Psalms 105:45

The countries of the seven nations that dwelt in Canaan; the Lord did it, who had a right to do it, being the possessor of heaven and earth; and who was provoked unto it by the sins of these Heathens, as well as promised it to his people the Israelites. And they inherited the labour of the people; dwelled in the houses they had built, which they found full of all good things; enjoyed the vineyards and olive trees they had planted, and possessed the wells which they had dug, Deuteronomy 6:10. In like manner the heavenly Canaan is enjoyed by the saints without any labour of theirs; this inheritance is not of the law, nor of the works of it, it is the gift of God, Romans 4:14. Psalms 105:45 Ver. 45. That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws,.... All this the Lord did for them, to engage them by his goodness to them to observe the statutes he appointed them, and the laws he gave them; the contrary to which the Canaanites had done, which caused him to cast them out of the land; but on these his people he heaped benefits, thereby to influence them to a cheerful obedience to his will; and this was all he required of them, and the least that they could do, being so highly favoured by him.

105:24-45 As the believer commonly thrives best in his soul when under the cross; so the church also flourishes most in true holiness, and increases in number, while under persecution. Yet instruments shall be raised up for their deliverance, and plagues may be expected by persecutors. And see the special care God took of his people in the wilderness. All the benefits bestowed on Israel as a nation, were shadows of spiritual blessings with which we are blessed in Christ Jesus. Having redeemed us with his blood, restored our souls to holiness, and set us at liberty from Satan's bondage, he guides and guards us all the way. He satisfies our souls with the bread of heaven, and the water of life from the Rock of salvation, and will bring us safely to heaven. He redeems his servants from all iniquity, and purifies them unto himself, to be a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws,.... All this the Lord did for them, to engage them by his goodness to them to observe the statutes he appointed them, and the laws he gave them; the contrary to which the Canaanites had done, which caused him to cast them out of the land; but on these his people he heaped benefits, thereby to influence them to a cheerful obedience to his will; and this was all he required of them, and the least that they could do, being so highly favoured by him. And this is the end of our spiritual and eternal redemption by Christ, and of our effectual calling by his grace and Spirit, that we be zealous of good works; live unto righteousness, live to him that died for us; glorify him with our bodies and spirits, which are his; and be holy in all manner of conversation. Praise ye the Lord, all the Israelites ought to have done so, upon the remembrance of the manifold instances of the divine goodness to them, recorded in this psalm; and so the spiritual Israel of God ought to praise him for their redemption by Christ, out of a worse than Egyptian bondage, the bondage of sin, Satan, and the law; and for their calling into liberty, and to marvellous light; for their meetness for heaven, and right unto it; they should praise him now with joyful lips, as they will in the other world to all eternity.

Verse 45. - That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. This wa s God's purpose. How far Israel was from carrying it out appears from the historical books generally, and perhaps still more from the writings of the prophets (see 2 Kings 17:7-23 ; 2 Chronicles 36:14-17 ; Isaiah 1:2-23 ; Jeremiah 2:5-37 ; Hosea 4:1-18 , etc.). Praise ye the Lord ( comp. Psalm 104:35 ; Psalm 106:1, 48 ; Psalm 111:1 ; Psalm 112:1 ; Psalm 113:1 , etc.). Psalm 105:45

45 . The object of God’s favour to Israel was That they might keep his statutes, And observe his laws, and obedience was the condition of their retaining these blessings. Cp. Psalm 78:7 ; Deuteronomy 4:1 ; Deuteronomy 4:40 ; Deuteronomy 26:17-18 ; and the terms in which the purpose of Abraham’s call is described in Genesis 18:19 (R.V.). Praise ye the Lord ] This Hallelujah is omitted by the LXX and Syr.; see note on Psalm 104:35 : but the recital of God’s mercies fitly concludes with a call to praise.

That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws - The end - the design - of all this was that they might be an obedient people. This was the purpose of all his interventions in their behalf; and their obligation to obedience was enforced and measured by what he had done. The same is true in regard to his people now. Praise ye the Lord - Hebrew, Hallelu-jah. See Psalm 104:35.

Now follows the miraculous guidance through the desert to the taking possession of Canaan. The fact that the cloud (ענן, root ען, to meet, to present itself to view, whence the Arabic ‛ănăn, the visible outward side of the vault of heaven) by day, and becoming like fire by night, was their guide ( Exodus 13:21 ), is left out of consideration in Psalm 105:39 . With למסך we are not to associate the idea of a covering against foes, Exodus 14:19 ., but of a covering from the smiting sun, for פּרשׁ ( Exodus 40:19 ), as in Isaiah 4:5 ., points to the idea of a canopy. In connection with the sending of the quails the tempting character of the desire is only momentarily dwelt upon, the greater emphasis is laid on the omnipotence of the divine goodness which responded to it. שׁאלוּ is to be read instead of שׁאל, the w before w having been overlooked; and the Kerמ writes and points שׂליו (like סתיו, עניו) in order to secure the correct pronunciation, after the analogy of the plural termination יו-. The bread of heaven ( Psalm 78:24 .) is the manna. In Psalm 105:41 the giving of water out of the rock at Rephidim and at Kadesh are brought together; the expression corresponds better to the former instance ( Exodus 17:6 , cf. Numbers 20:11 ). הלכוּ refers to the waters, and נהר for כּנּהרות, Psalm 78:16 , is, as in Psalm 22:14 , an equation instead of a comparison.

In this miraculous escort the patriarchal promise moves on towards its fulfilment; the holy word of promise, and the stedfast, proved faith of Abraham - these were the two motives. The second את is, like the first, a sign of the object, not a preposition (lxx, Targum), in connection with which Psalm 105:42 would be a continuation of Psalm 105:42 , dragging on without any parallelism. Joy and exulting are mentioned as the mood of the redeemed ones with reference to the festive joy displayed at the Red Sea and at Sinai. By Psalm 105:43 one is reminded of the same descriptions of the antitype in Isaiah, Isaiah 35:10 ; Isaiah 51:11 ; Isaiah 55:12 , just as Psalm 105:41 recalls Isaiah 48:21 . "The lands of the heathen" are the territories of the tribes of Canaan. עמל is equivalent to יגיע in Isaiah 45:14 : the cultivated ground, the habitable cities, and the accumulated treasures. Israel entered upon the inheritance of these peoples in every direction. As an independent people upon ground that is theirs by inheritance, keeping the revealed law of their God, was Israel to exhibit the pattern of a holy nation moulded after the divine will; and, as the beginning of the Psalm shows, to unite the peoples to themselves and their God, the God of redemption, by the proclamation of the redemption which has fallen to their own lot.

The reasons for these dealings: (1) God's faithfulness to His covenant, "His holy promise" of Canaan, is the fountain whence flowed so many acts of marvellous kindness to His people (compare Psalms 105:8, 11). Exodus 2:24 is the fundamental passage [H ENGSTENBERG ]. (2) That they might be obedient. The observance of God's commands by Abraham was the object of the covenant with him (Genesis 18:19), as it was also the object of the covenant with Israel, that they might observe God's statutes. remembered … and Abraham —or, "remembered His holy word (that is, covenant confirmed) with Abraham." 44. inherited the labour —that is, the fruits of their labor; their corn and vineyards (Joshua 21:43-45). ## PSALM 106 Psalms 106:1-48. This Psalm gives a detailed confession of the sins of Israel in all periods of their history, with special reference to the terms of the covenant as intimated (Psalms 105:45). It is introduced by praise to God for the wonders of His mercy, and concluded by a supplication for His favor to His afflicted people, and a doxology. 1. Praise, &c.—(See on Psalms 104:35), begins and ends the Psalm, intimating the obligations of praise, however we sin and suffer 1 Chronicles 16:34-36 is the source from which the beginning and end of this Psalm are derived. 2. His acts exceed our comprehension, as His praise our powers of expression (Romans 11:33). Their unutterable greatness is not to keep us back, but to urge us the more to try to praise Him as best we can (Psalms 40:5; 71:15).