God’s marvelous works will be had in everlasting remembrance by the thoughtful and the grateful,
and should be the subject of familiar discourse.
We should continually give thanks to Him,
for at best we can give but poor returns for such rich receivings.
Psalm 1
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.
16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.
17 He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:
19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.
20 The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.
21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:
22 To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.
23 Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.
25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.
29 He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.
30 Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts.
32 He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.
33 He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.
34 He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number,
35 And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.
36 He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.
37 He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.
40 The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.
43 And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness:
44 And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people;
45 That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 105:1-15 – The Lord’s Covenant with Israel
This psalm and the next are a pair, probably composed during the Exile in Babylon. They are evidently derived in part from the old Tabernacle service, in which is found the beginning of this psalm and the end of the next, I Chronicles 16. Here we have the story of Jehovah’s faithfulness to his Covenant and of Israel’s ingratitude.
It is right to make known God’s doings. Nothing touches men more quickly, or excites faith and hope more certainly, than to hear what others have experienced of God’s saving health. Let us talk more often of His marvelous works. If God has forgiven you, even to ten thousand talents, confess it. If you have learned more of Christ’s patience in His bearing with your sins and failures, tell it out. The salient points which stand out in our record of the past may be summarized under the same general headings as those of the psalmist. God has been mindful of His Covenant, ratified by the blood of his Son. He has shown his independence of human standards in choosing us, though we are absolutely unworthy to inherit His Kingdom. How often He has interposed in our behalf even when we have deserved the worst, saying, Touch not mine anointed! —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 105:16-30 – Wonders in Egypt
The psalmist retells the story of Joseph, as a link in the chain of providences which secured the fulfillment of the Covenant. It may be that it was also introduced to comfort Israel amid the afflictions of the Captivity. This is what pain does for us all; it puts iron into our blood (Psalm 105:18). In Psalm 105:19 we learn that God’s promise, while unfulfilled and apparently contradicted by present facts, serves as a test of a man’s reliance upon God. It brings into clear relief his unwavering faith. Joseph was tested and not found wanting.
In Psalm 105:23-27 carry us a step farther in the unfolding of God’s purpose. The sojourn in Egypt, with its terrible hardships and the trouble that befell the tyrant, is quoted with direct reference to the action and interposition of the Almighty. The psalmist sees only one hand at work. He does not hesitate to ascribe to God even, the hatred which the Egyptians entertained toward Israel, and which, in Pharaoh’s case, meant the hardening of his heart. Such is the inevitable effect when man’s pride conflicts with divine tenderness and love. Let us believe that God is in all the incidents of our daily life and of human history. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 105:18—He was laid in iron.
May we not turn the sentence round, and say that the iron entered into his soul? When we first meet him, Joseph is a tender, yielding lad, with dreams of rule, but no conspicuous power. Yet he emerges from his captivity well qualified to take the helm of Egypt, just then sore driven and tossed by tempest. How can this striking transformation be accounted for, save that he had taken iron into his moral nature through his painful experiences?
The physician often prescribes an iron tonic for anemic patients: and what iron is to the outer man that also the captivity of circumstances, deferred hope, and anguish of soul are to the inner. You have been fickle and uncertain of late; dreaming of power, but powerless; yearning for the only good, but greedy of trifles; you must have a course of iron. God wants Iron Dukes, and Iron souls. And there is a process also by which He can turn Iron to Steel. It means high temperature, sudden transitions, and blasts of heavenly air.
“If call’d, like Abraham’s child, to climb
The hill of sacrifice,
Some angel may be there in time–
Deliverance shall arise!
“Or if some darker lot be good,
Oh, teach us to endure
The sorrow, pain, or solitude
That make the spirit pure!”
Life is very mysterious. Indeed, it would be inexplicable unless we believed that God was preparing us for scenes and ministries that lie beyond the vail of sense in the eternal world, where highly-tempered spirits will be required for special service. —Our Daily Homily
Psalm 105:31-45 – Led by a Mighty Hand
Notice in this enumeration of the plagues that the emphasis in each is laid on God’s direct act. He is the great agent of his own purposes. The tenth plague, Psalm 105:36, is followed by the triumphant exodus, when Israel went forth, enriched with treasure and strong for the march. However sad and weary our life may be, it will one day be rich and strong as it goes forth to serve under new and loftier conditions. How good it is to realize that God hath prepared for us things that surpass human thought, and which are proportioned not according to intellect but according to heart; not according to deeds but according to character!
God is all-sufficient for us. He was everything that Israel needed. Can He not suffice for us? We have good hope, not because of our deserts, but because of the covenant into which He has entered with our Savior, who is our Representative and Federal Head. Not for our sakes, but for His holy Name’s sake, God has pledged Himself to make us His heirs, joint-heirs with His Son, and sharers in all that joy and bliss which await us on the other side. Ought we not, then, to love Him and to keep His statutes and laws? Hallelujah! —Through the Bible Day by Day