Psalms 105:1 Meaning: Telling the Nations What God Has Done
Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples.
O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
Oh give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name; Make known among the peoples his doings.
Give ye thanks to Jehovah--call ye in His name, Make known among the peoples His acts.
Give ye thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name; make known his acts among the peoples.
Meaning in one sentence
Psalm 105:1 calls God's people to give thanks, call on His name, and make known His deeds among the peoples.
Context
This verse opens a psalm that walks through the history of God’s covenant with Israel, from Abraham to the settlement in Canaan. The psalm was likely used in worship after the ark was brought to Jerusalem, as recorded in 1 Chronicles 16. It is a song of remembrance, meant to stir up gratitude for God’s faithfulness. The first three verses lay down the pattern: give thanks, call on His name, tell everyone what He has done. The rest of the psalm shows why that matters, He kept His promises even when His people were few, vulnerable, and wandering. The call to 'make known his doings among the peoples' pushes praise beyond private prayer into public witness.
Key Words
Three Hebrew verbs carry the weight of this verse. The first, hodu (from yadah), means to give thanks, but its root sense is 'to throw' or 'cast', as if lifting gratitude toward God like an offering. It is an active verb, not a passing feeling.
The second, kir'u (from qara), means to call, but also to proclaim or summon. The Cambridge Bible notes that here it means 'proclaim his name,' making it a public act of declaring who God is, not just a whisper in private.
The third, hodi'u (from yada, 'to know'), means to make known or cause others to know. It is the same word used when God says, 'I will make known my name' (Exodus 33:19). The call is to share what you have experienced of God, not merely information about Him. Together, these three verbs move from personal gratitude to public declaration, from the heart to the world.
How Christians Read This Verse
Matthew Henry (Presbyterian) outlines the duties of praise in this verse: giving thanks, calling on God, and declaring His works. Calvin (Reformed) says the psalm magnifies God's singular grace in choosing a people to display His covenant. The Cambridge Bible (Anglican) notes that 'it was Israel’s mission to proclaim to the world Jehovah’s revelation.' Spurgeon (Baptist) writes, 'Let the heathen hear of our God, that they may forsake their idols.' Christians across traditions agree that these commands belong to the whole people of God, whether in temple worship, synagogue reading, or the spreading of the gospel.
A common misunderstanding
Some readers assume that 'call on his name' means only private prayer, calling out to God in need. In fact, the Hebrew verb qara regularly means to proclaim or summon publicly. The parallel command 'make known his deeds among the peoples' confirms this is about public testimony, not just personal petition. The call is to announce God's character and works where others can hear.
Living This Out
This week, take one concrete thing God has done for you, answered a prayer, provided for a need, carried you through a hard season, and share it with one person who doesn't know that side of God. It doesn't have to be a formal witness. A sentence over coffee, a line in a text, a mention in a conversation. The three verbs in this verse work together: give thanks first, then call on His name, and let that lead naturally to telling what He has done. You don't need a platform. You just need a story and a listener.
Main takeaway: God calls His people to thank Him, proclaim His name, and tell every nation what He has done.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
God wants us to thank Him and tell other people what He has done. You can say thank you to God for something good He gave you today, and then tell a friend about it.
For ages 9, 12
This verse has three commands: give thanks, call on God's name, and make His deeds known. Giving thanks means remembering what God has done. Calling on His name means praying but also proclaiming who He is. Making His deeds known means sharing stories of God's work with other people, even those who don't know Him yet. Your own life has stories of God helping you, providing, or answering prayer. Those stories are meant to be told.
Questions People Ask
Who wrote Psalm 105?
The author of Psalm 105 is not named in the superscription. However, the first fifteen verses appear in 1 Chronicles 16, where David gives them to Asaph when the ark is brought to Jerusalem. Many scholars believe David composed the original song, and that a later writer expanded it to celebrate God’s faithfulness through Israel’s history.
What does it mean to 'call on his name'?
The Hebrew verb qara can mean to call out for help, but in this verse it carries the sense of proclaiming or announcing God’s name publicly. It is not just private prayer but a declaration of who God is, echoing passages like Genesis 12:8 where Abraham called on the name of the Lord at an altar. The parallel command to 'make known his deeds among the peoples' confirms this public emphasis.
How is Psalm 105:1 connected to 1 Chronicles 16?
1 Chronicles 16:8, 22 quotes Psalm 105:1, 15 almost verbatim as part of a song of thanksgiving David gave to Asaph when the ark was brought to Jerusalem. This shows that the psalm was used in public worship to celebrate God’s covenant faithfulness. The chronicler adapted the psalm to fit the occasion of the ark’s arrival, anchoring Israel’s praise in their history.
Does 'make known his doings among the peoples' apply to Christians today?
Christians across traditions read this verse as a call to proclaim God’s works to everyone, not just to Israel. The New Testament picks up this theme in passages like 1 Peter 2:9, where believers are called to declare the praises of God who called them out of darkness. The command is not limited to a specific time or place; it belongs to the whole people of God.
What are 'his doings' or 'deeds' in this psalm?
The Hebrew word alilot refers to actions or practices. In Psalm 105, the deeds are specifically God’s saving acts in history: the covenant with Abraham, the rescue from Egypt, the provision in the wilderness, and the gift of the land of Canaan. The psalm recounts these wonders to remind the people of God’s power and faithfulness, and to give them a story to tell.
For pastors & researchers
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