Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c (NRSV)
1 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful 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 wonderful works he has
done,
his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,
6 O offspring of his servant Abraham ,
children of Jacob ,
his chosen ones.
23 Then Israel Egypt
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful,
and made them stronger than their foes,
25 whose hearts he then turned to hate
his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses ,
and Aaron
whom he had chosen.
45 Praise the Lord!
Psalm 105-6 is an historical hymn.
I Chronicles 16:8-22 quotes this psalm at a festival. Psalm 78 is like this
psalm in its focus upon the mighty deeds and miracles of the Lord. Strangely, no mention of anything associated
with Sinai. Psalm 105 was originally the first half of a longer psalm, of which
Psalm 106 is the continuation. While both psalms present a theological
interpretation of the history of Israel, that interpretation includes a
confession of the sins of Israel that led to judgment and punishment. This view
of Israel's history - that faithfulness leads to blessing and prosperity, while
unfaithfulness leads to punishment and suffering - is the dominant theological
view of the OT. Only rarely does anyone question it. Most famously, this
questioning occurs in the Book of Job. However, even an acknowledgment of
Israel’s sins cannot squelch the spirit of thankfulness that characterizes
Psalm 105. The psalm must have been part of the covenant festival. The focus of
the festival was to help people today remember what God had done among the
people of God in the past. Verses 1-6 are an introduction to the hymn. I would
point first to the call to give thanks and to call upon the Lord. The
focus of worship is to re-direct our attention from our natural inclination
to focus upon ourselves and to direct our attention to the Lord. Such
re-centering, recognizing the center of our lives is outside us, is vital to
our spiritual growth. Yet, a second point centers on the “Magalia Dei” that
constitutes large sections of the Old Testament. The deeds, wonderful works,
miracles of the Lord is a summary way of referring to the history of the
dealings of the Lord with creation, the Patriarchs, the formation of the Hebrew
people or Israel under Moses and the judges, and the continuation of the nation
under the kings. Interestingly, classical rabbinic Judaism never placed much
emphasis upon this aspect of the exhortations we find in the Old Testament. All
of this is to bring the minds and hearts of the people to a focus upon the Lord
in such a way that brings praise to the Lord. Those who seek the Lord, which
they are to do continually, are to rejoice. They are also to remember the
judgments the Lord has uttered. Among such judgments was the election or choice
of a people from among all the peoples of the earth. The people in the
sanctuary assemble as the inheritors of the promises to Abraham and the
patriarchs.[1] Even the Patriarchs received the benefit of
election or choice of a people.[2]
In verses 23-26, we have a poetic account of the oppression in Egypt and the
sending of Moses. It presupposes a narrative form that many would have known.
It refers to the hatred of Pharaoh toward the Hebrew people. As is typical of
the Lord in the Bible, the Lord responds to the situation by sending people,
Moses and Aaron to deal with the situation.
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