Psalm 105
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Psalm 105: 1-6:
O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen |
He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth. He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant: Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it. When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people; He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread. He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom. Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies. He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants. He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen. They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word. He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish. Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings. He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts. He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land. He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts. He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number, And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground. He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength. He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes. Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them. He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night. The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river. For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant. And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness: And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labor of the people;. This like the 78th Psalm is a historical psalm, recounting God's ancient dealings with his people, especially in Egypt. The practical design of the commemoration is not to bring the people to repentance, as in the case referred to, but to excite their hopes of an analogous deliverance. Analogous deliverance is: The psalm begins with a summons to praise God, to glory in His holy name, to seek the Lord, and His strength, and to remember the marvelous works that He has done; his wonders, and the judgments of His mouth. These judgments are then recounted: they are the care and deliverance of the patriarchs, and the plagues of Egypt which freed Israel. |
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Psalm 105:15:
"Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm." |
This is probably one of the most abused and misused verses of the Bible, but I will not address the misuse but rather attempt to place it in some practical context.
Areyeh Newman, in summarizing the Biblical doctrine concerning sacrilege, stated that sacrilege is “the deliberate or inadvertent violation of sacred things,” This is a fact of very great importance. Sacrilege is not merely a subjective but an objective offense as well. If I touch a high voltage line, it makes little difference as to the consequences (i.e. death), whether I intended to touch it or accidentally touch it; the only difference is as to intent: was my action suicide or stupidity? Both choices, however, resulted in death. Similarly, if I commit sacrilege, it involves willful contempt of God, or, at the very least, an ignorance prompted by an unconcern over what Scripture teaches. The rebellion of Korah (Num 16) represented the willful arrogation by man of priestly power which only God can confer. Korah asserted a principle of equality as against the principle of authority, specifically the authority of Gods word. The radical judgment on Korah and his followers is a witness to the wrath of God against all sacrilege. The Lords warning is very plain. |
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Psalm 105:17–19:
[God] sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. They afflicted his feet with fetters; he himself was laid in irons, until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. |
 Derek Prince
The life of Joseph began with great promise. Earlier in his youth, the Lord gave him a dream that showed him that he would be elevated to a position of great authority. He would rule over his brothers. Even his father and mother would come bowing down before him. What happened next? The very opposite of what God had promised. His brothers betrayed him, sold him as a slave into Egypt, and, because he was faithful to his Egyptian master, he eventually ended up in prison. He was in fetters, his soul was in iron.
How did Joseph respond to that situation? Did he say to himself, “Everything’s gone wrong! The Lord’s promise will never come true”? No, I don’t believe that. It says, “Until the time that the promise came, the word of the Lord tested him.” How important it is to see that when the Lord gives us a promise, many times everything that happens next will seem to be the very opposite of what God has promised. It’s so important that at times like that we don’t give up on the promise, we don’t say, “God has forgotten; God has failed.” You see, that promise that God gave us is testing us. It’s testing our faith and our constancy to see if we’ll hold on in the darkest hour. And when we pass the test, then, like Joseph, the promise will be fulfilled. --Derek Prince |
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Psalm 105: 45:
that they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD. |
God created man to observe His statutes and keep His laws in Eden. Man chose his own will as his law and defied God's order, and the result was a disaster and death. The covenant people are redeemed to observe the statutes and keep the laws of God in order that this world and the people thereof might become God's Kingdom in the fullest sense of the word.
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