Psalms 106:39

Psa 106:39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.

Ver. 39. Thus were they defiled] Great sins do greatly pollute; neither are men by anything more disadvantaged than by doting upon their own devices.

And went a whoring] They followed it earnestly, and with delight.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

39. (Psa 106:39) And they were polluted by their own doings, and went a whoring by their own crimes. They defiled not only the land of promise but themselves. Or rather, this verse is explanatory of the last clause of Psa 106:38, and shews that the.pollution of the land was nothing more nor less than that of its inhabitants. The figure of spiritual whoredom or adultery is often used to signify the violation, by' the chosen people, of their covenant with God, which is constantly described as a conjugal relation. See above, on Psalms 45, and compare Psa 73:27. This is not stated as an additional offence, but as an aggravating circumstance attending the iniquities already mentioned.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

106:39 Idolatry, like adultery, defiles God’s people (see Lev 18:24; Hos 5:3).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Then true chastity is to cleave wholly and only unto God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 39. And went a whoring.] By fornication, whoredom, and idolatry, the Scripture often expresses idolatry and idolatrous acts. I have given the reason of this in other places. Besides being false to the true God, to whom they are represented as betrothed and married, (and their acts of idolatry were breaches of this solemn engagement,) the worship of idols was frequently accompanied with various acts of impurity.

The translation in the Anglo-Saxon is very remarkable: [A.S.] and they fornicated. In Anglo-Saxon, [A.S.] signifies to fire, to ignite; [A.S.] to commit adultery. So [A.S.] is a prostitute, a whore; and [A.S.] is to go a whoring, to fornicate; probably from [A.S.], or [A.S.] to fire, and [A.S.], to lie, or [A.S.], a glutton; - one who lies with fire, who is ignited by it, who is greedily intent upon the act by which he is inflamed. And do not the words themselves show that in former times whoredom was punished, as it is now, by a disease which produces the sensation of burning in the unhappy prostitutes, whether male or female? And to this meaning the following seems particularly to be applicable.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

39 And they were polluted with their own works He now concludes by stating generally, that the Jews, in adopting the abominable practices of the heathen, were become wholly filthy; because in all the devices of men there is nothing else than impurity. He denominates as the works of men all the false worship which they devise without the Divine sanction; as if he should say, that the holiness, which is truly connected with the worship of God, comes from his word, and that all human inventions and admixtures in religion are profane, and tend to corrupt the service of God. Doubtless it was the intention of the Israelites to serve God, but the Holy Spirit declares that all the fruit of their burning zeal was their becoming more abominable in God’s sight by their lewd inventions. For a strict adherence to the word of God constitutes spiritual chastity.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

39. So they were defiled in their works,

And went a whoring in their doings.

As the relation of Israel to Jehovah is expressed by the figure of marriage (Hos_2:2 ff., and often), the abandonment of Jehovah for other gods is described as infidelity to the marriage vow. Cp. Exo_34:15-16; Deu_31:16 : &c.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people,.... Sin is the cause of wrath, which is compared to fire kindled by the breath of the Almighty, and is intolerable; this shows that the offence must be very great, as to incense the Lord against a people he had chosen above all others to be his peculiar people; as well as it was an aggravation, of their sin, so highly to provoke the Lord, whom they had vouched to be their God. There may be appearances of wrath for sin against those who are the Lord's people in the highest and best sense.

Insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance; the people of Israel, whom he had chosen for his inheritance, and were his portion, and the lot of his inheritance. This must be understood of the body of the people, not of every individual; not of the remnant according to the election of grace among them, of which there were some in all ages; for this would be contrary to his love, and the unchangeableness of it: and however not of the persons of his people, but of their sins; and of the appearances of his providence towards them, which look like wrath, indignation, and abhorrence; for God will not cast off his people, nor forsake his inheritance, Psa 94:14 the following verses explain this wrath and abhorrence. The Targum in the king's Bible is,

"the Word of the Lord abhorred,''

&c. see Zac 11:8.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thus were they defiled with their own works - By their very attempts to deliver themselves from sin. They were corrupt, and the consciousness that they were sinners led them to the commission of even greater enormities in attempting to expiate their guilt, even by the sacrifice of their own sons and daughters. Thus all the religions of the pagan begin in sin, and end in sin. The consciousness of sin only leads to the commission of greater sin; to all the abominations of idol-worship; to the sacrifice - the murder - of the innocent, with the vain hope of thus making expiation for their crimes. Sinners have never yet been able to devise a way by which they may make themselves pure. It is only the great Sacrifice made on the cross which meets the case; which provides expiation; and which saves from future sin.

And went a whoring - Apostacy from God and backsliding are ofen illustrated in the Scriptures by the violation of the marriage compact, as the relation between God and his people is often compared with the relation between a husband and wife. Compare Isa 62:5; Jer 3:14; Jer 7:9; Jer 13:27; Eze 16:20, Eze 16:22, Eze 16:25, Eze 16:33-34; Eze 23:17.

With their own inventions - More literally, With their own works. See the notes at Psa 106:29.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Committed spiritual whoredom, by worshipping those idols which were but human inventions, and that in such an unnatural and bloody manner, as they had devised.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 39. Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions. Not only the land but the inhabitants of it were polluted. They broke the marriage bond between them and the Lord, and fell into spiritual adultery. The language is strong, but the offence could not be fitly described in less forcible words. As a husband is deeply dishonoured and sorely wounded should his wife become unchaste and run riot with many paramours in his own house, so was the Lord incensed at his people for setting up gods many and lords many in his own land. They made and invented new gods, and then worshipped what they had made. What a folly! Their novel deities were loathsome monsters and cruel demons, and yet they paid them homage. What wickedness! And to commit this folly and wickedness they cast off the true God, whose miracles they had seen, and whose people they were. This was provocation of the severest sort.

Ver. 39. And went a whoring with their own inventions. As harlotry is one of the most abominable of sins that can be committed by a daughter or a wife; so often in the Scriptures turning from God and especially the practice of idolatry is called whoredom and fornication, Ps 73:27 Ex 34:15-16. William S. Plumer.

Psalms 106:40*

Ver. 40 Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, in so much that he abhorred his own inheritance. Not that even then he broke his covenant or utterly cast off his offending people, but he felt the deepest indignation, and even looked upon them with abhorrence. The feeling described is like to 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, but certainly Israel pushed the experiment to the extreme.

And he gave them into the hand of the heathen. This was the manifestation of his abhorrence. He gave them a taste of the result of sin; they spared the heathen, mixed with them and imitated them, and soon they had to smart from them, for hordes of invaders were let loose upon them to spoil them at their pleasure. Men make rods for their own backs. Their own inventions become their punishments.

And they that hated them ruled over them. And who could wonder? Sin never creates true love. They joined the heathen in their wickedness, and they did not win their hearts, but rather provoked their contempt. If we mix with men of the world they will soon become our masters and our tyrants, and we cannot want worse.

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

39. Thus were they defiled—See Jdg_2:11-13

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thus were they defiled with their own works. The heathen "works," which they adopted from them (ver. 35), had become "their own works," and made them a "defiled" and "polluted" people. And went a-whoring with their own inventions; i.e. "became spiritually adulterous," deserted God, and were unfaithful to him. (comp. Eze_23:2-21 Hos_2:2-5)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.