1 O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
2 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.
3 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
4 Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.
5 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
6 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
7 He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
12 When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.
13 When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;
14 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;
15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
1 O give thanks H3034 unto the LORD; H3068 call H7121 upon his name: H8034 make known H3045 his deeds H5949 among the people. H5971
2 Sing H7891 unto him, sing psalms H2167 unto him: talk H7878 ye of all his wondrous works. H6381
3 Glory H1984 ye in his holy H6944 name: H8034 let the heart H3820 of them rejoice H8055 that seek H1245 the LORD. H3068
4 Seek H1875 the LORD, H3068 and his strength: H5797 seek H1245 his face H6440 evermore. H8548
5 Remember H2142 his marvellous works H6381 that he hath done; H6213 his wonders, H4159 and the judgments H4941 of his mouth; H6310
6 O ye seed H2233 of Abraham H85 his servant, H5650 ye children H1121 of Jacob H3290 his chosen. H972
7 He is the LORD H3068 our God: H430 his judgments H4941 are in all the earth. H776
8 He hath remembered H2142 his covenant H1285 for ever, H5769 the word H1697 which he commanded H6680 to a thousand H505 generations. H1755
9 Which covenant he made H3772 with Abraham, H85 and his oath H7621 unto Isaac; H3446
10 And confirmed H5975 the same unto Jacob H3290 for a law, H2706 and to Israel H3478 for an everlasting H5769 covenant: H1285
11 Saying, H559 Unto thee will I give H5414 the land H776 of Canaan, H3667 the lot H2256 of your inheritance: H5159
12 When they were but a few men H4962 in number; H4557 yea, very few, H4592 and strangers H1481 in it.
13 When they went H1980 from one nation H1471 to another, from one kingdom H4467 to another H312 people; H5971
14 He suffered H3240 no man H120 to do them wrong: H6231 yea, he reproved H3198 kings H4428 for their sakes;
15 Saying, Touch H5060 not mine anointed, H4899 and do my prophets H5030 no harm. H7489
1 Oh give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name; Make known among the peoples his doings.
2 Sing unto him, sing praises unto him; Talk ye of all his marvelous works.
3 Glory ye in his holy name: Let the heart of them rejoice that seek Jehovah.
4 Seek ye Jehovah and his strength; Seek his face evermore.
5 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, His wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, Ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is Jehovah our God: His judgments are in all the earth.
8 He hath remembered his covenant for ever, The word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
9 `The covenant' which he made with Abraham, And his oath unto Isaac,
10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a statute, To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance;
12 When they were but a few men in number, Yea, very few, and sojourners in it.
13 And they went about from nation to nation, From one kingdom to another people.
14 He suffered no man to do them wrong; Yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,
15 `Saying', Touch not mine anointed ones, And do my prophets no harm.
1 Give ye thanks to Jehovah -- call ye in His name, Make known among the peoples His acts.
2 Sing ye to Him -- sing praise to Him, Meditate ye on all His wonders.
3 Boast yourselves in His Holy Name, The heart of those seeking Jehovah rejoiceth.
4 Seek ye Jehovah and His strength, Seek ye His face continually.
5 Remember His wonders that He did, His signs and the judgments of His mouth.
6 O seed of Abraham, His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones.
7 He `is' Jehovah our God, In all the earth `are' His judgments.
8 He hath remembered to the age His covenant, The word He commanded to a thousand generations,
9 That He hath made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac,
10 And doth establish it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel -- a covenant age-during,
11 Saying, `To thee I give the land of Canaan, The portion of your inheritance,'
12 In their being few in number, But a few, and sojourners in it.
13 And they go up and down, from nation unto nation, From a kingdom unto another people.
14 He hath not suffered any to oppress them And He reproveth for their sakes kings.
15 `Strike not against Mine anointed, And to My prophets do not evil.'
1 Give ye thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name; make known his acts among the peoples.
2 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him; meditate upon all his wondrous works.
3 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek Jehovah.
4 Seek Jehovah and his strength, seek his face continually;
5 Remember his wondrous works which he hath done, his miracles and the judgments of his mouth:
6 Ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He, Jehovah, is our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He is ever mindful of his covenant, -- the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, --
9 Which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac;
10 And he confirmed it unto Jacob for a statute, unto Israel for an everlasting covenant,
11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance;
12 When they were a few men in number, of small account, and strangers in it.
13 And they went from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.
14 He suffered no man to oppress them, and reproved kings for their sakes,
15 [Saying,] Touch not mine anointed ones, and do my prophets no harm.
1 Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvelous works.
3 Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.
4 Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more.
5 Remember his marvelous works that he has done; His wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,
6 You seed of Abraham, his servant, You children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is Yahweh, our God. His judgments are in all the earth.
8 He has remembered his covenant forever, The word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
9 The covenant which he made with Abraham, His oath to Isaac,
10 And confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute; To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
11 Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance;"
12 When they were but a few men in number, Yes, very few, and foreigners in it.
13 They went about from nation to nation, From one kingdom to another people.
14 He allowed no one to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,
15 "Don't touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!"
1 O give praise to the Lord; give honour to his name, talking of his doings among the peoples.
2 Let your voice be sounding in songs and melody; let all your thoughts be of the wonder of his works.
3 Have glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who are searching after the Lord be glad.
4 Let your search be for the Lord and for his strength; let your hearts ever be turned to him.
5 Keep in mind the great works which he has done; his wonders, and the decisions of his mouth;
6 O you seed of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his loved ones.
7 He is the Lord our God: he is judge of all the earth.
8 He has kept his agreement in mind for ever, the word which he gave for a thousand generations;
9 The agreement which he made with Abraham, and his oath to Isaac;
10 And he gave it to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an eternal agreement;
11 Saying, To you will I give the land of Canaan, the measured line of your heritage:
12 When they were still small in number, and strange in the land;
13 When they went about from one nation to another, and from one kingdom to another people.
14 He would not let anyone do them wrong; he even kept back kings because of them,
15 Saying, Put not your hand on those who have been marked with my holy oil, and do my prophets no wrong.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 105
Commentary on Psalms 105 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 105
Ps 105:1-45. After an exhortation to praise God, addressed especially to the chosen people, the writer presents the special reason for praise, in a summary of their history from the calling of Abraham to their settlement in Canaan, and reminds them that their obedience was the end of all God's gracious dealings.
1. call … name—(Ps 79:6; Ro 10:13). Call on Him, according to His historically manifested glory. After the example of Abraham, who, as often as God acquired for Himself a name in guiding him, called in solemn worship upon the name of the Lord (Ge 12:8; 13:4).
among the people—or, "peoples" (Ps 18:49).
deeds—or, "wonders" (Ps 103:7).
3, 4. Seeking God's favor is the only true mode of getting true happiness, and His strength [Ps 105:4] is the only true source of protection (compare Ps 32:11; 40:16).
Glory … name—boast in His perfections. The world glories in its horses and chariots against the Church of God lying in the dust; but our hope is in the name, that is, the power and love of God to His people, manifested in past deliverances.
5, 6. judgments … mouth—His judicial decisions for the good and against the wicked.
6. chosen—rather qualifies "children" than "Jacob," as a plural.
7. Rather, "He, Jehovah, is our God." His title, "Jehovah," implies that He, the unchangeable, self-existing Being, makes things to be, that is, fulfils His promises, and therefore will not forsake His people. Though specially of His people, He is God over all.
8-11. The covenant was often ratified.
word—answering to "covenant" [Ps 105:9] in the parallel clause, namely, the word of promise, which, according to Ps 105:10, He set forth for an inviolable law.
commanded—or, "ordained" (Ps 68:28).
to a thousand generations—perpetually. A verbal allusion to De 7:9 (compare Ex 20:6).
9. Which covenant—or, "Word" (Ps 105:8).
10, 11. Alluding to God's promise to Jacob (Ge 28:13). Out of the whole storehouse of the promises of God, only one is prominently brought forward, namely, that concerning the possession of Canaan [Ps 105:11]. Everything revolves around this. The wonders and judgments have all for their ultimate design the fulfilment of this promise.
12-15. few … in number—alluding to Jacob's words (Ge 34:30), "I being few in number."
yea, very few—literally, "as a few," that is, like fewness itself (compare Isa 1:9).
strangers—sojourners in the land of their future inheritance, as in a strange country (Heb 11:9).
13. from one nation to another—and so from danger to danger; now in Egypt, now in the wilderness, and lastly in Canaan. Though a few strangers, wandering among various nations, God protected them.
14. reproved kings—Pharaoh of Egypt and Abimelech of Gerar (Ge 12:17; 20:3).
15. Touch not—referring to Ge 26:11, where Abimelech says of Isaac, "He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."
mine anointed—as specially consecrated to Me (Ps 2:2). The patriarch was the prophet, priest, and king of his family.
my prophets—in a similar sense, compare Ge 20:7. The "anointed" are those vessels of God, consecrated to His service, "in whom (as Pharaoh said of Joseph, Ge 41:38) the Spirit of God is" [Hengstenberg].
16. God ordered the famine. God
called for a famine—as if it were a servant, ready to come at God's bidding. Compare the centurion's words, as to disease being God's servant (Mt 8:8, 9).
upon the land—namely, Canaan (Ge 41:54).
staff of bread—what supports life (Le 26:26; Ps 104:15; Isa 3:1).
17-21. Joseph was sent of God (Ge 45:5).
18. hurt with fetters—(Ge 40:3).
was laid in iron—literally, "his soul" (see on Ps 16:10), or, "he came into iron," or, he was bound to his grief (compare Ps 3:2; 11:1). The "soul" is put for the whole person, because the soul of the captive suffers still more than the body. Joseph is referred to as being an appropriate type of those "bound in affliction and iron" (Ps 107:10).
19. his word came—His prophecy (Ge 41:11-20) to the officers came to pass, or was fulfilled (Jud 13:12, 17; 1Sa 9:6, explain the form of speech).
the word of the Lord—or, "saying," or "decree of the Lord."
tried him—or, "proved him," by the afflictions it appointed him to endure before his elevation (compare Ge 41:40-43).
22. To bind—Not literally bind; but exercise over them absolute control, as the parallel in the second clause shows; also Ge 41:40, 44, in which not literal fettering, but commanding obedience, is spoken of. It refers to Ps 105:18. The soul that was once bound itself now binds others, even princes. The same moral binding is assigned to the saints (Ps 149:8).
teach … senators wisdom—the ground of his exaltation by Pharaoh was his wisdom (Ge 41:39); namely, in state policy, and ordering well a kingdom.
23-25. Israel … and Jacob—that is, Jacob himself is meant, as Ps 105:24 speaks of "his people." Still, he came with his whole house (Ge 46:6, 7).
sojourned—(Ge 47:4).
land of Ham—or, Egypt (Ps 78:51).
25. turned their heart—God controls men's free acts (compare 1Sa 10:9). "When Saul had turned his back to go from (God's prophet) Samuel, God turned (Margin) him another heart" (see Ex 1:8, &c.). Whatever evil the wicked man plots against God's people, God holds bound even his heart, so as not to lay a single plan except what God permits. Thus Isaiah (Isa 43:17) says it was God who brought forth the army of Pharaoh to pursue Israel to their own destruction (Ex 4:21; 7:3).
26. Moses … chosen—both what they were by divine choice (Ps 78:70).
27. signs—literally, "words of signs," or rather, as "words" in Hebrew means "things," "things of His signs," that is, His marvellous tokens of power (Ps 145:5, Margin). Compare the same Hebraism (Ps 65:3, Margin).
28-36. The ninth plague is made prominent as peculiarly wonderful.
they rebelled not—Moses and Aaron promptly obeyed God (Heb 11:27); (compare Ex 7:1-11:10 and Ps 78:44-51, with which this summary substantially agrees). Or, rather, the "darkness" here is figurative (Jer 13:16), the literal plague of darkness (Ex 10:22, 23) being only alluded to as the symbol of God's wrath which overhung Egypt as a dark cloud during all the plagues. Hence, it is placed first, out of the historical order. Thus, "They rebelled not (that is, no longer) against His word," refers to the Egyptians. Whenever God sent a plague on them, they were ready to let Israel go, though refusing when the plague ceased.
his word—His command to let Israel go [Hengstenberg]. Of the ten plagues, only eight are mentioned, the fifth, the murrain of beasts, and the sixth, the boils, being omitted.
29-31. He deprived them of their favorite "fish," and gave them instead, [Ps 105:30] out of the water, loathsome "frogs," and (Ps 105:31) upon their land tormenting "flies" (the dog-fly, according to Maurer) and "lice" (gnats, according to Hengstenberg).
32. gave them—referring to Le 26:4, "I give you rain in due season." His "gift" to Israel's foes is one of a very different kind from that bestowed on His people.
hail for rain—instead of fertilizing showers, hail destructive to trees. This forms the transition to the vegetable kingdom. The locusts in Ps 105:34 similarly are destructive to plants.
33. their coasts—all their land (Ps 78:54).
34. caterpillars—literally, "the lickers up," devouring insects; probably the hairy-winged locust.
36. the chief—literally, "the firstlings." The ascending climax passes from the food of man to man himself. The language here is quoted from Ps 78:51.
37. with silver and gold—presented them by the Egyptians, as an acknowledgment due for their labors in their bondage (compare Ex 12:35).
one feeble person—or, "stumbler," unfit for the line of march. Compare "harnessed," that is, accoutred and marshalled as an army on march (Ex 13:18; Isa 5:27).
38. (Compare Ex 12:33; De 11:25).
39. covering—in sense of protection (compare Ex 13:21; Nu 10:34). In the burning sands of the desert the cloud protected the congregation from the heat of the sun; an emblem of God's protecting favor of His people, as interpreted by Isaiah (Isa 4:5, 6; compare Nu 9:16).
42-45. The reasons for these dealings: (1) God's faithfulness to His covenant, "His holy promise" of Canaan, is the fountain whence flowed so many acts of marvellous kindness to His people (compare Ps 105:8, 11). Ex 2:24 is the fundamental passage [Hengstenberg]. (2) That they might be obedient. The observance of God's commands by Abraham was the object of the covenant with him (Ge 18:19), as it was also the object of the covenant with Israel, that they might observe God's statutes.
remembered … and Abraham—or, "remembered His holy word (that is, covenant confirmed) with Abraham."
44. inherited the labour—that is, the fruits of their labor; their corn and vineyards (Jos 21:43-45).