Psalms 105

The LORD'S Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.

1 Oh ¹give thanks to the LORD, ²call upon His name; ³Make known His deeds among the peoples.

2 Sing to Him, ⁴sing praises to Him; ⁵Speak of all His wonders.

3 Glory in His holy name; Let the ⁶heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.

4 Seek the LORD and ⁷His strength; ⁸Seek His face continually.

5 Remember His ⁹wonders which He has done, His marvels and the ¹⁰judgments uttered by His mouth,

6 O seed of ¹¹Abraham, His servant, O sons of ¹²Jacob, His ¹³chosen ones!

7 He is the LORD our God; His ¹⁴judgments are in all the earth.

8 He has ¹⁵remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a ¹⁶thousand generations,

9 The ¹⁷covenant which He made with Abraham, And His ¹⁸oath to Isaac.

10 Then He ¹⁹confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant,

11 Saying, "²⁰To you I will give the land of Canaan As the ²¹portion of your inheritance,"

12 When they were only a ²²few men in number, Very few, and ²³strangers in it.

13 And they wandered about from nation to nation, From one kingdom to another people.

14 He ²⁴permitted no man to oppress them, And He ²⁵reproved kings for their sakes:

15 "²⁶Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm."

16 And He ²⁷called for a famine upon the land; He ²⁸broke the whole staff of bread.

17 He ²⁹sent a man before them, Joseph, who was ³⁰sold as a slave.

18 They afflicted his ³¹feet with fetters, He himself was laid in irons;

19 Until the time that his ³²word came to pass, The word of the LORD ³³tested him.

20 The ³⁴king sent and released him, The ruler of peoples, and set him free.

21 He ³⁵made him lord of his house And ruler over all his possessions,

22 To imprison his princes ³⁶at will, That he might teach his elders wisdom.

23 ³⁷Israel also came into Egypt; Thus Jacob ³⁸sojourned in the land of Ham.

24 And He ³⁹caused His people to be very fruitful, And made them stronger than their adversaries.

25 He ⁴⁰turned their heart to hate His people, To ⁴¹deal craftily with His servants.

26 He ⁴²sent Moses His servant, And ⁴³Aaron, whom He had chosen.

27 They ⁴⁴performed His wondrous acts among them, And miracles in the land of Ham.

28 He ⁴⁵sent darkness and made it dark; And they did not ⁴⁶rebel against His words.

29 He ⁴⁷turned their waters into blood And caused their fish to die.

30 Their land swarmed with ⁴⁸frogs Even in the ⁴⁹chambers of their kings.

31 He spoke, and there came a ⁵⁰swarm of flies And ⁵¹gnats in all their territory.

32 He gave them ⁵²hail for rain, And flaming fire in their land.

33 He ⁵³struck down their vines also and their fig trees, And shattered the trees of their territory.

34 He spoke, and ⁵⁴locusts came, And young locusts, even without number,

35 And ate up all vegetation in their land, And ate up the fruit of their ground.

36 He also ⁵⁵struck down all the firstborn in their land, The ⁵⁶first fruits of all their vigor.

37 Then He brought them out with ⁵⁷silver and gold, And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled.

38 Egypt was ⁵⁸glad when they departed, For the ⁵⁹dread of them had fallen upon them.

39 He spread a ⁶⁰cloud for a covering, And ⁶¹fire to illumine by night.

40 They ⁶²asked, and He brought ⁶³quail, And satisfied them with the ⁶⁴bread of heaven.

41 He opened the rock and ⁶⁵water flowed out; It ran in the dry places like a river.

42 For He ⁶⁶remembered His holy word With Abraham His servant;

43 And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful ⁶⁷shout.

44 He ⁶⁸gave them also the lands of the nations, That they ⁶⁹might take possession of the fruit of the peoples' labor,

45 So that they might ⁷⁰keep His statutes And observe His laws, 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. 1 Chr 16:8-22, 34; Psalms 106:1; Isaiah 12:4
• 2. Psalms 99:6
• 3. Psalms 145:12
• 4. Psalms 96:1; Psalms 98:5
• 5. Psalms 77:12; Psalms 119:27; Psalms 145:5
• 6. Psalms 33:21
• 7. Psalms 63:2
• 8. Psalms 27:8
• 9. Psalms 40:5; Psalms 77:11
• 10. Psalms 119:13
• 11. Psalms 105:42
• 12. Psalms 135:4
• 13. 1 Chronicles 16:13; Psalms 106:5; Psalms 135:4
• 14. Isaiah 26:9
• 15. Psalms 105:42; Psalms 106:45; Luke 1:72
• 16. Deuteronomy 7:9
• 17. Genesis 12:7; Genesis 17:2, 8; Genesis 22:16-18; Galatians 3:17
• 18. Genesis 26:3
• 19. Genesis 28:13-15
• 20. Genesis 13:15; Genesis 15:18
• 21. Joshua 23:4; Psalms 78:55
• 22. Genesis 34:30; Deuteronomy 7:7
• 23. Genesis 23:4; Hebrews 11:9
• 24. Genesis 20:7; Genesis 35:5
• 25. Genesis 12:17; Genesis 20:3, 7
• 26. Genesis 26:11
• 27. Genesis 41:54
• 28. Leviticus 26:26; Isaiah 3:1; Ezekiel 4:16
• 29. Genesis 45:5
• 30. Genesis 37:28, 36; Acts 7:9
• 31. Genesis 39:20; Genesis 40:15
• 32. Genesis 40:20, 21
• 33. Psalms 66:10
• 34. Genesis 41:14
• 35. Genesis 41:40-44
• 36. Genesis 41:44
• 37. Genesis 46:6; Acts 7:15
• 38. Acts 13:17
• 39. Exodus 1:7, 9
• 40. Exodus 1:8; Exodus 4:21
• 41. Exodus 1:10; Acts 7:19
• 42. Exodus 3:10; Exodus 4:12
• 43. Exodus 4:14; Numbers 16:5; Numbers 17:5-8
• 44. Psalms 78:43-51; Psalms 105:27-36
• 45. Exodus 10:21, 22
• 46. Psalms 99:7
• 47. Exodus 7:20, 21
• 48. Exodus 8:6
• 49. Exodus 8:3
• 50. Exodus 8:21
• 51. Exodus 8:16, 17
• 52. Exodus 9:23-25
• 53. Psalms 78:47
• 54. Exodus 10:12-15
• 55. Exodus 12:29; Exodus 13:15; Psalms 135:8; Psalms 136:10
• 56. Genesis 49:3
• 57. Exodus 12:35, 36
• 58. Exodus 12:33
• 59. Exodus 15:16
• 60. Exodus 13:21; Nehemiah 9:12; Psalms 78:14; Isaiah 4:5
• 61. Exodus 40:38
• 62. Exodus 16:12; Psalms 78:18
• 63. Exodus 16:13; Numbers 11:31; Psalms 78:27
• 64. Exodus 16:15; Nehemiah 9:15; Psalms 78:24; John 6:31
• 65. Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11; Psalms 78:15; Psalms 114:8; Isaiah 48:21; 1 Corinthians 10:4
• 66. Genesis 15:13, 14; Psalms 105:8
• 67. Exodus 15:1; Psalms 106:12
• 68. Joshua 11:16-23; Joshua 13:7; Psalms 78:55
• 69. Deuteronomy 6:10, 11
• 70. Deuteronomy 4:1, 40

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "Meditate on"
• [b]. I.e. wonderful acts
• [c]. Or "Boast"
• [d]. I.e. wonderful acts
• [e]. Lit "of His mouth"
• [f]. Lit "measuring line"
• [g]. Lit "His soul came into"
• [h]. Or "refined"
• [i]. Lit "bind"
• [j]. Lit "at his"
• [k]. Lit "set the words of His signs"
• [l]. Or "made their rain hail"
• [m]. Or "curtain"
• [n]. Or "One"
• [o]. Or "food"
• [p]. Or "boulder"
• [q]. Lit "They went"
• [r]. Or "Gentiles"
• [s]. Or "Hallelujah!"
• [t]. Heb YAH

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.