PSALM 105

THE PSALMS

A study of the Eucharist Psalms
in the Pentecost Season
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
9th August 2020

PSALM 105

Israelites loved festivals in which they could rejoice in the Lord and remember who had made them, whose people they were. The covenant was an agreement between the Lord and His chosen. The covenant is initiated by the Lord – it is something put before the people and they are asked to agree to it – it has blessings and curses for those bind themselves to it. 

The festivals of renewal were done as reminders of the action of the Lord in their history.

For us there are many times of remembrance but supremely the Eucharist we celebrate each Sunday, is a remembrance of the Lord’s ultimate gift to us of salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.

The psalm that we are looking at is one of those covenant renewal psalms. God’s mighty act in the formation of his people are the starting point of all distinctively Israelite theological thought and many psalms reflect one or more portions of the covenant renewal ritual.

1             O give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name:
                tell among the peoples what things he has done.

This is a greeting given by the priests at the beginning of the renewal ritual, calling on the people to tell about the wondrous acts of God.

2            Sing to him O sing praises
         and be telling of all his marvellous works.

3             Exult in his holy name
           and let those that seek the Lord be joyful in heart.

This could be a call to a time of praise, again enjoined by 

the leaders of the ritual. 

It is not some spiritual thing but based in the concrete acts of God.

 4               Seek the Lord - and his strength:
             O seek his face continually.

5                Call to mind what wonders he has done:
             his marvellous acts and the judgments of his mouth,

6                O seed of Abraham his servant:
             O children of Jacob his chosen one.

7                For he is the Lord our God:
             and his judgments are in all the earth.

REMEMBER what your God has done for you, 

how He judged on your behalf and spoke His commands to you.

REMEMBER how He called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and showed that He is the Lord our God. They are all your ancestors!

 16          Then he called down a famine on the land:
            and destroyed the bread that was their stay,

17              But he had sent a man ahead of them:
             Joseph who was sold into slavery,

REMEMBER the story of Joseph (not just the technicolour dream coat) 

but that God allowed the famine to happen and sent 

a man to prepare the way for the Israelites to survive.

18            Whose feet they fastened with fetters:
            and thrust his neck into a hoop of iron.

19           Till the time that his words proved true:
           he was tested by the Lord’s command.

REMEMBER that God brings us out of the very depths of powerlessness to become His instruments of freedom and peace.

God has us here for his purposes no matter how uncomfortable they are.

20            Then the king sent and loosed him:
           the ruler of nations set him free.

21           He made him master of his household;
          and ruler over all his possessions,

22           To rebuke his officers at will:
           and to teach his counsellors wisdom.

REMEMBER, even those in high office saw the integrity of Joseph and rewarded him by making him overseer of his possessions.

And all of this God’s work, so let us commit ourselves afresh to him.

CONCLUSION

The purpose of God’s historic acts was to create a people obedient to God’s revealed will. 

The congregation would respond with one word: ‘Hallelujah!’

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for his weekly analysis of the Psalms