There are many psalms that begin with the word “hallelujah” and they end with the word “hallelujah”. This is the first of those many psalms, it begins with the Hebrew word hallelujah and it ends with the Hebrew word hallelujah. Hallel in Hebrew is praise. Yah is the Hebrew contraction for Jehovah or YAWEH and it is translated as follows.
PRAISE ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; (106:1).
You are to give thanks to the Lord here for two reasons.
for his good: for his mercy endureth for ever (106:1).
The psalmist will first of all speak to us in this psalm of the goodness of God. Then the psalmist will go on to show us how that the mercy of God endures forever. So he sort of sets the tone in the first verse; give thanks to the Lord, praise the Lord because he is good and his mercy endureth forever. In speaking about the goodness of God the psalmist questions.
Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise? (106:2).
The works of God are so marvelous and so wonderful. We look around the universe, we look around the earth and we see the works of God. Who can declare that? They’re just marvelous.
Blessed are they that keep judgment, (106:3).
That is, God’s judgements.
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 (106:3-5).
So he wants God to remember him and to visit him in order that I might, in turn, see the good of being chosen by thee. Paul, when he was praying for the Ephesians perhaps this psalm in his mind. For as Paul prayed the Ephesians he prayed for them there in chapter one that God might give to them the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of God. That they might know what is the hope of their calling. Lord help me to realize how wonderful it is that you chose me.
As Paul lists the blessings of God he begins the book of Ephesians by saying, “Thanks be unto God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in Christ in heavenly places”. Then he begins to list the spiritual blessings and the first is “chosen in him”. So the psalmist is praying “Lord” help me to just realize it is that you chose your people”. The blessings of being chosen by God.
That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, (106:5).
A nation chosen by God to fulfill his purposes.
that I may glory with thine inheritance (106:5).
We, the church of Jesus Christ, have been chosen. We are God’s holy people and we are the heirs of salvation through Jesus Christ. Again, as Paul is listing the blessing of chapter one in Ephesians, he speaks about that inheritance that is ours in and through Christ Jesus. So these are the things that psalmist desiring, expressing now his heart unto God as he speaks of the goodness of God to the nation of Israel. But they, on the other hand and he confesses now the sins of these people who were chosen by God who were intended to be God’s holy nation and who were his inheritance.
We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly (106:6).
The Jews are a proud people and proud of their heritage and rightfully so. But at the time of Jesus Christ they were always into “our fathers did this” and “our fathers that” and this patriarchal society where they were always extolling the works of their fathers. Their father Abraham and the constant extolling of Abraham. Jesus spoke of his Father and pointed out that their fathers weren’t all that good. This struck a mortal blow to the Jew to be told that his father’s made some real blunders.
When Stephen was making his defense in the book of Acts before the elders he starts out with a rehearsal of their history. Of how their fathers sold their brother Joseph as a slave, he was carried to Egypt because they were jealous at his dreams, which spoke of his ruling over them. That upset them that Joseph should rule. They rejected that idea that Joseph should rule so they sold him as a slave. Later on Stephen said “Your fathers missed it again, though they sold Joseph as a slave God raised him up and they did bow before him”. Later on your fathers missed again with Moses and when Moses sought to interrupt the fight that was going on they said “Who made you to be ruler over us?” Moses thought they’d understand that God had chosen him to be the leader because he had been placed in that unique position in Pharaoh’s court. Surely they know, they understand that God has placed me here for the deliverance but they didn’t know, your fathers were blind to that.
Stephen goes on to show how that their fathers had rejected God’s plan all the way along. He finally just really put the knife in, he said “Which of the prophets have your fathers not killed?” Name one of them. He said, “You are worse than your fathers because you killed the one the prophets were testifying of”. Your fathers killed the prophets but you killed the one the prophets were prophesying about. That really made them mad. That’s when they took up the stones, they killed him and drug him out of the city.
The psalmist here is recognizing that their history is not that glorious. He’s recognizing that their fathers did sin, they did do wickedly, they did commit iniquity and we are guilty too. He’s going to be talking to us about the mercy of God. Remember that we are to praise the Lord because his mercy endures forever. He’s going to show us how that God was merciful to their fathers who had sinned and had done wickedly and yet God was merciful to them.
Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; (106:7).
Here God had sent Moses to bring them deliverance from the bondage that they had experienced in Egypt. The Jews were made slaves to the Egyptians. The Egyptians were hard taskmasters. It was a slave-labour camp. The Egyptians were fearful because the Jews were multiplying so rapidly. They felt that the Jews would soon become more numerous then they and more powerful then they and so the Pharaoh ordered that whenever a boy was born he was to be slain. Let the little girls live, they make good housemaids, but kill the boys. The people of Israel cried unto the Lord by reason of their taskmasters. They were calling out to God for help and God finally brought Moses who went the Pharaoh and demanded the release. God began to plague the Egyptians with supernatural plagues. The fathers, the Jews that were there did not understand what God was doing.
they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; (106:7).
Those that were in Egypt just did not remember how God had been merciful unto Abraham, unto Isaac and unto Jacob.
but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea (106:7).
Finally the Egyptians let them go. When God passed through and killed all the firstborn of the land of Egypt except those whose houses were covered by the blood on the lentils and the door-posts the Pharaoh said, “Get out of here. Let me never see your face here again” and he ordered them to go. Moses then led the children of Israel out of Egypt. They began to journey towards the land that God had promised to their father Abraham. They were just barely out, they had come to the Red Sea, still really within the land, and as they faced the Red Sea they began provoking the Lord because the Pharaoh relented and ordered his army to pursue them.
Now we read that the Lord had led them into this valley between these two mountains and they were in this valley with the Egyptian army pulling up behind them and they were trapped. The Red Sea in front of them, the Egyptian army behind them and the mountains on either side. The people began to murmur against Moses and against the Lord. Just so soon delivered from Egypt. “Where there not enough graves in Egypt. God brought us out here to bury us” and they began to murmur and complain almost immediately. They provoked God with that murmuring and with that complaining.
You see, as a child of God, God is in control of my life and of those circumstances that surround my life. For me to complain about my circumstances is really to complain about what God has allowed. Many times the circumstances of my life are not pleasant. Life isn’t easy in this corrupt world. Many times, as a child of God, wanting to live a righteous life I find myself at odds with the world in which I live. It’s difficult. There are times when I have a tendency to complain about what’s going on in my life. I don’t like these things. Yet God has allowed these things for my development. God seeks by these experiences to mold and shape me into the image of Jesus Christ. For me to complain against my circumstances is tantamount to complaining against the Lord or murmuring against the Lord because all things that happen in my life happen as the result of God’s working in me to conform me into the image of Christ.
The Bible, in three different places, uses the picture of the potter working with a bit of clay. The power over that clay to make of it whatever kind of vessel he desires. God’s power over my life to make of me whatever he wants me to be. The touch of the potter causing the clay sort of to spring into shape, God’s touch upon my life forming and shaping me into that vessel that he desires that I should be.
A lot of times I don’t understand what the potter is doing. I don’t like that shape; it’s too big around the middle. So I am not satisfied and say, “Lord what are you doing?” and Paul said, “The clay really has no right to say to the potter why have you made me thus?” Why have you allowed this to happen to me? Why is this going on in my life? The clay really doesn’t really have any right to challenge the potter for the potter has absolute power over the clay to make of that clay whatever he wishes. You say, “Oh that’s frightening” of course it is. To realize God’s awesome supreme sovereign power over our lives is very frightening if we did not know that God is love.
So I know that God loves me and though I may not understand my circumstances, God has allowed them to happen as a part of the process of shaping me into the image that he wants me to be and he’s allowed them to happen because of his love for me. Behind the whole work of the potter is love. God loves me. Those things that God is doing and those things that God allows in my life, they come to me through the filter of God’s love. Nothing can happen to me except it come through that filter of God’s love, So I have that kind of confidence.
The fathers of Egypt did not understand the wonders of God and they began to provoke him almost immediately and they continued in that provocation for forty years. Praise the Lord, give thanks unto God, because his mercy endureth longer than forty years, his mercy endureth forever. All through my life I shall experience the mercy of God. As David said, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” and when that’s over “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever”.
Nevertheless he saved them (106:8).
Notice it was not because they deserved it. What they really deserved at that point is God saying, “All right, if that’s they way you feel about it I’ll bury you here in the wilderness”. He would have allowed the Egyptians to come right in and wipe them out.
for his name’s sake, (106:8).
For the honor of his name. Had he allowed the Egyptians to wipe them out right then people would say, “Look how God treats his people. He delivered them out of Egypt and then he destroys them right there at the Red Sea. What kind of a God is that?” So for his names sake he was merciful, not because they deserved it but for his names sake he saved them.
that he might make his mighty power to be known (106:8).
God is now going to demonstrate to them the exceeding greatness of the power of the God who delivered them out of Egypt, out of the bondage of Egypt.
He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: (106:9).
The tremendous power of God; here they are trapped and there seems to be no way out and Moses fell on his face and began to cry unto the Lord. The Lord said “Moses, why are you crying unto me? Get up. There is a time to pray and there is a time to move and now is the time to move Moses”. He said, “Stretch forth your rod over the Red Sea and Moses stretched forth the rod. God caused that wind to blow, the sea parted and the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea as through the wilderness”. That is, as walking through the dry, parched desert. The floor of the sea was dried.
I heard an interesting report recently, I haven’t been able to confirm it but I hope to confirm it when I go to Israel. There is an archeologist there who claims that he has been diving in the Red Sea and he claims that he has found the remains of many of these chariots; the wheels, the chariots and all there in the Red Sea. I hope to confirm that when I go to Israel this year. I hope to touch base with this man. He claims to a few wheels of those chariots that he has already pulled out. That should be interesting indeed.
He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness (106:9).
They went across the sea floor like it was the wilderness.
And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy (106:10).
That’s because God is merciful. Praise the Lord; give thanks to God for he is good, his mercy endures forever. In his goodness he delivered them from the hands of those that hated them. He brought them out. Though they provoked him, he was merciful.
And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left (106:11).
God works in great ways. There was the cloud that led them by day and the fire by night during there wilderness wanderings, well that night God put the cloud behind them so it was a thick fog that the Egyptians couldn’t see through. He left the light on their side so they could see to pass through the Red Sea. So all night long as God held that light in the sky they passed through the Red Sea. He had put the cloud behind them settled between them and the Egyptians so through the fog the Egyptians couldn’t see what was going on. In the morning God lifted the cloud and they saw the children of Israel on the other side of the sea and this path through the sea. They ordered the chariots to charge and they all came charging into the Red Sea and God said “Alright. Ride on”. The army was drowned.
Then believed they his words; (106:12).
They saw the power of God and they believed the word of God and they sang his praise.
Miriam, the sister of Moses came out with the tambourine and she led the Jewish ladies in dance before the Lord and praised God for the deliverance. The rider and his horses were cast into the sea. That’s the first recorded son in the Bible, the song of Miriam at the deliverance of the Red Sea.
They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert (106:13-14).
How quickly we seem to forget the goodness of God and the mercies of God. God delivers us from a great affliction, from a terrible trial, and we rejoice and happy and praising the Lord until the next trial comes along and then we forget what God has just done. We go “This is it. I’ve had it. There’s no way out of this one. The Lord’s forsaken me and God doesn’t love me anymore. Look at what I’m in. Look at what I’m going through”. How quickly we forget. God didn’t bring them through the Red Sea to destroy them in the wilderness. God hasn’t brought you through these many experiences to destroy you or to let you go. God is going to continue his work of bringing you into that place of blessing and promise if you’ll just be open unto him. Don’t forget what God has done.
Paul the apostle wrote “Who hath delivered us from so great a death and doth now deliver us”. Right now I’m in the process of God working things out and delivering me. “I have confidence” he said “that he shall yet deliver me”. Whatever the future may hold I know that God will be with me and that God will help me thus he has, he is and he shall. Now they forgot that he had, they forgot what God had done. That is why God sent so many different things as reminders. He established holidays for them. The holidays were to be reminders to them of what God had done. So they had the holiday of the Passover and they would go through the actions of the last supper of Egypt, that Passover meal, so that they could be reminded and they could tell their children of what God had done in delivering them. God knows how prone we are to forgetfulness so we set up holidays to remind us of wonderful things that God has done.
We set up Christmas to remind us that God sent his son. But oh how quickly we forget and Christmas becomes now a time when we think about Santa Clause coming with his bag of toys, climbing down the chimneys and being led by Rudolph. The ordinances and laws banned the Christmas carols in the public schools now. We can’t really remember what Christmas is about and we don’t the children to know, we don’t want them to remember what Christmas is about. They can sing Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and Deck the Halls but they can’t sing things that would speak about Silent Night, Holy Night and the Son of God and the Birth of the Savior and O Little Town of Bethlehem; those are now forbidden by law in the public schools.
They soon forgot that when the United States was established it was established in prayer. In the public schools in the United States the first textbook of our public schools was the Bible and it was the only textbook for a period of time. They had minted on our coins “In God We Trust” “One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all”.
But they soon forgot it was God who had made them great. It was God who had delivered them and brought them out of their bondage. It was God who destroyed their enemies but they soon forgot.
they waited not for his counsel: (106:13).
They just pressed on without waiting upon him.
But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, (106:14).
The tragic thing is that they began to lust for the flesh, pots of Egypt, the old life in Egypt. They forgot the misery of their bondage, they forgot how hard it was being forced labor. All they could remember were those fleshpots where they used to sit around and eat meat until they were full.
But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert (106:14).
They tempted God to wipe them out really. They tempted God in the wilderness because of their unbelief.
And he gave them their request; (106:15).
You want meat, all right you’ll have meat. “Moses go out and tell them I’m going to give them meat. Not for one, two, ten or twenty I’m going to give them enough meat to last them for thirty days. They’ll eat it until it comes out of their nostrils, until they’re sick of it. I’m going to gorge them with it”. He said “Tell them that tomorrow morning to go out be ready because the quail are going to be flying in at three feet high. Take the sticks and bat them down”. Children gathered them and threw them in to piles. All day long the men were out there batting the quail, all night and all the next day until there were heaps upon heaps of quail. The family that got the least got eight hundred and sixty gallons of quail or eighty-nine homers. A homer is ten gallons.
They put it out on the ground and began to dry it and then they began to gorge themselves until they began to die. “While the flesh was yet in their mouth the anger of the Lord was kindled against them. He sent a plague in the camp and they began to die” because of the gorging of themselves on the flesh. It made them sick, they began to vomit. God gave them their requests.
But sent [brought] leanness into their soul (106:15).
It cost them spiritually. Anytime you indulge your flesh it’s going to cost you spiritually. Anytime you give into the flesh or you start to live after the flesh it’s going to cost you spiritually. The Bible tells us that “if we walk after the spirit we will not fulfill the lust of our flesh”. The Bible tells us that there is a warfare that goes on inside of us as the flesh is warring against the spirit or lusting against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these two are contrary. This battle that goes on for control over me, will I be controlled by my flesh and my fleshly desires or will I be controlled by the spirit? There is a warfare that goes on, the battle rages over control. If I’m going to yield myself to the life of the flesh or if I’m going to yield myself to the life of the spirit. The Bible warns us that if we live after the flesh we will die, that the mind of the flesh is death but the mind of the spirit is life, joy and peace.
They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD (106:16).
Not only did they sin in their lust but then the envied Moses and Aaron the saint of the Lord. Dathan, Abiram and Korah, these fellows got together and they began to create a rumble in the camp. They said “You know that Moses has taken too much on himself and he’s setting up his brother Aaron. He made Aaron the high priest just because he was his brother. That’s not fair. We are the sons of Levi and we have every much right to offer the sacrifices as does Aaron. We have as much right to take the incense in before the Lord as Aaron has”. They got to some of the men from the tribe of Ruben and began to create this insurrection or this rumble until they said “Let’s go down and talk to Moses. Yeah, let’s go”.
Here these guys came marching down saying, “Moses you’ve taken too much on yourself. You set up your brother as the priests. We are the sons of Levi and we every much right as does Aaron to offer the incense before the Lord”. Moses said “Why don’t we let God decide this. Tomorrow morning at the time of the offering of the incense you guys come down here with your little incense burners and we’ll let God decide who is to offer the incense”.
So in the morning these guys came down, two hundred and fifty of them with their little incense burners ready to go. They were rebelling against Moses. Moses says “Where’s Dathan and Abiram? Have them come”. They said “We don’t have to obey Moses. We don’t have to come out there”. Korah says, “Who’s he to tell me to come?” So Moses said, “Tell you what fellas, if God’s in this thing let him do something new. Let him open up the earth and swallow these guys alive right down into the pits”.
The earth opened up and Dathan, Abiram and Korah went down into the hole and the earth closed up again. The guys were gone, there tents and all. A great fear came on to Israel. A fire came out from the altar and consumed these two hundred and fifty guys with their little incense burners. Moses said “Well, looks like God named his chosen of who he’s going to have to burn the incense”.
Here again they are rebelling against God’s order. They had jealousy over another man’s ministry, envious because of what God has called and gifted another man to do. Jude uses this as example in his little book there in the New Testament in which he encourages us to keep ourselves in the love of God. He warns us about things that can remove you from the place of God’s blessing in your life and in these warnings he uses Korah as an illustration. A man who moved himself away from the place of God’s blessing because of this covetousness, this envy that he had of Aaron and the ministry that God had given to Aaron.
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 (106:16-18).
Don’t you think that that would be enough to cause them to really fear the Lord and walk straight? All it did was cause them to stay away from the fire.
They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image (106:19).
Moses was up on the mountain receiving the law of God, the law that would be the standard for the laws of mankind for civilization, for civilized man. These were the standards that would be used for every civilized nation in establishing laws; that which is good and that which is bad, that which is right and that which is wrong. Moses was up there for forty days and God was writing on these tablets of stone those Ten Commandments. The first one was “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image to bow down to it and worship it. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy” that was the first table of the law. The second table had laws that dealt with our relationships with each other.
Here is Moses coming from the presence of God, the glory of God upon him, holding in his hands these two stones in which God has inscribed his laws by which the people are to be governed. As Moses is approaching the camp with Joshua his servant, Joshua says, “What’s all that shouting and screaming? Must be a war.” Moses said “That’s no war Joshua. People have turned against God”. They came into the camp and here was this big orgy going on. People were dancing in the nude around this golden ox that Aaron had fashioned with their gold earrings and so forth that they had brought into it. Moses was so disturbed by the sight that he saw that he took those tables of stones in his hands, God’s law “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make any graven images” and threw them on the ground and they broke in pieces. Symbolic of God’s law that’s being broken he writes here before you even have a chance to instruct the people.
Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass (106:20).
Paul the apostle speaks of the folly of man who worships and serves the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever more. They changed the glory of an incorruptible God and they began to fashion their gods like corruptible things. They make their idols look like men or like gargoyles or like fish or like oxen or like snakes. Changing the glory of an incorruptible God, fashioning it and then saying that this represents God to us. No we don’t worship this idol but the idol represents God to us, folly. The Lord has forbidden idolatry and they went into idolatry.
So they lusted exceedingly, they were guilty of envying the program of God with Aaron and then they went into idolatry making this golden calf and worshiping this molten image.
They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt; (106:21).
They forgot the greatness of God.
Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible [awesome] things by the Red sea (106:22).
They forgot these things.
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 (106:23).
You remember the story? How that God said to Moses “Moses stand back away. I’m going to wipe them out”. Moses prayed and interceded and said “Lord I ask you to forgive them and if not blot my name out of your book of remembrance”. He stood in the breach.
Yea, they despised the pleasant land, (106:24).
This land that God had promised them they despised it.
they believed not his word (106:24).
When the ten spies came back they said “It’s a rotten land. It’s a land that eats up its inhabitants”. That is it doesn’t produce enough food to take care of the people. They said “There are giants in the lands and the cities have walls that reach up to heaven. We were like grasshoppers. We can’t take that land. It’s not worth it anyhow. It’s no good”. They despised the land. Joshua and Caleb brought back a bunch of grapes that were so big they had to carry them on the staff between them. They said “Look what we ripped off. It’s a land that flows with milk and honey. You haven’t seen grapes like that anywhere in all your life. A fabulous land”. They said, “Ya but we here there are giants” and they said “Ya but we’ll eat them up. They are bread for us”. “We heard that their city has walls that reach heaven” and Joshua and Caleb said “We can go in and take it”.
The people didn’t believe the promise of God. They forgot what God had done in Egypt. They forgot his power in wiping out the Egyptians and thus they stopped. They did not go in. In fact, they said “Let’s get us a captain that will lead us back to Egypt”. Unbelief kept them from all that God was desiring to do for them as unbelief can keep you from all of the things that God is wanting to do in your life. Now our unbelief so often stems from our looking at ourselves and seeing our weakness and our failures and saying, “Well, I understand why God wouldn’t want to bless me because I’ve failed. I haven’t been faithful to God as I should”. I look at myself and can understand why God wouldn’t bless me. You see God doesn’t bless me because I am good, God doesn’t bless me because I am faithful but God blesses me because he is good and his mercy endures forever.
The blessings of God on my life are not rewards that God is saying, “Good job Chuck. Here let me do this for you”. No it’s not rewards. The blessings of God upon my life are pure grace, unmerited favor. Thus, many times, as I look at myself I can’t believe that God would bless me and when I don’t believe it he doesn’t because God’s blessings come by my believing, my faith in his grace and in his mercy and his love towards me. When I look at God and I see his great mercy and love I say, “Alright, lay it on me Lord”. I expect God to bless me because he is gracious and he is merciful and he is good. That’s why it’s important to keep your eyes on the Lord instead of yourself. If you look at yourself you are going to choke off the blessings of God in your life. If you look at him the door is right open because he is merciful, he is gracious, kind and loving. He delights in doing good things for his children.
Through unbelief though they said they can not go in. They can’t do it. They’ll kill our children. Our little children are going to be victims. So God said “Okay, okay. You made your choice. You will wander in this wilderness until you die. For forty years, until this generation passes away and your children which you said will be their victims they will rise up and they will go in and take the land. You are not going to make it yourself”. Unbelief kept them from that place of God’s full blessing.
In the spiritual allegories that are drawn with the children of Israel coming out of the bondage of Egypt and through the wilderness and ultimately into the Promise Land and they come through the river Jordan, which God dries up as he did the Red Sea. The Promise Land is an analogy to that life of joy and blessing in the spirit, that super abundant life in Christ and that full rich walk in the spirit. To enter in you’ve got to come through Jordan. Now Jordan has become symbolic of death, not so. It’s death of the old self, the old life. When they came into the land they still had battles to fight. When you get to heaven you’re not going to have any battles to fight. Thinking of Jordan, I won’t have to cross Jordan alone or

“Swing lo sweet chariot coming forth to carry me home. I looked over Jordan and what did I see? A whole band of angels coming after me coming forth to carry me home”.

Jordan was likened unto my death and going to heaven. It’s my death to the old nature to the old life, my reckoning myself dead, crucified with Christ that I might enter into this walk and life in the spirit. Yes I still have battles but I have the victory. I go in and I conquer and I possess the land and God said “Every place your foot I have given that to you as a possession”. I go in and I possess those promises of God, that wonderful life in the spirit that has been promised to us.
They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt; Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible [awesome] 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 land, they believed not his word: (106:21-24).
That he would take them in.
But murmured in their tent, and hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD. Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness: (106:25-26).
They wandered there for forty years until they all died off.
To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands (106:27).
While they were wandering,
They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them. Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto him [Phinehas] for righteousness unto all generations for evermore (106:28-31).
Even at that time that the psalm was written they were still talking about Phinehas and the family of Phinehas. He’s the one that stopped the plague of God when the children of Israel were committing literal fornication and spiritual fornication.
When they were coming into the land of Edomites the Edomite king hired Balaam the prophet come down and put a curse on the people, which he was unable to do because they were God’s people. Balaam said to the king “I can’t put a curse on them but I’ll tell you what to do. You send your two young gals down there and let them flirt with the guys and get them all hot and excited. When the guys are all excited and they take the gals into the tents then have the gals bring out their little goddesses of fertility and say would you like to see how we worship our gods. Lead them on into the worship of your gods. God down and be friends with them. Invite them into your homes and show them how you worship your gods”.
So the children of Israel began to go to these places of Baal. The young men began to commit fornication with the gals and the wrath of God was kindled. Twenty-two thousand were slain in one day. Moses and the elders had gathered before the tabernacle and they were crying out to God because of the plague that was in the camp destroying people, people were dying all over. They were there crying before God. While they were there crying before God because of this horrible plague and the things were happening some young Israel guy came giggling into the tent with this gal. Phinehas stood up and took his javelin and went into the tent and wiped them out. The plague was stayed at that point because of his stand for righteousness. Yet God was merciful to them. His mercy endureth forever. Praise the Lord for he is good for his mercy endures forever.
They angered him also at the waters of strife, [Mirabah] so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips (107:32-33).
Again they were thirsty, they came to Moses and said “We are going to die of thirst. We’ve been out here for forty years. You didn’t bring us into the land. Why did we ever listen to you? We should have never listened to you in the first place. You’ve not kept the promise”. Laying this heavy trip on Moses. Moses went in and said “Lord they are ready to kill me. I can’t take it anymore. Forty years I’m through. I can’t take this anymore”. The Lord said “Moses, they’re thirsty then go and speak to the rock that it might give forth water”. Moses went out to the people and said “You rebels! How long do I have to put up with you. You rebelled against God”. He began to lay this heavy trip on them. “Might I smite this rock again and give you water”. He took his rod and smote the rock. “He spoke unadvisedly with his lips” (106:33).
He didn’t represent God. God is merciful, his mercy endures forever. Water came out but God said “Moses, come here son. What did I tell you to do?” “You told me to go out and speak to the rock” and God said “Why did you smite it” and Moses answered “I was mad”. “Did I tell you to rebuke the people?” “No.” “Moses, I’m awfully sorry but you see you didn’t represent me and you’re my representative. You didn’t represent me before the people. I’m not angry with them, they think I am because you misrepresented me. Because you misrepresented me Moses you won’t be able to lead them into the Promise Land”. “Lord that’s not fair. Forty years and now I can’t go in” God said, “Moses don’t talk to me about it, it’s a closed issue because you failed to represent me there at the waters of strife, you can’t lead them in”.
God brought them into the land but even there they disobeyed God.
They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: (106:34).
God wanted them to be his instruments of judgement to wipe out these nations that were involved in such filthy practices that they would have destroyed themselves. They were involved in abortions and the sacrificing of the little children unto their gods.
Do you know that babies are being sacrificed unto Satan in the United States today in Satanic rituals? There are women who are baring babies for the purpose of sacrificing them to Satan. It’s happening. It’s unbelievable. You can’t really believe that people would be so involved in Satanic rituals as to offer babies as sacrifices. Some of the things that are being done will curl your blood.
But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works (106:35).
They started doing the same filthy things. Instead of wiping them out they became infected by them. That’s why God wanted them out so they wouldn’t become infected by them.
A lot of times people have difficulty with the God of the Old Testament because he ordered the complete eradication of these nations. They were deserving to be eradicated because of their practices. They would have eradicated themselves.
If you were hired to be the overseer of the playground of a pre-school and you had all these beautiful little children out there on the playground and you’re there watching there activities and watching over them. If a little dog comes of the street foaming at the mouth yipping and nipping at everything and you recognize that the dog has rabies. If that dog comes towards the children that you are there to be guarding and protecting you would have every right in the world to kill that little dog before it had a chance to bite the children because having rabies it’s going to die anyhow. Rabies is lethal, it’s deadly. The dog’s going to die. If you just allow it to be totally free it could bite these innocent little children and they could also die. It would be more or less your duty in protecting those children to kill that mad dog.
These nations were as mad dogs. They had a deadly milady. Who knows, they could have aids. They were being wiped out because of their practice both in human sacrifice and in their licentious sexual practices. They were destined to be wiped out. God ordered Israel to be his instrument of judgement to get rid of them so they would not infect his children. The children of Israel disobeyed God, they didn’t wipe them out and they began to follow the practices of these people whose extermination God had ordered.
And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils (106:36-37).
You see, what’s happening today isn’t new. It happened to the children of Israel. Even they began to sacrifice their sons and daughters in Satanic rituals, sacrificing them to devils.
And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: (106:38).
What makes the United States any different today? Some twenty-five million babies aborted so far.
and the land was polluted with blood. Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions. Therefore [because of this] 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; (106:38-40).
As they came into the land, the book of Judges what is it? The book of Judges tells us how that they sinned against the Lord. They began to do these things and so God would let them go into captivity to their enemies.
And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them (106:41).
They would then cry unto the Lord because of the reason of their captivity and God would send a deliverer, a judge, and he would be raised up and God would deliver them from their enemies and they would be prospered. Then again go back into the practices of the heathen and then again go into captivity. It was one of those cycles that would go over and over and over again.
Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. Many times (106:42-43).
Not just once.
Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity (106:43).
The mercy of the Lord endureth forever.
Nevertheless (106:44).
Because his mercy endures forever.
he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry: (106:44).
Even though they were so guilty, yet when they cried unto the Lord he heard them and he answered them. Oh what that should do for you tonight, to our conscience of your failure and your sin. If you will cry to the Lord he will hear you. His mercy endureth forever.
And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies (106:45).
There it is. It’s very possible that this psalm was written during the Babylonian captivity because now the psalmist is calling for God’s salvation.
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, (106:46-47).
They’ve been carried away captive.
to give thanks unto 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 (106:47-48).
God is so good. Praise ye the Lord, give thanks unto God for he is good and for his mercy endureth forever.
Father we thank You for that mercy and grace whereby Lord we have been forgiven and cleansed from the pollution of our own sins. We’ve been made Your own children. Help us Lord to learn from the mistakes of the Nation of Israel who so often turned from Thee, who so often turned after the flesh and the things of the flesh, who rebelled against Your ways and against Your truth. Lord help us that we might walk after the spirit following after Jesus Christ and living a life that is pleasing unto Him. Thank You Lord that Your mercy endures forever and that when we call on You, You hear it and answered us. You forgive us our sins because Your mercy endures forever. Oh Lord we praise You and we give thanks unto You because You are so good to us and Your mercy endures forever, Amen.
May the Lord be with you and bless you this week. May he fill you with His spirit. May your life overflow with the love of Jesus Christ so that you will be His true representative at your work place, in the classroom and wherever you go. As people know you are a Christian and they look at you as a representative of Jesus Christ, may you experience the power of the spirit to be a true representative as we remember the wonderful work of God in setting us free from the bondage of sin by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord be with you and bless you and give you just an absolutely fabulous week as you live and walk in fellowship with Him, in Jesus name.

Edited & Highlighted from “The Word For Today” Transcription, Pastor Chuck Smith, Tape #7201
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