Declare What He Has Done
The covenant with Abraham retold as a chain of kept promises: Joseph in irons until his word proved true, plagues on Egypt, and a people brought out with silver and singing, not one of them stumbling. The subject throughout is a Father who remembers.
105 1Give thanks to our Father; call on his name; make known his deeds among the peoples. 2Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. 3Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek our Father rejoice. 4Seek our Father and his strength; seek his face continually.
5Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has pronounced, 6you children of Abraham his servant, you sons of Jacob, his chosen ones. 7He is our Father; his judgments fill all the earth.
8He remembers his covenant forever, the word he decreed for 1,000 generations, 9the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac, 10which he confirmed to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as your inheritance."
12When they were few in number, only a handful, and strangers in it, 13wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another nation, 14he let no one oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings:
15"Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm."
16He called down famine on the land and cut off all their food. 17He had sent a man ahead of them—Joseph, sold as a slave. 18They bruised his feet with shackles; his neck was put in irons, 19until the time his word came to pass, until the word of our Father proved him right. 20The king sent for him and released him; the ruler of peoples set him free. 21The king made Joseph lord of his own house, ruler over all he possessed, 22so Joseph could instruct the king's princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.
23Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham. a a v23 'Land of Ham' is an ancient poetic name for Egypt (also used in verse 27). 24And our Father made his people very fruitful, and made them stronger than their foes. 25He turned their hearts to hate his people, to scheme against his servants.
26He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen. 27They performed his signs among them, his wonders in the land of Ham. 28He sent darkness and made the land dark, and Moses and Aaron did not rebel against his words. 29He turned their waters into blood and killed their fish. 30Their land teemed with frogs, even in the bedrooms of their kings. 31He spoke, and swarms of flies came, and gnats throughout their territory. 32He gave them hail instead of rain, and flaming fire throughout their land. 33He struck down their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country. 34He spoke, and the locusts came, young locusts beyond number, 35and they devoured every plant in their land and ate all the produce of their fields. 36Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their strength.
37Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold, and none among his tribes stumbled. 38Egypt was glad when they departed, for dread of them had fallen upon Egypt. 39He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light by night. 40They asked, and he brought quail, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. 41He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river.
42For he remembered his holy promise to Abraham his servant. 43So he brought out his people with joy, his chosen ones with singing. 44He gave them the lands of the nations, and they took over what other peoples had toiled for, 45that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Hallelujah!