Psalm 105
BSB
Tell of His Wonders
(1 Chronicles 16:7–22)
1Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name;
make known His deeds among the nations.
2Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
tell of all His wonders.
3Glory in His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4Seek out the LORD and His strength;
seek His face always.
5Remember the wonders He has done,
His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced,
6O offspring of His servant Abraham,
O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones.
7He is the LORD our God;
His judgments carry throughout the earth.
8He remembers His covenant forever,
the word He ordained for a thousand generations—
9the covenant He made with Abraham,
and the oath He swore to Isaac.
10He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
11“I will give you the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.”
12When they were few in number,
few indeed, and strangers in the land,
13they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
14He let no man oppress them;
He rebuked kings on their behalf:
15“Do not touch My anointed ones!
Do no harm to My prophets!”
16He called down famine on the land
and cut off all their supplies of food.
17He sent a man before them—
Joseph, sold as a slave.
18They bruised his feet with shackles
and placed his neck in irons,
19until his prediction came true
and the word of the LORD proved him right.
20The king sent and released him;
the ruler of peoples set him free.
21He made him master of his household,
ruler over all his substance,
22to instruct his princes as he pleased
and teach his elders wisdom.
23Then Israel entered Egypt;
Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.
24And the LORD made His people very fruitful,
more numerous than their foes,
25whose hearts He turned to hate His people,
to conspire against His servants.
26He sent Moses His servant,
and Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27They performed His miraculous signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
28He sent darkness, and it became dark—
yet they defied His words.
29He turned their waters to blood
and caused their fish to die.
30Their land teemed with frogs,
even in their royal chambers.
31He spoke, and insects swarmed—
gnats throughout their country.
32He gave them hail for rain,
with lightning throughout their land.
33He struck their vines and fig trees
and shattered the trees of their country.
34He spoke, and the locusts came—
young locusts without number.
35They devoured every plant in their land
and consumed the produce of their soil.
36Then He struck all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of all their vigor.
37He brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and none among His tribes stumbled.
38Egypt was glad when they departed,
for the dread of Israel had fallen on them.
39He spread a cloud as a covering
and a fire to light up the night.
40They asked, and He brought quail
and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
41He opened a rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed like a river in the desert.
42For He remembered His holy promise
to Abraham His servant.
43He brought forth His people with rejoicing,
His chosen with shouts of joy.
44He gave them the lands of the nations,
that they might inherit the fruit of others’ labor,
45that they might keep His statutes
and obey His laws.
Hallelujah!
Introduction
Psalms 105
Some of the psalms of praise are very short, others very long, to teach us that, in our devotions, we should be more observant how our hearts work than how the time passes and neither overstretch ourselves by coveting to be long nor over-stint ourselves by coveting to be short, but either the one or the other as we find in our hearts to pray. This is a long psalm; the general scope is the same with most of the psalms, to set forth the glory of God, but the subject-matter is particular. Every time we come to the throne of grace we may, if we please, furnish ourselves out of the word of God (out of the history of the New Testament, as this out of the history of the Old) with new songs, with fresh thoughts - so copious, so various, so inexhaustible is the subject. In the foregoing psalm we are taught to praise God for his wondrous works of common providence with reference to the world in general. In this we are directed to praise him for his special favours to his church. We find the first eleven verses of this psalm in the beginning of that psalm which David delivered to Asaph to be used (as it should seem) in the daily service of the sanctuary when the ark was fixed in the place he had prepared for it, by which it appears both who penned it and when and upon what occasion it was penned, Ch1 16:7, etc. David by it designed to instruct his people in the obligations they lay under to adhere faithfully to their holy religion. Here is the preface (Psa 105:1-7) and the history itself in several articles. I. God's covenant with the patriarchs (Psa 105:8-11). II. His care of them while they were strangers (Psa 105:12-15). III. His raising up Joseph to be the shepherd and stone of Israel (Psa 105:16-22). IV. The increase of Israel in Egypt and their deliverance out of Egypt (v. 23-38). V. The care he took of them in the wilderness and their settlement in Canaan (Psa 105:39-45). In singing this we must give to God the glory of his wisdom and power, his goodness and faithfulness, must look upon ourselves as concerned in the affairs of the Old Testament church, both because to it were committed the oracles of God, which are our treasure, and because out of it Christ arose, and these things happened to it for ensamples.
Cross-references: 1Chr 16:7 · Ps 105:1 · Ps 105:8 · Ps 105:12 · Ps 105:16 · Ps 105:39