grumbling (7)
2. Unstinted grace (8-11)
3. Unrestrained gladness (12)
B. Negative behavior in the place of barrenness – The
wilderness (13-33)
1. Their lustful desires (13-15)
2. Their lawless demands (16-18)
3. Their lying dogmas (19-27)
a. Unbelief regarding the Lord (19-23)
b. Unbelief regarding the land (24-27)
4. Their loathsome deeds (28-31)
5. Their lasting distrust (32-33)
C. Near blasphemy in the place of blessing - the land
(34-36)
1. The fatal seed (34)
2. The fearful weed (35-39)
a. The deeds of the heathen acclaimed (35)
b. The creeds of heathen accepted (35-39)
3. The final need (40-46)
III. A sure hope (47-48)
A. The blessing (47)
1. May God end their exile (47a)
2. May God ensure their exaltation (47b)
B. The benediction (48)
PHIL. Exp. T. Ps. Val II Pg 151
Verse 14 The Wickedness of Inordinate Desires
I. They are out of place – “in the wilderness”
II. They are assaults upon God – “and tempted God”
III. They are despisers of former mercies – see
preceding verses
IV. They involve solemn danger – see following verse
Verses 24 – 26 Murmuring
I. Arises from despising our mercies
II. Is fostered by unbelief
III. Is indulged in all sorts of places
IV. Makes men deaf to the Lord’s voice
V. Provokes great judgments from the Lord
Verses 24 – 27
I. The rest promised: “The pleasant land”
II. The refusal of the rest: “They despised”
III. The reason of the refusal: “unbelief”
“They could not enter in because of unbelief”
Verse 33
I. What it is so to speak unadvisedly
II. What is the great cause of it-“They provoked his spirit”
III. What the results may be
Verse 47
I. An earnest prayer: “Save us, O Lord.”
II. A believing prayer: “O Lord our God.”
III. A humbling prayer: “Gather us from among the
heathen.”
IV. A sincere prayer: “To give thanks unto thy holy
name, to own thy justice and holiness in all thy
ways.”
V. A confident prayer: “To triumph in thy praise.”
None but bruised spices give forth such odors.
Verse 15
Breaking Commitments is Asking for Trouble
Introduction: Most of us try and borrow trouble. Some-times we ask for it. There’s an old saying that goes, “Don’t trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.” But in spite of that saying most of us seem to just ask for many of our troubles.
I. We ask for trouble when we run from the Lord-Jonah 1
1. Jonah got caught in a storm
2. Jonah was cast overboard
3. Jonah paid the price
II. We ask for trouble when we pitch our tents toward Sodom – Genesis 13
1. Lot chose the Plain – Gen. 13:11
2. Lot dwelt in Sodom – Gen. 14:12
3. Lot lingered in Sodom – Gen 19:16
III. We ask for trouble when we touch God’s anointed – Numbers 22:31-34
1. Balaam cursed God’s people
2. Pharaoh hated God’s people
IV. We ask for trouble when we break commitments to God – Ecclesiastes 5:5
1. Jacob broke his vows to the Lord
1. Jonah broke his vows to the Lord
V. We ask for trouble when we try and hide our sins – Proverbs 28:13
1. Adam tried to hide his sins
2. Aiken tried to hide his sins
VI. We ask for trouble when we form an unequal yoke – II Corinthians 6:14
1. Believers with unbelievers
2. Righteousness with unrighteousness
VII. We ask for trouble when we leave the Father’s house – Luke 15
1. No man knew the prodigal
2. No place to eat but with the pigs
PSALM 106
Psalm 106 is a great Psalm. It’s a tremendous reminder. We don’t know who wrote the Psalm, many believe it was Daniel that wrote the Psalm and after that great prayer in Daniel 9 he knew how to get a hold of the heart of God to write such a Psalm. That’s mere speculation. He starts off the Psalm ‘Praise ye the Lord’ and he closes the Psalm in verse 48 the same way ‘Praise ye the Lord.’ So it’s the last Psalm of the fourth book of Psalms and Psalm 107 will start the last book of Psalms. You know the Psalms have five books in them just like the Pentateuch - the first five books of the Bible that Moses wrote and really each one of the books of Psalms kind of coincide with one of the books that Moses wrote. So it’s a tremendous study that you can look through and the last book that Moses wrote was Deuteronomy and it means the second giving of the law, or bringing the people into remembrance. And that’s exactly what he’s going to do here in Psalm 106. He’s going to start the idea of reminding the children of Israel where they’ve come from and what it is they’ve done and how they’ve turned their back on God and forgot all the benefits that God had given to them. You find he gives the story and the breakdown through this Psalm.
He starts off saying, “Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. 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, O Lord, with the favour 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. We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, and 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 name’s sake, 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.” The Psalmist is speaking to God and praying to God ‘Lord remember us, we’re wicked people, we’ve turned our back on you, we’ve done all these wicked things but Lord you know the trouble that we’re walking through, Lord you know the things that we’re doing.’ Could we not apply that to America? Lord you know how we were founded, how our nation was founded, a nation that wanted to come and worship the Lord God Almighty and now the historians are coming up and trying to say that the founders of our great nation did not want prayer and Bible reading in the schools and did not want people to understand that God was the one that our nation was built on and founded on. That’s the reason that we came. You know whenever the other countries came to South America hundreds and hundreds of years ago, they were looking for gold. Whenever they came to the Caribbean they were looking for gold. They were looking for anything and everything that they could find in the riches. But whenever those of our forefathers came to America they were looking for God. They were looking to search the very heart of God and find a place where they could worship God Almighty. But my friend America has far since turned away from being a nation that’s looking for God. Now we’re looking for every way that we can expel God. Let’s get God out of our school system. Let’s put God out of our homes. Let’s get God out of the publics sight. Let’s get God out of all remembrance. Let’s get God out of our church. Let’s get God away from the people to where they cannot know and understand this God. That’s exactly what this Psalm is all about. Talking about ‘Lord we forgot you, we forgot when we were there at the Red Sea, and we murmured against you, trouble has come to Israel because of the actions that we’ve had.’ And we can say today trouble has come to America because of the actions that we have participated in and the things that we’ve done in our past and seems to be doing in our future. There’s an old saying that says ‘do not trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.’ But we’ve forgot that idea. We’ve turned our back on that and we just go out and seek trouble.
How in the world can we get away from trouble? Or what is it that brings trouble in our lives. Look at verse 15 of this Psalm, “And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” “And he gave them their request.” Man did you ever think about what would happen if God gave every single solitary one of us our requests and what it is that we wanted? You’d have the golfers praying for sunshine and the farmers praying for rain. You’d have rain going on one place and the golf course would be burnt up and nothing but desert if God gave everybody their request. But I tell you what; there comes a time when God gives a nation their request. When God gives, yes even individuals that turn their back on him. You see we ask for trouble when we turn and start running from the Lord. You can get a picture of that in Jonah, Jonah ran from the Lord. In Jonah 1 God told him to go to Nineveh and what did he do? Jonah got up to go to Tarshish and he went down to the boat docks. I like that outline the old preacher used to use. Jonah went down to the boat docks, and down into the ship and down into the belly of the ship and then they threw him over the side of the ship, and he went down into the water and the big fish, the whale came and swallowed him up and he went into the belly of the whale. And then the whale went down into the ocean so Jonah went down to the bottom of the ocean. Jonah 2 said ‘from hell I cried out,’ he went down to hell. Sin takes you down; whenever you turn and run from God it brings trouble on you because it’s going to take you down. It’s going to pull you down lower and lower and lower and the longer you run from him the longer those troubles are going to linger. What we need to do is turn and run back to him. We need to run to the Lord and ask God to forgive us and help us. We need to stop the running.
Right now America is running from God. We’re trying to be politically correct about everything. My friend you cannot be politically correct and spiritually correct at the same time. The Bible says the world and God are at war with each other. Why? Satan, the devil is the god of this world. That’s exactly the reason that all the turmoil is going on and the fighting is going on today. You’ve got a bunch of radical Muslims that are trying to turn everything around and destroy the economic system of America and trying to pull America down. Why. Jesus said in John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” You go back to the father of Christianity and you see Jesus Christ born of a blessed virgin in a place called Bethlehem of Judah, lived a sinless life, turned over to the hands of sinner men, crucified upon a cross, buried in a grave, three days later he got up out of the grave victori-ous over sin, death, hell, and the grave. And today he sent the Holy Spirit back into the world, back on the day of Pentecost to empower the church so the church can go forward and tell people the truth. There’s the founder of Christianity. Now look at the founder of the Muslim faith. Muhammad stole the belongs of his master. Accord-ing to the Abrahamic covenant, if a man died without children all of his belongings would go back to his family. Muhammad come along, steals his wife, steals his inheritance, takes all the man’s money, spends all of that, goes out and robs and kills, ends up taking seven or eight wives. The last one being a little seven-year-old girl and he consummated the marriage with her when she was nine years old. Today we call that a person that’s involved in pedophilism. And then you see that Muhammad went out and stole and robbed and killed in order to promote his religion. That’s exactly what’s going on today. Folks think it’s alright to steal, to murder and to kill and to make havoc just so they can have what they want, to try to force what they think is what God wants. And if you just look at the thing that is said, four hundred and fifty years before Muhammad ever came on the scene Jesus told us exactly what would happen.