Old Testament · Poetry

Psalm 105

Remember His Wonders

From Abraham to the exodus, God's faithfulness is retold as a song. He remembered His holy promise and brought His people out with joy.

King James Version BSB KJV

Tap any verse number for what that verse means.

1O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

2Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.

3Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

4Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

5Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

6O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.

7He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth.

8He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.

9Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;

10And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

11Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:

12When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.

13When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;

14He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;

15Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

16Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.

17He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:

18Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

19Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.

20The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.

21He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:

22To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.

23Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

24And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.

25He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.

26He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.

27They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

28He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.

29He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.

30Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.

31He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts.

32He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.

33He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.

34He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number,

35And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.

36He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.

37He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.

38Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them.

39He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.

40The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

41He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.

42For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.

43And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness:

44And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people;

45That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD.

Understand This

Psalm 105, explained

What Psalm 105 is saying

Psalm 105 is a historical hymn recounting God's faithfulness from the Abrahamic covenant through the Exodus and wilderness wandering to the gift of the land. It selectively narrates patriarchal history, the Joseph narrative, the plagues of Egypt, and wilderness provision. The psalm's hermeneutical key is verse 8: God 'remembers His covenant forever.'

The background behind it

A version of verses 1–15 appears in 1 Chronicles 16:8–22 as part of David's celebration when the Ark arrived in Jerusalem. The psalm likely served a liturgical function in covenant renewal festivals, rehearsing salvation history for the worshiping community.

Themes running underneath

The psalm develops a theology of divine fidelity: every event in Israel's history is interpreted as covenant fulfillment. The plagues are reframed not as punishment but as redemptive acts. The telos of the entire narrative is obedience—God gave them the land 'that they might keep His statutes.'

Why it still matters

Rehearsing God's faithfulness in history is not mere nostalgia but a spiritual discipline that strengthens present faith. The psalm's conclusion—that deliverance leads to obedience—challenges any view of grace that disconnects salvation from response.

This is one chapter. BibleKey does all 1,189.

Tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and follow every cross-reference without losing your place.

Get BibleKey

All 150 chapters of Psalms · Every book of the Bible · Browse by topic

Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.