Psalms 105:1-27

1 Give thanks to the Lord, proclaim his greatness; tell the nations what he has done.

2 Sing praise to the Lord; tell the wonderful things he has done.

3 Be glad that we belong to him; let all who worship him rejoice.

4 Go to the Lord for help; and worship him continually.

5 You descendants of Abraham, his servant; you descendants of Jacob, the man he chose: remember the miracles that God performed and the judgments that he gave.

7 The Lord is our God; his commands are for all the world.

8 He will keep his covenant forever, his promises for a thousand generations.

9 He will keep the agreement he made with Abraham ¹ and his promise to Isaac.

10 The Lord made a covenant with Jacob, ² one that will last forever.

11 "I will give you the land of Canaan," he said. "It will be your own possession."

12 God's people were few in number, strangers in the land of Canaan.

13 They wandered from country to country, from one kingdom to another.

14 But God let no one oppress them; ³ to protect them, he warned the kings:

15 "Don't harm my chosen servants; do not touch my prophets."

16 The Lord sent famine to their country ⁴ and took away all their food.

17 But he sent a man ahead of them, ⁵ Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.

18 His feet were kept in chains, ⁶ and an iron collar was around his neck,

19 until what he had predicted came true. The word of the Lord proved him right.

20 Then the king of Egypt had him released; ⁷ the ruler of nations set him free.

21 He put him in charge of his government ⁸ and made him ruler over all the land,

22 with power over the king's officials and authority to instruct his advisers.

23 Then Jacob went to Egypt ⁹ and settled in that country.

24 The Lord gave many children to his people ¹⁰ and made them stronger than their enemies.

25 He made the Egyptians hate his people and treat his servants with deceit.

26 Then he sent his servant Moses, ¹¹ and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

27 They did God's mighty acts and performed miracles in Egypt.

Psalms 105:1-27 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Cross References

• 1. 105.9 aGenesis 12.7; 17.8; bGenesis 26.3.
• 2. 105.10, 11Genesis 28.13.
• 3. 105.14, 15Genesis 20.3-7.
• 4. 105.16Genesis 41.53-57.
• 5. 105.17Genesis 37.28; 45.5.
• 6. 105.18, 19Genesis 39.20--40.23.
• 7. 105.20Genesis 41.14.
• 8. 105.21Genesis 41.39-41.
• 9. 105.23 aGenesis 46.6; bGenesis 47.11.
• 10. 105.24, 25Exodus 1.7-14.
• 11. 105.26Exodus 3.1--4.17.