Bible Commentaries

The author of this psalm is unknown, and the occasion on which it was composed cannot now be ascertained. It belongs to the same "class" as Psalm 78; 105; as referring to the ancient history of the Hebrew people, and as deriving lessons of instruction, admonition, gratitude and praise from that history. The cvth Psalm referred to that history particularly as showing the mercy and favor of God to that people, and hence, their obligation to love and serve him; this psalm is occupied mainly with a confession, drawn from a review of that history, that the nation had not been mindful of those mercies, but that they had rebelled against God, and incurred his displeasure. The psalm has a striking resemblance in many respects to the prayer in Daniel 9; and, like that, is a prayer that God would now interpose and deliver the people as in times that were past. It is possible that the psalm may have been composed in the time of the Babylonian captivity (compare Psalm 106:47), and this is the opinion of Hengstenberg; but it is impossible to demonstrate this with any certainty. It was evidently composed in some period of public calamity, and there is no impropriety in supposing that it may have been then.

The psalm consists essentially of three parts:

I. A brief introduction, setting forth the duty of praising God, and referring to his mercy, and expressing the desire of the author of the psalm that he himself might participate in his mercy, and share the happy lot of the "chosen" of God, Psalm 106:1-5.

II. A reference to the history of the nation, and a confession of their sins in all the periods of their history, and their proneness as a people to disobey God, referring particularly to their history in Egypt, Psalm 106:6-12; in the desert, Psalm 106:13-33; and in the land of Canaan, Psalm 106:34-43.

III. A prayer - founded on the fact that God had often interposed in their behalf - that he would now again interpose, and gather them from among the pagan, that they might again sing his praises, Psalm 106:44-48.

Praise ye the Lord - Margin, "Hallelu-jah." The two Hebrew words mean, "praise ye the Lord." They are the same words with which the previous psalm closes, and are here designed to indicate the general duty illustrated in the psalm.

O give thanks unto the Lord - See the notes at Psalm 105:1.

For he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever - See Psalm 100:5, note; Psalm 107:1, note; where the language in the Hebrew is the same.

Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? - Who can speak the great things of God? Who can find language which will suitably express what he has done, or which will "come up" in sublimity to his acts? In other words, human language must fall immeasurably short of adequately expressing the praises of Yahweh, or conveying the fullness of what he has done. Who has not felt this when he has endeavored to praise God in a proper manner? Compare the notes at Psalm 40:5.

Who can shew forth all his praise - Hebrew, "Cause to be heard." That is, Language cannot be found which would cause "it to be heard" in a suitable manner.

Blessed are they that keep judgment - They are blessed, for their conduet is right, and it leads to happiness. The Hebrew is, "the keepers of judgment;" that is, they who observe the rules of justice in their conduct, or who are governed by the principles of integrity.

And he that doeth righteousness at all times - All who yield obedience to just law - whether a nation or an individual. The psalm is designed to illustrate this "by contrast;" that is, by showing, in the conduct of the Hebrew people, the consequences of "disobedience," and thus impliedly what would have been, and what always must be, the consequences of the opposite course. Compare Psalm 15:1-5.

Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that thou bearest unto thy people - literally, "Remember me with the favor of thy people." This is the language of the author of the psalm: a pious ejaculation such as will occur to the mind in recounting what God has done for his church; what are the advantages of being his friends; what blessings of peace, happiness, and joy are connected with true religion. Even the wicked sometimes have this feeling when they look on the happy life, and the peaceful death of the godly. So Balaam said, "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!" Numbers 23:10.

O visit me with thy salvation - Come to me with salvation; confer it upon me.

That I may see the good of thy chosen - Thy chosen people; or, thine elect. That I may possess and enjoy the same favor and happiness which they do. It is implied here that there are special favors conferred on them; or, that happiness is found in the friendship of God which is not to be found elsewhere. It is a characteristic of true piety to desire to make that our own. A truly religious man more desires the happiness which results from being among the "chosen" of God than all that the world can confer.

That I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation - The happiness found in the nation that serves thee. True religion - the favor of God - not only confers happiness on the "individual" who possesses it, but on the nation or people where it prevails. It is just as much suited to produce happiness there, and is just as necessary for happiness there, as in the case of an individual.

That I may glory with thine inheritance - That I may share the honor of thy people. The word "inheritance" here is used to denote that which is one's own, and is thus applied to the people of God considered as "his." The meaning is, that the psalmist desired no other glory, honor, or distinction, than that which pertained to God's people as such. He sought not the "glory" connected with the distinctions of the world; the display of wealth; the triumph of genius, of conquest, of arms - but the "glory" of being a friend of God, and of partaking of that which God confers on his people.

We have sinned with our fathers - We have sinned as "they" did; we have followed their example. The illustration of the manner in which the nation had sinned occupies a considerable part of the remainder of the psalm; and the idea here is, that, in the generation in which the psalmist lived, there had been the manifestation of the same rebellious spirit which had so remarkably characterized the entire nation. The "connection" of this with the foregoing verses is not very apparent. It would seem to be that the psalmist was deeply impressed with a sense of the great blessings which follow from the friendship of God, and from keeping his commandments - as stated, Psalm 106:3-5; but he remembered that those blessings had not come upon the people as might have been expected, and his mind suddenly adverts to the cause of this, in the fact that the nation had "sinned." It was not that God was not disposed to bestow that happiness; it was not that true religion "failed" to confer happiness; but it was that the nation had provoked God to displeasure, and that in fact the sins of the people had averted the blessings which would otherwise have come upon them. The psalmist, therefore, in emphatic language - repeating the confession in three forms, "we have sinned - we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly," acknowledges that the failure was in them, not in God. The language here is substantially the same as in Daniel 9:5-6, and it would seem not improbable that the one was suggested by the other. Which was prior in the order of time, it is now impossible to determine. Compare the notes at Daniel 9:5-6.

Our fathers understood not - They did not fully comprehend the design of the divine dealings. They did not perceive the greatness of the favor shown to them, or the obligation to obey and serve God under which they were placed by these remarkable manifestations.

Thy wonders in Egypt - The miracles performed there in behalf of the Hebrew people.

They remembered not the multitude of thy mercies - The great number of the divine interpositions in their behalf. They did not allow them to influence their conduct as they should have done. The aggravation of their offence in the case here referred to was particularly in the "multitude" of the mercies. It would have been sinful to have forgotten even one act of the divine favor; it was a great aggravation of their guilt that "so many" acts were forgotten, or that they failed to make an impression on them. So now. It is a great sin to be unmindful of a "single" favor conferred by God; it is a great aggravation of guilt that men live continually amidst so many proofs of the divine goodness; that they are fed, and clothed, and protected; that they breathe the pure air, and look upon the light of the sun; that they enjoy the comforts of domestic life, the blessings of liberty, and the offers of salvation; that they lie down and rise up; that their toils are crowned with success, and that the blessings of every land are made to come around them - and yet they forget or disregard all these proofs of the divine mercy.

But provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea - Exodus 14:10-12. They "rebelled" against him. Even amidst the wonders there occurring, and after all the blessings which they had received at his hands, when they were in danger they doubted his power, and called in question his faithfulness.