Psalms 105:6

Psa 105:6 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.

Ver. 6. O ye seed of Abraham, &c.] Do thus, or else your pedigree will profit you no more than it did Dives in the flames, that Abraham called him son. An empty title yieldeth but an empty comfort.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. (Psa 105:6) Ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye sons of Jacob, his chosen (ones). Descendants of the patriarchs, and therefore heirs of the patriarchal promises. The common version of the last phrase (his chosen), though exact, conveys a wrong idea, as it seems to make chosen an epithet of Jacob, which would also seem to be required by the parallelism; but the Hebrew word is plural, and describes the object of address as the church or chosen people. Compare Isa 65:9. Abraham is called the servant of God, in an emphatic sense, as being his chosen instrument and confidential agent. See above, on Psa 18:1, and compare Ps. xc. 1. The parallel passage (1Ch 16:13) has Israel his servant.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

105:6-11 The story of Israel is based on the Lord’s commitment to Abraham. Even when a question arises about the future of God’s covenant with David (Ps 89), God’s covenant with Abraham stands, as does the spiritual bond between God and Israel, Abraham’s descendants.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 6. O ye seed of Abraham] Ye Jews especially, who have been the peculiar objects of the Divine favour.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6 Ye seed of Abraham his servant. The Psalmist addresses himself by name to his own countrymen, whom, as has been stated, God had bound to himself by a special adoption. It was a bond of union still more sacred, that by the mere good pleasure of God they were preferred to all other nations. By calling them the seed of Abraham, and the sons of Jacob, he reminds them that they had not attained so great dignity by their own power, but because they were descended from the holy fathers. He, however, affirms at the same time, that the holiness of their fathers flowed exclusively from God’s election, and not from their own nature. He expressly states both these truths, first, that before they were born children of Abraham, they were already heirs of the covenant, because they derived their origin from the holy fathers; and, secondly, that the fathers themselves had not acquired this prerogative by their own merit or worth, but had been freely chosen; for this is the reason why Jacob is called God’s chosen Although Abraham is also here called God’s servant, (Genesis 26:24) because he purely and sincerely worshipped him, yet in the second clause it is testified that the commencement of this distinction was not to be traced to men, but to God alone, who conferred upon the Israelites the honor of choosing them to be his peculiar possession.

From this covenant the Psalmist infers that although the government of God extends through the whole world, and although he executes his judgment in all places, he was nevertheless especially the God of that one people, (verse 7) according to the statement in the song of Moses,

“When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people, according to the number of the children of Israel: For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.” Deuteronomy 32:8, 9

The prophet again intended to show that the reason why the children of Israel excelled others was not because they were better than others, but because such was the good pleasure of God. If the divine judgments are extended through all the regions of the globe, the condition of all nations is in this respect equal. Whence it follows that the difference referred to proceeded from the love of God, — that the source of the superiority of the Israelites to other nations was his free favor. Although, then, He is the rightful proprietor of the whole earth, it is declared that he chose one people over whom he might reign. This is a doctrine which applies to us also at the present day. If we duly ponder our calling, we will undoubtedly find that God has not been induced from anything out of himself to prefer us to others, but that he was pleased to do so purely from his own free grace.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

6. Grammatically, his servant may refer either to Abraham or to seed of Abraham. The parallelism is in favour of the latter construction, and the LXX and Jer. actually read his servants: but exact parallelism is not always maintained, and Psa_105:42 is decidedly in favour of connecting his servant with Abraham. For Abraham Chron. reads Israel.

his chosen] R.V. his chosen ones, to avoid the ambiguity of the A.V. Cp. Psa_105:43; Psa_106:5; Deu_4:37; &c.

This verse is to be connected with Psa_105:1-5 : the form of address reminds the Israelites at once of their privilege and their duty.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

O ye seed of Abraham his servant,.... These are the persons all along before addressed; the Israelites, who descended from Abraham, were his natural seed and offspring, and who had reason to give thanks unto the Lord and praise his name, since so many and such wonderful things had been done for them; though all that were his natural seed were not the children of God; and such who have the same faith he had, and tread in the steps he did, are Christ's, and partakers of his grace; these are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise; and are under the greatest obligations to praise the Lord. Abraham is here called his servant, as also in Psa 105:42, being a true worshipper of God; though sometimes his friend, which is not inconsistent; though this character, according to the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, belongs to his seed, they rendering it in the plural, "his servants". It follows,

ye children of Jacob his chosen; this is added to distinguish the persons intended from the other seed of Abraham in the line of Ishmael; for in Isaac his seed was called, which were the children of the promise, and that in the line of Jacob, and not in the line of Esau; from whom they were called Israel or Israelites, a people whom the Lord chose above all people on the face of the earth; for the word "chosen" may be connected with the children as well as with Jacob. The whole spiritual Israel of God, whether Jews or Gentiles, all such who are Israelites indeed, as they appear to be the chosen of God, so they are bound to praise his name.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen - All you who are descendants of Abraham and Jacob; the former being particularly mentioned here because he was the great ancestor of the Hebrew people; the latter, because the events referred to were closely connected with the history of Jacob - with his going down into Egypt, and with the division of the tribes named after his sons. The word rendered “his chosen” would seem in our version to refer to Jacob. In the original, however, it is in the plural number, and must agree with the word rendered “children,” “Ye chosen sons of Jacob” (compare Psa 105:43). So it has been translated in 1Ch 16:13, “Ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Children of Jacob; to whom he restrains the former more general expression, because these were the only branch of Abraham’s seed to whom the following covenant and blessings belong.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 6. O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. Should all the world forget, ye are bound to remember. Your father Abraham saw his wonders and judgments upon Sodom, and upon the kings who came from far, and Jacob also saw the Lord's marvellous works in visiting the nations with famine, yet providing for his chosen a choice inheritance in a goodly land; therefore let the children praise their father's God. The Israelites were the Lord's elect nation, and they were bound to imitate their progenitor, who was the Lord's faithful servant and walked before him in holy faith: the seed of Abraham should not be unbelieving, nor should the children of so true a servant become rebels. As we read this pointed appeal to the chosen seed we should recognise the special claims which the Lord has upon ourselves, since we too have been favoured above all others. Election is not a couch for case, but an argument for sevenfold diligence. If God has set his choice upon us, let us aim to be choice men.

Ver. 6. O ye seed of Abraham his servant. Consider the relation ye stand in to him. Ye are "the seed of Abraham his servant"; you are born in his house, and being thereby entitled to the privilege of his servants, protection and provision, you are also bound to do the duty of servants, to attend your master, consult his honour, obey his commands, and do what you can to advance his interests. Matthew Henry.

Psalms 105:7*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. Abraham… Jacob—He reminds them of their holy ancestry: they are the children of those whom God had called, and chosen, and loved; and he grounds the foregoing exhortation in these hallowed relations and memories.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

O ye seed of Abraham his servant; i.e. "his faithful and obedient follower". (see below, ver. 42; and comp. Gen_26:24 Gal_3:9) Ye children of Jacob his chosen; rather, his chosen ones. The word is in the plural, and must be referred, not to "Jacob," but to "children."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Of Jacob - The only branch of Abraham's seed to whom the following blessings belong.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.