Christianity
Psalms 105Remembering the Covenant with Abraham
Summary
Psalm 105 calls Israel to give thanks and remember the marvellous works God did for the seed of Abraham. It retells how God protected the patriarchs as they wandered, sent Joseph ahead into Egypt where he was sold and later made ruler, brought plagues on Egypt through Moses and Aaron, and led the people out with silver and gold, cloud and fire, quails and water from the rock. Unlike Psalm 106, it recalls only God's faithfulness, not Israel's failures.
Key verse
“He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.”
Psalms 105:8
Themes
- Covenant Faithfulness
- The Patriarchs
- Joseph in Egypt
- Wonders of the Exodus
Text
O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.
Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.
Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth.
He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.
When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;
He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;
Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.
He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:
Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.
The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.
He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:
To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.
Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.
He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.
He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.
They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.
He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.
He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.
Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.
He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts.
He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.
He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.
He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number,
And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.
He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.
He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.
Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them.
He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.
The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.
And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness:
And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people;
That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD.
Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.
Across traditions
Christianity
Genesis 41: Joseph Made Ruler of EgyptGenesis 41 tells how Joseph was brought from prison and set over Egypt. Psalm 105:17 to 22 compresses the whole Joseph story into a few lines, adding that his feet were hurt with fetters.
Islam
Surah Yusuf (12): The Story of JosephSurah Yusuf tells the same story of Joseph sold into slavery and raised to power in Egypt at far greater length. Both present his rise as God's purpose working through suffering.
Christianity
1 Chronicles 16: The Song at the Ark's Arrival1 Chronicles 16:8 to 22 uses the first fifteen verses of Psalm 105 in the song sung when the ark was brought to Jerusalem.
Questions about Psalms 105
Why does Psalm 105 list the plagues in a different order?
Psalm 105:28 to 36 begins with darkness and names eight plagues, while Exodus describes ten beginning with blood. Poetic selection and arrangement, rather than a different history, is the usual explanation.
What does 'touch not mine anointed' mean in Psalm 105?
Psalm 105:15 has God warning kings not to harm his anointed ones or his prophets, referring to the patriarchs as they wandered among the nations. The phrase is often applied today to religious leaders, though in context it refers to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.