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Psalm 105:4 - Depend upon God and His strength in all that you do.

Psa 105:4: Depend upon God and His strength in all that you do.

Psa 105:4 (KJV)  Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face 
evermore. 

Psa 105:4 (NIV)  Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his 
face always. 

Psa 105:4 (NRSV)  Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his 
presence continually. 

Psa 105:4 (NCV)  Depend on the LORD and his strength; always go 
to him for help. 

Psa 105:4 (AMP)  Seek, inquire of and for the Lord, and crave 
Him and His strength (His might and inflexibility to temptation); 
seek and require His face and His presence [continually] evermore. 

CONTEXT

Psalms 105 and 106 are companion pieces in that history is 
searched in both. In the former, God's acts are emphasized; in the 
latter, Israel's acts of disobedience are recited. Both poems show 
affinity with Psalm 78, in which the two themes are interwoven. [Wycliffe 
Bible Commentary] 

Psalms 105: God's Love for Israel
Psalms 105: God's Faithfulness to Israel
Psalms 105: Tell of All His Wonderful Works

Vss. 1-6 The Call for Thanksgiving. Give thanks ... call ... 
sing ... talk ... glory ... rejoice ... seek ... remember. The 
psalmist's detailed instructions reveal what it means to praise the Lord. 
It is clear that the hymn was designed for congregational use. 
[Wycliffe Bible Commentary] 

Vss. 1-6 The call to praise the Lord consists of six verses. The 
first five contain imperatives whose frequency decreases from three 
verbs (vv. 1-2), to two verbs (vv. 3-4), to one verb (v. 5); v. 6 has 
no verb. Each verb is different and adds its own connotation to the 
harmonious blending of synonyms for praise. Verses 1-2 stress the act of 
verbal communication: "Give thanks ... call on his name; make known" 
(cf. Isa 12:4), "Sing ... sing praise ... tell." The following five 
verbs connote the reflective element. The heart of the devotees is 
filled with the Lord and his acts: "Glory ... let ... rejoice.... Look 
[lit., 'seek' (d-r-sh) as in v. 3] ... seek [b-q-sh].... remember." The 
variety of verbs for "praise" adds an important dimension to the 
aesthetic wholeness of worship. 
The psalmist also interweaves several other motifs: the object 
of worship, the subjects of worship, and the goal of worship. The 
Lord is the object of worship (cf. 1 Tim 6:16). From the phraseology 
we learn about "what he has done" (v. 1, lit., "his deeds"), "all 
his wonderful acts" (v. 2), his holiness and "strength" (vv. 3-4), 
and "the wonders ... his miracles, and the judgments" (v. 5). The 
reference to "holy" and "strength" must not be divorced from the acts of 
God. In other words, for the psalmist the acts of God reveal his 
being.... The goal of praise is threefold. First, praise magnifies the 
Lord. When the people of God reflect on him and what he has done, they 
ascribe power, holiness, and glory to his name. His perfections and 
mighty acts are so closely interrelated that no separation can be made 
between praise and thanksgiving. Second, praise intensifies an 
appreciation of the history of redemption as it affects God's people in the 
present. They receive consolation and encouragement, reflecting on what 
he has done in the past. Third, praise also witnesses to those 
outside the covenant community. [Expositors Bible Commentary] 

Vss. 1-4 The exhortation to worship and trust. [NIV SB]

CROSS REFERENCES

Amos 5:6 (KJV)  Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest he break 
out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be 
none to quench it in Bethel.  

Jer 29:13 (KJV)  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye 
shall search for me with all your heart. 

Zeph. 2:3 (KJV)  Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, 
which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it 
may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.  

2 Cor. 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for 
thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly 
therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ 
may rest upon me.  

Isa 30:15 (NIV)  This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One 
of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in 
quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 

Prov 3:5, 6 (KJV)  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and 
lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge 
him, and he shall direct thy paths. 

Heb 12:2 (KJV)  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of 
our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the 
cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the 
throne of God. 

1 Thes. 5:17  Pray without ceasing. 

Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: 
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a 
rewarder of them that diligently seek him.  

COMMENTARY / APPLICATION

If God seems far away, persist in your search for him. God 
rewards those who sincerely look for him (Hebrews 11:6). Jesus promised, 
"Seek and you will find" (Matthew 7:7). The psalmist suggested a 
valuable way to find God--become familiar with the way he has helped his 
people in the past. The Bible records the history of God's people. In 
searching its pages we will discover a loving God who is waiting for us to 
find him. [Life Application SB] 

Seek his strength; that is, his grace; the strength of his 
Spirit to work in us that which is good, which we cannot do but by 
strength derived from him, for which he will be sought. Seek to have his 
favour to eternity, therefore continue seeking it while living in this 
world; for he will not only be found, but he will reward those that 
diligently seek him. [Matthew Henry Commentary] 

When Jesus was upon the earth, He taught His disciples how to 
pray. He directed them to present their daily needs before God, and to 
cast all their care upon Him. And the assurance He gave them that 
their petitions should be heard, is assurance also to us.  Have a 
place for secret prayer. Jesus had select places for communion with 
God, and so should we. We need often to retire to some spot, however 
humble, where we can be alone with God. . . In the secret place of 
prayer, where no eye but God's can see, no ear but His can hear, we may 
pour out our most hidden desires and longings to the Father of 
infinite pity, and in the hush and silence of the soul that voice which 
never fails to answer the cry of human need will speak to our hearts. 
. As we make Christ our daily companion we shall feel that the 
powers of an unseen world are all around us; and by looking unto Jesus 
we shall become assimilated to His image. By beholding we become 
changed. The character is softened, refined, and ennobled for the 
heavenly kingdom. The sure result of our intercourse and fellowship with 
our Lord will be to increase piety, purity, and fervor. There will 
be a growing intelligence in prayer. We are receiving a divine 
education, and this is illustrated in a life of diligence and zeal.  The 
soul that turns to God for its help, its support, its power, by 
daily, earnest prayer, will have noble aspirations, clear perceptions 
of truth and duty, lofty purposes of action, and a continual 
hungering and thirsting after righteousness. By maintaining a connection 
with God, we shall be enabled to diffuse to others, through our 
association with them, the light, the peace, the serenity, that rule in our 
hearts. The strength acquired in prayer to God, united with persevering 
effort in training the mind in thoughtfulness and care-taking, prepares 
one for daily duties and keeps the spirit in peace under all 
circumstances.  Religion must begin with emptying and purifying the heart, and 
must be nurtured by daily prayer.  {AG 290} 

"You must have a good heart," one man said to his child, "if you 
are going to act right in this world." And then to illustrate his 
point he continued, "Suppose my watch was not keeping time very well. 
Would it do any good if I went to the town clock, and made the hands 
of my watch point exactly the same as those of the larger clock in 
the square? No, of course not! Soon my watch would be just as 
inaccurate as before. Rather, I should take my watch to a watchmaker, or to 
a jewelry store that repairs watches. It is only when my watch has 
been cleaned and repaired that its hands will be able to keep time 
accurately all day long." When we spend time in prayer, we are, in like 
manner, going to the Heart Maker, asking Him to "clean and repair" our 
hearts from the damage caused by sins we have committed. We are asking 
Him to put us right again on the inside, so that we can act right on 
the outside. When our children see us doing this, they are much more 
likely to go to the Heart Maker when they feel their own lives are in 
disarray or "out of sync"--rather than turn to the world and reset their 
souls according to its standards and priorities. Have you visited the 
Heart Maker today? [God's Little Devotional Bible] 

Now just now is our opportunity to open the windows of the soul 
heavenward and to close the windows earthward. Now is the time for every 
church member to say, I will close my heart to everything that would 
hinder my communion with Christ; I will open the windows of my soul 
heavenward that I may understand spiritual things.  {TDG 75.1} 

As a people and as individuals our success depends, not on 
numbers, on standing, nor on intellectual attainments, but on walking and 
working with Christ.  {HP 328.4}