Speak of all His wonders

Psalm 105 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.
² Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders.
³ Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.
⁴ Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually.
⁵ Remember His wonders which He has done, His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth, ⁶ O seed of Abraham, His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
⁷ He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth.

⁸ He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations, ⁹ The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac. ¹⁰ Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, ¹¹ Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan As the portion of your inheritance,” ¹² When they were only a few men in number, Very few, and strangers in it. ¹³ And they wandered about from nation to nation,
From one kingdom to another people. ¹⁴ He 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.”

¹⁶ And He called for a famine upon the land; He broke the whole staff of bread.
¹⁷ He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. ¹⁸ They afflicted his feet with fetters, He himself was laid in irons; ¹⁹ Until the time that his word came to pass,
The word of the Lord tested him. ²⁰ The king sent and released him, The ruler of peoples, and set him free. ²¹ He made him lord of his house And ruler over all his possessions,
²² To imprison his princes at will, That he might teach his elders wisdom. ²³ Israel also came into Egypt; Thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. ²⁴ And He caused His people to be very fruitful,
And made them stronger than their adversaries.

²⁵ He turned their heart to hate His people, To deal craftily with His servants. ²⁶ He sent Moses His servant, And Aaron, whom He had chosen. ²⁷ They performed His wondrous acts among them, And miracles in the land of Ham. ²⁸ He sent darkness and made it dark; And they did not rebel 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 a swarm of flies And gnats in all their territory. ³² He gave them hail for rain, And flaming fire in their land. ³³ He struck down their vines also and their fig trees, And shattered the trees of their territory. ³⁴ He spoke, and locusts came, And young locusts, even without number,
³⁵ And ate up all vegetation in their land, And ate up the fruit of their ground.
³⁶ He also struck down all the firstborn in their land, The first fruits of all their vigor.

³⁷ Then He brought them out with silver and gold, And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled. ³⁸ Egypt was glad when they departed, For the dread of them had fallen upon them.
³⁹ He spread a cloud for a covering, And fire to illumine by night. ⁴⁰ They asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven. ⁴¹ He opened the rock and water flowed out; It ran in the dry places like a river. ⁴² For He remembered His holy word With Abraham His servant; ⁴³ And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout.
⁴⁴ He gave them also the lands of the nations, That they might take possession of the fruit of the peoples’ labor, ⁴⁵ So that they might keep His statutes And observe His laws, Praise the Lord!

The psalmist begins:   Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually. Remember His wonders which He has done… He recounts God’s hand of blessing, protection, provision and faithfulness to His promises from the time of Abraham, to the deliverance from Egypt and into the Promised Land. In some ways, the greater blessing and greater miracles were some of the underlying circumstances. The psalmist speaks of how God used Moses to deliver the people from Egypt. Yet the story of Moses, from the very beginning is miraculous and shows a special blessing from God for His faithful people. Exodus 2:1-10 tells the story of Moses:    Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses.    Not only was Moses spared, according to God’s plan, but he was also raised by his own mother, who was even paid by the daughter of pharaoh, to raise him. God indeed blesses and provides for those who are faithful.

The psalmist and many others, including Hollywood and Disney, have recounted the miraculous hand of God, unleashing the plagues against Egypt, to set the Israelites free. The psalmist also mentions another miracle, overlooked in most accounts. He says:   Then He brought them out with silver and gold, And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled. Egypt was glad when they departed, For the dread of them had fallen upon them.    Exodus 12:33-36 tells the story:  The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We will all be dead.” …Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.   Just as if they had defeated them in battle, the Israelites plundered the Egyptians. Again, God blessed His people.  

The psalmist continues and concludes:  Then He brought them out with silver and gold, And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled. Egypt was glad when they departed, For the dread of them had fallen upon them. He spread a cloud for a covering, And fire to illumine by night. They asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock and water flowed out; It ran in the dry places like a river. For He remembered His holy word With Abraham His servant; And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout. He gave them also the lands of the nations, That they might take possession of the fruit of the peoples’ labor, So that they might keep His statutes And observe His laws, Praise the Lord!     God continued to lead and protect His people. He provided for their hunger and their thirst. He gave them the land promised to Abraham. Even today, God continues to bless, guide, protect and provide for His people. Just as the Israelites had to seek manna, the bread of heaven, we too need to seek God daily. In John 6:32-35 Jesus says:  “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world. I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”     We need to seek the revelation of Jesus for each day, communing with Him and reading the word.  Our inheritance is not the lands of the nations, but rather the nations themselves. With God we are to gain all the peoples of the earth for His kingdom, So that they might keep His statutes And observe His laws, Praise the Lord!

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You for all Your blessings and provisions. Thank You for Your great miracles and for every little thing You do. May I be faithful to seek You daily, to see You in both the great and the small ways that You are present with me. Like the psalmist, I will give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually. Remember His wonders which He has done.    Amen.