13 They quickly forgot His works ; They did not wait for His counsel , 14 But craved intensely in the wilderness , And tempted God in the desert . 15 So He gave them their request , But sent a wasting disease among them. 16 When they became envious of Moses in the camp , And of Aaron , the holy one of the Lord , 17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan , And engulfed the company of Abiram . 18 And a fire blazed up in their company ; The flame consumed the wicked . 19 They made a calf in Horeb And worshiped a molten image . 20 Thus they exchanged their glory For the image of an ox that eats grass . 21 They forgot God their Savior , Who had done great things in Egypt , 22 Wonders in the land of Ham And awesome things by the Red e Sea . 23 Therefore He said that He would destroy them, Had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him, To turn away His wrath from destroying them. 24 Then they despised the pleasant land ; They did not believe in His word , 25 But grumbled in their tents ; They did not listen to the voice of the Lord . 26 Therefore He swore e to them That He would cast them down in the wilderness , 27 And that He would cast their seed among the nations And scatter them in the lands . 28 They joined themselves also to Baal-peor , And ate sacrifices offered to the dead . 29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds , And the plague broke out among them. 30 Then Phinehas stood up and interposed , And so the plague was stayed . 31 And it was reckoned to him for righteousness , To all generations forever e . 32 They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah , So that it went hard with Moses on their account ; 33 Because they were rebellious against His Spirit , He spoke rashly with his lips .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 106:13-33
Commentary on Psalm 106:13-33
(Read Psalm 106:13-33)
Those that will not wait for God's counsel, shall justly be given up to their own hearts' lusts, to walk in their own counsels. An undue desire, even for lawful things, becomes sinful. God showed his displeasure for this. He filled them with uneasiness of mind, terror of conscience, and self-reproach. Many that fare deliciously every day, and whose bodies are healthful, have leanness in their souls: no love to God, no thankfulness, no appetite for the Bread of life, and then the soul must be lean. Those wretchedly forget themselves, that feast their bodies and starve their souls. Even the true believer will see abundant cause to say, It is of the Lord's mercies that I am not consumed. Often have we set up idols in our hearts, cleaved to some forbidden object; so that if a greater than Moses had not stood to turn away the anger of the Lord, we should have been destroyed. If God dealt severely with Moses for unadvised words, what do those deserve who speak many proud and wicked words? It is just in God to remove those relations that are blessings to us, when we are peevish and provoking to them, and grieve their spirits.