Psalms Chapter 105
1 Give thanks to the LORD! Call on his name! Make his doings known amongst the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvellous works.
3 Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Seek the LORD and his strength. Seek his face forever more.
5 Remember his marvellous works that he has done: his wonders, and the judgements of his mouth,
6 you offspring of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the LORD, our God. His judgements are in all the earth.
8 He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
9 the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac,
10 and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute; to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance,"
12 when they were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners in it.
13 They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.
14 He allowed no one to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,
15 "Don't touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!"
16 He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.
17 He sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave.
18 They bruised his feet with shackles. His neck was locked in irons,
19 until the time that his word happened, and the LORD's word proved him true.
20 The king sent and freed him, even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free.
21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all of his possessions,
22 to discipline his princes at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Israel also came into Egypt. Jacob lived in the land of Ham.
24 He increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries.
25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.
26 He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed miracles amongst them, and wonders in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn't rebel against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the rooms of their kings.
31 He spoke, and swarms of flies came, and lice in all their borders.
32 He gave them hail for rain, with lightning in their land.
33 He struck their vines and also their fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came with the grasshoppers, without number,
35 ate up every plant in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck also all the firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their manhood.
37 He brought them out with silver and gold. There was not one feeble person amongst his tribes.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them had fallen on them.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering, fire to give light in the night.
40 They asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of the sky.
41 He opened the rock, and waters gushed out. They ran as a river in the dry places.
42 For he remembered his holy word, and Abraham, his servant.
43 He brought his people out with joy, his chosen with singing.
44 He gave them the lands of the nations. They took the labour of the peoples in possession,
45 that they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws. Praise the LORD!
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Psalms Chapter 105 Guide
This and the following psalm are companions. They reveal the two sides of the relation between God and His people during a long period. This one sings the song of His faithfulness and power; while the next tells the sad story of repeated failure and rebellion on the part of His people.
In singing His praise the psalmist opens with an appeal which recognises the responsibility of those who have been recipients of blessing. The words, "Make known His doings among the peoples" reveal this. The leaders and singers of these people repeated this message of responsibility with almost monotonous reiteration, and yet it was not obeyed. In order that the doings of God may be proclaimed, he calls upon men to “remember,” and he proceeds to trace the Divine hand in their history. First, he goes back to the ancient covenant, and sings of how God cared for them while they were few in number in the land, rebuking kings for their sakes.
The follows a recognition of the government of God as overruling even what appeared so disastrous a matter as the famine. Through that, Joseph was given his opportunity, and the people were brought into Egypt, for the time being a place of quietness and increase.
The master word in the psalm is the pronoun "He." In constant repetition it shows the one thought uppermost in the mind of the singer. It is that of perpetual activity of God in all those experiences through which His people have passed. Verse Psalms 105:23 commences with a statement which is almost startling - "He turned their heart to hate His people." Yet this is a recognition of the fact that circumstances which appeared to be most disastrous, were nevertheless all under His government. It was a baptism of suffering which toughened the fibre of the national life, and prepared for all that lay ahead.
Then the singer passes in review God’s wonderful deliverance of them from Egypt, until a graphic sentence he writes, "Egypt was glad when they departed." Finally the song speaks of the bringing of them into possession of the land. It is a noble song of the might of God, and of His fidelity to His people. With unswerving loyalty to His covenant, in spite of all difficulties, and by means of suffering as well as joy, He moved in their history ever onward. Such a song is prophecy, in its function of interpreting history, and revealing the orderliness in the economy of God, of days and events which seem to be the most calamitous.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Psalms Chapter 105 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- A solemn call to praise and serve the Lord. -- (1-7)
- His gracious dealings with Israel. -- (8-23)
- Their deliverance from Egypt, and their settlement in Canaan. -- (24-45)
Verses 1-7
Our devotion is here stirred up, that we may stir up ourselves to praise God. Seek his strength; that is, his grace; the strength of his Spirit to work in us that which is good, which we cannot do but by strength derived from him, for which he will be sought. Seek to have his favour to eternity, therefore continue seeking it while living in this world; for he will not only be found, but he will reward those that diligently seek him.
Verses 8-23
Let us remember the Redeemer's marvellous works, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth. Though true Christians are few number, strangers and pilgrims upon earth, yet a far better inheritance than Canaan is made sure to them by the covenant of God; and if we have the anointing of the Holy Spirit, none can do us any harm. Afflictions are among our mercies. They prove our faith and love, they humble our pride, they wean us from the world, and quicken our prayers. Bread is the staff which supports life; when that staff is broken, the body fails and sinks to the earth. The word of God is the staff of spiritual life, the food and support of the soul: the sorest judgment is a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. Such a famine was sore in all lands when Christ appeared in the flesh; whose coming, and the blessed effect of it, are shadowed forth in the history of Joseph. At the appointed time Christ was exalted as Mediator; all the treasures of grace and salvation are at his disposal, perishing sinners come to him, and are relieved by him.
Verses 24-45
As the believer commonly thrives best in his soul when under the cross; so the church also flourishes most in true holiness, and increases in number, while under persecution. Yet instruments shall be raised up for their deliverance, and plagues may be expected by persecutors. And see the special care God took of his people in the wilderness. All the benefits bestowed on Israel as a nation, were shadows of spiritual blessings with which we are blessed in Christ Jesus. Having redeemed us with his blood, restored our souls to holiness, and set us at liberty from Satan's bondage, he guides and guards us all the way. He satisfies our souls with the bread of heaven, and the water of life from the Rock of salvation, and will bring us safely to heaven. He redeems his servants from all iniquity, and purifies them unto himself, to be a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.