Day 6, Monday, 19th February: Psalm 105.1-11

One of the longer Psalms of the Psalter, Psalm 105 is a wonderful recounting of Israel's history (from Israel's perspective of course!) of God's provision for Israel. Peter Walker, who has written the With Love to the World commentaries for each daily text for the next 2 weeks, says that the psalm may have originated as liturgical responses for a temple ritual. It outlines the events for which Israel offers it praise.

Verses 1-5 enjoins the people to recall God's promises to the patriarchs; to give thanks to God, to call upon His name; to make His deeds known among the people; to sing praises to God; to tell of God's works; to glory in God's holy Name; to rejoice; to seek God's presence continually; and to remember God's wondrous works. This describes the heart of worship well.

The remaining verses remind the people of the special relationship that the children of Abraham have with this God, and the covenant which binds God and God's people together. That covenant seemed to find expression in this psalm in the claim to the land of Canaan. As Christians we claim that the "New Covenant" between God and God's people is the saving relationship we have with God through Jesus.

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