Psalms 106:15

15 he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them.

Psalms 106:15 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 106:15

And he gave them their request
Flesh and feathered fowl in great abundance; see ( Psalms 78:27-29 ) . So God sometimes gives to wicked men what they ask for, as much as they can desire, yea, more than heart could wish.

But sent leanness into their soul:
or "body"; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read, "he sent fulness into their souls"; he gave them flesh to the full, even to a nausea; they fed too heartily on it, and were surfeited with it; which not being digested brought a repletion, and issued in a consumption; or rather death, immediate death, is meant, as Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, interpret it; for while the flesh was in their mouths, and they were chewing it between their teeth, the wrath of God came upon them and slew them, ( Numbers 11:33 ) ( Psalms 78:29 Psalms 78:30 ) . It is true in a spiritual sense, that while the bodies of wicked men are fed and pampered, their souls are starved, and at last eternally lost; as the rich man's in the Gospel, who fared sumptuously every day: and worldly professors are very lean ones; such who mind earth and earthly things never thrive in spirituals; and either they soon drop their profession, err from the faith, and turn apostates; or, if they continue, the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word; so that it is unprofitable to them, not being mixed with faith by them; and hence leanness under the best of means: yea, there is sometimes a leanness in the souls of the people of God, when corruptions prevail, the graces of the spirit are low in exercise; when there is a want of a spiritual appetite to the word; and when they fall into bad company, or do not improve conversation with one another in a spiritual way; or are too much taken up, ensnared, and entangled with the things of the world; see ( Isaiah 24:16 ) .

Psalms 106:15 In-Context

13 But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert;
15 he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them.
16 They were jealous of Moses in the camp, and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the faction of Abiram.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.