PSALM 105 - REMEMBERING GOD'S FAITHFULNESS

 PSALM 105

Remembering God’s Faithfulness

This psalm is a call to worship God for his faithfulness, being thankful for the great deeds he has done in the past. The psalmist lists these deeds in the history of Israel to so that his people will remember his covenantal love and faithfulness. 

Psalms 105 and 106 are a pair, both calling on Israel to praise the Lord, but with different emphasis. Psalm 105 emphasizes God’s faithfulness and 106 emphasizes Israel's sin. 

The last part of Psalm 105 is included in the thanksgiving song of David placed in 1 Chronicles 16. David composed and sang the song with the Levites upon bringing the ark to Jerusalem. 

The Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) places the last line of Psalm 104 as the first line of Psalm 105 which makes both 105 and 106 begin with “praise the Lord”. This makes sense since the psalms are paired together. 

The Call To Give Thanks

105:1-6

The psalmist calls Israel to give thanks to God for his great deeds. He gives different ways to do this: to tell others of God’s wondrous deeds, to sing praises, to glory in his name, to rejoice, to seek his presence, and to remember what he has done. 

This is a microcosm of the believer’s life. We continually come into God’s presence to worship. We rejoice and we sing. All of this we do with an attitude of thankfulness. Then, we go out and tell others about God.

This psalm is directed to the Israelites (children of Abraham and Jacob), whom he calls his chosen ones. But it applies to New Testament believers too, as we now are chosen members of God’s household. Peter called us a chosen race and a holy nation. (1 Peter 2:9) 

The Covenant God of Abraham 

105:6-15

The psalmist begins his history of God’s works with Israel at the beginning, the covenant with Abraham. (8) He made a covenant with Abraham, reaffirmed it to Abraham’s son, Isaac, and his grandson, Jacob, whose name he changed to “Israel”. He would make him a great nation and give them the land of Canaan as a home. (11)

God protected Israel even when it was a small group of people. (12)

They had no home and moved about the land. He protected them even when they sinned. Abraham passed his wife off as his sister to a king. Yet, God intervened and saved them. (Genesis 14:1-6) Jacob lied to his father and took his brother’s blessing. (Genesis 27) Yet, God blessed him and continued the covenant through him. 

God Provided For Israel In Egypt

105:16-38

God provided for Israel’s needs in advance. Before the famine began, God sent Joseph to Egypt as his brothers sold him into slavery. But, God had him released and set up as a ruler in Egypt. (16) When Jacob and his family came to Egypt, God, through Joseph, provided for him. He also made them very fruitful and they grew in number. (24)

When Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites, God sent Moses and Aaron to deliver them. (26) God imposed plagues on Egypt through Moses. The psalmist listed them. Darkness, water into blood, frogs, flies, hail, pestilence and locust to kill crops and, finally, the death of all the firstborn. (36)

God did not forget his covenant with Abraham and his descendants, but brought them out of Egypt and back to Canaan. He also provided for them with the silver and gold of the Egyptians, given to the Israelites to make them leave the country. (37-38) He had promised these riches to Abraham. (Genesis 15:45)

God Provided For Israel During the Exodus

105:39-45

As they crossed the wilderness, God led them by a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night. (39) It showed them the way. And it showed them God was present with them. 

He provided them food with quail and with manna from heaven. (40) He gave them water from a rock in the desert. 

All of this was God remembering and keeping his covenant with Abraham.

The Purpose of God 

105:45

God’s purpose in all of this, in keeping his covenant, was to create a people who would obey him and worship him. 

Takeaways

We, as believers, can consider God’s faithfulness to Israel as a part of our history; it is our spiritual history.

We should also remember God’s faithfulness to the church over the centuries and to us as individuals and thank him for it. 

God preserved Israel because he is faithful, not because they deserved it. It is the same for us. 

God’s promise to Abraham of a land is a type of his promise of eternal life for the believer; Abraham himself desired a better, heavenly country and a city prepared for us by God. (Hebrews 11:16)