Psalms 105
Psalm 105 is a psalm of thanksgiving that praises God’s faithfulness and guidance revealed in Israel’s history. In the opening section (verses 1-6), it encourages us to give thanks to God, to make known his name, and to remember his wonderful works. In the following section (verses 7-15), God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the process by which he faithfully carries it out, are portrayed. The psalmist recalls God’s hand, which protected and guided their forefathers even when their numbers were small and they were weak.
1verseGive thanks to the LORD! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples.
2verseSing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvelous works.
3verseGlory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4verseSeek the LORD and his strength. Seek his face forever more.
5verseRemember his marvelous works that he has done: his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,
6verseyou offspring of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7verseHe is the LORD, our God. His judgments are in all the earth.
8verseHe has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
9versethe covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac,
10verseand confirmed it to Jacob for a statute; to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
11versesaying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance,”
12versewhen they were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners in it.
13verseThey went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.
14verseHe allowed no one to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,
15verse“Don’t touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!”
16verseHe called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.
17verseHe sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave.
18verseThey bruised his feet with shackles. His neck was locked in irons,
19verseuntil the time that his word happened, and the LORD’s word proved him true.
20verseThe king sent and freed him, even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free.
21verseHe made him lord of his house, and ruler of all of his possessions,
22verseto discipline his princes at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom.
23verseIsrael also came into Egypt. Jacob lived in the land of Ham.
24verseHe increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries.
25verseHe turned their heart to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.
26verseHe sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27verseThey performed miracles among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.
28verseHe sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn’t rebel against his words.
29verseHe turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish.
30verseTheir land swarmed with frogs, even in the rooms of their kings.
31verseHe spoke, and swarms of flies came, and lice in all their borders.
32verseHe gave them hail for rain, with lightning in their land.
33verseHe struck their vines and also their fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.
34verseHe spoke, and the locusts came with the grasshoppers, without number.
35verseThey ate up every plant in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36verseHe struck also all the firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their manhood.
37verseHe brought them out with silver and gold. There was not one feeble person among his tribes.
38verseEgypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them had fallen on them.
39verseHe spread a cloud for a covering, fire to give light in the night.
40verseThey asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of the sky.
41verseHe opened the rock, and waters gushed out. They ran as a river in the dry places.
42verseFor he remembered his holy word, and Abraham, his servant.
43verseHe brought his people out with joy, his chosen with singing.
44verseHe gave them the lands of the nations. They took the labor of the peoples in possession,
45versethat they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws. Praise the LORD!
The History of Israel’s Salvation
In verses 16-45, it recalls the suffering and famine in Egypt, and God’s preparation of a path to deliverance in advance through Joseph. In the following passages, the plagues of Egypt brought about through Moses and Aaron, the exodus event, and God’s specific actions that enabled his people to gain guidance in the wilderness and to inherit the land of Canaan are presented. All these events are shown as the result of God’s faithfulness in remembering his covenant.
Meditation Points
- Take time to deeply reflect on God’s faithfulness to his covenant and his unwavering love revealed through Israel’s history.
- Consider what it means for our lives that God carries out his plan to the end even within human weakness.
- Remember what God has done with an attitude of gratitude and praise, and reflect on the preciousness of a life that shares that grace with others.
Apply It to Me
- Even in the everyday situations I am experiencing today, recall the traces of the grace and faithfulness God has shown.
- Reflect on past memories of gratitude and apply the faith that looks to God’s guidance in my life today.
- Put into practice sharing even the small grace I have experienced with the people around me.
