Psalm 105 – Proclaim his Name!
Psalm 105 – proclaim his name, tells us to call upon the name of God and glory in his name. Does it matter what name we use for God?
Psalm 105
Psalm 105 – proclaim his name, is another psalm of praise to God for all God has done. Attributed by some to David because the first 15 verses are also found in I Chronicles 16:8-22, it retells the story of the Hebrew nation starting with Abraham through the Exodus.
Tell this story to all the nations, the psalm declares in the first verses. Sing of God’s wonderful deeds.
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” (1-4)
David tells us three times to seek: “Seek, seek, seek, we have the word three times, and though the words differ in the Hebrew, the sense is the same. It must be a blessed thing to seek, or we should not be thus stirred up to do so.” (Spurgeon) (https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-105/)
We are to look to God for strength and glory in God’s name. Why? Because of all of God’s wonderful deeds.
Remember
We are also told to remember: “Alas, we are far more ready to recollect foolish and evil things than to retain in our minds the glorious deeds of Jehovah. If we would keep these in remembrance our faith would be stronger, our gratitude warmer, our devotion more fervent, and our love more intense.” (Spurgeon) (https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-105/)
“Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
you his servants, the descendants of Abraham, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.” (5-7)
Unlike people who so often forget, our God remembers his covenant.
“He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
“To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.” (8-11)
Salvation History
We hear how God protected the patriarchs:
“They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings:
“Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.” (13-15)
From verse 16 through the end of the psalm, we hear the story of salvation history from the patriarchs through Joseph, and Moses and the Exodus experience.
“For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham.
He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—
that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord.” (42-45)
The psalm ends as it begins, in praise.
The Name of God
What’s in a name? Apparently it matters to the writer of Psalm 105 – proclaim his name. He wants to make sure we give credit to God, not to one of the many idols of the nations around Israel. God alone deserves to be called upon and praised.
In Psalm 105 – proclaim his name, we hear the story of how God rescued his people from Egypt. God was hard on the Egyptians, sending ten terrible plagues, all because Pharaoh would not let his people go.
“We don’t read anything about it here in Psalm 105, but in the original telling of the story God spells it out in Exodus 12:12. “I will bring judgment on all the gods of the Egyptians. I am the Lord, Yahweh.” That’s really what was going on in the whole struggle between Israel and Egypt. Who is the Lord? Who is God? When Moses approached Pharaoh at the beginning of it all, he said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘Let my people go….’” Here’s how Pharaoh responded. “Who is the Lord (Yahweh) that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know Yahweh and I will not let Israel go…
“So the God of Israel taught Pharaoh (and all his hosts) who he was by going to war with the gods of Egypt.” (https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2017-08-28/psalm-1051-6-23-26-45b/)
Our God is more powerful than all the gods of Egypt; more powerful than all false gods.
Does It Matter?
Does it matter what name we give God?
It does, and it doesn’t. In that we are proclaiming the one God of creation who loves us and loved the whole world into being, the name doesn’t matter. Whether God or El Shadai or Elohim or Great Spirit or Jesus.
But there are others that people proclaim as god. False gods, idols, less benevolent gods. Gods that do not love humanity; who only want our servitude. To proclaim them would give them power they do not deserve; power that they will abuse.
The Greek gods were often petty and vindictive, exhibiting the worst of human conduct. Not so our God. Our God’s love is unfailing. God is never petty or vindictive. For those who call themselves Christian, our God so loved the world that he sent his son, Jesus, to set an example on how we are to live. It doesn’t get better than that! How blessed to proclaim the name Jesus.
There are also those who profess to be Christian, followers of the one true God, who do not live this with their actions. We are called to proclaim Jesus in word and deed.
Psalm 105 – Proclaim his Name
Psalm 105 – proclaim his name, is all about God, God’s sovereignty over the world, all God did for the Hebrew people. God is the focus. The God of the Hebrew nation who is kind and merciful, slow to anger and filled with love. The psalmist calls us to proclaim God’s name to all the world.
And what is our response to all God has done? We are to praise God and proclaim God’s name to all the world.
How are you proclaiming God’s name? Are your actions in line with your words?
(For another take on this Psalm, see Psalm 105 – Blessed Forgetfulness )
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
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