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PSALM 105

1. O give thanks to jehovah; call upon his name; make known among the peoples his doings.
2. Sing to him, sing psalms to him; tell of all his wonderful works.
3. Glory in his holy name; let the heart of those who seek jehovah rejoice.
4. Seek you jehovah and his power; seek his face continually.
5. Remember his wonders which he has done, his miracles, and the judgements of his mouth.
6. You seed of Abraham, his servant, you sons of Jacob, his chosen.
7. jehovah himself is our god, his judgements are in all the earth.
8. He has remembered his covenant for ever, the Word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
9. Even the covenant which he made with Abraham, and his oath to Isaac.
10. Which he confirmed to Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting covenant;
11. Saying, Unto you will I give the land of Canaan, the portion of your inheritance.
12. When they were but few men in number; yea, very few, and sojourners therein;
13. When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;
14. He suffered no man to oppress them; yea, he rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,
15. Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
16. When he called a famine upon the land; he broke the whole staff of bread;
17. He sent a man before them, even Joseph who was sold for a servant;
18. Whose feet they afflicted with fetters, his soul came into iron;
19. Until the time when his word came; when the saying of jehovah tried him;
20. Then the king sent and loosed him, even the ruler of the peoples, and let him go free.
21. He made him lord over his house, and ruler overall his possessions;
22. To bind his princes at pleasure, and to teach his senators wisdom.
23. Israel came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24. Then he greatly increased his people; and made them stronger than their adversaries;
25. Whose hearts he turned, so that they hated his people, and dealt craftily with his servants.
26. He sent forth Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27. They showed amongst them his signs and wonders in the land of Ham;
28. He sent forth darkness and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.
29. He turned their waters into blood, and caused their fish to die.
30. Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings.
31. He spoke and the fly came, and lice in all their borders.
32. He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.
33. He smote their vines and their fig-trees; and broke in pieces the trees of their borders.
34. He spoke, and the locusts came, and caterpillars without number;
35. And they devoured all the herb in their land; they devoured the fruit of their ground.
36. He smote also all the first-born of their land, the beginning of all their strength,
37. But them he brought forth with silver and gold; and there was not one feeble person among his tribes.
38. Egypt was glad when they departed, for the dread of them had fallen upon them.
39. He spread out a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light by night.
40. They asked, and he brought quails, and he satisfied them with the bread of heaven;
41. He opened the rock and the waters gushed out, they ran through the desert places like a river;
42. For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.
43. And he brought forth his people with joy, his chosen with gladness.
44. And gave them the lands of the nations, and they inherited the labour of the peoples.
45. That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. hallelujah.

Verses 2 to 6. Sing to him, sing psalms to him, tell of all his wonderful works, glory in his holy name, let the heart of those who seek jehovah rejoice. Seek you jehovah and his power, seek his face continually; remember his wonders which he has done, his miracles, and the judgements of his mouth, etc. That by these words is signified that from the lord are all the means productive of power, appears from the signification of wonderful works and miracles, as denoting the means of Divine power. The reason why wonderful works denote the means of Divine power is because by these men were led to believe that jehovah was the supreme god, yea, that there was no god besides him, consequently that he alone was to be worshiped; and they who were in this truth were next introduced into the truths which teach the worship of him, which truths are the means of power; for all power in the spiritual sense is in the truths which are from the lord; for power in the spiritual sense consists in shunning and ejecting from ourselves the infernal crew, which is effected solely by truths: hence now it is, that by doing what is wonderful is signified that from the lord are all the means productive of power. AC 8304.

Verse 4. That the face of jehovah or of the lord is mercy, may be evident from the Word, for the face of jehovah or the lord in a proper sense, is the Divine love itself, and because it is the Divine love, it is of mercy, for mercy is grounded in love towards the human race beset with so great misery. AC 5585.

Verse 6. You seed of Abraham his servant, you sons of Jacob his chosen. By Abraham his servant is meant the lord as to the Divine Human principle; in like manner also the lord as to the Divine Human principle, is meant by Israel his servant, by Jacob his servant, and by David his servant. AC 3441.

Verse 9. By confirmation here, which is signified by an oath, is meant the lord's conjunction with those who are in his kingdom, for an oath is the confirmation of a covenant, and by covenant is signified conjunction. AC 3375.

Verse 16. When he called a famine upon the land, he broke the whole staff of bread. Inasmuch as staff signifies the power of Divine truth, it also signifies the power of resisting falses and evils; by breaking the staff of bread is signified that good and truth in the church shall fail, for bread here signifies both. AE 727.

Verse 16. When he called a famine upon the land; he broke the whole staff of bread. That a famine signifies a scarcity of knowledge, appears from other parts of the Word, as in David, "Again when he called for a famine upon the land, he broke the whole staff of bread," where to break the whole staff of bread, signifies to be deprived of celestial food, for the life of good spirits and of angels is supported by no other food than by the knowledges of goodness and truth, and by goods and truths themselves, hence comes the signification of famine and of bread in the internal sense. AC 1460.

Inasmuch as by bread is signified the lord, it denotes also the celestial things which appertain to love and which are of the lord, for the lord is the very celestial essential principle, because he is the very essential love, that is, the very-essential mercy; and in consequence thereof bread is also all that is celestial.

Verses 17 to 23. He sent a man before them, even Joseph who was sold for a servant, whose feet they afflicted with fetters, his soul came into iron, until the time when his word came, when the saying of jehovah tried him, then the king sent and loosed him, even the ruler of the peoples, and let him go free; he made him lord over his house, and ruler over all his possessions, to bind his princes at pleasure, and to teach his senators wisdom; Israel came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. By Joseph in this passage is described the lord, how he was received when he came into the world, how he was tempted, and afterwards made lord of heaven and earth, how he subjugated the hells, reduced the heavens to order, and established the church: how he was received and tempted is described by Joseph's being sold for a servant, by his feet being afflicted with fetters, and his soul coming into iron: his being sold for a servant, signifies that he was esteemed as vile; by his feet being afflicted with fetters signifies that he was, as it were, bound and in prison, because there was no longer any natural good; by his soul coming into iron signifies affliction, because there was no longer any natural truth, but instead thereof the false: his conquering the hells by the Divine truth from his Divine principle, is signified by until the time when his Word came, and the saying of jehovah proved him, his Word signifying the Divine truth, and the saying of jehovah the Divine good, from which Divine truth proceeds; that the lord thus acquired to his Human from his Divine full power over all things of heaven and earth is described by the king sent and loosed him, even the ruler of the peoples, and let him go free, and made him lord over his house, and ruler over all his possessions; by the king who sent, and the ruler of the peoples who set him free, is signified the Divine truth and the Divine good, which were in him, and from him, by king the Divine truth, and by ruler the Divine good, for in the Word the lord is called king from Divine truth, and lord or ruler from Divine good; by the house over which he was set, is signified heaven and the church as to good, and by possessions heaven and the church as to truth; the same is hereby signified as by the words of the lord himself, "that all things of the Father's are his, and all his are the Father's, and that all power is given to him in heaven and on earth," John 17:10, Mat 28:18; that from the Divine he withholds the heavens from falses, and keeps them in truths, and thus gives them intelligence and wisdom is described by his binding the princes at pleasure, and teaching the senators, or elders, wisdom, by princes are signified those who are in truths, and by senators those who are in intelligence and wisdom. That in such case the church on earth is established by him is meant by Israel then coming to Egypt, by Israel is signified the church, for the establishment of the church by the lord was represented by the sons of Israel coming into Egypt, also by the lord when an infant being brought into Egypt, Matt 2:14, 15; that all things of the church at that time perished, is understood by Jacob becoming a sojourner in the land of Ham; by Jacob is signified the church belonging to all who are in the good of life, and by the land of Ham is signified the church destroyed. In this and other passages in the Word by Jacob and Israel are not meant the Jewish nation, but the church formed in those who are in love to the lord; for with the sons of Israel, or the posterity of Jacob, there was not any church, but only the representative of a church. AE 448.

Verses 23 and 36. Israel came Into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham; he smote also all the first-born of their land, the beginning of all their strength. The worship of the Egyptians grounded in principles of what is false arising from truth separate from good, or, from faith separate from charity is called the tents of Ham; hence is further confirmed what is signified by the first-born of Egypt being slain. AC 3325. See Psalm 78:51, Exposition, what is further meant by Ham.

Verse 26. He sent forth Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen. Moses is called a servant, because servant is predicated of truths, AC 3409, and chosen of good, AC 3755. AC 9506.

Verse 26. What Moses and Aaron signify when mentioned together, see Psalm 99:6, Exposition.

Verse 27. Signs and wonders; see Psalm 78:43, Exposition.

Verses 29 and 30. He turned their waters into blood, and caused their fish to die; their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings. It is said in the chambers of their kings, because reasonings against truths from false principles is meant; the chambers of kings denote interior truths, and in the opposite sense, interior falses. AC 7351.

Frogs denote reasonings, and the ground of this signification is because they are in the waters, and because they make a croaking noise, and are also among things unclean. What reasonings from mere false principles are, may be illustrated by examples; he reasons from mere falses, who attributes all things to nature, and scarcely any thing to the Divine Being, when yet all things are from the Divine Being, and nature is only an instrument by which the Divine Being operates. AC 7351, 7352.

Verse 31. Lice in all their borders. Lice denote the evils which are in the sensual principle, or altogether in the external man, hence is the correspondence, because lice are in the outermost skin, and are there within filth, and under a scab; of this description also is the sensual principle of those who have been in the knowledge of faith, but in a life of evil; when that knowledge is taken away from them, as is the case with such in the other life, they then become of a gross and stupid mind; they have occasionally appeared, being filthy and causing aversion; infestations of evil are signified by their biting. That lice have this signification cannot be confirmed by other passages from the Word, for they are mentioned only in David, where he is speaking of Egypt, "lice in all their borders;" borders signify in extremes. AC 7419.

Verse 32. He gave them hail for rain, flaming fire in their land. Hail and shower denote the vastation of good and truth by the falses arising from evil. AC 7553.

Verse 33. He smote their vines and their fig-trees, etc. Inasmuch as in the genuine sense vine signifies the good of the intellectual principle, and fig-tree, the good of the natural principle, or what is the same thing, vine the good of the interior man, and fig-tree, the good of the exterior, therefore very frequently in the Word, where mention is made of vine, the fig-tree is also named. AC 5113.

Verse 36. He smote also all the first-born of their land, the beginning of all their strength. That hereby is signified that by it truth has first ability, appears by the signification of the beginning of strength, as denoting the first ability, and whereas strength is predicated of truth, it is the first ability belonging to truth which is signified. AC 6344..

Verse 40. They asked and he brought quails. By selav, or quails, is signified natural delight productive of good; the reason why selav, or the quail, denotes natural delight is because it was a bird of the sea, and by a bird of the sea is signified the natural principle, and by its flesh which was desired, delight, see above, AC 8341. The reason why it denotes also the productive of good is because it was given in the evening; for in the other life when there is a state which corresponds to evening, then the good spirits, and also the angels, are remitted into a state of natural affections in which they were principled when in the world, consequently into the delights of their natural man; the reason is, that hence may come good, that is, that hence they may be perfected, AC 8426. All are perfected by the implantation of faith and charity in the external or natural man, for unless those principles are there implanted, good and truth cannot flow-in from the internal or spiritual man, that is, from the lord through that man, for there is no reception; and if there be no reception, the influx is at a stand and perishes, yea the internal man is also closed. Hence it is evident that the natural principle must be altogether accommodated, that it may be receptacle: This is done by delights, for the goods which are of the natural man are called delights, because they are made sensible. The reason why selav denotes natural delight is, as was said, because it was a bird of the sea, for it was said that it was fetched from the sea, "A wind went forth from jehovah, and fetched selav from the sea., and let [it] down over the camp," Numb 11:31, and by a bird of the sea and its flesh is signified natural delight, and in the opposite sense the delight of craving; this is signified by selav in the following passage in Moses, "The rabble which was in the midst of the people lusted craving, and were desirous to have flesh, and said, now is our soul dry, nor is there any thing but this manna before our eyes: A wind went forth from jehovah, and fetched selav from the sea, and let it down over the camp: The people arose all that day, and all the night, and all the following day, and gathered selav; they who gathered the least, gathered ten omers, which they spread forth for themselves, by spreading forth around the camp: The flesh was yet between their teeth, before it was swallowed, when the anger of jehovah was kindled into the people, and jehovah smote the people with an exceeding great plague; whence he called the name of that place the sepulchres of craving, because there they buried the people that lusted," Numb 11:5, 6, 31, 32, 33, 34, in which passage selav denotes the delight of craving. It is called the delight of craving when the delight of any corporeal or worldly love bath dominion, and occupies the whole man, so as to extinguish the good and truth of faith belonging to him; this delight" is what is described as occasioning their being smitten with a great plague; but the natural delight, which is signified in this chapter by selav, which was given to the people in the evening, is not the delight of craving, but it is the delight of the natural or external man corresponding to the good of the spiritual or internal man; this delight has in it spiritual good, whereas the delight of craving, spoken of Num. xi. has in it infernal evil; each is called delight, and each is also made sensible as delight, but there is the greatest difference between them, for one has heaven in it the other has hell. In it, also one becomes heaven to man, and the other becomes hell to man, when the external is put off. The case herein is like that of two women, who appear in their external form alike beautiful in countenance and agreeable in their manners, but in the internal form they are altogether dissimilar, one for instance is chaste and sound, the other is wanton and corrupt, thus one as to her spirit belongs to the angels, the other as to her spirit belongs to the devils; but their respective qualities do not appear, except when the external is unfolded, and the internal is revealed. These observations are made to the intent that it may be known what the natural delight is in which is good, which is signified by the selav, or quail, in this chapter, and what the natural delight is in which is evil, which is signified by the selav, or quail, in Num. xi. AC 8452.

Verse 45. hallelujah, praise you jah. The reason why Jah denotes the Divine Truth proceeding from the Divine Human principle of the lord is because Jah is from jehovah, and is called Jah, because it is not the esse, but the existere from the esse, for Divine Truth is the existere, but the Divine Good is the esse. AC 8267.