13 They have hasted—forgotten His works, They have not waited for His counsel. 14 And they lust greatly in a wilderness, And try God in a desert. 15 And He giveth to them their request, And sendeth leanness into their soul. 16 And they are envious of Moses in the camp, Of Aaron, Jehovah's holy one. 17 Earth openeth, and swalloweth up Dathan, And covereth over the company of Abiram. 18 And fire burneth among their company, A flame setteth on fire the wicked. 19 They make a calf in Horeb, And bow themselves to a molten image, 20 And change their Honour Into the form of an ox eating herbs. 21 They have forgotten God their saviour, The doer of great things in Egypt, 22 Of wonderful things in the land of Ham, Of fearful things by the sea of Suph. 23 And He saith to destroy them, Unless Moses, His chosen one, Had stood in the breach before Him, To turn back His wrath from destroying. 24 And they kick against the desirable land, They have not given credence to His word. 25 And they murmur in their tents, They have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah. 26 And He lifteth up His hand to them, To cause them to fall in a wilderness, 27 And to cause their seed to fall among nations, And to scatter them through lands. 28 And they are coupled to Baal-Peor, And eat the sacrifices of the dead, 29 And they provoke to anger by their actions, And a plague breaketh forth upon them, 30 And Phinehas standeth, and executeth judgment, And the plague is restrained, 31 And it is reckoned to him to righteousness, To all generations—unto the age. 32 And they cause wrath by the waters of Meribah, And it is evil to Moses for their sakes, 33 For they have provoked his spirit, And he speaketh wrongfully 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.