Psalms 105

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.

28 God sent darkness on the country, ¹² but the Egyptians did not obey his command.

29 He turned their rivers into blood ¹³ and killed all their fish.

30 Their country was overrun with frogs; ¹⁴ even the palace was filled with them.

31 God commanded, and flies and gnats ¹⁵ swarmed throughout the whole country.

32 He sent hail and lightning on their land ¹⁶ instead of rain;

33 he destroyed their grapevines and fig trees and broke down all the trees.

34 He commanded, and the locusts came, ¹⁷ countless millions of them;

35 they ate all the plants in the land; they ate all the crops.

36 He killed the first-born sons ¹⁸ of all the families of Egypt.

37 Then he led the Israelites out; ¹⁹ they carried silver and gold, and all of them were healthy and strong.

38 The Egyptians were afraid of them and were glad when they left.

39 God put a cloud over his people ²⁰ and a fire at night to give them light.

40 They asked, and he sent quails; ²¹ he gave them food from heaven to satisfy them.

41 He opened a rock, and water gushed out, ²² flowing through the desert like a river.

42 He remembered his sacred promise to Abraham his servant.

43 So he led his chosen people out, and they sang and shouted for joy.

44 He gave them the lands of other peoples ²³ and let them take over their fields,

45 so that his people would obey his laws and keep all his commands. Praise the Lord!

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.

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.
• 12. 105.28Exodus 10.21-23.
• 13. 105.29Exodus 7.17-21.
• 14. 105.30Exodus 8.1-6.
• 15. 105.31 aExodus 8.20-24; bExodus 8.16, 17.
• 16. 105.32, 33Exodus 9.22-25.
• 17. 105.34, 35Exodus 10.12-15.
• 18. 105.36Exodus 12.29.
• 19. 105.37, 38Exodus 12.33-36.
• 20. 105.39Exodus 13.21, 22.
• 21. 105.40Exodus 16.2-15.
• 22. 105.41Exodus 17.1-7;Numbers 20.2-13.
• 23. 105.44Joshua 11.16-23.

Footnotes

• [a]. [Some ancient translations] did not obey; [Hebrew] obeyed.
• [b]. [Some ancient translations] They; [Hebrew] He.

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.