Psalms 105

God's Faithfulness to His People

1 Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; proclaim His deeds among the peoples.

2 Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell about all His wonderful works!

3 Honor His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

4 Search for the Lord and for His strength; seek His face always.

5 Remember the wonderful works He has done, His wonders, and the judgments He has pronounced,^[a]

6 you offspring of Abraham His servant, Jacob's descendants -His chosen ones.

7 He is the Lord our God; His judgments [govern] the whole earth.

8 He forever remembers His covenant, the promise He ordained for a thousand generations-

9 [the covenant] He made with Abraham, swore^[b] to Isaac,

10 and confirmed to Jacob as a decree and to Israel as an everlasting covenant:

11 "I will give the land of Canaan to you as your inherited portion."

12 When they were few in number, very few indeed, and temporary residents in Canaan,

13 wandering from nation to nation and from one kingdom to another,

14 He allowed no one to oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf:

15 "Do not touch My anointed ones, or harm My prophets."^[c]

16 He called down famine against the land and destroyed the entire food supply.^[d]

17 He had sent a man ahead of them- Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

18 They hurt his feet with shackles; his neck was put in an iron collar.

19 Until the time his prediction came true, the word of the Lord tested him.

20 The king sent [for him] and released him; the ruler of peoples set him free.

21 He made him master of his household, ruler over all his possessions-

22 binding^[e] his officials at will and instructing his elders.

23 Then Israel went to Egypt; Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.^[f]

24 The Lord ^[g] made His people very fruitful; He made them more numerous than their foes,^[h]

25 whose hearts He turned to hate His people and to deal deceptively with His servants.

26 He sent Moses His servant, and Aaron, whom He had chosen.

27 They performed His miraculous signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.^{[i] [j]}

28 He sent darkness, and it became dark- for did they^[k] not defy His commands?^[l]

29 He turned their waters into blood and caused their fish to die.^[m]

30 Their land was overrun with frogs, even in their kings' chambers.^[n]

31 He spoke, and insects came^[o]- gnats throughout their country.^[p]

32 He gave them hail for rain, and lightning throughout their land.

33 He struck their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their territory.^[q]

34 He spoke and locusts came- young locusts without number.

35 They devoured all the vegetation in their land and consumed the produce of their soil.^[r]

36 He struck all the firstborn in their land, all their first progeny.^[s]

37 Then He brought Israel out with silver and gold,^[t] and no one among His tribes stumbled.

38 Egypt was glad when they left, for dread of Israel^[u] had fallen on them.^[v]

39 He spread a cloud as a covering and [gave] a fire to light up the night.^[w]

40 They asked, and He brought quail and satisfied them with bread from heaven.^[x]

41 He opened a rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a stream in the desert.^[y]

42 For He remembered His holy promise to Abraham His servant.

43 He brought His people out with rejoicing, His chosen ones with shouts of joy.

44 He gave them the lands of the nations, and they inherited what other peoples had worked for.

45 [All this happened] so that they might keep His statutes and obey His laws. Hallelujah!

Psalms 105 Commentary

Chapter 105

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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit judgments of His mouth
• [b]. Lit and His oath
• [c]. 1 Ch 16:8-22
• [d]. Gn 41:53-57
• [e]. LXX, Syr, Vg read teaching
• [f]. Egypt
• [g]. Lit He
• [h]. Ex 1:7
• [i]. Egypt
• [j]. Ps 78:51; Ex 7:3; 11:9-10
• [k]. LXX, Syr read for they did . . . (as a statement)
• [l]. Ex 10:21-23
• [m]. Ex 7:15-21
• [n]. Ex 8:1-6
• [o]. Ex 8:20-24
• [p]. Ex 8:16-17
• [q]. Ex 9:22-26
• [r]. Ex 10:12-15
• [s]. Ex 12:29-30
• [t]. Ex 12:35-36
• [u]. Lit them
• [v]. Ex 12:33
• [w]. Ex 13:21
• [x]. Ex 16:13-18
• [y]. Ex 17:6

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 105

This psalm was penned by David, and sung at the time when the ark was brought from the house of Obededom to the place which David had prepared for it; at least the first fifteen verses of it, the other part being probably added afterwards by the same inspired penman, as appears from 1Ch 16:1-7. The subject matter of the psalm is the special and distinguishing goodness of God to the children of Israel, and to his church and people, of which they were typical: the history of God's regard to and care of their principal ancestors, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and of the whole body of the people, in bringing them out of Egypt, leading them through the wilderness, and settling them in the land of Canaan, is here recited, as an argument for praise and thankfulness.