Psalm 105:1-45
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Summary
- Praise God because he fulfills his covenant promise to his people.
Details and/or Comments
- Looking back at how God kept his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- How should we respond? Praise and worship (first few verses) and obedience (last verse).
- The first 15 verses parallel what is recorded in 1 Chronicles 16:8-22.
Scripture
Psalm 105:1-45
A call to worship and trust; remember what God has done in the past.
| Scripture Passage | Comments and Links |
| [Psa 104:35b Praise Yah!]
Psa 105:1 Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples. Psa 105:2 Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvelous works. Psa 105:3 Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice. Psa 105:4 Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more. |
Praise and prayer; expressions of devotion and loyalty to God.
In the Hebrew Bible, the last part of the previous chapter - Praise Yah! - is connected with this psalm. With such an arrangement, this phrase would begin and end Psalm 105.
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| Psa 105:5 Remember his marvelous works that he has done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,
Psa 105:6 you seed of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones. Psa 105:7 He is Yahweh, our God. His judgments are in all the earth. |
God's judgments are an expression of holiness and righteousness.
The immediate context focuses on God's judgments against Egypt. |
Introduction
| Scripture Passage | Comments and Links |
| Psa 105:8 He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
Psa 105:9 the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac, Psa 105:10 and confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute; to Israel for an everlasting covenant, Psa 105:11 saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance." |
God remembered his covenant to Abraham; that is, he did what he promised he would do. |
Main body of psalm
| Scripture Passage | Comments and Links |
| Psa 105:12 When they were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners in it.
Psa 105:13 They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people. Psa 105:14 He allowed no one to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes, Psa 105:15 "Don't touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!" |
God protected the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) as they traveled from place to place.
The example given here may be a reference to Genesis 20. We might not agree with Abraham's response in the situation; but what he feared (being killed so that the king could take his wife - v. 11) was a genuine possibility that did sometimes occur. |
| Psa 105:16 He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.
Psa 105:17 He sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave. Psa 105:18 They bruised his feet with shackles. His neck was locked in irons, Psa 105:19 until the time that his word happened, and Yahweh's word proved him true. Psa 105:20 The king sent and freed him; even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free. Psa 105:21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all of his possessions; Psa 105:22 to discipline his princes at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom. Psa 105:23 Israel also came into Egypt. Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. |
The life of Joseph, and the journey to Egypt.
A number of famines occurred in the Mideast, at that point in history. Sometimes it was a form of judgment (as with Israel, in later centuries). God providentially prepared things, so that Abraham's offspring would be spared (Genesis 45:7), even using the evil deeds of Joseph's brothers (Genesis 50:20). Another reason that God sent them to Egypt: The sins of the Canaanites weren't great enough to require their total destruction. God would graciously wait 400 years, until their wickedness reached the "point of no return." |
| Psa 105:24 He increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries.
Psa 105:25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to conspire against his servants. Psa 105:26 He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen. Psa 105:27 They performed miracles among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. Psa 105:28 He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn't rebel against his words. Psa 105:29 He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish. Psa 105:30 Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings. Psa 105:31 He spoke, and swarms of flies came, and lice in all their borders. Psa 105:32 He gave them hail for rain, with lightning in their land. Psa 105:33 He struck their vines and also their fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country. Psa 105:34 He spoke, and the locusts came, and the grasshoppers, without number, Psa 105:35 ate up every plant in their land; and ate up the fruit of their ground. Psa 105:36 He struck also all the firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their manhood. Psa 105:37 He brought them forth with silver and gold. There was not one feeble person among his tribes. Psa 105:38 Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them had fallen on them. |
God's judgments on Egypt. (See the various passages in Exodus, chapters 5 - 12, for more details.) |
| Psa 105:39 He spread a cloud for a covering, fire to give light in the night.
Psa 105:40 They asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of the sky. Psa 105:41 He opened the rock, and waters gushed out. They ran as a river in the dry places. |
Leading Israel through the wilderness. (See the various passages in Exodus, chapters 13, 16 and 17 for more details.) |
Conclusion
| Scripture Passage | Comments and Links |
| Psa 105:42 For he remembered his holy word, and Abraham, his servant.
Psa 105:43 He brought forth his people with joy, his chosen with singing. Psa 105:44 He gave them the lands of the nations. They took the labor of the peoples in possession, Psa 105:45 that they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws. |
(Repeat the idea stated in v. 8-11.) God remembered his covenant to Abraham, that is, he did what he promised he would do.
And why did he do this? That they might obey his commands and do what is right.
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| Praise Yah! |
Scripture Passages
(Only books that have relevance to this study have active links. The others are in italics.)
Genesis • Exodus • Leviticus • Numbers • Deuteronomy • Joshua • Judges • Ruth • 1 Samuel • 2 Samuel • 1 Kings • 2 Kings • 1 Chronicles • 2 Chronicles • Ezra • Nehemiah • Esther • Job • Psalms • Proverbs • Ecclesiastes • Song of Solomon • Isaiah • Jeremiah • Lamentations • Ezekiel • Daniel • Hosea • Joel • Amos • Obadiah • Jonah • Micah • Nahum • Habakkuk • Zephaniah • Haggai • Zechariah • Malachi Matthew • Mark • Luke • John • Acts • Romans • 1 Corinthians • 2 Corinthians • Galatians • Ephesians • Philippians • Colossians • 1 Thessalonians • 2 Thessalonians • 1 Timothy • 2 Timothy • Titus • Philemon • Hebrews • James • 1 Peter • 2 Peter • 1 John • 2 John • 3 John • Jude • Revelation |
—— To avoid any copyright issues, all Scripture is either from a public domain translation (such as the World English Bible), my own translation, or a combination of these. ——
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The name "Yahweh," when present in an Old Testament passage, represents the Hebrew name for the God of the Bible.
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Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.
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