Psa 106:7-46 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 7. Our fathers understood not ] They did not regard the operation of God's hands; and therefore they understood neither his designs nor their own interest. At the sea , even at the Red Sea. ] Some of the rabbins suppose that the repetition of the words point out two faults of the Israelites at the Red Sea. 1. They murmured against Moses for bringing them out of Egypt, when they saw the sea before them, and Pharaoh behind them. 2. When the waters were divided, they were afraid to enter in, lest they should stick in the mud which appeared at the bottom. The word seems to be added by way of explanation, and perhaps may refer to the above: they provoked al yam , "AT the sea;" beyam suph , "IN the sea Suph ," or Red Sea . They provoked him at it and in it.

‏ Psalms 106:7-46

Verse 7. Our fathers understood not] They did not regard the operation of God's hands; and therefore they understood neither his designs nor their own interest.

At the sea, even at the Red Sea.] Some of the rabbins suppose that the repetition of the words point out two faults of the Israelites at the Red Sea. 1. They murmured against Moses for bringing them out of Egypt, when they saw the sea before them, and Pharaoh behind them. 2. When the waters were divided, they were afraid to enter in, lest they should stick in the mud which appeared at the bottom. The word seems to be added by way of explanation, and perhaps may refer to the above: they provoked al yam, "AT the sea;" beyam suph, "IN the sea Suph," or Red Sea. They provoked him at it and in it.

Verse 8. He saved them for his name's sake] lemaan shemo, "on account of his name;" to manifest his own power, goodness, and perfections. There was nothing which he could draw from them as a reason why he should save them; therefore he drew the reason from himself. There is a singular gloss in the old Psalter on this verse: "Whan thai cam oute of Egypt to the rede Se, whare thai were closed on a syde with a hylle that na man mygt passe: on another side was the rede See: behynde tham was men of Egypt foluand; and for this thai began to gruch, forgetand Gods mygt: bot than he safed tham, depertand the Se in twelfe, to ilk kynde of Isrel a passage." It seems as if this author thought there were twelve passages made through the Red Sea, that each tribe should have a passage to itself.

Verse 9. He rebuked the Red Sea] In the descriptions of the psalmist every thing has life. The sea is an animated being, behaves itself proudly, is rebuked, and retires in confusion.

Verse 10. The hand of him that hated them] Pharaoh.

Verse 12. Then believed they] Just while the miracle was before their eyes.

Verse 13. They soon forgat his works] Three days afterwards, at the waters of Marah, Ex 15:24.

They waited not for his counsel] They were impatient, and would not wait till God should in his own way fulfil his own designs.

Verse 15. Sent leanness] They despised the manna, and called it light, that is, innutritive, bread. God gave flesh as they desired, but gave no blessing with it; and in consequence they did not fatten, but grew lean upon it. Their souls also suffered want.

Verse 16. They envied Moses] A reference to the case of Korah and his company.

Aaron the saint.] The anointed, the high priest of the Lord.

Verse 20. Thus they changed their glory] That is, their God, who was their glory; and they worshipped an ox in his stead. See the use St Paul makes of this, Ro 1:23; see also the note there. See Clarke on Ro 1:23. The incorruptible God was thus served by all the heathen world.

Verse 22. Wondrous works in the land of Ham] The plagues inflicted on the Egyptians. Egypt is called the Land of Ham or Cham, because it was peopled by Misraim the son of Cham.

Verse 23. Moses his chosen] Or elect; (Vulgate, electus ejus; Septuagint, οεκλεκτοςαυτου;) the person that he had appointed for this work. It would be very difficult to show that this word in any part of the Old Testament refers to the eternal state of any man, much less to the doctrine of unconditional election and reprobation.

Verse 28. They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor] The Vulgate, Septuagint, and others, have Belphegor; the Syriac and Arabic, the idol Phegor, or Phaaur; the ain in the word being pronounced as gh.

Ate the sacrifices or the dead] methim, of dead men. Most of the heathen idols were men, who had been deified after their death; many of whom had been execrated during their life.

Verse 33. They provoked his spirit] himru, from marah, to rebel: they brought it into a rebellious state; he was soured and irritated, and was off his guard.

So that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.] For this sentence we have only these two words in the Hebrew, vayebatte bisephathaiv, he stuttered or stammered with his lips, indicating that he was transported with anger. See the notes on Nu 20:10-12.

Verse 36. They served their idols] atsabbeyhem, their labours or griefs-idols, so called because of the pains taken in forming them, the labor in worshipping them, and the grief occasioned by the Divine judgments against the people for their idolatry.

Verse 37. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils.] See the places referred to in the margin. That causing their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Moloch did not always mean they burnt them to death in the flames, is very probable. But all the heathen had human sacrifices; of this their history is full. Unto devils, lashshedim, to demons. Devil is never in Scripture used in the plural; there is but ONE devil, though there are MANY demons.

Verse 39. And went a whoring.] By fornication, whoredom, and idolatry, the Scripture often expresses idolatry and idolatrous acts. I have given the reason of this in other places. Besides being false to the true God, to whom they are represented as betrothed and married, (and their acts of idolatry were breaches of this solemn engagement,) the worship of idols was frequently accompanied with various acts of impurity.

The translation in the Anglo-Saxon is very remarkable: [A.S.] and they fornicated. In Anglo-Saxon, [A.S.] signifies to fire, to ignite; [A.S.] to commit adultery. So [A.S.] is a prostitute, a whore; and [A.S.] is to go a whoring, to fornicate; probably from [A.S.], or [A.S.] to fire, and [A.S.], to lie, or [A.S.], a glutton;-one who lies with fire, who is ignited by it, who is greedily intent upon the act by which he is inflamed. And do not the words themselves show that in former times whoredom was punished, as it is now, by a disease which produces the sensation of burning in the unhappy prostitutes, whether male or female? And to this meaning the following seems particularly to be applicable.

Verse 40. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled] God kindled a fire in his judgments for those who by their flagitious conduct had inflamed themselves with their idols, and the impure rites with which they were worshipped.

Verse 43. Many times did he deliver them] See the Book of Judges; it is a history of the rebellions and deliverances of the Israelites.

Verse 46. He made them also to be pitied] This was particularly true as to the Babylonish captivity; for Cyrus gave them their liberty; Darius favoured them, and granted them several privileges; and Artaxerxes sent back Nehemiah, and helped him to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. See the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah; and see Calmet.