25 He turned their heart to hate His people, To conspire against His servants.
And there riseth a new king over Egypt, who hath not known Joseph, and he saith unto his people, `Lo, the people of the sons of Israel `is' more numerous and mighty than we; give help! let us act wisely concerning it, lest it multiply, and it hath come to pass, when war happeneth, that it hath been joined, even it, unto those hating us, and hath fought against us, and hath gone out up of the land.' And they set over it princes of tribute, so as to afflict it with their burdens, and it buildeth store-cities for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses; and as they afflict it, so it multiplieth, and so it breaketh forth, and they are vexed because of the sons of Israel; and the Egyptians cause the sons of Israel to serve with rigour, and make their lives bitter in hard service, in clay, and in brick, and in every `kind' of service in the field; all their service in which they have served `is' with rigour.
for the Writing saith to Pharaoh -- `For this very thing I did raise thee up, that I might shew in thee My power, and that My name might be declared in all the land;' so, then, to whom He willeth, He doth kindness, and to whom He willeth, He doth harden. Thou wilt say, then, to me, `Why yet doth He find fault? for His counsel who hath resisted?'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 105
Commentary on Psalms 105 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 105
Some of the psalms of praise are very short, others very long, to teach us that, in our devotions, we should be more observant how our hearts work than how the time passes and neither overstretch ourselves by coveting to be long nor over-stint ourselves by coveting to be short, but either the one or the other as we find in our hearts to pray. This is a long psalm; the general scope is the same with most of the psalms, to set forth the glory of God, but the subject-matter is particular. Every time we come to the throne of grace we may, if we please, furnish ourselves out of the word of God (out of the history of the New Testament, as this out of the history of the Old) with new songs, with fresh thoughts-so copious, so various, so inexhaustible is the subject. In the foregoing psalm we are taught to praise God for his wondrous works of common providence with reference to the world in general. In this we are directed to praise him for his special favours to his church. We find the first eleven verses of this psalm in the beginning of that psalm which David delivered to Asaph to be used (as it should seem) in the daily service of the sanctuary when the ark was fixed in the place he had prepared for it, by which it appears both who penned it and when and upon what occasion it was penned, 1 Chr. 16:7, etc. David by it designed to instruct his people in the obligations they lay under to adhere faithfully to their holy religion. Here is the preface (v. 1-7) and the history itself in several articles.
In singing this we must give to God the glory of his wisdom and power, his goodness and faithfulness, must look upon ourselves as concerned in the affairs of the Old-Testament church, both because to it were committed the oracles of God, which are our treasure, and because out of it Christ arose, and these things happened to it for ensamples.
Psa 105:1-7
Our devotion is here warmly excited; and we are stirred up, that we may stir up ourselves to praise God. Observe,
Psa 105:8-24
We are here taught, in praising God, to look a great way back, and to give him the glory of what he did for his church in former ages, especially when it was in the founding and forming, which those in its latter ages enjoy the benefit of and therefore should give thanks for. Doubtless we may fetch as proper matter for praise from the histories of the gospels, and the acts of the apostles, which relate the birth of the Christian church, as the psalmist here does from the histories of Genesis and Exodus, which relate the birth of the Jewish church; and our histories greatly outshine theirs. Two things are here made the subject of praise:-
Psa 105:25-45
After the history of the patriarchs follows here the history of the people of Israel, when they grew into a nation.