“And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. Then believed they his words; they sang his praise. They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” — Psalm 106:10-15
The opening clause of our nugget for today summarizes the previous Psalm, which rehearses Jehovah’s great redemption of His people from their bondage in Egypt. We have before noted that it is a picture or type of our salvation from the bondage of sin. I have no doubt that David had that Psalm in mind when he penned the opening verses of this one. But while that Psalm ends on a high note, this one plays out with a tragic tone which also, unfortunately, reflects much of the history of the church and of too many a believer. If the former is a picture of regeneration, this is a tragic portrait of degeneration.
There is no greater story anywhere written than that of the salvation made available to sinners through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Through no merit or effort of our own we are delivered from the hand of the enemy, and he is vanquished more thoroughly and finally than the hosts of Pharaoh were destroyed by the waters of the Red Sea. Worthy of note, however, is the Divine intention in effecting that deliverance for us: “That they might observe His statutes and keep His laws [Ps.. 105:45].” For the New Testament believer this principle is reflected in that great passage on justification by grace through faith alone, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast,” too often disconnected from the verse immediately following, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them [Eph. 2:8-10].”
The new convert, like the liberated Hebrew believer, ‘believes His word and sings His praise.’ Because a true conversion is always preceded by conviction of sin, a valid experience of salvation inevitably eventuates in a great confidence in God and gratitude for His grace. He ‘sees the good of [His] chosen, rejoices in the gladness of [His] nation and glories with [His] inheritance (v.5).”
Would to God that on that high note every born again believer would continue his journey through this wilderness world until he should come into his “inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven” for every true child of God. Alas, too often that is not the case. The journey through the wilderness is sometimes long, arduous and wearying, and like the disobedient children of Israel, we forget His glorious work of grace and salvation and fail to wait for His counsel. They “lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert,” following the devious paths of natural desire and human reason rather than the wisdom and counsel of His word.
Scripture instructs us that “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever [I John 2:16-17].” To allow the “desires of the flesh and of the mind” to command our attention and govern our direction, rather than the word of God, is to invite disaster.
“He gave them their request,; but sent leanness into their soul.” This is the explanation for the shallow experience of many a convert, and why the world is not impressed by much of what it sees advertised as Christianity. The downward trend is spelled out later in the Psalm: they “…mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and daughters unto devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan… [Ps. 105:35-38].” Note the tragic downward trend: “mingled…learned…served…sacrificed.” Many a young person has been sacrificed to idols, figuratively speaking, by Christian parents who have pursued the way of the world at the expense of the will of God, “Come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty [II Cor. 6:17-18].”
God intended Israel to be a separated people, and He clearly intends the same for His church. Compromising His will may not cost us eternal life, for that is a free gift; but there is still a price to pay, and it is far higher than a wise man will want to be accountable for!
For a higher calling,
"Pastor" Frasier
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