5 Remember His marvelous works
which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,
Psalm 105 is one of the
longest of the five historical psalms (78, 105, 106, 135, 136), in the Bible.
It appears that these psalms were written to create a written memory of the
history of Israel and how God chose them and provided for them so that future
generations would not forget who their God was and how He cared for them. Psalm
105 is one that focuses on our covenant God who always keeps His promises.
Years ago, as I was reading
and studying Psalm 105, I noticed several things that encouraged me about how
God chose Israel as His people and how He provided for them. In my Bible, next
to this psalm I wrote: God’s Promise, God’s People, God’s interest and care is
Personal, God’s Property, God’s Provisions, and God’s Protection.
In this psalm we find God’s
covenant promise to His people Israel. Whether we understand it or not, it is
evident in Scripture that God made a sovereign choice to make the seed of
Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, His chosen people that would reveal His name Jehovah
to an unbelieving and idol worshipping world. It was through them, that God
reveals His love and care for us by giving us His Holy Word, the Bible. It was
through them, that He gave us our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It was through them and their
history, that we can be assured that God keeps His promises! If there was ever
a time we needed to be encouraged with this truth, it is today!
Psalm 105:1-5 opens with the
worshipers' response of joyful praise to the wonderful truths stated in the
psalm. The name "Jehovah—Lord" is used five times (vv. 1, 3,4, 7,19)
and is the covenant name of God, the "holy name" that Israel was to
call on (v. 1) and glory in (v. 3) as they worshiped. Israel was a chosen
people; Jehovah had made no covenant with any other nation (Psalm 147:20; Rom.
9:1-5). In His sovereign grace, the Lord chose Abraham (vv. 6, 9, 42) and made
His covenant with him (Gen. 12:1-5; 15:9-21; Acts 7:1-8), a covenant that would
apply to all of Abraham's physical descendants as well as to believers today as
Abraham's spiritual children (Luke 1:68-79; Gal. 3:1-9, 29). One of the
covenant promises was the gift of the land of Canaan to the people of Israel
(vv. 11, 42-44), and this promise was repeated to Abraham's son Isaac (Gen.
26:1-6) and to his grandson Jacob (Gen. 28:13-17).
This covenant will endure
forever (vv. 8-11; Deut. 7:9). This was an act of grace on the part of the
Lord, for none of the patriarchs had any claim to upon God nor did He owe them
anything. They were homeless nomads—pilgrims and strangers (Heb. 11:8-16)—who
depended on the Lord to protect and guide them (Gen. 34:30; Deut. 7:6-11;
26:5). Even when they erred, the Lord protected them and even reproved kings on
their behalf (Gen. 12:10ff; 20; 26; 32-33). God is sovereign, and though He
does not turn men and women into robots, He does rule and overrule when they
disobey. His will shall be done, and His plans shall be fulfilled (vv. 8-11;
19; 42).
There are ten commandments in
verses 1-5, ("seek" is found twice), climaxing with
"remember" (v. 5). Their thanksgiving, praying, and singing were a
witness to the nations around them and a testimony to the power and glory of
the Lord. An obedient Israel was to be God's "exhibit A" to the
nations so that they would want to know the true and living God of the Jewish
people.
I believe we are seeing this
reality played out before our very eyes in our current news today!
God bless!
