Author: timritanickel@gmail.com

Psalm 106:28-29 They joined themselves also unto Baal-Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions; and the plague brake in upon them.

Even after the Lord delivered them and made a Covenant with them, they broke the First of the Commandments by worshipping (joining themselves to) false gods. Baal and other idols were in fact demons and the inventions of their corrupted human minds.

Idolatry, trusting in something other than the Lord God, is a grievous sin that provokes God’s jealous wrath. The Lord has placed His worth and value on and given His life to His created humans beings. To replace God alone as the source of all good is to despise Him and His love. Understandably, this releases God’s righteous wrath.

Idolatry comes in many forms and temptations present themselves in so many different ways that we don’t always recognize the sin. We are simply to look to God alone for all good, which we find impossible to do for it seems to us that good things come from the world. Jesus is the only good, and we seek first His kingdom.

Psalm 106:21, 24-25 They forgot God their Saviour, which had done great things in Egypt….Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word: But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.

Although the people had just witnessed the wonderful miracles of Salvation in the Exodus, they soon forgot their Savior God. They despised the gracious gifts of God. They did not believe God’s Word. They complained. They did not listen to the Lord. It seems almost miraculous that they would so soon forget God, despise His blessing, not believe, and not listen, after seeing and believing. How could they have gone so far astray from God and act as if God wasn’t there or was not good?

We could ask ourselves the same question. How could I ignore God and live as though he does not exist or is not good? But that response shows the depth and depravity of our sin. That the Lord would forgive us and receive us back, like the prodigal’s father, exhibits the unlimited and unconditional Love of God. How do we respond to the saving gospel of Christ?

Psalm 106:13-14 They soon forget his works, they waited not for his counsel; but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in desert.

After God’s great Exodus miracle the people believed His Word. But soon after they forgot God and His salvation, did not pay attention to Him, and tempted Him in the desert. This was written for our learning: We may have been baptized and we believe, but it is easy to forget God and His Gospel, to be distracted by the things of the world, and to put Him to the test to prove Himself so we don’t need faith.

This is the story of our life. We sin and die, God forgives and saves, we complain and forget, but then we are reminded of the gospel of salvation and faith is renewed again. We stumble on the way to God, but we repent, believe, and remember. Because of our frail and corrupted memory, we need to rehear the gospel often to be reminded of God’s gracious life and salvation, lest we forget.

Because life is hard, and sin, death, and the devil looms, we can too easily look to other sources than God for help and hope. God understands, forgives, saves and restores because of Christ. Forgetting is too easy. Therefore, we listen to His loving call to remember, repent, return, and be restored weekly and daily.

Psalm 106:12 Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.

The response of God’s people after the Great Exodus Event was that they believed God’s words. God had said, “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” Then the Lord parted the waters, the people passed through, and He drowned the Egyptian army. He saved them and they believed after they saw the salvation. God did a mighty act and they witnessed it with their own eyes. Then they believed. They witnessed God’s word and promise come true.

Our response to God’s saving Gospel of Christ is to believe His words when we hear it and see it. The Holy Spirit opens the eyes of faith to witness the death and resurrection of Jesus, even though we were not physically present. Jesus said to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The Spirit gives faith to see our salvation in Christ, and we are saved.

Then we respond to the gift of salvation by singing His praises. When we truly hear, see, receive, and believe the words of God it is natural to respond with songs of praise in the public assembly and in the mind daily. They responded with the “Song of Moses” in Exodus 15.

Psalm 106:6-7 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.

The Psalmist confesses the sin and rebellion of the people, both now and in the past. They did not take to heart the wonders God had done for them nor His many mercies. Out of sheer grace and mercy the Lord had done mighty wonders in the deliverance and provision for the people. But they forgot. And the present people continued in the same sin as their fathers. It was time to confess and return in faith.

The awesome, miraculous works of God for our salvation need to be remembered and brought to mind often, for it has a positive effect on our faith and life. The great salvation accomplished by the Son of God must be remembered and rehearsed by us today. If we don’t remember regularly by hearing the Gospel in church, “doing this (taking Communion) in remembrance of Me,” and reminding ourselves in daily repentance and faith, we will forget, go on living without God, and life will not be changed for the better. The positive benefits and blessings do not take hold. Life changes for the better when we understand and remember the Gospel. Confess it!

Psalm 106:3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.

Blessings come to those who obey God’s covenant commands and live out righteous lives according to God’s Law. The benefits and blessings of living life according to God’s revealed way are numerous, but are not necessarily material blessings. God provides daily bread, rain and sun for the “just and the unjust,” but the believer enjoys these blessings with gratitude and peace. The true blessings from the Lord are things like love, peace, joy and hope.

We repent and believe the Gospel, are forgiven, healed and restored, and all true blessings come from the only source of life. A blessed life starts from God, flows through us, returns back to God, and we are blessed forever. Then out of faith and thankfulness and the working of the Spirit through the gospel, we keep the Law and do righteousness. It is God’s doing and not we ourselves. We are saved for good works that the Lord has planned in us. It is God who fills us and uses to do good.

Psalm 106:2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all his praise?

The believer’s response to God’s mighty acts of salvation is not only that we believe in the heart that God raised Him from the dead but also confess with the mouth that Jesus is Lord [Romans 10:9-10]. Our response to God’s great salvation in Christ is so overwhelmingly wonderful that we cannot keep it to ourselves. We are compelled to want to tell the world. We do all we can in word and deed to support the preaching of the Gospel to all Creation. And we are not ashamed of Jesus. Nor do we act as secret Christians.

We go to church to show forth His praise and tell God and the world how great and good He is. In our daily words and interactions with people we are bold to utter the Gospel of Christ whenever and however we can. We readily admit and confess that we are sinners who make mistakes, while at the same time we are “being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you [1 Peter 3:15].”

God gave us a mouth to use it to praise God, bless others, and witness to Him. We confess our misuse of the tongue and confess Jesus’ forgiveness and life.

Psalm 106:1 Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever.

Our response to the Lord’s goodness and everlasting mercy is praise and thanksgiving. We can praise the Lord and thank Him at all times, in good times and and in bad times, because the Lord is always good and His strong mercy lasts forever. When we see, hear, and feel the goodness and mercy of God in the Gospel we naturally praise the Lord. But He is still good, kind, forgiving, and merciful all the time whether we feel it or not. So we thank Him always, no matter the present circumstances.

When we don’t feel thankful, we thank Him anyway, for our feelings don’t affect His goodness and mercy. But by faith we praise the Lord and the result is that we feel better. Because God is always good, we can be always thankful. The gospel comes first, then follows faith, then follows feelings. Praise in the spirit and thankfulness in the heart brings pleasant emotions with it. Believe the gospel, respond with praise, enjoy a sense of wellbeing.

Psalm 105:45 That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the Lord.

The Lord has delivered His people, brought them forth with joy, and gave them the lands of the heathen. God’s great Exodus and Conquest was accomplished by Him alone with the purpose that the redeemed people might keep their part of the covenant according to His laws. God’s Redemption has a purpose: that they would worship God and lives of love for God and one another. Ephesians 2:10: “We are created in Christ Jesus for good works…that we should walk in them.”

The purpose and result of Christ’s work of salvation and new life is that by the power of the Spirit we would actually live lives of love according to the covenant commandments, do the good works of loving God and one another. A life of keeping is our response to the Gospel. Our lives become lives of praise for the goodness and greatness of God for loving us first.

When we believe and receive His covenant love we gladly respond with covenant love for God and people. We study the Law to know what to do; we hear and believe the Gospel to have the desire and ability to keep.

Psalm 105:40 The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

In the midst of an arduous desert journey with no food or water, the people complained again and again against Moses and God. But while complaining, they also prayed and asked the Lord for help. He heard their prayer and miraculously provided meat and manna in abundance. It is a sin of unbelief to complain, but it is a response of faith to ask.

In spite of their rebellion and unbelief, the Lord heard and answered their prayer and provided food for them, a horde of quail and bread from heaven. Because of all that God has done for us and our salvation, we too, still remember to ask; for along with our doubts, and mixed in with them, is a little faith, enough to ask for help. Our life is mixed with doubt and faith, but He is loving and gracious to hear our prayer and answer with provision of need. Complaining offends and prayer pleases. God’s love is stronger than our doubts and fears.

How quickly we can forget what the Lord has done. For this reason we need reminders of the gospel of grace, so we go to church and spend time with God, praying in faith. So we ask!