Psalms 105:42
in Psalms 105For He remembered His holy promise to Abraham His servant.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For he remembered his holy word, And Abraham his servant.
KJV
For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.
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This verse in Psalms 105
Commentary
9 notes on this verseFor he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant. Here is the secret reason for all this grace. The covenant and he for whose sake it was made are ever on the heart of the Most High. He remembered his people because he remembered his covenant. He could not violate that gracious compact for it was sacred to him, —"his holy promise." A holy God must keep his promise holy. In our case the Lord's eye is upon his beloved Son, and his engagements with him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
But in all these blessings of His, God does commend in Abraham the merit of faith. For the Psalmist goes on to say, "For why? He remembered His holy promise, which He made to Abraham His servant" [Psalm 105:42].
But in all these blessings of His, God does commend in Abraham the merit of faith. For the Psalmist goes on to say, "For why? He remembered His holy promise, which He made to Abraham His servant" [Psalm 105:42].
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
For he remembered his holy promise,....
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.
They were unworthy and unthankful, yet he did those great things in their favour because he remembered the word of his holiness (that is, his covenant) with Abraham his servant, and he would not suffer one iota or tittle of that to fall to the ground.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
(2) That they might be obedient. The observance of God's commands by Abraham was the object of the covenant with him (Ge 18:19), as it was also the object of the covenant with Israel, that they might observe God's statutes. remembered . . . and Abraham--or, "remembered His holy word (that is, covenant confirmed) with Abraham."
For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant. Here is the secret reason for all this grace. The covenant and he for whose sake it was made are ever on the heart of the Most High. He remembered his people because he remembered his covenant. He could not violate that gracious compact for it was sacred to him, —"his holy promise." A holy God must keep his promise holy. In our case the Lord's eye is upon his beloved Son, and his engagements with him. On our behalf, and this is the source and well ahead of those innumerable favours which enrich us in all our wanderings through this life's wilderness.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For he remembered ... - He was faithful to his promise made to Abraham, and did not forget his descendants in the hour of need. This is the statement made in Psa 105:8-9; and to illustrate and confirm the faithfulness of God, this reference is made to the history of the Hebrew people. See the notes at those verses.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| זָ֭כַר | zakhar | he remembered | H2142 → | 230 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דְּבַ֣ר | devar | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| קָדְשׁ֑וֹ | kadesho | holiness his | H6944 → | 469 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַבְרָהָ֥ם | ʾavraham | Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| עַבְדּֽוֹ׃ | avdo | servant his | H5650 → | 799 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
זָ֭כַרhe remembered
zakharH2142 →230 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דְּבַ֣ר[the] word of
devarH1697 →1440 times
קָדְשׁ֑וֹholiness his
kadeshoH6944 →469 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַבְרָהָ֥םAbraham
ʾavrahamH85 →175 times
עַבְדּֽוֹ׃servant his
avdoH5650 →799 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 2:24So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
it leads to
- Genesis 26:3
Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath…
- Exodus 6:5
Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered My covenant.
- Genesis 15:14–18
But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
- Psalms 22:24
For He has not despised or detested the torment of the afflicted. He has not hidden His face from him, but has attended to his cry for help.
- Genesis 26:24
and that night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your…
- Genesis 26:3
Through
Genesis 12:7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
it leads to
- Genesis 17:8
And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
- Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
- Genesis 13:15
for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.
- Genesis 17:8
Where this verse is studied
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1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 105; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.