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 thychosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory withthine inheritance.  

Christour Lord must have prayed this prayer and was heard of the Father, and so toowe may have the confidence of the Father’s help that we might see the good ofthe Israel of God down the generations.

Buteven as we seek the LORD’s blessing, we must not forget that neither we, norour fathers, deserve His blessing.

2. Contrite Acknowledgement of Mercy Undeserved

⁶ We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we havedone wickedly. ⁷ Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt…

Inthis individualistic age, very few of us would ever think of confessing thesins of our fathers. But we must remember that although we are elected andjustified individually, we can never be completely isolated from the church ofChrist down the ages.

Andthough we may not be biologically descended from the fathers who left Egypt, weare related to them spiritually. As such, it is appropriate for us to confessthe sins of our fathers, and acknowledge that the mercy that the LORD showedthem is a mercy shown to us as a church.

Ourfathers sinned so the church of which they are a part is guilty. They sinnedover and over again despite the great privileges they enjoyed through thespecial providential hand of the LORD. They were stiff-necked. They deservedGod’s wrath and curse. But God over and over again, showed them compassion andforgave them.

Ourfathers understood not the Lord’s miracles; they remembered not his mercies;and they even provoked God by their doubts at the Red Sea (v. 7).

Nevertheless,God saved them for His name’s sake (v. 8). He parted the sea for them to cross(v. 9). He delivered them from the Egyptians, and even destroyed them (v.10-11).

Onlythen did our fathers believe his words and sing his praise (v. 12).

Butall that was soon forgotten. They became impatient and discontented (v. 13).They lusted for meat (v. 14). God  “gavethem their request; but sent leanness into their soul” (v. 15).

Thenthey, led by Korah, Dathan and Abiram, envied Moses and Aaron, and challengedtheir leadership (v. 16). The Lord dealt with them by fire and also by causingthe ground to split open to swallow up Dathan and Abiram and their families andKorah’s family (cf. Num 16:31-32).

Evenworse than that, at the time when Moses went up to Mt Sinai to receive the TenCommandments; the people grew impatient waiting for him and made a golden calfand began to worship it (v. 19)!

Theychanged their glory for the idol of an ox (v. 20)! They forgot God theirSaviour (v. 21). They despised the promised land. They believed not God’s word(v. 24). They murmured against God and refused to obey Him (v. 25).

Theywere adding sin upon sin to provoke God to wrath; so much so that God declaredthat he would destroy them (v. 23, 26-27). Were it not for Moses’ intercession,they would have been destroyed.

Andyet, our fathers did not learn their lesson. Later under the instigation ofBalaam and the seductions of Moabitish women, they joined themselves unto BaalPeor (v. 28).

Godwas again greatly angered. He sent a terrible plague which was stayed onlyafter Phinehas and the Levites rose up to purge the nation of idolators (v.29-30).

Butagain the people did not learn their lesson. At Meribah in Kadesh, theyprovoked Moses to anger so that he smote the rock rather than speak to it (v.32-33).

Thenwhen they finally entered into Canaan, they again refused to obey God’scommandment to exterminate the inhabitants of the land (v. 34). Instead theymingled with them, learned their ways, and served their idols (v. 35-36). Theyeven learned from the heathen the abominable practice of human sacrifice (v.37-39). 

Itis small wonder that the LORD’s wrath was kindled against them (v. 40). He gavethem over to the heathen to be ruled by them—the Philistines, Midianites,Moabites etc during the days of the judges (v. 41-42).

Israelnever learned her lesson. They continued down the generations even in the daysof the kings, to continue to rebel against the LORD. But the Lord did notforsake them despite their many provocations. Over and over again, He deliveredthem when they were humbled and cried out to him. “he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to themultitude of his mercies” (v. 45).

Indeed,even when He had to send them into exile eventually, “He made them… to be pitied of all those that carried them captives”(v. 46).

Such is thecovenant God of grace and mercy that we and our fathers serve. Indeed, were itnot for His patience, and longsuffering and mercy, our fathers would have beencompletely destroyed many times over—whether in Old Covenant times or even inNew Covenant times.

Forhas not the church, even in New Covenant times, apostatized over and overagain? The Lord always has His remnant held in the palms of hand; but do we notsee a large bough of the Olive Tree becoming corrupt and barren even afterPentecost; even after the Reformation?

Inour own days, the Olive Tree is in such a diseased state, that were it not forthe long suffering, grace and mercy of our Lord, the Tree would have long beenhewn down.

Therefore,let us thank Him and praise Him with hearts overflowing with gratitude, even aswe make our plea to the Lord,—according to the concluding words of this psalm,—not to forsake us, but to deliver us yet.

3.Concluding Plea for Further Deliverance

⁴⁷ Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to givethanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise.

Thisis an amazing prayer. When our fathers sang these words during the Assyrian andBabylon captivity, they no doubt desired of the LORD to deliver Israel out ofexile amongst the heathen.

Butwe must remember that the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity was toserve as a type of the gathering of the Gentiles from among the heathen. Sotoday when we pray “Save us, O LORD ourGod, and gather us from among the heathen…”, we are praying—“LORD, bring inthe elect whom Christ laid His life down for. Save them from the world and fromsin. Bring them into thy fold so that we may together praise and thank thy holyname.”

Thisis the main reason why we evangelise and witness. Our aim, ultimately, is thatthe sheep of Christ may be gathered and joined together as the Israel of God topraise God, who alone is worthy of our praise.

Thechief end of man, and of the Israel of God, after all, is the glory andenjoyment of God in Christ. For this reason, this psalm concludes with thedoxology:

⁴⁸ Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: andlet all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.

Conclusion

Dearlybeloved brethren and children, this is Psalm 106. The next time you sing it, doremember that it is not an isolated chorus of thanksgiving. It is, rather,praise founded upon the enduring mercies of God towards his people demonstratedin history.

Thefirst 5 verses which we commonly sing are just the beautiful snow peak of agreat mountain. Holding up the snow peak is the undeniable history of thelongsuffering and mercy of God toward his ungrateful people.

Letus therefore sing this psalm,—whether it is the first part or the last part, orthe middle historical part,—with a contrite spirit, recognising that ourfailures and sin despite the grace of the Lord bestowed upon us, make us mostundeserving of His blessing and love, for as WS Plummer puts it:

Ifthe great mercies bestowed on the Jews made their sins odious and abominable;how aggravated must be the offences of men, who live in sin under the fullblaze of Gospel light.

But let us also acknowledge the Lord’sundeserved mercies with a heart overflowing with gratitude. And as we thank theLord, let us remind ourselves of how our lives, and not just our lips, mustdemonstrate our gratitude towards him—for his salvation and all spiritualblessings so rich and free. Amen. Ω