(I want to listen to this sermon)

How does the LORD relate to unfaithfulness?

What if anything can we learn from history? Some people, like Henry Ford, think that history is more or less bunk! He was concerned only about what we do in the present. But how are we to act in the present? What criteria are to influence and shape the decisions we make? Doesn't the past have lessons from which we can learn? The American philosopher Santayana thought it did and wrote:

"Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it."

In writing like that Santayana was much closer to the Biblical position than was Henry Ford!

The Psalm that we're looking at this evening is another of those psalms that contains a lengthy section of historical review.

Last week we considered Ps.105 which also dealt with the history of God's people at some length. Ps.105 focused our attention upon the repeated acts of deliverance that the LORD afforded His people.

Ps.106 covers some of the same historical ground but the emphasis changes somewhat. The Psalmist, while still referring to the fact of the LORD's interventions on behalf of His people, highlights the faithlessness of this people. The steadfast love, the covenant loyalty, of the LORD is highlighted against this backdrop of the repeated failure of His people.

We know what it is to fail and to demonstrate lamentable faithlessness – sadly, this is not some behaviour pattern limited to a long distant past. When we do fail in such ways it is not at all uncommon that certain doubts suggest themselves to our minds. Having failed so dismally won't the LORD give up on us? Is their any hope for us in the future?

Well this Psalm has much to say too us – let's make sure that we listen to its message and learn from it.

This is the first of the Hallelujah psalms. That is it is the first Psalm that opens with "Praise the LORD!" – a number of these psalms, as indeed this one, also end with the same words "Praise the LORD". The psalmist is then bracketing all that he has to say with these words of praise. As we read the psalm it is evident that the psalmist is writing out of the midst of difficulties and not from a position of already experienced deliverance. The very form then suggests to us the approach to adopt when we are in difficulties – we are not to panic and throw up our hands in horror as though all was lost rather we are to praise our God!

This is not a mindless praise because the psalmist is going to lay out for us very clear reasons why such a pattern of behaviour is appropriate.

In the opening couple of verses we are given in summary form some of the reasons just why praise and thanksgiving is to be offered.

·       God is good

·       His steadfast love – His covenant faithfulness – never ends

·       No amount of human praise will ever adequately express His praiseworthiness

The LORD's deeds are mighty and awesome – they are both great in number and quality.

The proper response to such displays of the LORD's power to save is clear to the Psalmist:

v.3 "Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!"

But the psalmist knows too that the people amongst whom he lives have not acted in this way.

By way of contrast the deeds of His disobedient people are characterised by unfaithfulness and as such they provoke Him to anger and defile themselves (v.29 + v.39).

Although the situation of the people of God is not a happy one, as the psalmist writes, he is nevertheless confident that deliverance will come – the LORD will succour His people. This will not be because the people are somehow worthy or deserving because the writer is very clear that the exact opposite is true. He lines himself up with the sinful ways of his people and confesses their sin.

And in this way he opens up a long section which highlights the repeated failure of the LORD's own people. The honesty is searching.

To make it absolutely clear so that none may misunderstand him the psalmist emphasises just who it is who has acted in such unfaithful ways:

·       It is the LORD's people

·       They are "His chosen ones"

·       They are "His inheritance"

The lesson that the psalmist learns from the sad catalogue of the unfaithfulness of God's own is that this unfaithfulness has not put a stop to the faithfulness of God to His own covenant commitments!!

Yes, the psalmist says, we're in a mess today because of our sin but you, LORD, delivered our ancestors when they had proved themselves unfaithful in the past. As you did then so do again LORD!

This is by no means to excuse sin and unfaithfulness – we are certainly not to trade upon grace. We are not to continue in sin that grace may abound (see Rom.6:1) but neither are we to lose heart when sin overtakes us as though God's loving compassion will tire of us!

1.     Forgetfulness & fear

v.7 "Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the Sea, at the Red Sea."

v.13 "But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel."

v.21 "They forgot God, their Saviour, who had done great things in Egypt,"

The Israelites had been protected in Egypt as the plagues fell upon that land – their cattle had been spared – their first born were not killed. But panic sets in as they appear to be shut in by the Red Sea. God's goodness to them was quickly relegated to the past – the people though they had come to the wilderness to die.

Deliverance does come and the enemy army is destroyed.

2.     Complaining

The great victory is again quickly forgotten and complaints begin:

Water and food – where is it? A land flowing with milk and honey had been promised but we don't have any meat!

God responded and provided – He often does but here there is a warning note sounded. The people had cravings but being satiated did not mean being satisfied!

The quails flew in and there was meat in over-abundant supply – but not satisfaction. God sent "a wasting disease" He sent "leanness to their souls".

3.     Jealousy

This time it was a complaint about the leaders that God had established v.16

4.     Freedom of religion

They don't like the restrictions to follow a pure religion – wouldn't it be interesting to spice things up a bit with a little bit of idolatry!

Repeatedly the LORD intervened –

·       He upheld His own glory of His own Name as He delivered the people from Egypt.

·       He demonstrated His power in dividing the Red Sea and in defeating Pharaoh's army.

·       He demonstrated His ability to feed and water the people in the wilderness.

·       He rejected the impudence of those who challenged His appointed leaders.

·       He threatened destruction for wayward religious practices and yet Himself provided a series of deliverers for them – two are named here and others referred to.

Moses – stood in the breach v.23 – and a temporary respite was secured. Yet Moses was unable to permanently secure the people – the waywardness of the people eventually wore him down and he became bitter in his spirit speaking rashly with his lips (v.33)

Phinehas (v.30) took stern action and was able to halt the progress of a plague amongst the people. This was good on his part but didn't provide more than a short term solution.

The people rebelled and rebelled.

5.     Lack of trust

On the borders of the promised land – they couldn't see anything other than the strength of the inhabitants – God's promises counted for nothing to them. The fact He had already delivered them from Egypt and intervened powerfully to destroy that enemy didn't register with them. So the turned their back on what He had promised them.

This led to 40 years of wilderness wandering where the adult males of fighting age would all die because of their lack of trust but the LORD would still keep His faithful promises – wonder of wonders, the next generation would enter and take possession of the land according to promise!

6.     Disobedience

The clear cut order was to eradicate the inhabitants of the land – but no. That was difficult and after all the women were attractive and their religious practices exciting…

Such disobedience led to chastisement. The people were oppressed by various local sources that should have been vanquished long before. The consequences of sin can be heavy indeed.

Time and again the oppression grew so heavy that the people cried to the LORD and He intervened over and over again. This is the period of the Judges.

Yes, the people might forget the LORD and His ways but He did not forget His commitments! The people were unfaithful but never let any suggest the LORD will be unfaithful!! After a long catalogue listing the faithlessness of the people we read some wonderfully heartening words:

v.44-45 "Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love."

Sometimes when we fall into sin – especially if it's sin that we've fallen into in the past – we wonder whether there is any hope left for us. Can we be forgiven again or will God effectively shunt us off into some siding somewhere and have little more to do with us?

Now, we're not to trivialise sin in any way but I want you see just how the psalmist is reasoning in this psalm. He looks at the repeated failure of his people and recognizes that this does not change the character of the LORD who ever remains faithful. Paul writes like this to the Romans:

Rom.3:3-4 "What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar,"

The example from history in this Psalm is that God's people are frequently unfaithful to Him but He is never ever unfaithful to them!

And so the psalmist prays for deliverance! And the response he wants to offer to such deliverance is praise and thanksgiving.

Let me suggest a couple of lines for further reflexion:

1.     A comparison with the deliverers of the past.

2.     Jesus as praying this psalm.

1.

"Moses stood in the breach".

When a wall of a city is breached danger is spelt out for its inhabitants:

a.     The wall risks collapsing

b.     The enemy risks flooding through

Moses offered himself in the place of the people he represented. Of course he couldn't stand in their place and bear the punishment their waywardness deserved but God heard His prayer.

In Ezek.22:30-31 we read God speaking:

"And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none."

Now in the Lord Jesus we have such a One who was and is able to stand in the breach! Moses slipped into sin demonstrating his inability to the ultimate Saviour of his people – but our Lord never slipped in to sin – not in His actions nor in His words. Heb.3:1-6 carefully explains that Jesus is greater than Moses!

Phinehas halted the plague by killing some guilty sinners – Jesus halts the plague of sin by voluntarily offering His life as a sacrifice for sin.

The Judges brought respite of temporary nature but could never fully resolve the issues – the period of the Judges leaves us crying out for The Deliverer who would be able to finally accomplish the needed deliverance and this is what Christ did as He cried out "It is finished"!

While the NT in way encourages Christians to go on living lives of unfaithfulness nevertheless full provision is made in Christ for our restoration when against our new nature we slip into sin.

1Jn.1:8-9 "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

2.

             Jesus prays this psalm.

             Just a couple of pointers:

vv.4-5 Our Lord's complete identification with His people – cf. His willingness to submit to John's baptism even tough this was a baptism for the remission of sin.

It will be through His own sacrifice that God's favour is shown to the people. His life will be given – He must rise from the dead if He is to look on the fruit of His labours and be satisfied. The LORD will not abandon His soul to Hades nor will He allow His Holy One to suffer corruption!

Jesus knew that all the deliverers that came before Him were types and shadows of the reality that He was.