Context No. 2984 of 4322 · Psalms

Psalms 105:1-16: in context

1Give thanks to the LORD! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples. 2Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvelous works. 3Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 4Seek the LORD and his strength. Seek his face forever more. 5Remember his marvelous works that he has done: his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth, 6you offspring of Abraham, his servant, you children 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, his oath to Isaac, 10and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute; to Israel for an everlasting covenant, 11saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance,” 12when they were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners in it. 13They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people. 14He allowed no one to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes, 15“Don’t touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!” 16He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.

This psalm calls for thanksgiving and then fuels it with memory. Give thanks, call on his name, tell of his wonderful works, remember what he has done. And at the center is the reason it all holds together: he has remembered his covenant forever, the promise made to Abraham, sworn to Isaac, confirmed to Jacob, to give them the land.

The engine of the whole psalm is remembering. It stirs Israel to gratitude by recalling specifically what God has done, and its central claim is that God himself remembers his covenant, to a thousand generations. Our thanksgiving rests on God's faithful memory: he does not forget his promises, even when we forget his works. And in their vulnerable days, when they were few and landless and wandering from nation to nation, he actively guarded them, warning even kings, do not touch my anointed ones. The God who remembers his covenant watches over his own.

Do I ground my gratitude in remembering what God has actually done, trusting that he remembers his covenant even when I forget his works?

Sources

Psalm 105:8: "He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations."
Psalm 105:5: "Remember his marvelous works that he has done: his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth."
Luke 1:72: "To show mercy toward our fathers, to remember his holy covenant."