Tag: psalm 105

Recall the Faithfulness of God (Psalm 105:1-11, 37-45)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The Delivery of Israel out of Egypt, by Francis Danby, 1825

O give thanks to the Lord; call on his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
    his miracles and the judgments he has uttered,
O offspring of his servant Abraham,
    children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.
He is mindful of his covenant forever,
    of the word that he commanded for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
    his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as your portion for an inheritance….

Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
    and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they departed,
    for dread of them had fallen upon it.
He spread a cloud for a covering
    and fire to give light by night.
They asked, and he brought quails
    and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed through the desert like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise
    and Abraham, his servant.

So he brought his people out with joy,
    his chosen ones with singing.
He gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
that they might keep his statutes
    and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord! (New Revised Standard Version)

Some stories are worth repeating over and over again. For example, on the birthday of each of my children (and now grandchildren) I recount and remember their birth story; on Christmas, I read the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel to the family in order to recall and remember the birth of Jesus.

Psalm 105 is a remembering and retelling of the ancient Israelites’ exodus event, their deliverance from Egyptian slavery. That event permeates much of the Old Testament, and rightly so. God’s faithfulness, grace, and steadfast love dominates the psalm, namely because the Lord’s majesty, power, and sovereignty was overwhelmingly evident through the deliverance from Egypt.

And so, it is appropriate for the psalmist to express gratitude and praise to God in remembering that deliverance. It only makes sense, in such a retelling, that we are encouraged to continually seek the Lord. Seeking the Lord is a common biblical admonition, and is linked to memories of what God has done in the past.

Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
    his miracles and the judgments he uttered. (1 Chronicles 16:10-12, NRSV)

God graciously works in history by choosing a people and making a covenant with them. The Lord is faithful to that arrangement by giving them everything they need to maintain obedience on their end of the covenant. For God doesn’t merely call persons who are already equipped and ready for high level spiritual service. Rather, the Lord equips those who are called.

Abraham was called by God, not because he had some sort of superior spirituality or inclination toward the divine, but only because God chose him, period. And once he was called, Abraham doggedly and faithfully sought the Lord.

God brought the Israelites out of Egypt because of the covenant made to Abraham. The Lord promised him and his descendants a people and a land. It may have seemed that becoming enslaved in Egypt would negate the promise. But not so. The exodus happened.

Being freed from slavery, the people could seek the Lord and pursue knowing God without any hindrance or obstacle. From that point on, the people were expected to utilize their memory of God’s saving actions to seek God with all their heart, soul, and mind.

The entire aim of recounting God’s covenant and the exodus event is to remind the people to observe God’s commands. Since a powerfully good God has acted in history, then we are to keep the faith by embracing the powerfully good words of God and following them with the utmost commitment.

Remembering that we belong to God, enables us to keep on seeking the Lord throughout all of life, for the rest of our lives. The consistent retelling of deliverance stories can strengthen our faith and equip us for what is ahead.

When times are tough, it is good and helpful to recall the divine deliverance that has already happened. Our memory can then serve us well, by renewing our minds and energizing us to persevere in the spiritual life.

O Lord our God, we pray that your Spirit would guide and inspire our life and worship, our contemplation and our action. Open our mouths to sing and speak your praise, our ears to hear your Word, our eyes to see to you at work among us, and our hearts to receive your divine love. Help us to remember your goodness, seek your face continually, and serve you always. Amen.

Psalm 105:1-42 – Getting Rid of the “Meh”

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment

Praise the Lord
    and pray in his name!
    Tell everyone
    what he has done.
Sing praises to the Lord!
    Tell about his miracles.
Celebrate and worship
his holy name
    with all your heart.

Trust the Lord
    and his mighty power.
Remember his miracles
and all his wonders
    and his fair decisions.
You belong to the family
    of Abraham, his servant;
    you are his chosen ones,
    the descendants of Jacob.

The Lord is our God,
    bringing justice
    everywhere on earth.
He will never forget
his agreement or his promises,
    not in thousands of years.
God made an eternal promise
    to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
    when he said, “I’ll give you
    the land of Canaan.”

At the time there were
only a few of us,
    and we were homeless.
We wandered from nation
to nation,
    from one country
    to another.
God did not let anyone
    mistreat our people.
Instead he protected us
    by punishing rulers
    and telling them,
“Don’t touch my chosen leaders
    or harm my prophets!”

God kept crops from growing
    until food was scarce
    everywhere in the land.
But he had already sent Joseph,
    sold as a slave into Egypt,
    with chains of iron
    around his legs and neck.

Joseph remained a slave
until his own words
    had come true,
    and the Lord had finished
    testing him.
Then the king of Egypt
    set Joseph free
    and put him in charge
    of everything he owned.
Joseph was in command
    of the officials,
    and he taught the leaders
    how to use wisdom.

Jacob and his family
came
    and settled in Egypt
    as foreigners.
They were the Lord’s people,
    so he let them grow stronger
    than their enemies.
They served the Lord,
and he made the Egyptians plan
    hateful things against them.
God sent his servant Moses.
He also chose and sent Aaron
    to his people in Egypt,
    and they worked miracles
    and wonders there.
Moses and Aaron obeyed God,
    and he sent darkness
    to cover Egypt.
God turned their rivers
into streams of blood,
    and the fish all died.
Frogs were everywhere,
    even in the royal palace.
When God gave the command,
    flies and gnats
    swarmed all around.

In place of rain,
God sent hailstones
    and flashes of lightning.
He destroyed their grapevines
    and their fig trees,
    and he made splinters
    of all the other trees.
God gave the command,
and more grasshoppers came
    than could be counted.
They ate every green plant
    and all the crops that grew
    in the land of Egypt.
Then God took the life
    of every first-born son.

When God led Israel from Egypt,
    they took silver and gold,
    and no one was left behind.
The Egyptians were afraid
    and gladly let them go.
God hid them under a cloud
    and guided them by fire
    during the night.

When they asked for food,
    he sent more birds
    than they could eat.
God even split open a rock,
    and streams of water
    gushed into the desert.
God never forgot
his sacred promise
    to his servant Abraham. (Contemporary English Version)

This morning, did you get up on the wrong side of the bed? Or did you awake feeling refreshed and ready to seize the day?

Maybe it was neither. Seems like, most days, we are neither energized nor grumpy. We are somewhere in the middle, feeling something like “meh.” 

Just as the importance of a decent breakfast is necessary to get a good start on the day, so beginning the day with some good spiritual food is a must to fortify our lives and set them on a solid trajectory for personal happiness and blessing the world. 

We cannot simply rely on feeding upon God when we feel like it, for then we will succumb to all the vicissitudes and variegations of life, becoming a slave to the almighty “meh.” 

As we get out of bed and orient ourselves from sleep to work, we need to tend to our spiritual selves and prepare for the day, just as we need to daily clean up our bodies and begin focusing our minds on our future tasks.

One way of taking charge of our spiritual lives is beginning the day with some vitamin-packed whole grain goodness of the biblical psalms. 

Today’s psalm calls on us to:

  • Give thanks to God
  • Call upon the name of the Lord
  • Make known the mighty deeds of God
  • Sing to the Lord
  • Glory in God’s name
  • Seek the Lord
  • Remember God’s wondrous works 

Feeding upon the psalms will help shoo the “meh” away.

God faithfully keeps all divine promises. As we recall and remember those promises, realizing that God remembers us, praise, singing, and thanksgiving arise along with our bodies. The Lord never has a “meh” response to us.

Perhaps before even getting out of bed in the morning, we can reach over, grab our Bible, tablet, or smartphone and read these words of Psalm 105 so that our day is formed around the positive promises of God and not the negative thoughts of our minds. 

And at night, the same ritual could be done before falling asleep so that our day is bookended with remembering God’s works. For the Bible is not simply some old book to adore from afar, but a living word from God to shape our minds and form our hearts.

The “meh” comes when there is a famine of God’s Word. Whenever we find ourselves saying things like, “Not my circus, not my monkeys,” or “I’m sleeping until I feel better,” then its time to cozy up to the psalmist and have a heart-to-heart.

You’ll be glad you did.

God almighty, you have remembered your people throughout the millennia with wondrous works and powerful deeds. Today I give thanks to you for giving your Son, the Lord Jesus, and accomplishing the mightiest work of all: securing my deliverance from sin, death, and hell. May the Name of Jesus be praised! Amen.

Psalm 105:1-11, 37-45 – Remember the Lord

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Crucifixion by Unknown artist

Give thanks to the Lord;
    call upon his name;
    make his deeds known to all people!
Sing to God;
    sing praises to the Lord;
    dwell on all his wondrous works!
Give praise to God’s holy name!
    Let the hearts rejoice of all those seeking the Lord!
Pursue the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always!
Remember the wondrous works he has done,
    all his marvelous works, and the justice he declared—
    you who are the offspring of Abraham, his servant,
        and the children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

The Lord—he is our God.
    His justice is everywhere throughout the whole world.
God remembers his covenant forever,
    the word he commanded to a thousand generations,
        which he made with Abraham,
        the solemn pledge he swore to Isaac.
God set it up as binding law for Jacob,
    as an eternal covenant for Israel,
    promising, “I hereby give you the land of Canaan
    as your allotted inheritance….”

Then God brought Israel out, filled with silver and gold;
    not one of its tribes stumbled.
Egypt celebrated when they left,
    because the dread of Israel had come upon them.

God spread out clouds as a covering;
    gave lightning to provide light at night.
The people asked, and God brought quail;
    God filled them full with food from heaven.
God opened the rock and out gushed water—
    flowing like a river through the desert!
Because God remembered his holy promise
    to Abraham his servant,
    God brought his people out with rejoicing,
    his chosen ones with songs of joy.
God gave them the lands of other nations;
    they inherited the wealth of many peoples—
        all so that they would keep his laws
        and observe his instructions.

Praise the Lord! (CEB)

Every day I read in the psalms. There are two reasons I do this. First, the psalms are the church’s prayer book.  They are more than reading material; the psalms are designed to be owned by us as prayers. And second, I need their reminders – a lot!

Remembering is a major theme throughout the entirety of Holy Scripture. It’s just part of the human condition, fallen and forgetful as we are, to lose sight of what has taken place in the past. Today’s psalm invites us to seek the Lord through remembering all the good and wonderful works he has done.

For Israel, remembering meant continually having Passover in front of them. God redeemed the ancient Israelites out of Egyptian slavery and into a good Promised Land. They were to never forget God’s miracle through the Red Sea, God’s protection over them from other nations, and God’s provision of food and necessities in the desert.

We are to remember because we are made in God’s image and likeness. God remembers. God has an ongoing reminder in a divine day timer – Fulfill the promises I made and keep the covenant I initiated with the people, even when they’re stinkers and forget who I am.

As old as God is, there is no danger of the Lord getting some sort of divine dementia. God doesn’t forget. The Lord always keeps promises made to people. For the Christian, all God’s promises are remembered and fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Deliverance from sin, death, and hell; the gift of the Holy Spirit; and ongoing presence and provision are given to us graciously and freely by the God who loves and cares for people. For Christians, remembering means coming to the Lord’s Table, entering the once for all loving sacrifice of Christ on our behalf.

One of the reasons I write and journal about my life and Scripture is to remember. Sometimes I forget. There are times when I’m overwhelmed with life and it feels as if God has forgotten me. In such times, I look back into my journal and see what God has done. And I peer into the psalms and see that the Creator God is active in the big, created world, always attentive to working what is just, right, and good – bending twisted circumstances and evil machinations back toward the great arc of love.

May your journey with Jesus in this season of Lent cause you to remember the Lord Jesus, to have Christ always before you.

Now We Remain by David Haas

Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 – Remember the Wonderful

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
    make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,
O offspring of his servant Abraham,
    children of Jacob, his chosen ones….

Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
    and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they departed,
    for dread of them had fallen upon it.
He spread a cloud for a covering,
    and fire to give light by night.
They asked, and he brought quails,
    and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed through the desert like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise,
    and Abraham, his servant.

So he brought his people out with joy,
    his chosen ones with singing.
He gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
that they might keep his statutes
    and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord! (NRSV)

Every day I read in the psalms. There are two reasons I do this. First, the psalms are the church’s prayer book.  They are more than reading material; the psalms are meant and designed to be owned for us as prayers. And second, I need their reminders – a lot!

Remembering is a major theme throughout the entirety of Holy Scripture. It is just part of the human condition, fallen and forgetful as we are, to lose sight of what has taken place in the past. Today’s psalm invites us to seek the Lord through remembering all the good and wonderful works he has done.

For Israel, remembering meant continually having Passover in front of them. God redeemed his people out of Egyptian slavery and into a good Promised Land. They were to never forget God’s miracle through the Red Sea, his protection over them from other nations, and his provision of food and necessities in the desert.

We are to remember because we are made in God’s image and likeness. God remembers. God has an ongoing reminder in his divine day timer: fulfill the promises I made; keep the covenant I initiated with the people, even when they’re stinkers and forget who I am.

God does not forget. God always keeps his promises. For the Christian, all God’s promises are remembered and fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Deliverance from sin, death, and hell; the gift of the Holy Spirit; and ongoing presence and provision are given to us graciously and freely by the God who loves and cares for his people. For us, remembering means coming to the Lord’s Table, entering the once for all loving sacrifice of Christ on our behalf.

One of the reasons I write and journal about my life and Scripture is to remember. Sometimes I forget. There are times when I am overwhelmed with life and it feels as if God has forgotten me. In such times, I look back into my journal and see what God has done. And I also peer into the psalms and see that God is active in his big world, always attentive to working what is just, right, and good in his people.

May your daily spiritual journey cause you to remember the Lord Jesus, to have him always before you.

“Now We Remain” by David Haas

We hold the death of the Lord deep in our hearts.

Living, now we remain with Jesus, the Christ.

Once we were people afraid, lost in the night.

Then, by your cross, we were saved;

dead became living, life from your giving.

Something which we have known, something we’ve touched,

what we have seen with our eyes;

this we have heard; life-giving Word.

He chose to give of himself, become our bread.

Broken that we might live.

Love beyond love, pain for our pain.

We are the presence of God; this is our call.

Now to become bread and wine; food for the hungry, life for the weary,

for to live with the Lord, we must die with the Lord.

Amen.