An exhortation to Israel to worship, trust, and obey the LORD for all he has done in covenant faithfulness to them; a call to tell all the nations about their God.
Scripture References:
st. 1 = vv. 1-3
st. 2 = vv. 4-6
st. 3 = vv. 7-11
st. 4 = vv. 12-15
st. 5 = vv. 16-20
st. 6 = vv. 21-24
st. 7 = vv. 25-38
st. 8 = vv. 39-42
st. 9 = vv. 43-45
Psalm 105 was composed for the liturgy of one of Israel's annual religious festivals celebrating God's great acts of salvation, perhaps the Feast of Tabernacles but more likely the Feast of Weeks–see Deuteronomy 16:9-12.
The psalmist exhorts Israel: Remember the LORD'S saving acts and proclaim them to the world (st. 1); remember the wonders the LORD has done; and trust the LORD always in every need (st. 2). God has always remembered his covenant with Israel (w. 8-11, 42-45; st. 3, 9-notice this frame around the main body of the psalm). Examples of this covenant faithfulness are God's ways with Abraham (st. 4), God's ways with Jacob and Joseph (st. 5), God's blessing upon the Israelites under Joseph's rule in Egypt (st. 6), God's deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt (st. 7), and God's provision for Israel in the desert (st. 8). The LORD not only delivered Israel out of Egypt but also gave them the promised land so that they would serve him (st. 9).
Consistent with a basic Old Testament theme, this psalm reminds us that God's claim on our lives is grounded primarily on what God has done for us. Other psalms recounting Israel's history are 78,106,135, and 136. (See 1 Chron. 16:8-36 for an example of a psalm composed of other psalms–16:8-22 = Ps. 105:1-15; 16:23-33 = Ps. 96:1-13; 16:34-36 = Ps. 106:1, 47-48.)
Calvin Seerveld (PHH 22) versified Psalm 105 in 1983 for the Psalter Hymnal.
Liturgical Use:
Christian worship focusing on God's establishment of Israel in the promised land; baptism, stanzas 1-3, with their focus on God's covenant faithfulness.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
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