Psalm 104 told of the God of creation and His manifold works of wisdom. Now Psalm 105 declares the marvelous works of God in redemption. In Psalm 104, all mankind could enjoy God’s creation. By contrast, Psalm 105 speaks of separate nations but also of one unique family who received God’s promises. This covenant-keeping God spoke first to Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob, promising Canaan for their inheritance. But how? They were so few, and all those patriarchs found themselves in strange lands at times. Even so, God preserved them (Ps. 105:7–15).

Then a severe period of famine and testing followed, and Jacob’s family moved to Egypt (vv. 16–23). Still God did not forget them. Even before the famine came, “He sent a man before them—Joseph” (v. 17). Joseph’s personal history was itself a display of God’s promises, and his presence in Egypt allowed God’s people to increase (v. 24).

Yet their trials deepened. The Egyptians came to hate God’s people. Abraham’s descendants might have wondered whether God would ever keep His promises! Perhaps we sometimes feel the same. But the second half of Psalm 105 tells of God’s signs and wonders in Egypt, His mighty deliverance of His people, and His protective care in the desert. As Moses declared, “The Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing” (Dt. 2:7). Our psalmist agrees that “He remembered His holy promise” to bring His “chosen ones” to the land of promise, where they could “observe His statutes and keep His laws” (vv. 42–45).

Today, God wants us to live in the land of His heavenly blessings, secured for us through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. He wants you to have that joy! Like His people of old, let us keep His word and declare His praise.