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Commentary on Psalms 105 verses 25–45
After the history of the patriarchs follows here the history of the people of Israel, when they grew into a nation.
I. Their affliction in Egypt (Psa 105:25): He turned the heart of the Egyptians, who had protected them, to hate them and deal subtilely with them. God's goodness to his people exasperated the Egyptians against them; and, though their old antipathy to the Hebrews (which we read of Gen 43:32; Gen 46:34) was laid asleep for a while, yet now it revived with more violence than ever: formerly they hated them because they despised them, now because they feared them. They dealt subtilely with them, set all their politics on work to find out ways and means to weaken them, and waste them, and prevent their growth; they made their burdens heavy and their lives bitter, and slew their male children as soon as they were born. Malice is crafty to destroy: Satan has the serpent's subtlety, with his venom. It was God that turned the hearts of the Egyptians against them; for every creature is that to us that he makes it to be, a friend or an enemy. Though God is not the author of the sins of men, yet he serves his own purposes by them.
II. Their deliverance out of Egypt, that work of wonder, which, that it might never be forgotten, is put into the preface to the ten commandments. Observe,
1.The instruments employed in that deliverance (Psa 105:26): He sent Moses his servant on this errand and joined Aaron in commission with him. Moses was designed to be their lawgiver and chief magistrate, Aaron to be their chief priest; and therefore, that they might respect them the more and submit to them the more cheerfully, God made use of them as their deliverers.
2.The means of accomplishing that deliverance; these were the plagues of Egypt. Moses and Aaron observed their orders, in summoning them just as God appointed them, and they rebelled not against his word (Psa 105:28) as Jonah did, who, when he was sent to denounce God's judgments against Nineveh, went to Tarshish. Moses and Aaron were not moved, either with a foolish fear of Pharaoh's wrath or a foolish pity of Egypt's misery, to relax or retard any of the plagues which God ordered them to inflict on the Egyptians, but stretched forth their hand to inflict them as God appointed. Those that are instructed to execute judgment will find their remissness construed as a rebellion against God's word. The plagues of Egypt are here called God's signs, and his wonders (Psa 105:27); they were not only proofs of his power, but tokens of his wrath, and to be looked upon with admiration and holy awe. They showed the words of his signs (so it is in the original), for every plague had an exposition going along with it; they were not, as the common works of creation and providence, silent signs, but speaking ones, and they spoke aloud. They are all or most of them here specified, though not in the order in which they were inflicted. (1.) The plague of darkness, Psa 105:28. This was one of the last, though here mentioned first. God sent darkness, and, coming with commission, it came with efficacy; his command made it dark. And then they (that is, the people of Israel) rebelled not against God's word, namely, a command which some think was given them to circumcise all among them that had not been circumcised, in doing which the three days' darkness would be a protection to them. The old translation follows the Septuagint, and reads it, They were not obedient to his word, which may be applied to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, who, notwithstanding the terror of this plague, would not let the people go; but there is no ground for it in the Hebrew. (2.) The turning of the river Nilus (which they idolized) into blood, and all their other waters, which slew their fish (Psa 105:29), and so they were deprived, not only of their drink, but of the daintiest of their meat, Num 11:5. (3.) The frogs, shoals of which their land brought forth, which poured in upon them, not only in such numbers, but with such fury, that they could not keep them out of the chambers of their kings and great men, whose hearts had been full of vermin, more nauseous and more noxious-contempt of, and enmity to, both God and his Israel. (4.) Flies of divers sorts swarmed in their air, and lice in their clothes, Psa 105:31; Exo 8:17, Exo 8:24. Note, God can make use of the meanest, and weakest, and most despicable animals, for the punishing and humbling of proud oppressors, to whom the impotency of the instrument cannot but be a great mortification, as well as an undeniable conviction of the divine omnipotence. (5.) Hail-stones shattered their trees, even the strongest timber-trees in their coasts, and killed their vines, and their other fruit-trees, Psa 105:32, Psa 105:33. Instead of rain to cherish their trees, he gave them hail to crush them, and with it thunder and lightning, to such a degree that the fire ran along upon the ground, as if it had been a stream of kindled brimstone, Exo 9:23. (6.) Locusts and caterpillars destroyed all the herbs which were made for the service of man and ate the bread out of their mouths, Psa 105:34, Psa 105:35. See what variety of judgments God has, wherewith to plague proud oppressors, that will not let his people go. God did not bring the same plague twice, but, when there was occasion for another, it was still a new one; for he has many arrows in his quiver. Locusts and caterpillars are God's armies; and, how weak soever they are singly, he can raise such numbers of them as to make them formidable, Joe 1:4, Joe 1:6. (7.) Having mentioned all the plagues but those of the murrain and boils, he concludes with that which gave the conquering stroke, and that was the death of the first-born, Psa 105:36. In the dead of the night the joys and hopes of their families, the chief of their strength and flower of their land, were all struck dead by the destroying angel. They would not release God's first-born, and therefore God seized theirs by way of reprisal, and thereby forced them to dismiss his too, when it was too late to retrieve their own; for when God judges he will overcome, and those will certainly sit down losers at last that contend with him.
3.The mercies that accompanied this deliverance. In their bondage, (1.) They had been impoverished, and yet they came out rich and wealthy. God not only brought them forth, but he brought them forth with silver and gold, Psa 105:37. God empowered them to ask and collect the contributions of their neighbours (which were indeed but part of payment for the service they had done them) and inclined the Egyptians to furnish them with what they asked. Their wealth was his, and therefore he might, their hearts were in his hand, and therefore he could, give it to the Israelites. (2.) Their lives had been made bitter to them, and their bodies and spirits broken by their bondage; and yet, when God brought them forth, there was not one feeble person, none sick, none so much as sickly, among their tribes. They went out that very night that the plague swept away all the first-born of Egypt, and yet they went out all in good health, and brought not with them any of the diseases of Egypt. Surely never was the like, that among so many thousands there was not one sick! So false was the representation which the enemies of the Jews, in after-ages, gave of this matter, that they were all sick of a leprosy, or some loathsome disease, and that therefore the Egyptians thrust them out of their land. (3.) They had been trampled upon and insulted over; and yet they were brought out with honour (Psa 105:38): Egypt was glad when they departed; for God had so wonderfully owned them, and pleaded their cause, that the fear of Israel fell upon them, and they owned themselves baffled and overcome. God can and will make his church a burdensome stone to all that heave at it and seek to displace it, so that those shall think themselves happy that get out of its way, Zac 12:3. When God judges, he will overcome. (4.) They had spent their days in sorrow and in sighing, by reason of their bondage; but now he brought them forth with joy and gladness, Psa 105:43. When Egypt's cry for grief was loud, their first-born being all slain, Israel's shouts for joy were as loud, both when they looked back upon the land of slavery out of which they were rescued and when they looked forward to the pleasant land to which they were hastening. God now put a new song into their mouth.
4.The special care God took of them in the wilderness. (1.) For their shelter. Besides the canopy of heaven, he provided them another heavenly canopy: He spread a cloud for a covering (Psa 105:39), which was to them not only a screen and umbrella, but a cloth of state. A cloud was often God's pavilion (Psa 18:11) and now it was Israel's; for they also were his hidden ones. (2.) For their guidance and refreshment in the dark. He appointed a pillar of fire to give light in the night, that they might never be at a loss. Note, God graciously provides against all the grievances of his people, and furnishes them with convenient succours for every condition, for day and night, till they come to heaven, where it will be all day to eternity. (3.) He fed them both with necessaries and dainties. Sometimes he furnished their tables with wild fowl (Psa 105:40): The people asked, and he brought quails; and, when they were not thus feasted, yet they were abundantly satisfied with the bread of heaven. Those are curious and covetous indeed who will not be so satisfied. Man did eat angels' food, and that constantly and on free-cost. And, as every bit they ate had miracle in it, so had every drop they drank: He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out, Psa 105:41. Common providence fetches waters from heaven, and bread out of the earth; but for Israel the divine power brings bread from the clouds and water from the rocks: so far is the God of nature from being tied to the laws and courses of nature. The water did not only gush out once, but it ran like a river, plentifully and constantly, and attended their camp in all their removes; hence they are said to have the rock follow them (Co1 10:4), and, which increased the miracle, this river of God (so it might be truly called) ran in dry places, and yet was not drunk in and lost, as one would have expected it to be, by the sands of the desert of Arabia. To this that promise alludes, I will give rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen, Isa 43:19, Isa 43:20.
5.Their entrance, at length, into Canaan (Psa 105:44): He gave them the lands of the heathen, put them in possession of that which they had long been put in hopes of; and what the Canaanites had taken pains for God's Israel had the enjoyment of: They inherited the labour of the people; and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. The Egyptians had long inherited their labours, and now they inherited the labours of the Canaanites. Thus sometimes one enemy of the church is made to pay another's scores.
6.The reasons why God did all this for them. (1.) Because he would himself perform the promises of the word, Psa 105:42. They were unworthy and unthankful, yet he did those great things in their favour because he remembered the word of his holiness (that is, his covenant) with Abraham his servant, and he would not suffer one iota or tittle of that to fall to the ground. See Deu 7:8. (2.) Because he would have them to perform the precepts of the word, to bind them to which was the greatest kindness he could put upon them. He put them in possession of Canaan, not that they might live in plenty and pleasure, in ease and honour, and might make a figure among the nations, but that they might observe his statutes and keep his laws, - that, being formed into a people, they might be under God's immediate government, and revealed religion might be the basis of their national constitution, - that, having a good land given them, they might out of the profits of it bring sacrifices to God's altar, - and that, God having thus done them good, they might the more cheerfully receive his law, concluding that also designed for their good, and might be sensible of their obligations in gratitude to live in obedience to him. We are therefore made, maintained, and redeemed, that we may live in obedience to the will of God; and the hallelujah with which the psalm concludes may be taken both as a thankful acknowledgment of God's favours and as a cheerful concurrence with this great intention of them. Has God done so much for us, and yet does he expect so little from us? Praise you the Lord.
"He set forth in them the words of His tokens, and of His wonders in the land of Ham" [Psalm 105:27]. We ought not to understand by "the words of His tokens," words literally, words with which the tokens and wonders were worked, that is, which they uttered, that these tokens and wonders might take place. For many were performed without words, either with a rod, or with outstretched hand, or by ashes sent towards heaven....
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SUMMARY
Psalm 105:27 serves as a concise yet powerful declaration of God's active intervention in the history of Israel, specifically during the Exodus. It highlights that Moses and Aaron, as God's chosen agents, publicly displayed divine "signs" and "wonders" in Egypt, referred to here as "the land of Ham." These miraculous acts were not mere coincidences but deliberate demonstrations of God's supreme power and sovereignty, designed to compel Pharaoh to release His people and to reveal His faithfulness to His covenant promises, thereby establishing His unique authority to both Israel and the nations.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Psalm 105 is a didactic historical psalm, designed to instruct and encourage Israel by recounting God's covenant faithfulness from Abraham to the Exodus. It forms part of a larger Hallel (Praise) collection (Psalms 105-107), urging the community to "remember his marvelous works" (Psalm 105:5). Verse 27 immediately follows the divine appointment of Moses and Aaron in Psalm 105:26, serving as the pivotal transition from God's preparation of His agents to the active display of His power. This verse sets the stage for the dramatic narrative of the plagues, which the psalm then recounts in detail, underscoring the direct, supernatural intervention of Yahweh to fulfill His ancient promises and deliver His people. The psalm's overarching purpose is to cultivate gratitude, trust, and obedience in the worshipping community by reminding them of God's unwavering commitment to His covenant.
Historical & Cultural Context: The phrase "the land of Ham" serves as an ancient biblical designation for Egypt, linking its inhabitants genealogically to Ham, one of Noah's sons, whose descendants are described as settling in various regions including the Nile Valley (Genesis 10:6). Historically, at the time of the Exodus, Egypt was a formidable empire, deeply entrenched in a complex polytheistic system where Pharaoh was considered a divine intermediary and numerous gods personified natural forces (e.g., Hapi for the Nile, Ra for the sun, Heqet for fertility). The "signs" and "wonders" unleashed by God were not arbitrary acts but precisely targeted judgments against the Egyptian pantheon, systematically dismantling the perceived power of their deities and the divine authority of Pharaoh himself (as seen throughout the Exodus narrative). This historical and cultural backdrop amplifies the profound theological statement of Yahweh's absolute supremacy over all earthly powers and false gods, demonstrating His unique sovereignty to both Israel and Egypt.
Key Themes: This verse powerfully encapsulates and contributes to several foundational themes within Psalm 105 and the broader biblical metanarrative. Firstly, it emphatically declares Divine Sovereignty and Power, illustrating God's absolute dominion over nature, nations, and human rulers. The "signs" and "wonders" were irrefutable evidence of Yahweh's unmatched might, challenging and ultimately dismantling the power structures of Egypt, as vividly recounted in the plagues narrative. Secondly, the verse highlights Covenant Faithfulness, demonstrating God's unwavering commitment to the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regarding their numerous descendants and their inheritance of a land. The Exodus, initiated by these divine acts, was the pivotal fulfillment of this ancient covenant, as reiterated in Genesis 15:13-14. Thirdly, it underscores God's Justice and Judgment on Oppressors, as the miraculous interventions served not only to liberate Israel but also to execute righteous judgment upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians for their systemic cruelty and idolatry, a theme explicitly stated in Exodus 12:12.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalm 105:27 employs several literary devices to enhance its impact and meaning. The most prominent is Synonymous Parallelism, seen in the pairing of "signs" and "wonders." These two terms, while distinct in their nuance (revelatory purpose vs. astonishing nature), are used together to reinforce and intensify the concept of miraculous divine intervention, creating a sense of completeness and emphasis characteristic of Hebrew poetry. Additionally, the phrase "land of Ham" functions as a form of Metonymy or Synecdoche, where a historical or genealogical association (Ham's lineage) is used to refer to the entire nation of Egypt. This archaic designation adds a layer of historical and genealogical depth, reminding the reader of Egypt's origins within the biblical framework and subtly contrasting it with the chosen lineage of Israel. The concise nature of the verse, despite its profound content, also exemplifies Conciseness, packing significant theological and historical meaning into a few carefully chosen words.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalm 105:27 powerfully asserts God's active and sovereign involvement in human history, particularly in the deliverance of His chosen people. It underscores that God does not merely observe from a distance but intervenes decisively through miraculous displays of power, often using human agents like Moses and Aaron. These "signs" and "wonders" serve multiple theological purposes: they reveal God's unmatched power over all creation and false gods, they demonstrate His unwavering faithfulness to His covenant promises, and they execute His righteous judgment against those who oppress His people. The Exodus narrative, encapsulated in this verse, therefore becomes a foundational testament to God's character as both mighty Deliverer and righteous Judge, a pattern of divine action that resonates throughout salvation history, reminding believers that God is always at work to fulfill His purposes and vindicate His people.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalm 105:27 offers profound encouragement and a call to trust in God's enduring power and faithfulness. Just as God decisively intervened in Egypt, displaying His "signs" and "wonders" to deliver His people from overwhelming bondage, so too does He remain sovereign over all circumstances and capable of working miracles in our lives today. This verse reminds us that no situation is too difficult for God, no oppressor too mighty, and no promise too grand for Him to fulfill. Remembering His past mighty acts, whether from Scripture or our personal testimonies, serves as a powerful foundation for faith, enabling us to face present challenges with confidence, knowing that the same God who delivered Israel is active and faithful in our lives, providing spiritual, emotional, and even physical deliverance according to His perfect will. It challenges us to look beyond our immediate circumstances to the God who performs wonders, trusting that His power is not diminished and His purposes for His people remain unwavering.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Who are "they" in this verse?
Answer: The "they" in Psalms 105:27 refers to Moses and Aaron. This is made clear in the preceding verse, Psalm 105:26, which states, "He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen." They were God's chosen and empowered agents through whom He performed the miraculous acts in Egypt, demonstrating His divine authority and power.
What are "signs" and "wonders" in this context?
Answer: "Signs" and "wonders" refer to the miraculous plagues that God inflicted upon Egypt, as detailed throughout the book of Exodus. These were supernatural demonstrations of God's power, intended to prove His sovereignty over all creation and over the gods of Egypt, to compel Pharaoh to release the Israelites, and to reveal God's faithfulness to His covenant people. They served as irrefutable evidence of God's active intervention and His unique identity as the one true God.
Why is Egypt called "the land of Ham"?
Answer: "The land of Ham" is an ancient biblical designation for Egypt. It refers to the genealogical lineage of the Egyptians, who are considered descendants of Ham, one of Noah's sons (Genesis 10:6). This term highlights Egypt's identity as a gentile nation, distinct from Israel, and often serves to underscore the foreign and idolatrous context in which God's mighty acts of deliverance occurred, emphasizing His triumph over a powerful, non-covenant people.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalm 105:27, with its focus on God's display of "signs and wonders" for the deliverance of His people, finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Just as Moses and Aaron were God's chosen agents for physical liberation from Egyptian bondage, Jesus is the ultimate agent of spiritual deliverance from the dominion of sin and death. His entire earthly ministry was characterized by "signs and wonders" that attested to His divine authority and identity as the Son of God, from turning water into wine (John 2:11) to healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising the dead (Acts 2:22). The Exodus plagues, which judged Egypt and liberated Israel, foreshadowed the greater judgment on sin and the ultimate liberation from spiritual bondage that Christ accomplished through His atoning sacrifice. He is the greater Moses, leading His people out of the "land of Ham"—the spiritual dominion of sin and death—into the true promised land of eternal life in Him (Hebrews 3:1-6). The cross itself is the greatest "sign" of God's love and power, where the judgment for humanity's sin was borne by Christ, enabling the ultimate "wonder" of resurrection and new life for all who believe (Romans 5:8). Thus, the ancient signs and wonders in Egypt point forward to the supreme signs and wonders wrought by Christ, through whom God's people are delivered from a far greater captivity into eternal freedom.