Psalm 105 is instruction in praise far more than instruction in history. Indeed, it is an historical psalm, but not history for the sake of history. It is history as it flows from a yearning to praise. In recounting the events the poet is revealing a heart of praise. Ask a first grader to tell you about their field trip to Disney World. They will not describe the day’s events as a neutral bystander.
When Stephen preaches his first sermon in Acts 7, we can sense the praise-motivated history that appears in the middle of Psalm 105. Like the poet, Stephen’s sermon introduction is about the memory of God, that God makes promises, seals those promises (the reference to circumcision in Ac. 7:8), and delivers on those promises, particularly in the birth of Isaac, then Jacob, then Jacob’s many offspring. This reflection on the promise-keeping God is the introduction of the poet’s lyric in Psalm 105 in which “He remembers His covenant forever,” and is “confirmed to Jacob as an everlasting covenant” (Ps. 105.8, 10). Note that in both Stephen’s sermon and the poet’s, the very existence of Jacob is proof enough that God keeps His promises.
The storytelling in Stephen’s sermon, the portion that truly feels like history, begins with the children of Jacob selling their brother into slavery (Ac. 7:9ff). Stephen’s story builds with anticipation. The poet views the same event, jealous brothers with a propensity for wickedness, from the other side of history, after the fact. In just a few verses he takes his readers to the time of wilderness wandering (Ps. 105:12-15) only to provide a flashback to show them how this happened, namely, a boy who was sold into slavery by his brothers (Ps. 105:17). Both Stephen and the poet begin with God’s promise-keeping and the deplorable behavior of siblings.
Stephen wants to make sure his hearers know that Joseph is God’s instrument for bringing his family (including the abusers) to Egypt (Ac. 7:9-17). So, too, does the poet (Ps. 105:16-23). Both, again, highlight the season of population growth in Egypt and the arrival of Moses. The poet is sometimes a bit more imaginative, showing us not only Joseph in, presumably, an Egyptian dungeon (Ps. 105:18-19), but also reminding us of the plagues (Ps. 105:27-35). But before we think that only the poets are eloquent, Stephen is careful in his sermon to remind us that Moses was a man “beautiful in God’s sight,” whose “heart” was full of care for his brothers, and who, when seeing “a flame of fire in a bush.” was “amazed” and “drew near” and “trembled” and then “did not dare to look” (Ac. 7:20, 22, 30-32). Poets work with images. Apparently, so do preachers.
The poet ends with the wilderness wandering (where he devotes most of his time), followed by a quick synopsis of the conquest during the time of Joshua. Stephen ends with the wilderness (he devotes most of his time here), followed by a quick summary of King Solomon’s construction of the Temple. In this way, both the poet and the preacher emphasize the people at their lowest, having nothing … except God.
If the recounting of a story pours forth from a jubilant worshipper, you can count on God being the hero of that story. The motive of the poet and the motive of the preacher is not similar, it is identical. Both preach and write truth, invite imagination, and emphasize the covenant-keeping character of God. As both readers of poetry and hearers of sermons, we should expect this.
