Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
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
Many times did he deliver them. By reading the book of Judges we shall see how truthful is this sentence: again and again their foes were routed, and they were set free again, only to return with rigour to their former evil ways. But they provoked him with their counsel. With deliberation they agreed to transgress anew; self will was their counsellor, and they followed it to their own destruction.
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