OUT OF SIN INTO SALVATION’S JOY
For he remembered his sacred promise to his servant Abraham. So he brought his people out
of Egypt with joyH8342, his chosen ones with rejoicingH7440. He gave his people the lands of
pagan nations, and they harvested crops that others had planted. All this happened so they
would follow his decrees and obey his instructions. Praise the Lord!
Psalm 105:42-45 (NLT)
105:42–45 The psalmist concludes with a summary that alludes to Joshua’s leading the nation back into the Land, first promised to Abraham, (Josh. 1–12) and then distributed to the 12 tribes of Israel (Josh. 13–24). What God promised (cf. 105:7–12) He delivered. (39)
MacArthur Study Bible
105:45 What was the reason for the Lord’s remarkable deeds on behalf of Israel? That they might keep his statutes and obey his instructions. Similarly, God saves us so that we will love and obey him. We are not delivered from sin and death so that we can go our own way. We are rescued for reverence; we are saved to serve. (40)
Tony Evans Study Bible
In the first 41 verses of Psalm 105, David recounts how the Lord delivered His chosen people Israel from slavery in Egypt by sending plagues until Pharoah released them. He tells them to remember the wondrous deeds of their God and tell people about them. He reminds them how God provided manna and quail in the wilderness for four decades and preserved them as they journeyed to the land promised to their forefather Abraham. Then he recalls how God brought them out of Egypt and into Canaan with shouts of joy. The bottom line is that God was creating a nation that would honor and obey Him and be a light to the world. The Israelites were to be a blessing to all the nations:
Genesis 18:18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
Ultimately, that blessing would come through “Jesus, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). When we trust in Jesus’s finished work on the cross, we are grafted—adopted—into God’s family. Christians, those who follow Christ, have also been chosen by God to serve Him, obey Him, and share His light to others. We, too, have been brought from our slavery to sin into the everlasting light of Jesus:
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
We should shout for joy! Like Israel, God has called us out for His purpose. We are to share His message—the Good News of His grace—within the sphere of our influence. We do not earn the privilege of being in His family by good deeds. However, once His Holy Spirit inhabits us, we will do the good things He has designed for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.
Father, may we live with gratitude and joy. May remembering where we came from and how You have delivered us make us want to shout with joy as we are led by the Spirit to do Your will.
Worship with the Bangalore Men’s Ensemble singing a song Susie has loved since childhood: “Make Me a Blessing.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSEThVEhw3Q