Psalm 105 is a well-belovedPsalm, though I suspect that many of us are more familiar with the first 10verses rather than with the whole psalm.

Like Psalm 104, Psalm 105 isalso a psalm of praise and thanksgiving. However, unlike the previous psalmwhich praises the LORD for His wonderful work of creation, this psalm praisesthe LORD for His redeeming acts towards Israel in Her history.

We might entitle this Psalm:“The Glory of the LORD Displayed in His Covenant Dealings with Israel.”

This Psalm essentially hasthree parts. Verses 1-12, may be subtitled: “Praise God for He has covenantedto bless us” Verses 13-41: “Praise God for His redeeming acts towards Hispeople.” Verse 42- 45: “Praise God He has remembered His covenant.”

Let’s consider these threeparts briefly.

1.Praise God for He has Covenanted to Bless Us

¹ O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon His name: makeknown His deeds among the people.

Thesefamiliar opening words of this Psalm tell us what this Psalm is about. It is apsalm for God’s people to sing among themselves to teach and admonish oneanother to give praise and thanks unto the LORD for all that He has done forus. It is, no doubt, inspired by the Spirit of Christ that as God’s people wemay sing in union with our covenant head to praise God.

What does this Psalm call us todo? Well, it enjoins both vertical and horizontal responsibilities.

Vertically, it calls us to “givethanks unto the LORD” (v. 1a); as well as to“glory… in His holy name” (v. 3); to “seek the LORD” (v. 4) and to “praise… the LORD” (v. 45).

Horizontally, it reminds us toencourage our fellow believers by “[making] known His deeds amongthe people.” (v. 1b).

How are we to do so?

² Sing unto him, sing psalms unto Him: talk ye of all Hiswondrous works.

Weare to praise and thank God by singing psalms unto Him. We are to speak to oneanother and teach and admonish one another about what God’s wondrous works byusing the psalms (Eph 5:19;Col 3:16).

What shall be the result of so doing? The result willbe glory to God, and joy in our heart:

³ Glory ye in His holy name: let the heart of themrejoice that seek the LORD. ⁴ Seek the LORD, and His strength: seekHis face evermore.

Andwhat should we recall and sing about to praise the Lord and to speak to oneanother? Verse 5-12 gives us a summary.

We are to recall “[God’s] marvellous works that He hath done”because of His covenant love towards us. God has made a covenant with Abrahamand therefore with us. “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, andheirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:29).

Andthis promise is unto us and our children (Acts 2:39). God will not forget Hiscovenant. If we would last a thousand generation, God would extend His covenantlove a thousand generations (v. 8; cf. Ex 20:6). This is the same covenant thatGod confirmed with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (v. 9-10).

When the covenant was expressedto these our forefathers in the faith, it was expressed as a promise to givethe land of Canaan as an inheritance (v. 11). But wemust remember that Abraham was “[looking] for a city which hath foundations,whose builder and maker is God” (Heb 11:10).Abraham knew that the land was but a picture of heaven.

The covenant was not aboutland. It is about redemption in Christ. It is an ‘everlasting covenant’ (v.10), which as the apostle to the Hebrews reminds us is sealed by the blood ofChrist (Heb 13:20).

Forthis reason, beloved brethren and children, we have exactly the same reason topraise the LORD as our fathers in the faith. For this reason, we may sing this Psalmto praise God for His covenantal redeeming grace and to encourage one anotherto walk gratefully before the Lord.

What about the second part of this Psalm,which we have subtitled…

2. Praise God for His Redeeming Acts Towards His people

This section forms the bulk of thisPsalm, verses 13-41. But what is this section about? Well, it is really anenumeration of what God did as an outworking of His covenant love towards Hispeople in the formative days of the nation.

The history of the peopleduring the entire period days of Abraham and Isaac and most of the wanderingsof Jacob is covered in verses 13-15. Those were the days when the fatherswandered from place to place—from Ur of theChaldees, to Haran, to Canaan, to Egypt, to Philistia,etc. God, you will remember how God protected Abraham and Isaac from Pharaohand from the Philistine king, Abimelech.

·        Verse 16 speaks of famine whichwas instrumental in the hand of the Lord to bring Jacob’s family into Egyptfor a season.

·        Verse 17-22 speaks of howJoseph was sold as a slave (v. 17); was thrown into prison (v. 18); was giventhe wisdom of the Lord to interpret Pharaoh’s dream (v. 19); was set free andpromoted to prime minister over all Egypt (v. 20-22).

·        Verses 23-24 recounts how thefamily of Israel went into Egypt and grow into a mighty people in Goshen.

·        Verses 25 notes how theEgyptians began to hate the Israelites and made them slaves.

·        Verses26-36 recounts how God raised up Moses and Aaron and through them brought the10 plagues upon Egypt.Only the 5^th and 6^th plague (the plague against livestockand the plague of boils) were missed out in this poetic account.

·        Verses37-38 speaks of how the Israelite plundered the Egyptians, who gave willinglyof their silver and gold because they were exceedingly glad that the Israeliteswere finally leaving them.

·        Verses39-40 records for us how the LORD led and provided for the needs of the peoplemiraculously. For example, He led people with a pillar of cloud by day and apillar of fire by night; and He also provided water from the dry rock when thepeople thirsted.

Now, these things all happenedabout three thousand five hundred years ago. But we must be careful not tothink that they are irrelevant to us, for we must remember that they arerecorded, as the Apostle Paul, puts it: “for our admonition, upon whom the ends of theworld are come” (1 Cor 10:11). As believers in the last days, we are those uponwhom the ends of the world are come.

So these events happened notonly for the sake of the people who experienced the great deliverance. Theyhappened also for us who live in these last days that we may be encouraged byexample of how God through His mighty hand kept His promises to our forefathers.

And this is exactly what thefinal section of this Psalm makes clear, for here we are called to…

3. Praise God He has Remembered His Covenant

The specific acts of Godenumerated really serve to testify of how God remembered His covenant promises:

⁴² For He remembered His holy promise, and Abraham Hisservant. ⁴³ And He brought forth His people with joy, and His chosenwith gladness: ⁴⁴ And gave them the lands of the heathen: and theyinherited the labour of the people; ⁴⁵ That they might observe Hisstatutes, and keep His laws. Praise ye the LORD.

What was God’s covenant andpromises about? It is about redemption from sin and Satan.

Wemust not forget that much of the exodus accounts, have typical significance.Remember that Egyptis a type of the world. Pharaoh is a type of Satan. Slavery in Egyptis a type of bondage to sin. Moses is a type of Christ. Israel was both the church-underageand a type of the Church throughout the ages. Israel’sdeliverance from bondage in Egyptis a type of the Church’s deliverance from sin and the world.

This, I believe, is the reasonwhy the bulk of this Psalm, and indeed, the next psalm is a recounting of thecrucial events in the book of Exodus! Now, we will not have time in this shortstudy to explain the typological significance of the events listed in this Psalm.

However, even without enteringinto the typological significance of specific events, I hope you can see howthe exodus record exemplify God’s covenant love towards His people and how Hekeeps His promises.

God’s covenant, we mustremember, is not only about a piece of real-estate. It is about eternal lifeand eternal inheritance. Eternal life is knowing and enjoying God.

This is what the final sectionof the Psalm would have us realise. God brought forth His people with joy andgladness (v. 43). He gave them the land which He promised their fathers (v.44). But why did He give them the land apart from keeping His promise? Theanswer is in verse 45—“That they might observe His statutes, and keep Hislaws.”

That, beloved brethren and children, is the purpose of redemption. Christ came in order to free us from sin. Sin is lawlessness. Sin is falling short of the glory of God. Sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God. Christ lived, suffered and died to pay for the penalty due to our sin. By grace through faith alone we are justified by the righteousness of Christ. But Christ does not only give us justification; He sends His Spirit to regenerate and to sanctify us too. It is by the Spirit of Christ that we are enabled to observe God’s statutes and laws. By the work of the Spirit, we find that the commandments of God are not grievous! And it is in this way that we find true joy and freedom in this life and the life to come.

Conclusion

This is Psalm 105. It is, as we can see, a psalm of praise and thanksgiving. Let us learn to sing it with gratitude in our hearts in the acknowledgement that the LORD who redeemed Israel out of Egypt is the same LORD. His covenant love for His people has never changed although the circumstances under which His people’s lives have changed and are changing. God is still keeping His promise to save us and our children. Let us praise Him from the bottom of our hearts! Amen. Ω