Psalm 105 calls upon the children of Abraham to praise God for his mighty works (verses 1-6). The original context of the psalm may have been the ceremony in David's time when the ark of the covenant was brought to the tabernacle in Jerusalem. In the psalm for that event recorded in 1 Chron 16, verses 8-22 line up closely with Ps 105:1-15.
This kind of praise is also good for spiritual children of Abraham. It helps us to remember who God is (Psalm 105:5), which is something that everyone on earth should know (v 1).
The psalm goes on to rehearse God's works from the days of the patriarchs, through the time of the Exodus, and right up to the conquest of the Promised Land. Israel's complaints during the Exodus are not mentioned. (That's the subject for Psalm 106.) The emphasis is on God's sovereignty and his orchestration of the steps in his plan. There is also emphasis on God's faithfulness to the eternal covenant (vv 8-11).
Some of the statements in the Psalm make us pause for a minute.
Verse 16: "When he summoned famine against the land, and broke every staff of bread..."
Verses 24-25: "And the Lord made his people very fruitful, and made them stronger than their foes, whose hearts he then turned to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants."
These verses declare that God is ultimately responsible for everything that happens, including the famine that brought the children of Israel to Egypt and the hardships the Israelites suffered in Egyptian bondage. (Gen 15:13-14 implies the same thing.)
Also implied, though, is the fact that God is always there through all the things that we suffer, and he intervenes on behalf of his people. His plan is to bring blessing to the whole world. Knowing that he is in control, we can dedicate ourselves to playing our part in his plan.
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