Trusting the God Who Keeps Covenant
Psalm 105 calls us to give thanks, seek, and remember — for the God who established an eternal covenant preserves His people even in their lowest wilderness.
Praise GOD;call on this name;proclaim God’s deeds among the peoples. Sing out praises;speak of all those wondrous acts. Exult in this holy name;let all who seek GOD rejoice. Turn to GOD, to divine might; seek God’s presence constantly. Remember the wonders that have been done,the portents, and judgments pronounced, O offspring of Abraham, God’s servant,O descendants of Jacob, the chosen ones. The ETERNAL is our God,whose judgments are throughout the earth. [God] is ever mindful of the covenant,the promise given for a thousand generations, that was made with Abraham,sworn to Isaac, and confirmed in a decree for Jacob,for Israel, as an eternal covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaanas your allotted heritage.” They were then few in number,a mere handful, sojourning there, wandering from nation to nation,from one kingdom to another. None were allowed to oppress them;kings were reproved on their account, “Do not touch My anointed ones;do not harm My prophets.” A famine was called down on the land,destroying every staff of bread. [God] sent ahead of them an agent—Joseph, sold into slavery. His feet were subjected to fetters;an iron collar was put on his neck. Until his prediction came true GOD’s decree purged him. The king sent to have him freed;the ruler of nations released him. He made him the lord of his household,empowered him over all his possessions, to discipline his princes at will,to teach his elders wisdom. Then Israel came to Egypt;Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. [God] made that people very fruitful,more numerous than their foes, then changed the heart [of the Egyptians] to hate this people,to plot against God’s servants. Moses—God’s servant—was sent,and Aaron, who had been chosen. They performed God’s signs among them,and wonders, against the land of Ham. [God] sent darkness; it was very dark;did they not defy God’s word? Their waters were turned into bloodand their fish were killed. Their land teemed with frogs,even the rooms of their king. Swarms of insects came at God’s command,lice, throughout their country. They were given hail for rain,and flaming fire in their land. Their vines and fig trees were struck,the trees of their country broken down. Locusts came at God’s command,grasshoppers without number. They devoured every green thing in the land;they consumed the produce of the soil. [God] struck down every [male] first-born in the land,the first fruit of their vigor. Israel was led out with silver and gold;none among their tribes faltered. Egypt rejoiced when they left,for dread of Israel had fallen upon them. [God] spread a cloud for a cover,and fire to light up the night. They asked, and were brought quail,and were satisfied with food from heaven. [God] opened a rock so that water gushed forth;it flowed as a stream in the parched land. Mindful of the sacred promiseto Abraham—God’s servant, The people were led out in gladness,God’s chosen ones with joyous song. They were given the lands of nations;they inherited the wealth of peoples, that they might keep God’s lawsand observe God’s teachings.Hallelujah.
Psalm 105:1–20 is a historical recitation inviting Israel to remember God's faithfulness: the covenant with Abraham, the protection of the patriarchs from foreign kings, the famine that drove them to Egypt, and Joseph's suffering that became the very means of preservation. The psalm roots faith not in present comfort but in remembered acts of God.