1Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name;
         Make known His deeds among the peoples.

2Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
         Speak of all His wonders.

3Glory in His holy name;
         Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.

4Seek the LORD and His strength;
         Seek His face continually.

5Remember His wonders which He has done,
         His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth,

6O seed of Abraham, His servant,
         O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!

7He is the LORD our God;
         His judgments are in all the earth.

8He has remembered His covenant forever,
         The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,

9The covenant which He made with Abraham,
         And His oath to Isaac.

10Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
         To Israel as an everlasting covenant,

11Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
         As the portion of your inheritance,”

12When they were only a few men in number,
         Very few, and strangers in it.

13And they wandered about from nation to nation,
         From one kingdom to another people.

14He permitted no man to oppress them,
         And He reproved kings for their sakes:

15“Do not touch My anointed ones,
         And do My prophets no harm.”

16And He called for a famine upon the land;
         He broke the whole staff of bread.

17He sent a man before them,
         Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

18They afflicted his feet with fetters,
         He himself was laid in irons;

19Until the time that his word came to pass,
         The word of the LORD tested him.

20The king sent and released him,
         The ruler of peoples, and set him free.

21He made him lord of his house
         And ruler over all his possessions,

22To imprison his princes at will,
         That he might teach his elders wisdom.

23Israel also came into Egypt;
         Thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

24And He caused His people to be very fruitful,
         And made them stronger than their adversaries.

25He turned their heart to hate His people,
         To deal craftily with His servants.

26He sent Moses His servant,
         And Aaron, whom He had chosen.

27They performed His wondrous acts among them,
         And miracles in the land of Ham.

28He sent darkness and made it dark;
         And they did not rebel against His words.

29He turned their waters into blood
         And caused their fish to die.

30Their land swarmed with frogs
         Even in the chambers of their kings.

31He spoke, and there came a swarm of flies
         And gnats in all their territory.

32He gave them hail for rain,
         And flaming fire in their land.

33He struck down their vines also and their fig trees,
         And shattered the trees of their territory.

34He spoke, and locusts came,
         And young locusts, even without number,

35And ate up all vegetation in their land,
         And ate up the fruit of their ground.

36He also struck down all the firstborn in their land,
         The first fruits of all their vigor.

37Then He brought them out with silver and gold,
         And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled.

38Egypt was glad when they departed,
         For the dread of them had fallen upon them.

39He spread a cloud for a covering,
         And fire to illumine by night.

40They asked, and He brought quail,
         And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

41He opened the rock and water flowed out;
         It ran in the dry places like a river.

42For He remembered His holy word
         With Abraham His servant;

43And He brought forth His people with joy,
         His chosen ones with a joyful shout.

44He gave them also the lands of the nations,
         That they might take possession of the fruit of the peoples’ labor,

45So that they might keep His statutes
         And observe His laws,
         Praise the LORD!

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Give thanks to the LORD. Call on him. Make known among the nations what he has done.

King James Bible
O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Alleluia. Give glory to the Lord, and call upon his name: declare his deeds among the Gentiles.

Darby Bible Translation
Give ye thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name; make known his acts among the peoples.

English Revised Version
Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name; make known his doings among the peoples.

Webster's Bible Translation
O give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

World English Bible
Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples.

Young's Literal Translation
Give ye thanks to Jehovah -- call ye in His name, Make known among the peoples His acts.

Cross References

1 Chronicles 16:8 Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.

1 Chronicles 16:34 O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Psalm 9:11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; Declare among the peoples His deeds.

Psalm 99:6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called on His name; They called upon the LORD and He answered them.

Psalm 106:1 Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Psalm 116:13 I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of the LORD.

Psalm 145:12 To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

Isaiah 12:4 And in that day you will say, "Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted."

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

PSALM 105

Some of the psalms of praise are very short, others very long, to teach us that, in our devotions, we should be more observant how our hearts work than how the time passes and neither overstretch ourselves by coveting to be long nor over-stint ourselves by coveting to be short, but either the one or the other as we find in our hearts to pray. This is a long psalm; the general scope is the same with most of the psalms, to set forth the glory of God, but the subject-matter is particular. Every time we come to the throne of grace we may, if we please, furnish ourselves out of the word of God (out of the history of the New Testament, as this out of the history of the Old) with new songs, with fresh thoughts-so copious, so various, so inexhaustible is the subject. In the foregoing psalm we are taught to praise God for his wondrous works of common providence with reference to the world in general. In this we are directed to praise him for his special favours to his church. We find the first eleven verses of this psalm in the beginning of that psalm which David delivered to Asaph to be used (as it should seem) in the daily service of the sanctuary when the ark was fixed in the place he had prepared for it, by which it appears both who penned it and when and upon what occasion it was penned, 1 Chr. 16:7, etc. David by it designed to instruct his people in the obligations they lay under to adhere faithfully to their holy religion. Here is the preface (v. 1-7) and the history itself in several articles. I. God's covenant with the patriarchs (v. 8-11). II. His care of them while they were strangers (v. 12-15). III. His raising up Joseph to be the shepherd and stone of Israel (v. 16-22). IV. The increase of Israel in Egypt and their deliverance out of Egypt (v. 23-38). V. The care he took of them in the wilderness and their settlement in Canaan (v. 39-45). In singing this we must give to God the glory of his wisdom and power, his goodness and faithfulness, must look upon ourselves as concerned in the affairs of the Old-Testament church, both because to it were committed the oracles of God, which are our treasure, and because out of it Christ arose, and these things happened to it for ensamples.

Verses 1-7

Our devotion is here warmly excited; and we are stirred up, that we may stir up ourselves to praise God. Observe,

I. The duties to which we are here called, and they are many, but the tendency of them all is to give unto God the glory due unto his name. 1. We must give thanks to him, as one who has always been our bountiful benefactor and requires only that we give him thanks for his favours-poor returns for rich receivings. 2. Call upon his name, as one whom you depend upon for further favours. Praying for further mercies is accepted as an acknowledgment of former mercies. Because he has inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him. 3. Make known his deeds (v. 1), that others may join with you in praising him. Talk of all his wondrous works (v. 2), as we talk of things that we are full of, and much affected with, and desire to fill others with. God's wondrous works ought to be the subject of our familiar discourses with our families and friends, and we should talk of them as we sit in the house and as we go by the way (Deu. 6:7), not merely for entertainment, but for the exciting of devotion and the encouraging of our own and others' faith and hope in God. Even sacred things may be the matter of common talk, provided it be with due reverence. 4. Sing psalms to God's honour, as those that rejoice in him, and desire to testify that joy for the encouragement of others and to transmit it to posterity, as memorable things anciently were handed down by songs, when writing was scarce. 5. Glory in his holy name; let those that are disposed to glory not boast of their own accomplishments and achievements, but of their acquaintance with God and their relation to him, Jer. 9:23, 24. Praise you his holy name, so some; but it comes all to one, for in glorying in him we give glory to him. 6. Seek him; place your happiness in him, and then pursue that happiness in all the ways that he has appointed. Seek the Lord and his strength, that is, the ark of his strength; seek him in the sanctuary, in the way wherein he has appointed us to seek him. Seek his strength, that is, his grace, the strength of his Spirit to work in you that which is good, which we cannot do but by strength derived from him, for which he will be enquired of. Seek the Lord and be strengthened; so divers ancient versions read it. Those that would be strengthened in the inward man must fetch in strength from God by faith and prayer. Seek his strength, and then seek his face; for by his strength, we hope to prevail with him for his favour, as Jacob did, Hos. 12:3. "Seek his face evermore; seek to have his favour to eternity, and therefore continue seeking it to the end of the time of your probation. Seek it while you live in this world, and you shall have it while you live in the other world, and even there shall be for ever seeking it in an infinite progression, and yet be for ever satisfied in it." 7. Let the hearts of those rejoice that do seek him (v. 3); for they have chosen well, are well fixed, and well employed, and they may be sure that their labour will not be in vain, for he will not only be found, but he will be found the rewarder of those that diligently seek him. If those have reason to rejoice that seek the Lord, much more those that have found him.

II. Some arguments to quicken us to these duties. 1. "Consider both what he has said and what he has done to engage us for ever to him. You will see yourselves under all possible obligations to give thanks to him, and call upon his name, if you remember the wonders which should make deep and durable impressions upon you,-the wonders of his providence which he has wrought for you and those who are gone before you, the marvellous works that he has done, which will be had in everlasting remembrance with the thoughtful and with the grateful,-the wonders of his law, which he has written to you, and entrusted you with, the judgments of his mouth, as well as the judgments of his hand," v. 5. 2. "Consider the relation you stand in to him (v. 6): You are the seed of Abraham his servant; you are born in his house, and being thereby entitled to the privilege of his servants, protection and provision, you are also bound to do the duty of servants, to attend your Master, consult his honour, obey his commands, and do what you can to advance his interests. You are the children of Jacob his chosen, and are chosen and beloved for the fathers' sake, and therefore ought to tread in the steps of those whose honours you inherit. You are the children of godly parents; do no degenerate. You are God's church upon earth, and, if you do not praise him, who should?" 3. Consider your interest in him: He is the Lord our God, v. 7. We depend upon him, are devoted to him, and from him our expectation is. Should not a people seek unto their God (Isa. 8:19) and praise their God? Dan. 5:4. He is Jehovah our God. He that is our God is self-existent and self-sufficient, has an irresistible power and incontestable sovereignty: His judgments are in all the earth; he governs the whole world in wisdom, and gives law to all nations, even to those that know him not. The earth is full of the proofs of his power.

Calvin's Commentary

1. Praise ye Jehovah; invoke his name: announce his works among the peoples. 2. Sing ye to him: sing psalms to him: speak ye of all his wonders. 3. Rejoice ye in his holy name: [203] let the heart of those who seek Jehovah rejoice. 4. Seek ye Jehovah, and his strength: seek his face continually. 5. Remember the marvelous works which he hath performed; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth.

1 Praise ye Jehovah, etc. The object of these opening words simply is, that the offspring of Abraham should place all their blessedness in the free adoption of God. It was indeed a blessing not to be despised that they had been created men, that they had been cherished in the world by God's fatherly care, and that they had received sustenance at his hand; but it was a far more distinguished privilege to have been chosen to be his peculiar people. While the whole human race are condemned in Adam, the condition of the Israelites was so different from all other nations, as to give them ground to boast, that they were consecrated to God. This is the reason why the prophet heaps together so many words in commendation of this grace. He does not treat of the government of the whole world as he did in the preceding psalm, but he celebrates the fatherly favor which God had manifested towards the children of Israel. He indeed names in general his works, and his wonders, but he limits both to that spiritual covenant by which God made choice of a church, that might lead on earth a heavenly life. He does not intend to include as among these wonders, that the sun, moon, and stars, daily rise to give light to the world, that the earth produces its fruit in its seasons, that every living creature is supplied with abundance of all good things for its food, and that the human family are liberally provided with so many conveniences; but he celebrates the sovereign grace of God, by which he chose for himself from amongst the lost race of Adam a small portion to whom he might show himself to be a father. Accordingly, he enjoins them to rejoice in the name of God, and to call upon him; a privilege by which the Church alone is distinguished. Whence it follows, that this language is addressed to none but true believers, whom God would have to glory in his name, since he has taken them under his special protection.

4 Seek ye Jehovah, and his strength [204] Although he had in the preceding verse characterized the faithful by the honorable designation, those who seek God, yet he again exhorts them to earnestness in seeking him, which is not an unnecessary exhortation. Seeking God, it is true, is the mark by which all genuine saints are particularly distinguished from the men of the world; but they come far short of seeking him with due ardor; and, accordingly, they have always need of incitements, to urge them on to this exercise, although they run of their own accord. Those whom the prophet here stirs up to seek God are not fickle persons, nor such as are altogether indolent, and who cleave to the impurities of earth, but those who with a prompt and ready mind already aim at doing this; and he thus stimulates them, because he perceives that they are obstructed by many impediments from advancing in their course with sufficient rapidity. However willing then we may be, we have notwithstanding, need of such incitement to correct our slowness. The strength and face of God, doubtless refer to that kind of manifestation by which God, accommodating himself to the rudeness of the times, drew at that time true believers to himself. The ark of the covenant is in many other places called both the strength and the face of God, because by that symbol the people were reminded, that he was near them, and also really experienced his power. [205] The more familiarly then God showed himself to them, with the more promptitude and alacrity would the prophet have them to apply their hearts in seeking him; and the aid by which God relieves our weakness should prove an additional stimulus to our zeal. Modesty also is recommended to us, that, mindful of our slowness in seeking God, we may keep the way which he has prescribed to us, and may not despise the rudiments through which he by little and little conducts us to himself. It is added continually, that no person may grow weary in this exercise, or, inflated with a foolish opinion of having reached perfection, may neglect the external aids of piety, as is done by many, who, after having advanced a few degrees in the knowledge of God, exempt themselves from the common rank of others, as if they were elevated above the angels. Again, the injunction is given to remember the marvelous works which God had performed, in the deliverance of his people from Egypt, when he displayed his power in new and unusual ways. By the judgments of his mouth, some understand the law. But as I read all the three expressions, his marvelous works, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth, as referring to one series of events, I prefer explaining it rather of the miracles by which God subdued the pride of Pharaoh. Still, however, there is some doubt as to the reason of this manner of speaking. Some are of opinion, that these miracles are called the judgments of God's mouth, because he had foretold them by Moses, which is highly probable. At the same time, the expression might be taken more simply, as denoting that the power of God was manifested in an extraordinary manner in these miracles; from which it would be easy to gather, that they were performed by him. I do not mean to exclude the ministry of Moses, whom God had raised up to be a prophet to the Egyptians, that in denouncing what was to come to pass, he might show that nothing happened by chance. Yet I think there is an allusion to the manifest character of the miracles, as if it had been said, Although God had not uttered a word, the facts themselves evidently showed, that he was the deliverer of his people.

Footnotes:

[203] In the French version it is, "Praise ye his holy name." Hammond, agreeably to this, would read, "Praise ye the name of his holiness;" thinking that v, beth, in, is a pleonasm.

[204] "For vzv, his strength, the LXX. seem to have read zv, be strengthened, and accordingly render it krataiothote, the Latin confirmamini', be confirmed,' and so the Syriac, be strengthened.' This the sense would well bear, Seek the Lord, and be confirmed;' let all your strength be sought from him. So the Jewish Arab, Seek the Lord, and seek that he would strengthen you, or strength from him, or you shall certainly be strengthened,' if by prayer you diligently seek him." -- Hammond. Horsley also reads, "Seek the Lord, and be strong."

[205] With this agrees the interpretation of Lowth: "The holy ark, and the shechinah which remained upon it, the symbol of the divine presence, is called the face of God; and to seek the face of God, is to appear before the ark, to worship at the sanctuary of God, which was required of the Israelites thrice a year. -- See 2 Samuel 21:1; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 27:8; Exodus 23:17, -- Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, volume 2, page 24l.

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Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

The Wisdom of God
The next attribute is God's wisdom, which is one of the brightest beams of the Godhead. He is wise in heart.' Job 9:9. The heart is the seat of wisdom. Cor in Hebraeo sumitur pro judicio. Pineda. Among the Hebrews, the heart is put for wisdom.' Let men of understanding tell me:' Job 34:44: in the Hebrew, Let men of heart tell me.' God is wise in heart, that is, he is most wise. God only is wise; he solely and wholly possesses all wisdom; therefore he is called, the only wise God.' I Tim 1:17. All …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament