People say, “I want to do my own thing. I want to do it my way.” Did you ever stop to think that the greatest judgement God might bring to our lives is to let us have our own way? In Romans chapter 1 it says, “God gave them up.” “God gave them over.” God said, “You want to go in that direction? Alright, I won’t stop you but neither will I change the consequences.” Aha, there’s the difference. Here are people who rebelled against God’s Word and they end up in darkness and death and the dungeon of defeat and despair. But they cried out to God and God delivered them.

You see, it’s never too late for God’s mercy. You can cry out to God just as the psalmist said. These people did, “Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bands in sunder.” They had light and life and liberty because they called upon the Lord.

Perhaps that’s what some us need to do today. To realize that we have rebelled against God’s will. It’s not going to get better; it’s going to get worse. Call upon Him, He’ll deliver you! And then you can, “praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (v. 15).

It has well been said that the one thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history, and I suppose that’s true. Anyone who’s raised children or trying to help raise grandchildren knows this. Somehow the new generation doesn’t believe that the older generation knows anything. Psalm 106 certainly bears this out. Psalm 106 is a record of how Israel was blessed and then they sinned. They were delivered and then they sinned. They were helped of God and then they sinned. God helped the nation so many times and the nation repeatedly turned away from the Lord.

And I notice here how they did it. Verses 35 through 39, “But [they] were mingled among the nations.” There’s step one, you start mingling. They broke down the walls of separation. God had warned Israel, “Do not mingle among the nations, do not get involved with them.” Because here’s what happens, verse 35 says, “They learned their works;” First you mingle and then you learn. You start learning how they do things. You start saying to yourself, “Well, perhaps they have some good things that we can learn!”

Ah, but before long, verse 36 tells us, “They served their idols, which were a snare unto them.” They mingled, they learned, they served. And that was the thing Moses warned them about, “If you start learning about them and their way of life, you’ll end up serving false gods!” And they did. Now the tragedy is, the families were the ones that suffered. Verse 37, “They sacrificed their sons and daughters unto demons.” They mingled, they learned, they served, they sacrificed. And they lost the next generation.

I think today many Christians who have broken down the walls of separation, who are mingling and serving the world, are sacrificing their own children to demons. Satan has moved in. Verse 39, “Thus were they defiled … and [they] played the harlot.” Israel was married to Jehovah God and now they were being unfaithful to their marriage vows. Don’t mingle, don’t learn and don’t serve, don’t sacrifice, don’t be defiled. Keep your holy walk with the Lord.

Psalm 106:24-33

There was one thing that Moses wanted that God would not give to him. It was the privilege of going into the Promised Land. You’ll remember that Moses sinned against the Lord and therefore was not permitted to enter Canaan. He got the nation right up to the border and then Moses had to go up on the mountain and die.

Did you know that the people of Israel were partly to blame for Moses’ sin? That’s right, Psalm 106 verses 32 and 33, “They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: because they provoked his spirit, so that he spoke inadvisably with his lips.” You’ll recall that Moses was going to get water for the thirsty people. And God said, “Speak to the rock and the water will come out.” Moses sort of lost his temper, the people provoked him. And he said, “‘Must we fetch water for you rebels?’ and he smote the rock.” Well, God gave them the water but God said to Moses, “You have not sanctified me before the people in what you said and in what you did.” (See Numbers 20.) All of us at one time or another have spoken inadvisably with our lips. And sometimes we’ve been provoked.

You know, leaders do sin. Moses was a great man, but on that particular occasion, he sinned. Leaders do sin and sometimes God’s people encourage leaders to sin. Oh, if they’d only gone to Moses and said, “Moses we’re praying for you,” “Moses, we love you,” “Thank you Moses, for interceding for us, thank you for all that you’ve done for us.” But instead they complained and they criticized.

My heart goes out to pastors and Christian workers who are surrounded by people who cannot say thank you; all they can do is criticize and complain. Well, the higher we are in leadership, the greater our discipline. If this had been an ordinary citizen of Israel, God would not have stopped him from going into the Promised Land. But this was Moses, a leader. Leaders do sin and leaders do pay for their sin and they pay dearly. Many people don’t realize what it really costs to be a spiritual leader. Let’s not cause anyone else to sin today. Let’s be an encouragement today to the people of God.

Psalm 106:16-23

We often think of Moses as a great leader and a great legislator and indeed he was; one of the greatest. But have you ever thought of Moses as a great intercessor, a man of prayer? I was amazed to discover how many instances of prayer there are recorded in the life of Moses. Well, when the nation of Israel turned against God and made a golden calf and began to worship like the heathen, God was going to judge them. Moses went up on the mountain and Moses stood in the gap. Listen to Psalm 106 verse 23, “Therefore [God] 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.”

I think the ministry of intercession is one of the most important ministries that the Christian has. Here is the nation of Israel delivered from Egypt and yet building an idol. Standing at Mount Sinai where the law was being given and yet they built an idol. Oh, how soon we forget what God has done for us. And how soon we forget what God has said to us! And we turn away and we start living on substitutes. You know, Moses could have profited personally from their sin. God said, “Moses, I’ll start with you and make a whole new nation. And no longer will the Jewish nation be the people of Abraham; it’ll be the people of Moses.” Moses said, “No, Lord, you love these people. They are your people. Don’t judge them.” (See Exodus 32.) Well, God did judge their sin but God did not destroy the nation. Alas, the people did not appreciate what Moses had done for them. They began to criticize him as well.

I thank God that today in heaven we have an Intercessor, the Lord Jesus Christ, who ever lives to make intercession for us. He is at the Father’s throne. And He and the Father love us and the Father and the Son together are guiding and building our lives. Are you an intercessor? Are there others who need your prayer support? Let’s follow the example of Moses and stand in the breach.

Psalm 106:1-5

“Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can show forth all His praise?” Those questions are asked in Psalm 106 verse 2 and I hope that you and I can answer them correctly. Are we ready today to praise the Lord? Well, who is ready to praise the Lord? Those who know God through faith in Jesus Christ, “His mercy endures forever” says Psalm 106 verse 1. If we’ve experienced the mercy and the grace of God then we can utter the mighty acts of God. We’ve been saved by His grace. That’s the greatest act of God ever; greater than bringing Israel out of Egypt. Yes, even greater than the creation of the universe is the salvation of the lost soul.

Who else can praise the Lord? Well, those who obey Him, verse 3, “Blessed are they that observe justice, he that does righteousness at all times.” If we’re walking with the Lord and obeying Him then we can praise Him and utter the mighty acts of the Lord. Also, those that call upon Him, in verse 4, “Remember me, O LORD, with the favor that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;” People who pray are people who praise. People who pray and want God’s will in their lives are those who are able to utter the mighty acts of the Lord and show forth all of His praise. Those who trust His promises, verse 5, “That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thy inheritance,” (paraphrase). God promised His people an inheritance in Canaan and He gave them that inheritance.

We have our inheritance now in Jesus Christ. We are rich; we are richer than kings! And we can draw upon that inheritance. We are sharing in His goodness, we are sharing in His gladness and one day we shall share in His glory. I like that combination of words in Psalm 106 verse 5, “Oh, we see the goodness of the Lord, we rejoice in the gladness of God’s people, we glory in the Lord” and one day we shall be with the Lord in glory. Let’s praise Him today.

Psalm 105:24-45

Suppose you and I had lived in Egypt during the time of Moses and Aaron. Suppose we saw all of those plagues that came on the land because of the stubbornness of Pharaoh. What would our response be when we saw the Jewish nation leaving Egypt? Well, the psalmist wrote about this in Psalm 105:38. This is what it says, “Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them.” I have no problem believing that at all. Egypt was glad when they departed. And I have a suspicion that when God’s people depart from this world, when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again, Egypt is going to be glad.

You see, Egypt is a picture of the world. To the people of God, Israel, Egypt was a place of bondage, a place of monotonous toil. The land of Egypt is a flat land and in many areas a barren land. Oh, but the land of Canaan is a land of hills and valleys, a land of rain and fruitfulness, a land of milk and honey. When you were saved, God picked you up and took you out of Egypt, spiritually speaking, put you into Canaan and said, “Enjoy all of these blessings.” 

Why was Egypt glad when Israel left? Well, one thing is sure, they were afraid. All of these judgements that had come down; Israel was an irritant to them. Israel was like salt in a wound, like light that exposes. Israel was worshiping the true God and their true God was showing the power of His arm. And God used Israel to witness to Egypt. Alas, Egypt did not receive the witness.

You and I as Christians in this world today are salt and light. We irritate people sometimes. Sometimes by our lives, by our conduct, we expose that which is wrong. One of these days we’re going to be gone. It could be today. The Lord Jesus Christ might return today and catch His people home to glory. And I have a suspicion that the world will be glad when we are gone. No more salt, no more light. Ah, but then judgement. Let’s remember, we have a job to do while we’re waiting for our Lord to come.

Psalm 105:5-15

How is your memory these days? You know it seems like the older we get, the more trouble we have with memory. Well, what about your spiritual memory? Are you remembering what God wants you to remember and are you grateful for what God remembers? This is what the psalmist talks about in Psalm 105 verses 5 and 8. “Remember His marvelous works that He has done, His wonders, and the judgements of His mouth,” “He has remembered His covenant forever; the word which He commanded to a thousand generations.”

We should remember God’s words. We should remember God’s wonders and God’s works. The trouble is we forget. How easy it was for the children of Israel to forget what God had done. Annually, Israel celebrated the Passover. And one reason for that celebration was to remind them that God had delivered them out of the bondage of Egypt. But oh, how easy it is to forget! 

Are your remembering God’s blessings? Oh, I know there are some things we ought to forget. Paul says, “Forgetting those things which are behind,” (Philippians 3:13). But the psalmist tells us, “Remember His marvelous works.” 

The next time you’re tempted to be critical, the next time you’re tempted to get angry at God, just remember His marvelous works. And remember that God remembers. He has remembered His covenant forever. God deals with us on the basis of His covenant, not on the basis of law. He has made promises to us and He has sealed that covenant with the blood of His Son. God remembers His covenant and He wants us to remember His marvelous works. 

And don’t forget that His promises never fail. There has not failed one word of all of God’s promise. Even when we forget, God remembers. Even when we neglect God’s Word, He remembers His word. God keeps His promises. God is faithful. And God will never lie. Let today be a day of spiritual memory. Let’s remember God’s works, His wonders, His Word and let’s remember that God remembers and we should not forget.

Psalm 105:1-4

Nutritionists remind us that we must have our minimum daily requirements if we are to be healthy. In Psalm 105, the first four verses, David gives to us God’s minimum daily requirements if we are to have spiritual health. Requirement number one is praise. “Oh give thanks unto the LORD!” “Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him;” “Glory in His holy name;” Praise means giving thanks for all that God is, all that God does, all that God shares with us. Praise is rejoicing in the presence of the Lord because of who He is and because we are His children. Praise is ingredient number one for spiritual health.

But don’t stop there. Prayer is also important. “Call upon His name;” Calling upon His name means calling upon the Lord when we need strength and grace and help in the time of need and He always hears us. 

Praise Him, pray to Him and then witness about Him. “Make known His deeds among the peoples!” “Glory in His holy name;” You see if all we do is praise the Lord and pray to the Lord but we don’t present the Lord to other people, our Christian lives will become narrow and shallow and selfish. We need to glory in His name and tell others that He is the only Savior.

But there’s another ingredient along with praise and prayer and witness: seek His face. Verse 4, “Seek the LORD, and His strength; seek His face evermore!” In other words, live in the light of God’s countenance. Live with the smile of God upon your life, seeking to please Him alone.

I would say that these are four minimum daily requirements for good spiritual health. Praising the Lord, and there is so much to praise Him for! Praying to the Lord, witnessing about the Lord to others around us, and then seeking His face so that we might glorify Him and please Him alone.