For He remembered His holy promise, And Abraham His servant. He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness. Psalm 105:42, 43
A History of God’s Faithfulness
Psalm 105 celebrates God’s faithfulness to His covenant with Abraham in the lives of His people. The people needed to remember to be faithful to God, who had never forgotten to be faithful to them. History calls to mind God’s strength and all he has done for his people. Praise the Lord! The psalmist thanks God for His miraculous acts and traces God’s works by relating the history of His faithfulness to Israel. God has delivered His people and is to be praised.
105:5 The psalmist calls to memory what God did for His people in fulfillment of the covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3, 13:14-17; 15:13-21; 17:7, 8; 26:3, 4; 28:13-15). Remember is the key idea of the psalm: The psalmist wanted to remind God’s people of His goodness.
5 Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,
105:8 The psalmist assured his audience that even if they did not remember, God does remember. He remembers: The words of the original promise to Abraham set out the Lord’s obligation in strong terms (Gen. 12:1-3). These ideas are reinforced by the dramatic encounter with Abraham in Gen. 15. In the story of the binding of Isaac in Gen. 22, the Lord undertakes the irrevocable oath of obligation (Gen. 22:16-18).
8 He remembers His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac, 10 And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance,”
105:26 The psalmist recites the history of the plagues to demonstrate the Lord’s power. The plagues took place within time and space; they were the action of God with humans in the real word. But the verses of this psalm are not historical prose; they are a poetic version of the events that capture the horror of it. The order of the plagues is not followed strictly, and only eight of the plagues are mentioned (Ex. 7-11).
27 They performed His signs among them, And wonders in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; And they did not rebel against His word. 29 He turned their waters into blood, And killed their fish. 30 Their land abounded with frogs, Even in the chambers of their kings. 31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, And lice in all their territory. 32 He gave them hail for rain, And flaming fire in their land. 33 He struck their vines also, and their fig trees, And splintered the trees of their territory. 34 He spoke, and locusts came, Young locusts without number, 35 And ate up all the vegetation in their land, And devoured the fruit of their ground. 36 He also destroyed all the firstborn in their land, The first of all their strength. 37 He also brought them out with silver and gold, And there was none feeble among His tribes. 38 Egypt was glad when they departed, For the fear of them had fallen upon them.
105:43, 44 with gladness: This poem celebrates the joy of the Lord in His acts of deliverance. Gave them the lands: The psalm was probably composed after the exile in Babylon. A celebration of God’s gift of land would have been a tremendous source of encouragement to the people who had just returned to the land.
43 He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness. 44 He gave them the lands of the Gentiles, And they inherited the labor of the nations,
** Remember and don’t forget who our God is. He is the one who entered into an irrevocable covenant with us, His creation. By doing so, He bound Himself to us. He has been faithful in keeping the terms of the covenant all by Himself. We are not forgotten. We are not orphans. We are His. He is ours.
My People, My God
105 1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! 2 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! 3 Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! 4 Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore! 5 Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, 6 O seed of Abraham His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones! 7 He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. 8 He remembers His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac, 10 And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance,” 12 When they were few in number, Indeed very few, and strangers in it. 13 When they went from one nation to another, From one kingdom to another people, 14 He permitted no one to do them wrong; Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, 15 Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” 16 Moreover He called for a famine in the land; He destroyed all the provision of bread. 17 He sent a man before them– Joseph–who was sold as a slave. 18 They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons. 19 Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him. 20 The king sent and released him, The ruler of the people let him go free. 21 He made him lord of his house, And ruler of all his possessions, 22 To bind his princes at his pleasure, And teach his elders wisdom. 23 Israel also came into Egypt, And Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham. 24 He increased His people greatly, And made them stronger than their enemies. 25 He turned their heart to hate His people, To deal craftily with His servants. 26 He sent Moses His servant, And Aaron whom He had chosen. 27 They performed His signs among them, And wonders in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; And they did not rebel against His word. 29 He turned their waters into blood, And killed their fish. 30 Their land abounded with frogs, Even in the chambers of their kings. 31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, And lice in all their territory. 32 He gave them hail for rain, And flaming fire in their land. 33 He struck their vines also, and their fig trees, And splintered the trees of their territory. 34 He spoke, and locusts came, Young locusts without number, 35 And ate up all the vegetation in their land, And devoured the fruit of their ground. 36 He also destroyed all the firstborn in their land, The first of all their strength. 37 He also brought them out with silver and gold, And there was none feeble among His tribes. 38 Egypt was glad when they departed, For the fear of them had fallen upon them. 39 He spread a cloud for a covering, And fire to give light in the night. 40 The people asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven. 41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river. 42 For He remembered His holy promise, And Abraham His servant. 43 He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness. 44 He gave them the lands of the Gentiles, And they inherited the labor of the nations, 45 That they might observe His statutes And keep His laws. Praise the Lord!
