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.
16 When he
summoned famine against the land,
and broke every staff 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 kept testing 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 instruct his
officials at his pleasure,
and to teach his elders wisdom.
45 Praise the
Lord!
Psalm 105: 1-6,
16-22, 45a is part of a much larger Psalm. 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 16-22, we find the story of Joseph. The Lord protected the
Patriarchs. The Lord sent Joseph ahead of the famine by having him sold as a
slave to Egypt. The king released him, made him master of his house, and
brought wisdom to the house. The congregation, upon hearing of the mighty deeds
of the Lord, is to offer praise to the Lord.
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