THE BLESSING OF HISTORY (Psalm 105)

We are living in a generation where people want to erase history. Those who don’t do that are content to simply ignore history.

Someone aptly said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. History is important. It holds for us great lessons and truth about God.

Psalm 105 is one of the great historical psalms. It is 45 verses long, so it cannot be studied in detail here. I challenge you to read it for yourself. Suffice it to say that it is filled with the history of Israel. It goes back to the beginning and then comes forward, showing all that God did for them, in them, and through them.

Verses 1-3: “O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.”

The instructions here are clear. We are to talk to ourselves, to God, and to others. We are to rehearse all that God has done in the past.

Verses 4-5: “Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth.”

The message here is that your future depends on your history. Your future depends on you recognizing what God has already done. You cannot advance if you fail to remember.

Verses 6-7: “O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. He is the Lord our God: his judgments are in all the earth.”

From here, the psalmist began to walk through this history. Each part of it tells us something about God.

Someone told me years ago that history is really “His story.” That is correct. It is the story of the great God at work in the lives of people. So what do we learn from history?

Verse 8-10: “He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant.”

History reminds us that our God is a God of covenant.

He makes promises and always keeps them. He always fulfills what He foretells. You can always trust Him. God can't lie.

Three times in three verses we see the word “covenant.” He is the covenant God. Certainly He made a covenant with Israel, and we have come as New Testament Christians into His new covenant. Aren’t you glad for the covenant we enter into as believers with the Lord Jesus Christ? If you forget history, you will forget His covenant.

Verses 11-15: “Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance: When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it. When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people; He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”

History reminds us of God’s mercy and grace.

He took just a handful of people and achieved His purpose. He said, “I didn’t bless you because you are big; I did it because I am big.”

There were a few people and a great God. That combination can impact the entire planet. What a difference it makes when God identifies Himself with His people and they identify themselves with Him. History reminds us of this.

Verses 16-22: “Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread. He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him. The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.”

History reminds us of God’s wisdom.

True students of history will acknowledge that there is an all-wise God at work.

People are not always wise; in fact, they can make some very dumb decisions. But God is wise enough to send a famine right on time, and to send Joseph ahead of the rest of the nation. He is wise enough to bring all of His plan to pass.

I have marked in my Bible in verse 19 the phrase, “Until the time that his word came.” According to Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time.” God’s timing is always perfect.

He is always working, but there is a moment when He speaks and makes things plain. As sure as He opened Joseph’s prison door, He will open the door for you. You can trust Him. Study history and you will see that the God who is always wise knows exactly what He is doing right now.

Verses 23-24: “Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.”

History reminds us of God’s power.

Just a few verses ago we read about how the people were small in number. Here they have become much greater than that.

My friend, study history and you will find the all-present, all-powerful God moving and working. I want to tell you today on the authority of the Bible that if you are a child of God, He has also made you stronger than your enemies. The Bible says in I John 4:4, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

I love the words of the prophet in II Kings 6:16. “And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” The Lord is greater than every enemy you will face.

In the rest of this passage the psalmist dealt with Egypt, showing the demonstration of God’s power. The Egyptians had at least 80 deities which were all connected with different things such as the Nile River, the land, and the sky. When you read the story of Exodus and this historical psalm, you will find that each of them is inferior to the one true and living God.

Don’t lose history. Don’t miss its message or try to rewrite it. You will see the God of covenant, of mercy and grace, of wisdom and of power.

Notice how the psalm ends with His great purpose. Verses 44-45: “And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people; That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the Lord.”

History should cause us to do two things.

Obey Him.

A God so great is worthy of our submission, surrender, and obedience. Just do what He tells you to do today.

Praise Him.

A study of history should lead you to be even more in awe of God. Take a moment today and thank Him for the fact that He has worked and is working.

Make up your mind that the God who has ruled throughout history will be your God. Obey Him and praise Him, and you will see the blessing of God in your life today.