but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did.
This psalm shows God's boundless goodness toward His people, yet it confesses that they repaid His kindness with rank ingratitude, idolatry, and rebellion from the very start. The Psalmist begins with praise precisely so that we would dare to ask pardon for such shameful abuse of His covenant mercies.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 106:1-48
But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. It was not the wilderness which caused Israel's sins; they were just as disobedient when settled in the land of promise. They found evil company, and delighted in it. Those whom they should have destroyed they made their friends.
Sin descends step by step: first we spare what God commands destroyed, telling ourselves we show compassion God Himself lacks; then we mingle with the ungodly in what seems harmless; finally we learn their worship and serve their idols. Rotten wood corrupts the sound far faster than the sound can heal the rotten.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 106:34-48