Tell of all His Wondrous Works

Recently, a friend and I discussed people’s responses when they encountered Jesus in the Gospel accounts. Those impacted by Jesus would go and tell others what Jesus had done. Reading various accounts in the Gospels challenged us to be more purposeful in sharing with others what God was doing in our lives. We are more prone to share what our upcoming schedule is or what we have been doing not what God has been doing.

As I read Psalm 105, I saw how it complimented what my friend and I had been discussing.

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;

make known his deeds among the peoples!

2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;

tell of all his wondrous works!

3 Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

4 Seek the Lord and his strength;

seek his presence continually!

5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,

his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,

children of Jacob, his chosen ones! [1]

Psalm 105:1-6

If you read verse 6 as well as the rest of the Psalm, you will realize that it is speaking specifically of Israel’s history and what Israel’s response should be (vs 1-5). However, I think there are a few things we can learn from this psalm as we were made to glorify God (Psalm 86:9; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 10:31).

First, in verses 1-5, the commands are two-fold. Israel is told to give thanks, to praise, and to glorify God as well as remember and tell of His deeds, wondrous works, miracles, and judgments. In short, glorify God and share with others. The rest of the Psalm details God’s wondrous works, but before we move on to that, let’s look more closely at verse 3.

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

Jonathan Edwards wrote about this idea of God’s glory in connection with our joy in his book The End for Which God Created the World. “But if God’s glory is the highest good possible, then we will find our greatest joy in the revelation and proclamation of that glory, for there is nothing greater in existence than His glory and therefore nothing that could bring us greater joy.” [2]

Have you ever thought about that? We look for happiness in so many other things that can never bring us true joy. We often view obeying and glorifying God as right but perhaps a drudgery when the truth is that God blesses us with joy when we are doing what we were created to do – glorifying Him. Wow! I don’t know about you, but that staggers my mind because in the day-to-day I do not associate glorifying God with my joy. But I should.

We could stop there because that one idea is a lot to meditate on, but I want to share Mark Futato’s insight on the rest of the Psalm from his commentary “The Book of Psalms,” in Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 7: The Book of Psalms, The Book of Proverbs. Verses 7-44 give details of God’s wondrous works. Futato breaks them into six categories which can be helpful for us as we look to glorify God for His wondrous works and then tell others.

First, God’s promise/covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, specifically in this psalm, God’s promise regarding the Promised Land (vs 7-11). The next five categories come from the journey God led Israel on to fulfill this covenant promise.

This promise was for Israel, but as we think of how we can glorify God for His wondrous works and then tell others, there are other promises God has made to us like nothing will ever separate us from His love (Romans 8:35-39), we are forgiven and redeemed, we are joint-heirs with Jesus, and we have been given eternal life. These are wondrous promises that we should thank and glorify God for and tell others about.

Second, God protected Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the land and nations of Canaan even in sovereignly ordaining the famine that would bring Jacob and his family to Egypt (vs 12-16). God allowed no one to oppress Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

We don’t always know the ways God protects us, but we can thank and glorify God for both the ways we do and don’t know. And we can tell others of the ways we do know He has protected us. I can think of several circumstances where I made poor choices. I put myself in dangerous situations, but God protected me. I believe God has protected me through my dermatologist who is vigilant regarding cancer and catching melanoma in the early, easily treatable stages again and again. We often forget God’s protection, but we should remember, thank, and glorify God and then tell others.

Third – God’s provision in Egypt (vs 17-22) and fifth – God’s provision in the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land (vs 29-42). Some might look at Israel’s time in Egypt and focus only on their enslavement, but that is not the big picture. Jacob’s family was abundantly provided for during the famine. Jacob’s eleven other sons sold Joseph years before, but God used that to raise Joseph up to second in command only to Pharaoh. God gave Joseph the wisdom to prepare for the famine. God gave Joseph favor with Pharaoh, so that Pharoah granted Jacob and family land that was perfect for raising livestock. God multiplied Jacob’s family greatly during their time in Egypt, making them into what would be the nation of Israel.

God also provided for the Israelites in the wilderness from the parting of the Red Sea that then crashed back down destroying the Egyptian army to providing manna, quail, and water to leading the Israelites with His own presence in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night.

We too can examine our lives and note the plethora of ways God has provided from our basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing to families, health, jobs, freedom to worship, and the list goes on. Of course, not everyone may have good health for example, but even in lack of health, God can provide doctors, medicine, and insurance. He walks with us through the suffering, and through Jesus death and resurrection, He has provided a future for us with no more suffering. We can thank and glorify God for His provision and then tell others.

Fourth, God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt (vs 23-58). God miraculously brought Israel out of Egypt.

You may have individual ways God has delivered you, but for all of us in Christ, we have been delivered from sin and death. Jesus atonement on the cross in our place and His resurrection defeated sin and death. We are no longer slaves to sin. Clothed in Jesus’ righteousness, we are no longer under the wrath of God. We are now children of God. We have been delivered to the kingdom of Jesus (Colossians 1:13). We can thank and glorify God and then tell others the Gospel and how God has saved us.

Sixth, God is faithful. He kept His promise to Abraham and gave Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s descendants the Promised Land (vs 43-44).

We can thank and glorify God and then tell others of the ways God’s faithfulness has been evident in our lives.

We were made to glorify God, and there is never a shortage of reasons to glorify Him nor are they difficult to discover. We find joy when we do glorify God, and we can encourage others to glorify God when we share His wondrous works with them.

Reflection

1. Do you daily thank and glorify God for His wondrous works? In what ways and for what types of things?

2. How often do you tell others about God’s wondrous works in your life? You can begin by being purposeful with one or two people or in your response to a question like, “How are you?” As it becomes a habit with one or two people, grow your telling with others.

3. Think of one specific example of God’s wondrous works for each of the above five categories. Then thank and glorify God for those wondrous works and purpose to tell a certain person.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 105:1–6. [2] Ligonier Ministries. The Heart of the Reformation: A 90-Day Devotional on the Five Solas (p. 139). Ligonier Ministries. Kindle Edition.