I invite you to take your copy of scripture now and turn to Psalm 106. Psalm 106. And as you're turning there, I just want to say we had a day of outreach yesterday, and we had a great group of folks show up. Phil Daniel Chapel and Jesse led us in a time of training, and really grateful for that. And then we went out into the neighborhood and were able to invite folks to our Good Friday and Easter service. And just want to remind you, as you have opportunity to do so, to invite folks to attend our Good Friday service, which is coming up this Friday and then Easter. as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. As you're turning to Psalm 106, I also just want to remind you as well that the book of Psalms is divided into five books. And this morning, we've been in a series in the Psalms, and this morning as we come to Psalm 106, we are going to conclude book four of the Psalms. And I have mentioned before that I believe that the theme of Book 4 in the Psalms is the theme of hope in exile. And you see centuries after centuries of rebellion against the Lord, the people of God were conquered. First they were conquered by Assyria, then they were conquered by Babylon, and many of them were exiled to Babylon, which was about a thousand miles away from Jerusalem. And so many of the Psalms that we find in Book 4 are addressing this matter of exile. And Psalm 106 is written in response to exile. In fact, we'll see in verse 47, we'll hear there the cry of the exiles. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. With that in mind, I want to read for us now Psalm 106. It is a longer psalm. I'm going to read it in its entirety, and then we will pray and consider God's Word, okay? So Psalm 106, beginning in verse 1. Praise the Lord. O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever. Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord or declare all His praise? Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times. Remember me, O Lord, when You show favor to Your people. Help me when You save them. that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance. Both we and our fathers have sinned. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedness. 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. Yet He saved them for His namesake, that He might make known His mighty power. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and He led them through the deep as through a desert. So He saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries. Not one of them was left. Then they believed His words, they sang His praise. But they soon forgot His works. They did not wait for His counsel. But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert. He gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them. When men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the Holy One of the Lord, the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram. Fire also broke out in their company. The flame burned up the wicked. They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. Therefore He said He would destroy them. Had not Moses, His chosen one, stood in the breach before Him to turn away His wrath from destroying them? Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in His promise. They murmured in their tents, and they did not obey the voice of the Lord. Therefore He raised His hand and swore to them that He would make them fall in the wilderness, and would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands. Then they yoked themselves to the bale of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. They provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed. And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever. They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account, for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly with his lips. They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord commanded them, but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons. They poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they became unclean by their acts and played the whore in their deeds. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people, and He abhorred His heritage. He gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power. Many times He delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity. 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. He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name and glory in Your praise. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say, Amen. Praise the Lord. Amen. Let's go to the Lord in prayer, okay? Let's pray. Father, we are so thankful for your word and especially for the Psalms. Lord, we thank you for how the Psalms convey to us the reality of the Christian life, the experience of what it looks like to walk with you both in our own sin and unfaithfulness and as well in your grace and redemption. So Father, we pray now that you would come by your spirit and teach us through your word. And Lord, we pray that even as we see the psalmist here crying out to you for salvation, we pray, Father, that we would be a people of repentance and confession and a people who experience your redemption and mercy in Christ. And it's in his name we ask it. Amen. Well, wilderness wanderings and seasons of exile are real experiences in our personal lives. Sometimes we find ourselves in the wilderness or we find ourselves in exile by no fault of our own. It may simply be the Lord's providential purpose for our lives, for us to walk through a season of wilderness or exile. Sometimes we find ourselves in the wilderness or in exile due to the sin of others. I think about Moses leading the people of God through the wilderness and Moses was not in the wilderness because of any particular sin in himself. But there he was in the wilderness leading the people of God, trusting God for food and for water. And then there are those times when we find ourselves in the wilderness and in exile because there is an undeniable and direct connection between our own personal sin and the difficult circumstances that we are experiencing. We could think of any number of examples. Perhaps a student who's found cheating at school and so now they're on academic probation. Or maybe a husband or a father who has neglected his family for years and as a result there's broken relationships and hurt which might take years now to restore. Or perhaps you've lied to your employer, or a trusted friend, or a family member, and now you recognize that it's going to take a long time to rebuild the trust that now has been broken. All of us have experienced times in our lives where there is an undeniable and direct connection between our own personal sin and the negative consequences that we are experiencing. And Psalm 106 was written for such a time. The nation of Israel was languishing in exile because of their spiritual apostasy and their moral failure. And Psalm 106 highlights for us the unfaithfulness of God's people in order to stress that the only sure and certain hope they have is the faithfulness of God. Let me say that again. Psalm 106 highlights for us the unfaithfulness of God in order to stress that their only and sure hope now that they are experiencing the consequences of their sin is the faithfulness of God. As Derek Kidner, an Old Testament scholar, points out, quote, for all its exposure of man's ingratitude, this is a psalm of praise. For it is God's extraordinary long-suffering that emerges as the real theme." So I want us now to turn to Psalm 106, and I want us to learn from Psalm 106 how we should respond when we sin, and how we should respond when we are enduring the negative consequences of our sin. There is hope for us in Psalm 106. And there is hope for us in this psalm because this psalm points us to the long-suffering and faithfulness of God. The psalm is divided up into three parts. First of all, we will see praise and prayer for salvation. This is in verses 1 through 5, so praise and prayer for salvation. Secondly, confession of sin, and this is verses 6 to 46. And then third, prayer for salvation and praise in verses 47 and 48. So praise and prayer for salvation, then confession of sin, then prayer for salvation and praise. Let's look first of all at verses 1 through 5. Here we see praise and prayer for salvation. Look there at verse 1. blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times. Remember me, O Lord, when You show favor to Your people. Help me when You save them, that I may look upon the prosperity of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your inheritance." Now this psalm of confession which highlights and stresses the unfaithfulness of God's people actually begins with praise. And that may seem odd, but in fact it's not. Look there in verse 1, we read, Praise the Lord, O give thanks to the Lord, here's the reason why, for He is good, for or because His steadfast love endures forever. You see, this is good news. This is good news for wayward Israel. This is good news for sinners who are aching for forgiveness. This is good news for all God's people because we all still struggle with sin. Although we are sinners, God is good and His steadfast love endures forever. And so the psalmist begins this psalm of confession with praise. Praise Him. Give thanks to the Lord. Notice he goes on in verse 3 to write, blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times. Now this is important for us to see because I want us to understand that the goal of Psalm 106 is not merely confession. The goal of Psalm 106 is not merely the acknowledgement of sin. But rather the goal of Psalm 106 is repentance and transformation. You see, in a few moments, the psalmist is going to remind us of the wilderness and the exile and the curse that the people of God experienced as a result of their sin. But here in verse 3, the psalmist assures us of the safety and the joy and the blessing that we will experience if we walk by faith in obedience to the Lord. For those who are consistently committed to doing what is just and what is right, they will be blessed. And oh my friends, we recognize how much sorrow, how much pain, how much disappointment we would escape if we simply devoted ourselves to trusting the Lord and to walking in His ways. The psalmist is declaring to us here in verse 3 that the way of faith and the way of obedience is in fact the way of blessing. Then in verses 4 and 5, we have a prayer of salvation. Despite the persistent rebellion of God's people, the psalmist here in verses 4 and 5 is hopeful that due to the Lord's goodness, due to the Lord's steadfast love, the Lord will still, you see it there in verse 4, show favor to His people and He will save them. And so the psalmist prays, Lord, remember me. Remember me when you remember your people. And when you remember your people, save me. You know, when we experience the natural consequences of our own sin, we might be reluctant to pray for the Lord's salvation and for His mercy. I think this is one of the reasons why Psalm 106 is so encouraging. When we experience the negative consequences of our own sin, we might be more inclined to take a posture, well, I'm getting what I deserve. Why would I pray for the Lord's salvation? But Psalm 106 is pointing us here to the reality that not only is the Lord our only hope to experience the forgiveness of sins, He is our only hope to be delivered from the consequences of our sin. And if we cry to Him, even as we experience the consequences that we deserve, the Lord is so good and He is kind. Sometimes, in fact, He will deliver us from the consequences of our sin. Or oftentimes He will mitigate those consequences and sustain us even as He uses those consequences for our good as we endure them. And so the psalmist begins this psalm, this psalm of confession, by praising the Lord and by crying out to Him for salvation. Now notice the second part of our psalm. The second part of our psalm is the confession of sin. So first of all, praise and prayer for salvation. But then the second part of our psalm is confession of sin. And this is verses 6 to 46. Now obviously, this is the largest section in the psalm. And in this way, Psalm 106 stresses the unfaithfulness of God's people. But what follows in this section is a record of the sins of God's people. The psalmist records Israel's sins in eight accounts. So there's eight accounts of Israel's sin, and they take place in three distinct periods of time. First in the Exodus, when they are delivered from Egypt, then in the wilderness wanderings, and then finally in the conquest of the land of Canaan. Now before the psalmist recounts Israel's sins, notice that the psalmist says in verse 6, look there in verse 6, both we and our fathers have sinned. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedness. Now why is this significant? Well, because we see here that the psalmist is not in this confession. He's not just going to be casting stones at his family tree or his ancestors. Rather, as the psalmist takes inventory of his ancestors and of their moral failures, he sees their sin and failings in himself and in his own generation. Oftentimes we might bemoan when we are young, we might bemoan the patterns of sin that we see in the lives of our grandparents or in our parents, and we might declare to ourselves and to others, I will never do that, right? But all too often, surprisingly, we find ourselves saying and doing and acting out in the same foolish ways that they once did. And Psalm 106 is an opportunity for us to confess that sin, to acknowledge it, and to, in fact, break the pattern of generational sin that perhaps we see in our own lives. The psalmist begins this confession by declaring, both we and our fathers have sinned. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedness. Notice the first account of Israel's sin takes place in the Exodus. And it is the sin of not remembering. You see it there in verses 7-12. Verse 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 they rebelled at the sea, at the Red Sea. Yet He saved them for His namesake, that He might make known His mighty power. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry. And He led them through the deep as through a desert. So He saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries. Not one of them was left. Then they believed His words. They sang His praise." So in verse 7, the psalmist declares that Israel did not consider the Lord's wondrous works. They did not remember His steadfast love, but they rebelled at the sea, at the Red Sea. You see, God had delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage and slavery. But as they left Egypt, Pharaoh determined to pursue after them. And so Israel found themselves trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh who was coming behind. But instead of recalling the ten miraculous plagues that the Lord had just reformed to deliver them from Pharaoh, and instead of trusting in the Lord's steadfast love, they lashed out at Moses in unbelief. We read the account in Exodus chapter 14 verses 11 and 12. They said to Moses, is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not what we said to you in Egypt? Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians, for it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. And yet we see that the Lord in His grace and in His mercy delivers the people of God. They miraculously pass through the Red Sea on dry ground, and then they witness Pharaoh and his army being destroyed by the same waters. And what's the result? You see it there in verse 12. Then they believed His words, and they sang His praise, which is a reference to the song of Moses in Exodus chapter 15. Now, as a result of this miraculous salvation, did the people of God continue to trust the Lord and to love Him and to walk in obedience? Well, that leads us to the second account of Israel's sin, which takes place actually during the wilderness wanderings. There are six accounts of sin in the wilderness that the psalmist records here. The first, the second account of sin as a whole, but the first one in the wilderness, is the sin of discontentment. It's found in verses 13 through 15. but they soon forgot his works. They did not wait for his counsel, but they had a wanton craving in the wilderness and put God to the test in the desert. He gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them. So their trust and praise in the Lord did not last for very long. When they grew hungry in the wilderness, they didn't seek the Lord's counsel, they didn't wait on him, they didn't look to him in faith, but rather again, they complained against Moses and they complained against the Lord. We read the account in Exodus chapter 16 verses 2 and 3. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the people of Israel said to them, would that we had died in the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full. For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. You see again that the Lord responds with grace and with mercy. He responds both with provision but also with discipline. In verse 15, the psalmist records, He gave them what they asked. That is, He gave them miraculously manna from heaven and He provided them with quail to eat. But at the same time, as we read there in verse 15, He sent a wasting disease among them. The third account of Israel's sin also took place in the wilderness. You see it there in verses 16 through 18. It is the sin of jealousy. Verse 16, when the men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the Holy One of the Lord, the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram. Fire also broke out in their company. The flame burned up the wicked. So instead of being thankful for the leadership of Moses and of Aaron and praying for them, Dathan and Abiram, along with the 250 other leaders in the congregation, opposed Moses and Aaron. You notice in verse 16 that the psalmist refers here to Moses as the holy one of the Lord. And the reason he does so is because that was in fact the issue. Who was the holy one of the Lord? Who was the one that the Lord had set apart to lead the people of God? We read in Numbers 16, verse 3, They assembled themselves against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You have gone too far. For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord? But as we read the count further, we see that God goes on to demonstrate that Moses is in fact the Holy One, the One whom God had set apart to lead the people. And as the psalmist declares, the Lord brought fire on the camp and destroyed Dathan and Abiram and the 250 other leaders of the congregation who had opposed Moses and Aaron. The fourth account of Israel's sin is found in verses 19-23. This also took place in the wilderness, and it is the sin of idolatry. Look there in verse 19. They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. Therefore He said He would destroy them had not Moses, His chosen one, stood in the breach before Him to turn away His wrath from destroying them." These events are actually recorded in Exodus chapter 32. And many of you are familiar with the account. Moses is absent for a time. He's up on Mount Sinai. He is meeting and communing with the Lord. And the people become impatient. And so they erect a golden calf to worship it. Foolishly, as the text indicates here, they worship a cow rather than their Creator. Their Creator who had repeatedly demonstrated His miraculous power to them through the plagues. and by saving them through the Red Sea. In fact, in Romans 1, Paul picks up the same language of the psalmist here in Psalm 106 to point out the absurdity of idolatry. In Romans 1, verses 22 and 23, Paul writes, claiming to be wise, they became fools. And exchanged, which is the same language here in Psalm 106, they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Well, as a result of the people's sin, we see in Exodus chapter 32 that God was going to destroy the entire nation and start over. But as we see in Psalm 106 verse 23, Moses' chosen one stood in the breach before him to turn away his wrath from destroying them. Now one commentator has suggested that this was, quote, the greatest moment in Moses' life, end of quote. When Moses interceded for the people where he gave himself and his own life in place of the people. He offered at least himself and his own life for the sake of the people. And some, reflecting on Moses and what he did here, might conclude, what an amazing act on behalf of Moses. What a gracious man Moses was. What a remarkable man Moses was. And in one sense, that's true. Yes, we should honor Moses. But we also need to remember, it was God who appointed Moses to be the leader and the mediator of God's people. It was God who, in His goodness and steadfast love, had provided the people with a leader like Moses. And of course, my friends, understand it is God in His goodness and steadfast love who has provided us with even a greater mediator in the person of Jesus Christ. Who not only offered to give Himself for the sake of God's people, but who in fact did give Himself for the sake of God's people at the cross, so that truly He stood in the breach before the Lord. to turn away the Lord's wrath from destroying His people. God has provided us an even greater mediator in the Lord Jesus. One thing that's really interesting to see in Book 4 of the Psalms is that Book 4 of the Psalms begins in Psalm 90. And Psalm 90 is actually a psalm written by Moses in which he is interceding for the people. And book four concludes with Psalm 106, which also records an instance in which Moses is interceding for the people. You see, my friends, what's being communicated here is that when God's people are in exile, when God's people are experiencing the negative consequences of their own sin, you know what they need? They need a mediator. They need a Redeemer like Moses. And God has provided us with even a greater mediator and Redeemer in the person of Jesus Christ. The fifth account of Israel's sin also took place in the wilderness. It is the sin of unbelief. And you see it there in verses 24 through 27. Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in His promise. They murmured in their tents and did not obey the voice of the Lord. Therefore He raised His hand and swore to them that He would make them fall in the wilderness and would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands." Israel's unbelief is recorded in Numbers chapters 13 and 14. Perhaps you've heard this account before. Israel was on the brink of going into the promised land and so they set aside 12 spies and they sent them in to survey the land. But of the 12 spies, 10 came back and said, do not go in the land. The Canaanites are too big, they're too strong, they're too powerful. There's no way we can take the land. There was only two. Only two spies, Joshua and Caleb, who pleaded with the people, begged the people, no, don't you remember who our God is? He delivered us from Egypt with ten miraculous plagues. He led us through the Red Sea. We can take the people. We can take the land. And do you know what the response of the people was? They conspired together to stone Joshua and Caleb. The Lord in His mercy spared the two, but God punished the people because in verse 24 they demonstrated no faith in His promise. As a result, the Lord declared that that entire generation would die in the wilderness, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, before they entered into the promised land. The sixth account of Israel's sin, which also took place in the wilderness, is found in verses 28 to 31, and it is the sin of apostasy. Look there in verse 28. Then they yoked themselves to the bale of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. They provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed. And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever. Apostasy is kind of a big word, but basically it means an abandonment of one's faith. And we see that here in this account. It's actually recorded for us in Numbers chapter 25, as the people of Israel worship the God of Yahweh, but they abandon their faith for other gods. We read in Numbers chapter 25, verses 1 to 3, while Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked, which is actually the same word used in verse 28 of Psalm 106. Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. As a result of the people's sin, a plague broke out among the people, and it was Phinehas who, in a moment of holy zeal, executed an Israelite man and his Moabite mistress. And the plague ceased, and the Lord honored Phinehas and his descendants with a perpetual priesthood. The seventh account of Israel's sin also took place in the wilderness, and it was the sin of discontentment again. You see it there in verses 32 to 33. They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account, for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly with his lips. Now, of course, this is very much like the sin of discontentment that we saw in verses 13 to 15, but this time it's not that they are craving food, but they are craving water. And we read the account in verses 2 through 5 of Numbers chapter 20. Now there was no water for the congregation and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and the people quarreled with Moses and said, would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord. Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness that we should die here, both we and our cattle? And why have you made us come out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates and there is no water to drink. Does that not sound familiar? We've read that account in some way. You almost think, is this the same account being repeated? No, it's different accounts, but it's almost the same exact words as they complained against Moses. When they find themselves without, they don't come to Moses and seek the Lord for counsel and ask for His provision and look to Him in faith, but rather they grumble and they complain and they accuse. And yet the Lord miraculously, in His grace, provides the people with water. He provides them with water from a rock. But as the psalmist says here, it did not go well with Moses for Moses at this point is so frustrated with the people that although he is told to speak to the rock in a moment of frustration and anger, he strikes it. And as a result, he is not permitted to enter into the promised land. The eighth account of Israel's sin takes place not in the wilderness, so we've seen one account of Israel's sin during the Exodus. We've seen six in the wilderness wanderings. And then the last one takes place during the conquest of the land of Canaan. It's found in verses 34 to 46, and it is the sin of assimilation. Look there in verse 34. They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord commanded them, but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons. They poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they became unclean by their acts and played the whore in their deeds. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and He abhorred His heritage. He gave them into the hand of the nation, so that those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power. Many times He delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity. Nevertheless, He looked upon their desires when He heard their cry. For their sake He remembered His covenant and relented according to the abundance of His steadfast love. He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive. Now, we might think as we come here to verse 34, we might think, well, finally, Israel is out of the wilderness. Finally, they're moved beyond these wilderness wanderings. Now they are going to enter into the promised land. Surely now they will follow the Lord. They will believe his promises. They will walk in obedience. But that's not what we find, is it? Their setting and circumstances have changed, but their heart has not. When God granted them the land of Canaan, God was very clear in His instructions that they were to destroy the people of Canaan and not to assimilate with them because they were a wicked people. But what did Israel do? You see there in verse 35, they mixed or they mingled with the nations. The Canaanites should have been their enemies and they drew them close to be their friends. In particular, they married them. They began to start families with them and have children with them. And what was the result? You see it there in verse 35. They learned to do as they did. Friends, if you're here this morning, you're a Christian and you're a young person, it is a warning to us. It doesn't matter how cool or good looking or sweet or romantic or athletic someone is, if they do not know the Lord, they are not for you. Notice the moral degradation that followed as they mixed and mingled with the Canaanites. And this is a warning to us not to flirt with sin, not to coddle sin, because we never know how far it will take us. You see in verse 35, they served their idols which became to them a snare, so they embraced idolatry. They began to worship other gods and false gods, which finally leads in verses 37-38 to the sacrificial death of their own children. And it's almost unthinkable, isn't it, that here are the supposed people of God who are sacrificing their own children to pagan gods. And yet we would be remissed if we did not acknowledge that we have folks today who claim to be Christians, who claim to be followers of Christ, the people of God, and yet they will unashamedly and publicly advocate for the practice of abortion, for the murder of unborn children. It is, in fact, a shocking disgrace. In verse 39, you see that all of this is described by the psalmist as an act of spiritual adultery. The psalmist declares, Israel played the whore in their deeds, which arouses the Lord's anger. In verse 40, the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people and he abhorred his heritage. Charles Spurgeon writes, quote, the feeling described is like that of a husband who still loves his guilty wife, and yet when he thinks of her lewdness, feels his whole nature rising in righteous anger at her so that the very sight of her afflicts his soul. How far the divine wrath can burn against those whom he yet loves in his heart, it were hard to say, end of quote. As a result, you see in verses 40 to 46 that the Lord gives Israel into the hand of their enemies and their enemies oppress them. And yet the Lord again is repeatedly gracious over and over and over again. He delivers them from the very consequences and hardship that they deserve, from the very consequences and hardship that they have brought upon themselves. And this cycle we see repeated over and over and over again. If you read the book of Judges, and then if you read the book of 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, this is the cycle that repeats itself over and over and over again. That's what the psalmist is describing here. The people sin. As a result, they're oppressed by their enemies. So they call out to the Lord for salvation and He delivers them. And then what happens again? The cycle repeats itself. They sin again. They cry out to the Lord because they're being oppressed. He delivers them. The cycle repeats itself again, over and over again in Judges and Kings and Chronicles, until finally the nation is conquered and the people are exiled. I think the purpose of this section here in Psalm 106 is that the transgressions of the people of God would wash over us one wave after another, after another, after another, so that we are flooded in all of their iniquity. And we are inclined to ask, how long will it go? Will they ever stop? Will they ever learn? and then to be grieved and sorrowed by our own unfaithfulness and persistence in sin. My friend, are there sins in your life, even this morning, that you need to confess? Perhaps generational patterns of sin, of unbelief, or anger, or sexual immorality, idolatry, perhaps abuse or addiction. Maybe you're suffering under some of the negative consequences of those sins even now, and it's hard. And you feel the shame and the weight and the sorrow of past and present rebellion against the Lord. Like the psalmist, my friends, confess your sin to the Lord now. Understand, you cannot wander your way out of the wilderness without confession. You can't find your home out of exile without repentance. Confession and repentance are the way to salvation and deliverance. Be as honest and real as the psalmist is here and confess your sins before the Lord. Third, and finally, we see a prayer for salvation and praise. A prayer for salvation and praise. Look there in verses 47 and 48. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say, Amen. Praise the Lord. So you see there in verse 47 we have a prayer for salvation. And here's the remarkable thing about verse 47. Based on Israel's past track record, why should the psalmist have any reason to believe that the Lord would grant them salvation? Do they deserve it? Of course not. The psalmist has now just spent 40 verses telling us all the reasons why they do not deserve God's salvation and deliverance. But the psalmist's confidence in his cry for salvation is entirely dependent not on his faithfulness or the faithfulness of the people, but rather on the faithfulness of God to remember His covenant and to be true to His steadfast love. And my friends, we can be encouraged this morning because God has made a covenant, a promise with us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. To forgive us of our sins. To be our God and for us to be His people. And He has sealed it and secured it with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we can cry out to Him for salvation. Being confident that He will remember His promise. He will remember His covenant. He will be faithful to His steadfast love in Jesus Christ. Let me just say this by way of encouragement as well. If you're here this morning and you are a Christian, understand this, that as Christians, we will sin. We will not be perfect in this life. At times we will have lapses and we will fail. And in this way, our experience is like that of the experience of the people of God in the Old Testament. But this is vital for you to hear and to understand. There is a very real way at the same time that our experience is not like and is unlike the experience of the people of God in the Old Testament. Because if you are in Christ, the promise of the new covenant that has been given to us in Jesus is that God will give us new hearts. That God will write His law on our hearts. that God will indwell us by His Holy Spirit. So listen, my friends, if you are in Christ, understand this, you are not doomed to a life of spiritual defeat and moral decline. You shouldn't read Psalm 106 and think, well, the experience of Israel and their devolving into greater and greater apostasy and immorality, that must be my experience as a Christian. No. You are not doomed to a life of degradation, of devolving into gross sexual immorality and even murder as we see here. You are a new creation in Christ. Not perfect. There will be setbacks. There will be failures. But the overall trajectory of your spiritual life can be characterized by spiritual growth and maturity as you grow in faith and holiness and purity. So don't just pray for salvation from the guilt of sin. Pray that God would save you and deliver you from the power and oppression of sin so that you might know life in Jesus. Trust Him for it. Pray that He would make you like the blessed man in Psalm 3, right? Blessed are they who observe justice and who do righteousness at all times. Because through Christ, God can do that work in your life, and that is why He has saved you. That is the prayer of salvation, but then notice in verse 48 that the psalmist ends with a declaration of praise. This is where the psalmist concludes. Bless the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, and let all the people say amen and praise the Lord. You might remember that this is the way that the psalmist concluded Psalm 104, it's the way he concluded Psalm 105, and now it's the way he concludes Psalm 106. With this declaration, that last translation there, praise the Lord, that's actually the Hebrew word hallelujah. He concludes Psalm 106 again with hallelujah, which we have said can be translated all y'all praise Yahweh. And this is a fitting conclusion to Psalm 106. It is a fitting conclusion to Book 4 of the Psalms. And when we remember, like the psalmist does here, that despite all our unfaithfulness, God has been so very faithful to us, we can enthusiastically join the psalmist by declaring, hallelujah, all y'all praise Yahweh. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you that your word addresses the real experiences of our life because, Lord, we know so very keenly that we are sinners and that our sin oftentimes will lead us into circumstances and consequences that, Lord, are bitter and hard and difficult. And so Lord, we need a word. We need to hear from you in those moments. And Father, we thank you that your word does not overlook those experiences, but Lord, we thank you that your word speaks clearly and definitively into those experiences, that speaks clearly and definitively into the hardships and difficulties that we experience in this life, and in particular, even the hardships and experiences that we have as a result of our sin. And Lord, we thank you that in those moments you invite us to come to you in confession, that you invite us to look to you for salvation, that you invite us to even praise you for your mercy and the hope of your redemption. Father, I pray now that you would take this psalm and apply it to each of our hearts. Lord, may no sin be hidden or stored away. But Lord, may we with eagerness come to you in confession, believing that you are a God who redeems and saves and makes whole. So Father, please take your word now and apply it to our hearts, to our lives, to our church. And we pray that you would be glorified. And it's through Christ we ask it. Amen.