"Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgements he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgements are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant for ever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”
16 When he summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord tested him.
20 The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.
26 He sent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them
and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they did not rebel against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
young locusts without number,
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of all their strength.
37 Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and he brought quail,
and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.
43 So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
45 that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!"
Psalm 105
In 6ff we have the basic covenant statement - made and sealed with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the unchanging covenant, everlasting (10) and extended to a thousand generations. We should note what is being said in these verses: God, the covenanting God, laid His sovereign hand on one man, Abraham, and his family, few in number (12) and strangers on the earth (Hebrews 11:13), and took them up and made them, not only a great nation (24) but forged them into an instrument of His sovereign, redemptive purposes in the world. And this is the point that is being made: when God calls, when God lays His hand upon a life, that life is taken up, caught up, into meaning and purpose, and into the divine energy and will for the world. That life comes into its own. And it does not matter how small, how insignificant, how unknown that life may be, it can be invested with glorious meaning and destiny. That is what 'covenant' means: it is the grace of a gracious God overshadowing a useless bit of clay and making of it a vessel unto honour and glory. It is to this high dignity (14, 15) that our worthless lives are brought. Is not this something very wonderful, and are there not many salvations in- volved and implied in such a staggering reality? In 16ff - and this is the heart of the Psalm's message and thrust - we are shown how that covenant worked, first of all in Joseph's life (16-22), and then in the life of the nation (23-45). On the one hand, we are given the story of Joseph, and the dark and terrible experiences through which he passed; and the most important thing said here is expressed in 20: 'The king sent and loosed him'. That is covenant grace. On the other hand, we are also given the story of the people of Israel, in all the dark and terrible experiences of captivity through which they passed; and the most important thing said of this is expressed in 37: 'He brought them forth also with silver and gold'. That is covenant grace.