July 1 // Psalm 105

Opening Prayer

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

Psalm 105

God’s Faithfulness to Israel

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.”
¹² When they were few in number,
    of little account, and strangers in it,
¹³ wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
¹⁴ he allowed no one to oppress them;
    he rebuked kings on their account,
¹⁵ saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones;
    do my prophets no harm.”
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.
²³ Then Israel came to Egypt;
    Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
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.
²⁷ They performed his signs among them,
    and miracles in the land of Ham.
²⁸ He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
    they rebelled against his words.
²⁹ He turned their waters into blood,
    and caused their fish to die.
³⁰ Their land swarmed with frogs,
    even in the chambers of their kings.
³¹ He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
    and gnats throughout their country.
³² He gave them hail for rain,
    and lightning that flashed through their land.
³³ He struck their vines and fig trees,
    and shattered the trees of their country.
³⁴ He spoke, and the locusts came,
    and young locusts without number;
³⁵ they devoured all the vegetation in their land,
    and ate up the fruit of their ground.
³⁶ He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
    the first issue of all their strength.
³⁷ Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
    and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
³⁸ Egypt was glad when they departed,
    for dread of them had fallen upon it.
³⁹ He spread a cloud for a covering,
    and fire to give light by night.
⁴⁰ They asked, and he brought quails,
    and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
⁴¹ He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed through the desert like a river.
⁴² For he remembered his holy promise,
    and Abraham, his servant.
⁴³ So he brought his people out with joy,
    his chosen ones with singing.
⁴⁴ He gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
⁴⁵ that they might keep his statutes
    and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!

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The Reset Button

Before this series, it had been a while since I’d spent time in the book of Genesis. I was following the church calendar, Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension, with all of you. Together we traveled through the book of Acts and the beginning of the Church. I spent time in the Psalms, as you know. But even after all of that, I still find myself surprised by what I find in this book. 

Returning to Genesis is always a kind of reset button on my perspective. God’s power somehow appears greater, and also his faithfulness. The creation story, the fall, the flood, the covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Jacob. God made the earth out of nothing? How? God sought us all out on purpose? Why? 

If Genesis accents something about God’s greatness, it makes humans appear worse than before. Way worse. Two weeks ago we were all reminded how backwards Abraham acted at times, abandoning his family in the wilderness being something of a crowning achievement. Last Sunday we saw the exalted sons of Jacob plot a lynching against their own brother. They walk it back, of course, choosing to only enslave him instead. Reading Genesis is sometimes like flipping through humanity’s greatest-worst hits. They are (as we are) the worm people that Psalm 22 describes. 

This reset button shows us how far we were from God at the beginning of the story. It sets up the drama — or, as some call it, the scandal — of our perfect God drawing near to us, and us to God. Seeing the beginning afresh, we can also see the end more clearly: how, at the end of this version of creation, we will be with God forever and ever.

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.”
¹² When they were few in number,
    of little account, and strangers in it,
¹³ wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
¹⁴ he allowed no one to oppress them;
    he rebuked kings on their account,
¹⁵ saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones;
    do my prophets no harm.”

— Psalm 105:8-15

Psalm 105 traces salvation history beginning with Abraham and running through to the Exodus. Knowing what we know now, we could add paragraph after paragraph to it, punctuating with that same refrain, “Sing praises to him! Tell of all his wondrous works.” (Ps. 105:2).

Knowingly, in spite of what he saw, God reached down continually to save us. As Pastor David reminded us on Sunday, from the line of Abraham comes the line of Jacob; from Jacob comes Judah; from Judah comes David; from David comes, in time, Jesus himself. Psalm 105 tells the story of redemption that points, ultimately, to him. 

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Closing Prayer

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by your teaching, that we may be a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Featured Image: “Allison” © James Fissel | Eyekons