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.
7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He is mindful of his covenant forever,
of 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.”
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, when we read the whole Psalm, we find an important event strangely missing. It does not mention 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 history, 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 covenant 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. The prophets weave their comfort, judgment, and guidance in the midst of these mighty acts so that the people of the Lord will see them for what they are. The Psalm invites its listeners to tell of the works of the Lord in Israel. 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.
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