Psalms 105-107

Thoughts

Psalm 105

Tell of All His Wondrous Works

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

• Opening call to worship focuses on remembering.
• “Make known his deeds among the peoples” we need to GO and TELL
• Seeking God’s presence should be done continually 

He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”

• Abraham → Isaac → Jacob → Israel.
• “Everlasting covenant” shows God’s reliability despite Israel’s failures.

When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”

• Israel’s beginnings were small yet God protected them.
• Other nations were not too powerful for Him.

When he summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply of bread,
he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord tested him.
The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
he made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
to bind his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.

• The Joseph story is retold 
• Joseph’s suffering (“fetters… iron”) is acknowledged 
• “The word of the Lord tested him”  God formed Joseph through trials.
• Joseph’s rise to power is part of God’s plan

Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
And the Lord made his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes.
He turned their hearts to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.

• Israel’s move to Egypt is described as guided by God.
• They then multiplied I

He sent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They performed his signs among them
and miracles in the land of Ham.
He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they did not rebel against his words.
He turned their waters into blood
and caused their fish to die.
Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
He gave them hail for rain,
and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
He spoke, and the locusts came,
young locusts without number,
which devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the first fruits of all their strength.

• The plagues  are recounted 
• Moses and Aaron are simply His “servant” and “chosen”
• The repeated phrase “He spoke” shows who was in control

Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.
He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
They asked, and he brought quail,
and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.

• Israel leaves Egypt strengthened
• Cloud and fire represent God’s guidance.
• Quail and manna show daily provision
• Water from the rock shows God’s miracles

For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.
So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!

• Everything God did came from His promise to Abraham.
• The exodus is portrayed as a  rescue, not an escape.

Psalm 106

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

Praise the Lord!
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
or declare all his praise?
Blessed are they who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times!
Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
help me when you save them,
that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory with your inheritance.

• The psalm begins with worship but turns to a plea.
• No one can fully recount God’s deeds 
• The psalmist asks to be included in God’s salvation

Both we and our fathers have sinned;
we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wondrous works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
that he might make known his mighty power.
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
So he saved them from the hand of the foe
and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
And the waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.
Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.

• Israel’s story becomes the psalmist’s story.
• It is failure to forget God’s works and His steadfast love.
• God saved “for his name’s sake” 
• The Red Sea crossing is retold as God’s rebuke of the waters.

But they soon forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel.
But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
and put God to the test in the desert;
he gave them what they asked,
but sent a wasting disease among them.

• Israel’s faith was shallow 
• “Wanton craving” refers to demanding things outside God’s will.
• Sometimes God gives what people insist on, but with consequences!

When men in the camp were jealous of Moses
and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,
the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and covered the company of Abiram.
Fire also broke out in their company;
the flame burned up the wicked.

• Rebellion against God’s appointed leaders (Num 16) brought severe judgment.

They made a calf in Horeb
and worshiped a metal image.
They exchanged the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
They forgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
Therefore he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

• The golden calf episode is told as exchanging God’s glory for an animal.
• Forgetfulness again leads to idolatry.
• Moses’ intercession temporarily shields Israel from destruction.

Then they despised the pleasant land,
having no faith in his promise.
They murmured in their tents,
and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
scattering them among the lands.

• Rejecting the promised land is described as despising God’s gift.

Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was stayed.
And that was counted to him as righteousness
from generation to generation forever.

• Israel adopts pagan worship practices, 
• Phinehas’ decisive action halts judgment 

They angered him at the waters of Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their account;
for they made his spirit bitter,
and he spoke rashly with his lips.

• Even Moses is affected by Israel’s rebellion.

They did not destroy the peoples,
as the Lord commanded them,
but they mixed with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.
They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons;
they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was polluted with blood.
Thus they became unclean by their acts,
and played the whore in their deeds.

• Failure to obey God’s command leads to paganism
• Idolatry escalates into horrific practices, including child sacrifice.
• The language of “played the whore” reflects covenant betrayal and is used throughout bible

Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
and he abhorred his heritage;
he gave them into the hand of the nations,
so that those who hated them ruled over them.
Their enemies oppressed them,
and they were brought into subjection under their power.
Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes
and were brought low through their iniquity.

• God’s judgment leads to other nations taking over
• Even after repeated deliverance, Israel cycles back into rebellion.

Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
when he heard their cry.
For their sake he remembered his covenant,
and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
He caused them to be pitied
by all those who held them captive.

• God’s compassion overrides judgment because of His covenant and steadfast love.

Save us, O Lord our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!

• The psalmist responds with a prayer for restoration

Psalm 107

Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

• The gathering “from all directions” hints at return-from-exile imagery and God’s global reach.

Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

• First story: Israel was lost wanderers with no home and fading strength
• “they cried… and he delivered.”
• God responds 
• Refrain appears: Thank Him for His hesed and His “wondrous works.”

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.

• Second rescue story: rebels in darkness and bondage because of their own choices.
• God disciplines (“bowed their hearts down”),
• Again they cry out to God
• God breaks strong barriers (“doors of bronze… bars of iron”).

Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

• Third rescue story: Fools trapped in sin
• “near the gates of death” shows how severe their lives had become
• God heals by sending His word 
• Thanksgiving and joy

Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

• Fourth rescue story: sailors overwhelmed by the sea
• God commands the storm 
• Their “wits’ end” becomes the moment they cry to God.
• God stills the waters
• Thanksgiving is shown

He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.
By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish.

• God reverses circumstances from good to bad or vice versa 
• Human wickedness can bring ruin but God brings restoration

When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
but he raises up the needy out of affliction
and makes their families like flocks.
The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

• God humbles oppressive rulers and lifts up the afflicted.

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

• The whole psalm is teaching wisdom: notice the patterns!!
• Wisdom means paying attention to how God acts in history and in our lives.

Questions

Application

Psalm 105 walks through Israel’s entire history to make one point: God keeps His covenant, even when His people are struggling. We can use this psalm to encourage us to remember God’s miraculous works in our lives. Psalm 106 shows patterns of Israel forgetting God, doubting His goodness, or adopting the habits of the nations around them. But this psalm isn’t just about Israel, it’s about our sin as well. We must confess sin and repent, because God’s steadfast love is stronger than sin. Psalm 107 shows four stories with a similar pattern. Trouble led to crying out to God which led to deliverance.  No situation is beyond God’s reach.