"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
We should observe the link between these two main sections of the Psalm, 16-22 and 23-45: the story of Joseph is a kind of parable that has meaning and significance for the nation, a promissory note, so to speak, to assure the people that what God had done in the individual He could, and would, also do in the nation. We should note also, in 16-22 the emphasis on the sovereignty of God in all that happened. He - God - called for a famine! Has this got something to say to us today, in our situation of recurrent crisis? 'Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?' The record of God's dealings with Egypt (27-36) is likewise a reminder of what He can do in a society that refuses His Word. And it could just be that - if there is any purpose of grace in our land at all - He will bring us low in order that, with the consciousness of being at an end of ourselves, He might raise us up again. Israel, after all, was brought into captivity because of her sin and rebellion and neglect of God, then brought out again in a glorious deliverance and made into a spiritual people. What is said in 42, 43 was true so many times in Israel's history. And if we are His at all, all that has been said about the covenant applies to us also. He has purpose for our lives - and whether it is in discipline that He sometimes puts us 'through the mill', or in judgment, there is ever the 'afterwards' of grace and blessing. Even the time when it will be true to say what the Psalmist says in 20, 37, 42 and 43. Here, then, is a word for those conscious of being under discipline: call upon the Name of the Lord (1).