Category Archives: Expositions
Destroying Tefnut and Shu
“He gave them rain showers of hailstones,
And flames of fire in their land.
He smote their vines and their figs
And he smashed into fragments
The trees within their borders.”
(Psalm 105:32-33)
We now arrive at the seventh plague — that of hail and fire. If you live in a part of the world where large hail is common, you know just how damaging that hail can be. In this case, the text describes the trees as being shattered into splinters or fragments. What the Psalmist does not record is that the remaining livestock and the people who remained in the field were also killed by these great falling hailstones (Exodus 9:19). As such, the economy of Egypt was decimated (except for the wheat, which was late to come up – Exodus 9:32), yet again, God preserved his people in Goshen (Exodus 9:26).
What is the purpose of such violence against Egypt? They are idolaters, most certainly, and deserve such judgment. They have wickedly oppressed God’s people. Yet, Moses preserves the ultimate reason for this violence — a reason that the Apostle Paul applies to all of the reprobate; God is doing this to show his mighty power that it may be proclaimed throughout the earth (Exodus 9:16; Romans 9:22-23).
In the Egyptian pantheon, they recognized Tefnut and Shuas twins who ruled the moisture (rain) and air, respectively. Here, God demonstrates that these false gods are unable to stop Him from raining down terror by controlling their domains. Once again, the pagan gods are demonstrated as being inept and impotent when faced with the God of the Bible.
Destroying Geb and Nut
“He spoke and there came swarms,
Gnats in all their boundaries.”
(Psalm 105:31)
Some would suggest that this is simply a reference to the third plague, that of gnats (KJV renders this as lice) throughout the land. Yet, the term עָרֹב (arob) is used to refer to the plague of flies that arrived in the land (fourth plague — see Exodus 8:17) and not to refer to the previous plague. So, here, there are two plagues brought together by the psalmist. Swarms of nuisance insects, first in the form of gnats and then in the form of flies. Yet, with the flies, these creatures only infested the lands of Pharaoh and not the lands where the Israelites dwelt (Exodus 8:22).
In the Egyptian pantheon, Geb (god of the earth) was the husband of Nut (goddess of the air). Interestingly, these plagues are thus joined. The third plague (gnats or lice) begins as Moses throws the dust of the earth (that which is supposed to be controlled by Geb) into the air (the realm of Nut) and it becomes pestilence. Then, from the air (Nut) come flies (swarming nuisance insects) by the command of God. Both of these plagues follow the death of Heqet’s frogs, creatures designed to keep such pests at a tolerable level.
Once again, we find the God of the Bible demonstrating that He has power over the gods and goddesses that the people of Egypt worshiped. In the account of the ten plagues, here would be where the “missing two” plagues would fall. The plague of the death of the livestock (fifth plague) and that of the boils (sixth plague). Since there are no Egyptian deities associated directly with these two plagues, it may be assumed that the psalmist is simply omitting them because his focus is on the idolatry of the Egyptians.
Some would suggest that these are indirect plagues against Hathor and Isis, goddesses that were protectors of the people and their property. Yet, one could argue that every plague is directed at those gods and goddesses who were to be protectors of the people. Another option, might be to argue that the fifth and sixth plagues are plagues that arose out of the third and fourth plagues. For instance, swarms of flies can be very detrimental to a herd of cattle, biting them, sucking their blood, and infecting them with disease. Similarly, if the King James translators are correct that כֵּן (ken) should be translated as “lice,” then the boils could be a result of the sores and sickness that might be described as boils (remember, lice too, can carry infectious disease). Thus, it could be speculated that the sixth plague could be a byproduct of the third plague and the fifth plague a byproduct of the fourth plague. While speculative, it would offer an explanation as to their absence.
Destroying Heqet and Sobek
“The land crept with frogs
In the rooms of their kings.”
(Psalm 105:30)
We find ourselves with a retelling of the second of the Ten Plagues and the language used is much the same as what we find in the Exodus account. Sometimes people speculate as to the purpose of the second phrase about the chambers of the kings. The word used here is הדר (hadar), which is a generic word that refers to any sort of room or private chamber. This may simply reflect the extent to which these frogs were swarming the land, demonstrating that even the king (or kings — leaders) were incapable of escaping the presence of these creatures. Another option is a little more tongue and cheek, recognizing that the purpose of some of this language is designed to show the extent to which God humiliates his enemies. In this case, הדר (hadar) could be understood to be the inner chamber where the king would relieve himself privately (see a parallel in Judges 3:24) — the Pharaoh cannot even go to the bathroom in peace.
There is some discussion as to which Egyptian god this plague is directed against. On one side, Heqet was the goddess of frogs (depicted with a frog’s head). She was the goddess of fertility and birth, which is a good thing when controlled, but when fertility runs amok (too many frogs!), it certainly can be detrimental. The other option we have is Sobek, the Egyptian god of crocodiles. He was associated with fertility (as so many pagan gods are), but also was a god of chaos. The reason that Sobek is significant here is that it was his job (or the job of the crocodiles) to keep the frogs of the Nile under control. Thus, with God putting Sobek under his thumb of judgment, the frogs became a nuance in the land. A third option is that this is a judgment against both of the Egyptian false gods, with Yahweh demonstrating his power over both.
In either case, God continues to use what the Egyptians bow down to in such a way that He humiliates them. How similar this is to Paul’s language in Romans 1, that God uses the sin of those who do not honor His name to bring judgment upon them. Food for thought in our Neo-pagan culture.
Destroying Khnum
“He turned their waters into blood
And he caused their fish to die.”
(Psalm 105:29)
Much as we saw in the previous verse, God is taking apart those things that the people of Egypt worshipped. The Nile River always has been the source of life for Egypt; in the plague, God turned it into a source of death. Not only can blood not sustain fishwife, it also cannot water crops or provide water for the people. And this plague, the first of the ten, affected not just the Nile, but all water in the land of Egypt.
The Egyptian god Khnum was the god of the Nile, of water, and of procreation. And, as we saw with Amun-Ra, their false gods cannot resist the power of the Almighty God of the universe. As we have noted, God is bringing low those gods that were served in Egypt — remember, this is a demonstration of power not just to the Egyptians, but to the Israelites who had fallen into the idolatry of the people around them (Joshua 24:14).
Even today, our human hearts have a bent toward idolatry. We lean toward it and subtly permit elements of it in our lives — sometimes it is not so subtle! Worse yet, we often incorporate it into our worship. This goes beyond the icons of Eastern Orthodoxy or the idols of the Roman church. In fact, anytime we incorporate things in worship apart from what God has explicitly commanded, we have embraced a form of idolatry. Whether this be images of Jesus that we scatter around our churches or homes, choosing to sing humanistic songs, importing art and drama into the service, or just simply engaging in things that manipulate the minds and hearts of the participants to a certain end. It is idolatry because it is not trusting God to lay out in His Word how we are to worship. And God will bring idolatry low, even today. We may not see chalices of water turn into blood, but He will bring the downfall of those who do not honor Him in all things.
Destroying Amun-Ra
“He sent darkness and made the land dark;
They were not rebellious to His Word.”
(Psalm 105:28)
In verses 28-36, we find a retelling of the account of the Ten Plagues brought on Egypt. What is striking about this list is twofold. First, they are not listed in order and second, two of the plagues are absent (the 5th and 6th plagues). Given the detail of this psalm, the omission stands out and given the orderly nature of the account, beginning with the covenant God made with Abraham, again, it seems to be odd that the order has been rearranged. Further, as this psalm contains 48 verses, brevity hardly seems to provide an answer to these questions. What adds to the question is that Psalm 78, which also records the events of the To Plagues, records a different listing, that time, only seven.
Answers abound amongst the commentators. Many see the Exodus account as a redacted body of ancient texts, seeking to offer a composite account of the Exodus. The obvious problem with that reading is twofold. First, it makes the Exodus deliverance more of a folktale and not a historical account. Second, neither Psalm 78 nor Psalm 105 contain the language of the boils…so where did it come from if not from a these psalms? Arguably, then, the answer to these questions must rest within the text, which we will explore across these next verses.
Another point of interest is found here in verse 28. What does it mean that the people did not rebel against God’s Word when he sent the plague of darkness. Curiously, the Septuagint, when translating the Hebrew into Greek, deletes the word “not” and simply states that they “rebelled” against God’s Word. Surely, this cannot refer to the Egyptians, who did not submit to releasing the Israelites until after the 10th plague. So, of whom can it refer? The best answer seems to be that it refers to Moses and Aaron, the subject of the previous verses. They performed the signs of His Word (as verse 27 records) and thus, they did not rebel against His Word. While this might seem to be an odd reading as we look at the chronology of the Exodus event, as we see the chronology of Psalm 105, it makes good and logical sense that Moses and Aaron did not recoil from issuing plagues of judgment against Egypt (yet, how often we shirk from pronouncing judgments against the wicked of our land!).
So, why begin with the ninth plague? Here, we speculate, but it is worth noting that the king of the Egyptian pantheon was Amun-Ra, the god of light. Given that each of the plagues were uttered against the various things that the Egyptians worshipped, it makes sense to see the psalmist begin with this and then end the account with the death of the Pharaoh’s son, the one considered the embodiment of their god. And thus, the false gods fall before the wrath of the one True God.
Miracles in Ham
“They established before them the Word of His signs,
Wonders in the land of Ham.”
(Psalm 105:27)
We have already noted the reference to Egypt as a portion of the land that was given to the sons of Ham (see verse 23 above). Once again, the psalmist uses this ancient reference to break of the language (and perhaps to add a certain degree of consonance with the first clause in this verse). We will not dwell on the specific miracles performed just yet, as the psalmist will do so in the following verses. It should be noted, though, that these miracles are referred to as “signs” in the text — both words, אוֹת (‘oth) and מוֹפֵת (mopheth) carry similar connotations — and these signs are referred to as “signs of His Word.”
Signs, of course, authenticate the messenger, in this case Moses and Aaron. How was Pharaoh to know that these men represented the God of creation? They worked signs and wonders that could not be repeated or undone by Pharaoh’s own magicians. Yet, the sign does not testify to the greatness of the man (men cannot do these things), they testify to the greatness of the God who sent these men. And miracles testify to the Word of the God who sent them.
Sometimes people wonder why there are no miraculous works done today. For instance, why doesn’t God send a prophet to the White House and demand the people repent or there will be plague and famine let loose. The answer to this is that God’s Word has been finally and completely revealed. There is nothing to add to it nor can anything be taken away from it. Thus, the need for authenticating miracles has ceased and thus they are no more.
Slaves and Election
“He sent Moses, his servant;
And Aaron, whom He had chosen, with him.”
(Psalm 105:26)
There are several aspects of this verse that ought to be noted. First, the term עבד (‘ebed), which is commonly translated in our Bibles as “servant,” can also be very naturally translated as “slave.” The Greek word δουλος (doulos — servant, slave, bond-servant) is used in the LXX when translating this word. It is a reminder that our position before God is not as peers but as humble servants/slaves before Him (Matthew 25:21). It is also a reminder that the Apostle Paul, who regularly used the term δουλος (doulos) to describe his relationship to God (and by extension, ours) as similar to that of the relationship Moses had with God (e.g. Romans 1:1; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Galatians 1:10).
The second point of note is that God chose Aaron to accompany Moses (whom God also clearly chose). The Greek equivalent of בחר (bachar), again found in the LXX, is εκλεγομαι (eklegomai), which literally means “to elect.” Once again, we see a picture of God’s divine election to bring about His purposes. In this case, it is the deliverance of Israel from the oppression of Egypt.
What is the practical outworking of this? To deliver Israel from their slavery in Egypt, the strongest nation in the known world at the time, God elected to send a shepherd and his brother. Two men to stand against armies. Indeed, it was two humble men to stand against the proud forces of Pharaoh. This is God’s way. He confounds the worldly-wise for the explicit purpose of demonstrating His power through the weak things of this world (1 Corinthians 1:27). In God’s judgment against Egypt given through the prophet Isaiah, we see God utter these words:
Nevertheless, fools are the princes of Zoar,
The wise counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
‘I am the son of wise men, I am son to kings of old?’”
(Isaiah 19:11)
Will you have wisdom or be stupid? If you want the former, it begins by becoming a servant of the Living God. If you rise up in the power of men, you will grow stupid and dull and pride will well up within you which will prevent you from submitting yourself to a mighty God. It is one or the other. God will not be shown up by those He counts as slaves, nor does He seek our counsel (Romans 11:34).
Did God Make Egypt Hate Israel?
“He changed their heart to hate His people —
To behave cunningly with His servants.”
(Psalm 105:25)
Now, wait one minute! Did you notice what the text states here? Who made Egypt hate Israel? Who made Egypt act deceitfully toward Israel? It does not say that Egypt began hating Israel because they saw Israel as a threat (which they were!). What it says is that God changed their hearts so that they would hate Israel and that God made Egypt act deceptively toward Israel. So many people in churches today cling desperately to the notion that they have free will or to notions that God loves everybody. Yet, passages like this are scattered throughout the Scriptures. They remind us that God is sovereign and that while we are responsible for our actions, God superintends them from before the foundation of the world. And, while God does have great love for His elect, he hates the reprobate and keeps them under his hand of judgment (2 Peter 2:9-10).
Thus, it is not just Pharaoh’s heart that God hardened (Exodus 9:12; 10:20), but the heart of all the people of Egypt was hardened against Israel. What is the result of a hardened heart? Hatred and deceit. Why Did God do this? He did so to show His wrath and to destroy Egypt (Romans 9:22) but also so that the people of the earth would fear Him and worship His name (Romans 9:17). Such is part of God’s promise to Abraham (Genesis 15:13-14).
Does that mean that God caused Egypt to sin? Indeed, the Hebrew verb נכל (nakal — “to deceive/behave cunningly”) is in the hithpael stem, meaning that it is a reflexive action that was caused to take place. Reflexive verbs mean that the one taking action is also the one receiving the effects of the action taken. How is this? God is causing the Egyptians to hate His people and as the people act deceptively toward the Israelites, they are also causing damage to themselves — heaping up condemnation upon condemnation into their lives. Such is the nature of sin; it harms the sinner as well as the one sinned against.
In short, while God was causing the Egyptians to do what they most naturally wanted to do and was not restraining their sin as He did in Joseph’s time, God is still sovereign over their actions. God is not guilty of sin — the Egyptians are — but God has indeed brought this about. He has caused it to take place. Such is the consistent teaching of Scripture and such is the plain reading of this psalm. While I may have been somewhat sarcastic in my wording when I began this reflection as I embrace the teaching of Scripture and the complete sovereignty of God, for many, this verse is a fly in the ointment of their humanistic, “free-will” theology.
More Mighty than Our Adversaries
“And His people were made to be very fruitful
And they became more mighty than their adversaries.”
(Psalm 105:24)
Here we have arrived at David’s recounting of Exodus 1:7. In Egypt, the 75 persons who initially came down to Egypt (Acts 7:14) grew to become a multitude. They grew so great, across these 400 years, that the Egyptians feared them and sought to subjugate them in slavery and interbreed with their women, for fear of an uprising.
Yet, has it ever struck you the disparity between the Biblical account told here and the way the people viewed themselves? We are told that they were more mighty than their adversaries. What is implied here is that if the Israelites did choose to rebel against the Egyptians, they would have won. Yet, as we read the Exodus account, the people feared the Egyptians and resisted a revolt against their teaching.
How often it is the same way in the church. We embrace a defeatist mindset and so we never take up spiritual warfare against the strongholds of the devil all around us. We fear reprisals. We fear that we won’t know what to say or how to say it. We fear that we might be defeated by the secular machine that dominates our culture…or by the secular church that has enslaved itself to the culture’s will. Yet, He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4) and we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us (Romans 8:37).
That does not mean that our battles will be easy and it does not mean that we will not have our ears boxed in the process. But why fear those who can only harm the body and cannot harm the eternal soul (Matthew 10:28). Until the church realizes that we are more mighty than our adversaries, we will never rise up. Yet, if the church repents of her fear of the world, she will, like the righteous man, rise up repeatedly against her foes (Proverbs 24:16).
And what makes the church so mighty? It is not because we are great; it is because God is great and he is the great warrior of His people (Exodus 15:3). Yet, note that we also have a promise given that anticipates God’s work in the church of creating a mighty army which is strong in the Lord because they walk in His name (Zechariah 10:4-12). This, dear Christian, wherever you are, is what God is working in us through His true church. So, if your church is hiding in timidity or compromising with the world, it is a reminder that you are not in the true church of Jesus Christ.
In the Land of Ham
“And Israel came to Egypt
And Jacob dwelt as an alien in the land of Ham.”
(Psalm 105:23)
Once again we see an illustration of the interconnectedness of the Bible. We know from the account in Genesis that Israel was given the land of Goshen (Genesis 47:1,6). Why refer to this land as the land of Ham? Ham, of course, was the son of Noah who defiled his father (Genesis 9:22). In turn, the line of Ham would historically produce those who were and are the enemies of God. His sons were Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan (Genesis 10:6). Their tribal lands would take on the names of their forebears and now we have the connection. Egypt (and its lands) descended from Ham and the Psalmist is giving us a reminder of whose land in which Israel is dwelling for a time.
Another note should be made here. When this verse speaks of Jacob dwelling in Egypt, the term גור (gor) is used, which typically means to dwell as an alien, a dependent, or as one who does not have ownership in the territory in question. If the text were to indicate that Jacob was dwelling in his own land, then the term ישׁב (yashab) would have been used. Why is this distinction important? There are two reasons. The first is that God gave Canaan to Abraham as an inheritance, not Egypt. Thus, it was a place to stay, but it was not their home. The second reason is more of a reminder of that principle to us. Our home, as Christians, is also not on this earth. We are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20). Thus, we should not become too comfortable here.
Teaching Wisdom
“To bind his princes at his pleasure
And to teach his Elders wisdom.”
(Psalm 105:22)
We have discussed the notion that Joseph consolidated the power of Pharaoh, making him supreme ruler over the land and subjecting his princes. Yet, the psalmist tells us one further point. He states that Joseph was there to teach the Elders of Egypt wisdom. What are we to make of that?
Here, we need to use some inference, but first, we should ask the question, what is wisdom? It is a word that we use often, but sometimes it is a word that we use without thinking clearly as to what the word means. In Hebrew, the word for wisdom is חָכְמָה (chokmah). The term is used broadly to refer to ones practiced skill at a given trade as well as one’s skillful living. Normally, it is applied when one is using their skills for pious purposes and for the glory of God (see Exodus 28:3; 1 Kings 7:14; 2 Samuel 20:22; 1 Kings 2:6; Psalm 90:12).
In the end, though, wisdom begins with the fear of Yahweh (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10). A parallel application of this principle is that wisdom is demonstrated by being able to rightly handle and apply the Word of God (Mark 6:2) so that we can rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Finally, wisdom built on the fear of the Lord also manifests itself in obedience to God’s commands and Laws (Ecclesiastes 12:13; Acts 10:35).
So, how did this apply to Joseph in Egypt when it comes to his teaching their Elders wisdom? To begin with, Joseph was set over all of the house of Egypt because he had greater wisdom and discernment than all of the “wisemen” at the Pharoah’s disposal (Genesis 41:39-40). In this capacity alone, those who were Elders in Egypt would have had to come to Joseph for instruction and guidance. As Solomon wrote, “whoever walks with the wise will become wise” (Proverbs 13:20). So, in this sense, the Elders of Egypt would have learned wisdom from Joseph.
There is another point that is worth bringing into the discussion. Many scholars have noted the similarities in the language and structure between an Egyptian text known as “The Instruction of Amenemope and the book of Proverbs. Yet, Amenemope was written between 300 and 400 years prior to the book of Proverbs, causing some to speculate that Solomon simply appropriated Amenemope’s work. What becomes interesting is that Joseph in Egypt predates the time of Amenemope, implying that just as Solomon was compiling wisdom to include in the book of Proverbs, so too, Amenemope likely was doing the same and either knowingly or unknowingly, many of his proverbs could have easily dated back to Joseph. Solomon, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, may have preserved some of Joseph’s wisdom, explaining the parallels between these two texts. Yes, this is speculative, but it is a hypothesis worth considering.
The Princes bound to Pharaoh
“The king sent and freed him;
The ruler of the peoples released him.
He put him as lord over his house
And as ruler over all his possessions
To bind his princes at his pleasure
And to teach his Elders wisdom.
(Psalm 105:20-22)
Here, the psalmist continues with the account of Joseph’s deliverance from Pharaoh’s prison, noting once again that this was a result not of the goodwill of Pharaoh, but it was a work of God’s faithfulness to His covenant. In turn, Joseph was not simply freed, but he was elevated to a place of authority that in Egypt, he was second only to Pharaoh (Genesis 41:40).
What is striking is what David writes next in this psalm. Joseph, it is said, bound all of the princes of Egypt to the Pharaoh’s pleasure and teach the Elders of Egypt wisdom. These two lines of verse 22 speak volumes. In brief, during the years of plenty followed by the years of famine, Joseph broke the power of the princes and turned Egypt from a feudal state into a dictatorial monarchy where the Pharaoh reigned supreme.
During the seven years of plenty in Egypt, Joseph instituted a 20% tax on the land owners for the grain they produced (Genesis 41:34). This food, Joseph held to the side to prepare for the years of famine (Genesis 41:49). These seven years of plenty are described as a “great plenty” (Genesis 41:29), which implies that this was not a time of rationing, but of feasting even with this new tax that had been instituted. Likely, few people complained as there was plenty to go around.
When the famine set in, it is clear that the various landowners had reserves from which they could draw for a season (Genesis 41:54). Then, when the people ran out of their own provisions, they looked to Joseph, who controlled Pharaoh’s immense stockpiles of grain. Then, Joseph began selling the grain back to the people (Genesis 41:56). Now, remember from where this grain came. It was the grain of the people that Joseph had acquired due to a new tax. Often, when people think of Joseph’s plan to disseminate grain, they see it as a kind of social subsidy. That is not the case at all, it was taxed from the people and then sold back to them. Pharaoh grew richer and more powerful even in the midst of this economic downturn.
What happened when the people ran out of money? Joseph began exchanging food for livestock (Genesis 47:16). Yet, Joseph did not take up herdsmanship in the service of Pharaoh. No, later Joseph exchanged food for the land of the people as well as for the service of the people (Genesis 47:20-21). Further, Joseph created a system of indentured servitude, allowing the people to keep 80% of what they produced with the final 20% going to Pharaoh. Yet, now Pharaoh owned the land and the people. They were no longer a free people ruled by regional princes, they were slaves of Pharaoh on his property, farming with his seed, and tending to his animals. There was a semblance of ownership, given that the people could keep 80% of what they produced, but there was never an avenue for self-advancement because they did not own the land, the animals, the seed, the tools, or even their own lives. This is essentially what Fascism looks like when it plays itself out.
Why would a man of God (Joseph) empower such an evil system of government? There are two reasons we can draw from the scriptures. The first was to prepare a haven for Joseph’s family when they migrated to Egypt. The second was as a form of punishment for Egypt’s idolatry. Eventually, God would bring his people out of their bondage to a different Pharaoh and would finally judge Egypt for their wickedness.
As I look around our culture, there are many people who seem to be calling for this kind of government. On one hand, there are those who simply desire the government to have social programs galore — that ti would be a kind of baby-sitter for the masses. On the other hand, others are quick to give perks to special interests or large corporations for their own gain. What is the result? It gets harder and harder for the individual to get ahead. Think about it, even in our “free” country, the government has the right to tax our land and other things that we own. We pay for it, we improve it, we preserve it, but the government can take it away if we fail to pay our taxes. I wonder if we realize just how close we are to living under a government akin to that of Egypt after the famine. Perhaps this too, is a form of judgment on America for her idolatry. Something to think about.
Refined by God’s Word
“Oppressed in fetters were his feet;
His life was put in iron
Until such a time as his word came to pass,
The Word of Yahweh refined him.”
(Psalm 105:18-19)
Why did God permit Joseph to spend several years in Pharaoh’s dungeons? Certainly, God’s timing was such that placement in the prison would introduce Joseph to Pharaoh’s baker and cupbearer, which would be the means by which God would introduce Joseph to Pharaoh. Yet, surely, why did Joseph have to suffer in chains for so long — first to the Ishmaelites and then to the Egyptians? David tells us the answer: God was refining him. And by what means was Joseph refined? By the Word of Yahweh — the covenant promises of God.
What is God’s normal means of refining His people? Most commonly, it is through trial and strife. Until we face times of suffering — what David would call “walking through the valley of the shadow of death” — we typically will not grow. Muscle strengthens when it is pushed and tested. Our minds increase in the ability to understand hard concepts through rigorous mental exercise. Likewise, our faith grows when we face persecution and struggle and are forced to rely on God even though we may not understand his design and long-term plan. In cases such as this, God’s Word is and must be enough.
How often we get impatient with God’s timing and look with jealousy at others who have achieved what we have not been able to achieve in life. Nevertheless, it is God who sets the times and places and it is God who ordains both our successes and our failures. The question we should be asking is not, “Why has God not permitted me this or that,” but “What is God teaching me during this season and how shall I grow and be refined as I trust in His Word?” Even after Joseph interpreted the dreams of the Baker and the Cupbearer, it was still another two years before Joseph was lifted from the dungeon (Genesis 41:1). During that time, Joseph was being refined into the man who God would later use to preserve His covenant people. Refining is a process, it takes time, and it is done only in accordance with God’s Word.
God’s Faithful Purposes
“He called a famine upon the land;
All of the grain for bread was ruined,
He sent a man,
To be sold as a slave: Joseph.”
(Psalm 105:16-17)
Our psalmist, David, now begins to retell the story of God’s faithfulness to His people, beginning with the famine and Joseph’s entrance into Egypt. Notice that the famine is spoken about as something that was “called,” though many English translations will render the word קָרַא (qara — “to call” or “to proclaim/decree”) as “sent.” When used in this fashion, קָרַא, usually carries with it legal connotations in the form of a judgment sent out to punish evildoing. In this case, God was judging the land for their idolatry.
Yet, despite the fact that God is bringing judgment upon the wicked who were dwelling in the land of Canaan, God did not forsake his own (who also happened to be dwelling in Canaan at the time). As Peter writes, “God knows how to rescue the godly from trials and keep the wicked under judgment” (2 Peter 2:9). How did God do this? Beforehand, God ordained that Joseph would be sold as a slave into Egypt (through the wicked actions of Joseph’s brothers).
One of the things we need to think about, when it comes to matters like this, is that the events surrounding the sale of Joseph into slavery took place 20 years before Joseph would become the deliverer of his people. By this time, his brothers most likely thought that their brother was long gone or even dead — is it any surprise that they did not recognize him 20 years later (Genesis 42:8)?
Yet, the question that we need to come to terms with is that of God’s timing. We have a bad habit of thinking that God works on our timetable and that “soonness” or “slowness” is judged in the way we judge it. Yet, God’s timetable is different than our own (2 Peter 3:8-9). A friend of mine once told me that he thought that God was the ultimate chess player. He moves His people around where they may serve Him best. Sometimes we remain for a short period in a place and sometimes for longer periods. Sometimes God gives us good experiences in ministry and sometimes he brings about awful experiences and seasons. Yet, even though we may not understand His purposes, He is doing all these things for the building of His kingdom and for the punishment of the wicked. The difference between a chess master and God, of course, is that while a chess master knows the game so well that he can anticipate the moves of his opponent ahead of time, God does not anticipate; He ordains.
His purpose in sending Joseph ahead was the fulfillment of His covenant. His purpose in doing so twenty years before the famine in the land belongs to the secret knowledge of God. We may speculate about God giving Joseph time to mature and forgive, but we are not explicitly told the human element. All we are really told in the Bible is that God had ordered even the sin of Joseph’s brothers “so that many people should be kept alive” (Genesis 50:20). Christians sometimes think that God has failed them when things do not come together as planned. That notion could not be any further from the truth. God has ordained all of these things for the building of His Kingdom in His Son, Jesus Christ.
No Touch – No Do Evil!
“Do not touch my anointed ones;
And my prophets, do not harm.”
(Psalm 105:15)
Perhaps most of us in the Christian faith are used to hearing the language of the “Anointed One” in the singular. Indeed, our Lord Jesus Christ is the Anointed one par excellence; He is the Anointed one that all the other anointed ones point toward. Yet, in the Hebrew Bible, while there is a sense of a Christ, or Anointed One, to come, there are many people that are referred to as “anointed ones” in the Bible. The term is applied to those in the Levitical priesthood (Leviticus 3:3,16), to Samuel (1 Samuel 2:35), Saul (1 Samuel 24:10), David (2 Samuel 19:21; 22:51; 23:1), and even to Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1).
If we are to take the parallelism of this verse very narrowly, it implies that all of the prophets of God can be considered as anointed ones as well. Yet, the Christian understanding has consistently been to refer to all of God’s elect as anointed ones in Christ. Question 32 of the Heidelberg Catechism, for instance, asks the question: “Why are you called a Christian?” In the answer, it reminds us of the fact that “Christ” means “Anointed One,” thus it reads:
“Because by faith I am a member of Christ and am thus a partaker of His anointing, in order that I also may confess His Name, may present myself as a living sacrifice to Him, and with a free conscience may fight against sin and the devil in this life, and hereafter in eternity reign with Him over all creatures.”
Thus, our Lord reminds us that if we are His, then no one can pull us out of the hand of God (John 6:28) and the Apostle Paul likewise reminds us that “if God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). As the psalmist points out, God has always protected His anointed ones from those who would do evil to them. He says, “do not touch” (implying “to cause harm”) and “do not harm” (literally, “do evil”) to his anointed ones and to His spokespersons.
Why then are Christians often so timid? Why are Christians often so fearful about what may happen if they share their faith? Yes, people may feel uncomfortable around us. Yes, we may lose a friend or a job. In some parts of the world, we may even lose our lives. Yet, are we not secure in Christ? Will not God judge the wicked who harm his anointed ones? No, we have a great salvation that has been worked for us by Christ, the Great Anointed One; we should not fear earthly reprisals or persecution.
God Preserves His True Church
“Wandering from nation to nation,
From kingdom to another people group,
He did not permit a man to oppress them,
And He reproved kings over them.”
(Psalm 105:13-14)
As God led his people, they met many different kings and kingdoms. They engaged with the kings of the Canaanite territories. They engaged with the king of Egypt. Then they faced many pagan groups on their trip out of Egypt and into the promised land, all before God gave them a home. And God preserved His own elect remnant in every case and situation.
As David seems to be writing this psalm, here he is also being prophetic. Even though God removed His people from the land as a form of discipline, he still preserved an elect remnant for Himself. Even though the people of the Church have been scattered to the Diaspora, once again, God is preserving His church against the powers of the world.
Sometimes people will say that the existence of national Israel today is proof of God’s faithfulness to His promise. To this, I say, “No!” God’s promises are “yea” and “amen” not in Israel, but in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20-22) and thus, the sign of God’s faithfulness is not found in a nation made and secured by the other nations, but in the church of Jesus Christ. Though we are scattered to the ends of the earth. Though we are oppressed by false churches that parade in our midst. Though we are assailed by temptation and trial at every turn, God has preserved His elect remnant. And, we can be assured that He will continue to do so on behalf of His true church.
Further, if we desire to bear witness to this provision, it behooves us to leave behind the “pseudo-churches” and pursue the True Church of Jesus Christ that has Christ (and not the traditions of men) as its King. What does said church look like? It preaches the pure doctrine of God from the whole counsel of the Scriptures, administers the sacraments as Christ has instituted them, and practices church discipline to subdue sin in its midst (see Article 29 of the Belgic Confession). If a body falls short of these things and does not repent, it is not a true church and you are trusting your preservation to the hands and traditions of men. That did not work very well for the Pharisees; it will serve you no better.
We are a Trifle, but Elect
“At such a time as when they were men of number,
Like a trifle, and sojourners in it,”
(Psalm 105:12)
The psalmist begins with a series of demonstrations of the faithfulness of God, and while this is just the beginning of a longer clause, it is prudent to see where he begins his words. Most English Bibles render the first part of the verse more idiomatically (“few in number”), yet the literal translation is “men of number” and indicates that the group was so small that they could easily be numbered by those who would take a count.
Of the thousands and millions of people who descended from Adam, God traced a direct line to Noah and saved just eight humans in the flood. In the generations between Noah and Abraham, millions were born, but once again, God chose to work through one man alone and brought his wife, his nephew, and their servants out of Haran and into the promised land. Of the many nations on the planet at the time of the great famine, God preserved 70 with Jacob as they entered into Egypt to become a nation in Goshen.
If you go through the Bible, one theme you will always find is that God’s elect are but a remnant. As Moses reminds the people of Israel, God did not choose them because they were large and powerful, but because they were small and insignificant (Deuteronomy 7:7) — a “trifle” in the eyes of the nations. And he does this so that His strength will be seen in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). That is the nature of election and that is why God saves by grace and not by the works of men.
Even today, while there are “churches” all around us and many claim to be “Christian,” little has changed. The True Church is scarce in our land and most people don’t even know what they are claiming when they call themselves Christian. Worship in many places looks more like a form of Neo-paganism with every man doing what is right in his own eyes rather than submitting to the Word of God. Yet, despite the fact that the True Church is small. Despite the fact that we are sojourners in a land that is not our own (Philippians 3:20). God is our inheritance. And, though we are weak, holding this great treasure in jars of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7), God makes Himself known through us and in spite of our best (or not so best) efforts. We are but a trifle in the eyes of the world; what makes us not a trifle is God’s election of us in Christ.
Our Allotted Possession
“To say, ‘To you I give the land of Canaan;
It is your allotted possession.”
(Psalm 105:11)
One of the essential elements of the Covenant that God made with Abraham was the Land. To Abraham, God gave the land from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River in modern Iraq to the east (Genesis 15:18-20). It is a wide swath of land that Israel never fully took possession of due to their persistent idolatry and sin. Yes, folks, God often restricts the blessings He gives to us due to our sins! The land was seen as Israel’s eternal inheritance — it was unalienable to them, in other words, it could not be given away, sold, or taken away. It was their hereditary property as a gift from God and the perpetual nature of that property was meant as a picture of the eternal home they had with God after this life was complete.
Yet, this opens up several questions. The most important of these questions has to do with how the Christians fit into the covenant. We certainly do not have an inheritance in the land, nor can we lay claim to such an allotment. So if we are the children of Abraham as noted before, and God gave that property to Abraham, where do we fit into the equation?
The Apostle Peter makes an essential contribution to the answer when he speaks of Christians as “a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). Paul writes that there has been a change in the priesthood (Hebrews 7:11-14) and that the imperfect priesthood of Levi was replaced by the eternal priesthood of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:15-10:18). In Christ, we become members of this greater priesthood — a royal priesthood because Jesus descended from the tribe of Judah. Why is this significant? It is significant because the priests did not receive an inheritance in the land; instead, God was their inheritance (Deuteronomy 18:1-2). Likewise, as priests of the greater priesthood, we, too, do not receive an inheritance in the land (Philippians 3:20).
Are we then without an inheritance in the covenant? Not at all. For the priests, their inheritance was not in the land itself, but it was in God Himself (again, Deuteronomy 18:1-2). Similarly, Peter states that our inheritance is being preserved by God in heaven for us (1 Peter 1:3-5). The earthly inheritance given to the Jews only ever symbolized the greater inheritance promised to God’s people in Christ — an inheritance in the new creation, in the New Jerusalem, in the eternal presence of God, serving and ministering to Him as His rightful priests (see Revelation 21:1-22:5). This is our allotted possession. As God’s elect in Christ, it is our unalienable inheritance that can neither be taken away nor given away. It cannot be squandered or sold. It was bought at a price by Jesus and given to us as a gift of eternal grace. It is not of our doing; it is God’s doing. It is our place in God’s covenant of which we sing and give Him glory.
A Covenant Forever
“This he made with Abraham and His sworn oath to Isaac;
Which he established with Jacob to be a statute,
To Israel as a Covenant forever.”
(Psalm 105:9-10)
David circles back in these verses to add clarity as to the nature of this Covenant. It is the covenant that God made with Abraham, which he renewed with Isaac and then again with Jacob. It is everlasting and it came along with an oath. As Paul writes:
For when God was making a promise to Abraham, since he had nothing greater against which to swear, he swore against himself! Saying, ‘I will indeed bless you, and I will surely multiply you.’ In this way, remaining patient, he obtained the blessing, for men swear against that which is greater and, for all of them, an oath is taken for the final validation of a lawsuit — in which he abundantly desired to exhibit to the heirs of the promise his unchangeable purpose, so he guaranteed it with an oath.
(Hebrews 6:13-17)
Too often people in churches act as if the New Testament is the only thing of any value to them. I have even heard people call themselves “New Testament Christians” or speak of attending “New Testament Churches.” This phraseology is nonsensical at best. Without the Old Testament, we do not have the New Testament. God’s promise to his church is meaningless unless we find that promise grounded in the promise that he made to Abraham. As noted already, the church is the fulfillment of the promise that God made all of those years ago, when he swore an oath to Abraham (Galatians 3:29).
Thus, who is true Israel? Christ’s church. Such is the error of many dispensational writers, who wish to see Israel and the church remain as separate entities. Yet, how can they be, when Paul makes a direct connection between Christian faith and the promise of Abraham? No, the church began in Eden, continued through Abraham and through Israel and found its fullness in the church of Jesus Christ. Remember, not all Israel is true Israel, only those with faith in Jesus Christ through whom the promise of election has been worked out (Romans 9:6-8). To believers, it is a covenant forever.
God Remembers His Covenant Forever
“He eternally remembers his Covenant:
The word that He continually commanded to a thousand generations.”
(Psalm 105:8)
Were God to forget anything, He would hardly be worth our worship and praise. Yet, while there is no worry about God being forgetful, there is great comfort in knowing that God will remember His covenant with us as His people. That which He has promised to us will never be lost, cast aside, or forgotten. As God is eternal, so are the blessings and judgments that belong to His Covenant.
Of course, for those outside of God’s covenant, those who rebel against Him in pursuing sin and evil, God’s remembrance is a rather frightful thing. The judge will not neglect bringing every sin into judgment upon that day (Ecclesiastes 12:14; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Those outside of the judgment will receive in their bodies the judgment that they have earned for the sins of this life. Perhaps that is why the culture seems to take pleasure in presenting God as a kind of old senile grandfather rather than as the ruler and King of the universe.
And what is the nature of God’s covenant? It is the entirety of His Word which he has commanded to a thousand generations. Where do we find the blessings and cursings of the covenant? In the Scriptures. If we wish to know the depth of our sin, where do we look? In the Scriptures. If we wish to know of God’s promise of grace, where do we look? In the Scriptures. Have they changed? While the revealing of the Word was progressive in time across about fifteen-hundred years, the content remains consistent and thus we can say that the Word has been unchanging. Finally, are the stipulations a suggestion as to good behavior as many treat them today? No, they are commands that God has continually commanded throughout the generations and they will continue until the end of the heavens and the earth.
And so, dear friends, the question lies with where you fall with respect to God’s covenant. If you are under the covenant, having been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, take comfort. God will not forget His promises to you. If you are outside of the covenant, rebelling against God’s call to obey His Word, then fear condemnation that is eternal. To the first group, I say, rest in the great truth of God’s promise. To the latter, I say, repent and believe.
Our God
“He is Yahweh, our God;
In all the earth are His judgments.”
(Psalm 105:7)
When we hear the language of God being our God, sometimes we don’t take time to think through the significance of that statement. For instance, as God, He has the right to demand obedience from us. He has the right to define the men and women we are to be, and He has the right to define what it means to be a man or woman. If He is our God, he not only can demand obedience but also worship. It means that no others can lay an absolute claim on our lives. It means that since He is God and we are creation, the relationship that we have with Him is one that He generates. To borrow the words of C.S. Lewis, if Hamler were ever to meet Shakespeare, it would have to be Shakespeare’s doing.
Because He is our God, that also means that God has revealed Himself to us in a manner that we can understand. At the same time, if we ever presume to add anything to the Scriptural revelation or take away from it, we create an idol of our own making. In such cases, God is not their God; they have settled for a poor replacement — a reflection of themselves with rhinestones and tinsel, devoid of true gold and glory.
Claiming Yahweh as our God is an important statement indeed. It makes demands on our lives and presumes that God has revealed Himself to us. It is a statement that not everyone can make. It is a statement that not everyone who claims to be “Christian” can make. It is the realization that you are not your own and that you have been recruited into the service of the Great King. That is what you are affirming when you claim that Yahweh is your God.
What else does the psalmist reveal? He reveals that the judgments of God go throughout the earth. There is a simple truth in this line as well. There is nowhere you can go in all of creation that will cause you to escape the presence of God. More importantly, in this context, there is nowhere you can go to escape the Law of God. You may find yourself amongst a non-Christian people who permit many immoral practices, but that does not mean you are free to join in. Nor does that mean that those people will escape eternal wrath. The adage, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” is not an acceptable philosophy for the believer when it comes to the Law of God. If God is truly our God, we will live like it in every sector of our lives.
God’s Elect Ones
“Seed of Abraham, His servant,
Son of Jacob, His chosen ones:”
(Psalm 105:6)
This verse is more of a clause than a sentence unto itself. It speaks of those to whom David is speaking as he writes the words of this psalm. It is this body of people who are to remember the works of God and who are to sing praises to Him for said works. To whom, then, is the psalmist speaking? He is speaking to all of those who are in Christ Jesus, for if you are in Christ Jesus, you are Abraham’s seed (Galatians 3:29).
What is interesting about the structure of this verse is that while they contain similar ideas, the first line speaks in the singular and the second is plural (in addition, this is quoted almost verbatim by Isaiah (Isaiah 41:8). Abraham is referred to as God’s servant twice in this psalm (also see verse 42), but it is also one of the designations that God gives to the early patriarch of the faith (Genesis 26:24).
So, what is the significance of shifting from the singular to the plural? Abraham has a singular role in God’s redemptive history which should be noted and honored. In contrast, those who descend from Abraham (through Isaac and then Jacob) will multiply greatly. And indeed, we who descend from Abraham are referred to here as “chosen ones.” And yes, when this verse was translated into Greek by the early Jewish rabbis, they used the term ἐκλεκτός (eklektos) — “elect ones.” So often those who squirm under the language of the sovereignty of God, like to overlook language like this. Yet, this is the language of Scripture. Just as God elected to save and work through Abraham, to too, does God elect to save and work through all of His servants — all of His “Elect Ones.”
Miraculous Works of God
“Remember His miraculous works, which He has done;
His signs and the judgments of His mouth.”
(Psalm 105:5)
Once again we find the language of the miracles of God. In verse 2, we were called upon to sing of these works. Here, the psalmist calls upon us to remember them. And, for much of the rest of the psalm, we have a procession of the mighty things that God has done in the life of the people. These are reasons to sing praises to Him. These are things to remember, that we may be encouraged of God’s covenant faithfulness during times of great sorrow and distress. What is very interesting is that in the second clause of this verse, David speaks of two aspects of God’s miraculous deeds: His signs and His judgments.
When we hear the language of “signs,” we often think of John’s Gospel in the New Testament. There, whenever Jesus would do a miraculous work, John referred to it as a “sign.” Why a sign? These were considered signs because they pointed to the person who Jesus is. Who can make the waves stand still? Who can multiply the loaves and fishes? Who can heal the blind? God alone can do these things, hence Jesus is God alone in the flesh. Because of this, we often think of these “signs” as being a New Testament phenomenon, yet thirty-five times, the word מוֹפֵת (mopheth) is used in the Old Testament to speak of the miraculous works of God done either by Him or through one of His prophets.
The second thing that the psalmist lists is the judgments of God. Often, we do not think of God’s judgments as “miraculous” things. Sadly, rather than welcoming the commands and judgments of God, we often grumble and groan about them. Now, while we ought not groan over God’s Laws because they teach us how to live in perfect blessedness, what is more important to our text is to recognize that they are a miraculous thing in and of themselves.
When God gave His commands, whether through a prophet or directly from Mount Sinai as He did with Moses and Elijah, we should recognize that act in and of itself as a miraculous thing. Here, the one who is transcendent and who is not a part of the natural order, is breaking through the metaphysical barriers and engaging with us in this fallen world. It is an impossible thing for us to ascend to heaven to engage in dialogue with God; He must descend to us to reveal His will for our life and practice. It is indeed, a miraculous thing.
One of the clearest illustrations of this principle can be found in Deuteronomy 30:11-20. There, Moses is speaking to the people and exhorting them toward obedience. In doing so, he states that the laws of God are not inaccessible to the people — they are not hidden in heaven that they cannot be discovered. No, they have been revealed so that they may be obeyed. Therefore, Moses continues, “Choose life that your descendants may live…”
And thus, when we meditate upon, when we remember, and when we sing about the miraculous things of God, we should sing not only about the works but the Law of God. Thus, while much of the content of the following verses speaks of the signs of God, do not fail to note the conclusion: observe His laws. Why? They too are miraculous works of God.
Seek God and His Might
“Seek Yahweh and His might;
Continually discover His face.”
(Psalm 105:4)
Many of our English translations are not helpful in seeing the continuity of this verse. There are two Hebrew verbs that are used in conjunction with one another. The first is the verb דרשׁ (darash) and the second is בקשׁ (baqash). Both words can be used to communicate the notion of seeking out something and thus, our English translators typically see the two halves of this verse as being in parallel with one another…the second intensifying the first as it is in the Piel stem (a continually repeated action). Yet, when these verbs are used together, as is found in Psalm 24:6, it can communicate the notion of seeking and then finding. That changes the thrust of what the psalm is telling us.
Thus, in seeking Yahweh and His might, what is the result for our lives (remembering that only the believer seeks for God)? The result is that we continually will see His face as we go to the Scriptures (for where else does one seek God?). And yes, the second verb is in the Piel stem, so it is a repeated action. As we commit ourselves to a life of seeking out God, His presence (symbolized by His face) will be constantly with us. We will perceive His hand at work.
Surely, seeing God’s hand is easier when things are good, but God’s hand is still at work even when things are falling apart in our lives. That is why we are not simply to seek God in an abstract sense, but we are to also seek out His strength, that way we may face the horrors this life brings upon us as men and women of faith. Does not God say to the Apostle Paul, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9)?
We may be tempted to say, “but my situation is different!” Is it? Is it really that different than what has been faced through the ages? It was this same grace of God that sustained Adam and Eve when their older son murdered the younger. It was that same grace that sustained Noah when his youngest son defiled him. It was that same grace that sustained Abraham when he was instructed to take his beloved son, Isaac, onto the mountain to sacrifice him. It was the same grace that sustained Jacob when he realized his youngest son, Joseph was lost and it was that grace that sustained Joseph even though his brothers had betrayed him. It was the same grace that sustained Moses when his own brother and sister sought to usurp his authority and it was the same grace that caused him to keep his peace when he learned he would not enter the promised land. It was the grace that sustained Job when his sons and daughters, his servants, and his wealth was stripped from him in a single day.
In the end, we can walk generation through generation and see God’s hand sustaining his people through some of the greatest heartaches that can be known to man. Yes, my friend, your life may not be going the way you planned. Your world may be falling apart. God’s grace is sufficient strength for you. Seek God and His strength — they can ultimately be found in His Scriptures — and He will draw near to you continually with grace that is sufficient for you.
Reflexive Praise
“Give praise to His holy name!
May the hearts of those who seek Yahweh rejoice!”
(Psalm 105:3)
This verse of the psalm begins with the very familiar phrase: “Hallelujah.” Or, if we were going to pronounce it as it is written, “hithhalelu!” Why is that significant? It is significant because the verbal stem is what is called a “hithpael” (notice the “hith” sound at the beginning). In the Hebrew language, the Hithpael communicates the idea not only of an intensified action, but it is an intensified action with which the speaker participates (technically we would call this a “reflexive” verb).
Why is this important? It is important because David is not just commanding others to praise God, he is praising God himself. It is a reminder that those who would lead worship (pastors and the Elders; perhaps some assistants or musicians) are also to engage in worship. Too often, worship is treated more like a form of entertainment — whether through praise bands, choirs, or people singing special music — when worship is supposed to be something in which we all participate. Even the unbeliever is commanded to worship, as we saw earlier in this psalm. I have known Elders who have somehow seen themselves as being above singing in worship and I have seen congregations where only a small percentage of the people actually sing (many hoping that the volume of the band or the organ will cover for the fact that their singing is little more than a mumble).
No, my friends, we are all to engage in worship. Do you want a choir in your church? Indeed, let the entirety of the congregation be the choir. Do you want to practice so you know the music prior to Sunday morning? Indeed, bring the entire body together so that everyone can practice singing what will be sung on the following Sunday. This is especially important if you are learning a new psalm to sing (while not new to God, many will be new to the congregation). And the Elders should be the most visible leaders of worship. The same is true for the pastor. Our praise is reflexive by the very nature of what it is. The angels will join with you; the mountains and valleys will join with you. All of the created order will join with you. Worship he King.
What is the focus of our praise? God’s holy name. The term “holiness” is the Hebrew word קָדֹשׁ (qadosh). It means to be set apart for God’s sole purpose. Thus, the instruments of the Tabernacle and Temple worship were only ever to be used for worship in the Tabernacle or temple, respectively. They were never to be used for common chores. Hence, God’s name is Holy and is only ever to be used for the adoration of God’s people (this is why breaking the third commandment is treated so harshly). And, of course, we, as God’s people are called upon to be Holy. What does that mean? Every moment of your day is to be used in such a manner that you honor our God. Your life does not belong to you; you do not get to live as you see fit. It belongs to God and you are called upon to use it as He sees fit. Anything more than that is rebellion — it is sin.
So, praise His holy name. And, if you seek Yahweh, rejoice in seeking Him! Why rejoice in the seeking? First, the only reason you seek Him is because He has changed your heart and is drawing you to Himself. This is good news indeed! He will be found by those who diligently seek Him with their obedience to His Word (1 Chronicles 28:9). And where might you find God? He is not hiding in the woods or on the golf range. He is revealed in His Word. Finding God is not simply an experience that one may or may not have. Finding God is an intentional act of seeking Him where He may be found. And he may be found in the Scriptures, for that contains the full record of His self-revelation. Yes, experience is often a result of having discovered God in His Word, but it is not ever a stand-alone sort of thing.
So, seek God where He can be found (in scripture); worship His Holy Name (with reverence, as guided by Scripture)! God has not only instructed us to seek Him, but He has given us the means by which He may be sought (scripture) and He has taught us (in scripture) the ways in which He desires to be worshipped when we find Him (again, in Scripture!!!). What more is left than to live a life that honors Him who gave you life in the first place?
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