Psalm 105:1-11

Thanksgiving for God’s Benefits.

After an exhortation to praise God, directed especially to the congregation of Israel, the psalmist offers his reasons for the admonition presented, in a summary of Israel’s history from the calling of Abraham to the settlement in Canaan.

V. 1. O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon His name, both in praising His glory and in proclaiming His essence and attributes; make known His deeds among the people, this proclamation among the nations serving as a missionary call.

V. 2. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him, with the joyful accompaniment of music; talk ye, in willing discussions at home and abroad, of all His wondrous works, of all the miracles performed in the interest of Israel.

V. 3. Glory ye in His holy name, boasting in His perfections, as His attributes show in His deeds; let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord, in true faith and trust.

V. 4. Seek the Lord and His strength, desiring to possess it according to His gracious invitation and promise; seek His face evermore, to bask in the merciful light of His countenance.

V. 5. Remember His marvelous works that He hath done, manifested in the past deliverances, as found in the history of Israel; His wonders and the judgments of His mouth, for His miracles showed Him in His decisions for the good and against the wicked,

v. 6. O ye seed of Abraham, His servant, ye children of Jacob, His chosen, the text implying principally the spiritual descendants of Abraham and Jacob as they were found in the midst of the nation of Israel. After this preliminary exhortation the inspired poet briefly tells of some of Jehovah’s notable deeds. V. 7. He is the Lord, our God, the Yahweh of salvation to all believers; His judgments are in all the earth, in love upon those who fear Him, in anger upon those who oppose Him.

V. 8. He hath remembered His covenant forever, the merciful agreement by which Jehovah had accepted the children of Israel as His own, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations, for the promise by which Abraham and his descendants were designated as the Lord’s people included the wider Messianic meaning and pertained to the chosen of the Lord of all times. V. 9. Which covenant He made with Abraham, Gen. 12, 2-7, and His oath unto Isaac, Gen. 26, 1-6; v. 10. and confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, a covenant ordinance, and to Israel, here the second name of Jacob, Gen. 32, 38, for an everlasting covenant; v. 11. saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, Gen. 13, 14. 15; 15, 18, the lot of your inheritance, the expression denoting the land which is measured off with a cord.