Covenant Singing

God as a covenant making and covenant keeping God is a truth at the heart of Psalm 105.  The psalmist begins with an invitation to praise and give thanks to God for his wondrous works (Ps. 105:1-4) followed by an admonition to remember God's "wondrous works, his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered" (Ps. 105:5-6).

Which wondrous, miraculous works elicit this response in the psalmist and his readers?  Specifically, the psalmist calls our attention to God's making with Abraham (Ps. 105:7-11) and his covenant keeping with all subsequent generations.

The psalmist goes on to chronicle God's faithfulness to his covenant and covenant people through the time of the patriarchs sojourning (Ps 105:12-15), through famine when God sent Joseph ahead (in chains) to Egypt to provide for his family (Ps 105:16-22),  through their centuries of slavery (Ps. 105:23-24), by delivering them out of Egypt (Ps 105:26-42), and to their conquest and possession of the land (Ps 105:43-44). 

Two things stand out to me as particularly noteworthy in this psalm. First, this covenant - God's covenant with Abraham - is absolutely fundamental to Israel's identity. All history, all subsequent covenant are subsumed in this one. The Exodus is certainly the pinnacle of God's redemptive activity in Israel's history; however, verse 40 reminds us that this was God keeping his covenant promises to Abraham. This is Israelite history telling, and it's thoroughly covenantal. God's acts flow from his character as a covenant making and covenant keeping God. This history, this unique relationship with God as his covenant people, defined who Israel was...and it should define who we are too. This isn't just Israel's story, it's ours too. The Old Testament is Christian Scripture also, not just back-story.

Second, the intended response of the reader is important to notice - praise & obedience. Praise comes in the beginning and at the end (Psalm 105:1-6, 45). It struck me that the Psalm calls us to remember all God's wondrous deeds but the focus isn't on 'what God has done for me lately' but on God's redemptive acts in long ago history. Certainly both are called for, but maybe more weight should be given to recounting God's story in our witness, not just our story. The psalmist also expects his readers to respond with obedience. God has done all these things "that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws." 

It's important to note that obedience was not the basis of the covenant, but was expected to be the result of living in covenant with God. This too is important for us - works have no part in establishing our relationship with God (at least, not our own works), but works are expected of God's covenantal people. Ephesians 2:8-10 make this abundantly clear from a NT perspective.

Remember...praise...obey.
- Dan