EXPOSITION
This is the first of the strictly "Hallelujah psalms"—i.e. of the psalms beginning with the phrase "hallelujah"—which are Psalms 106:1-48, Psalms 111:1-10, Psalms 112:1-10, Psalms 113:1-9, Psalms 135:1-21, Psalms 146:1-10, Psalms 147:1-20, Psalms 148:1-14, Psalms 149:1-9, and Psalms 150:1-6. Eight of these ten also end with the phrase. Psalms 104:1-35, Psalms 105:1-45, and Psalms 107:1-43, end with it, but do not begin with it. This psalm has a general resemblance to Psalms 78:1-72 and Psalms 105:1-45, but carries the historical sketch to a later period, and makes more pointed allusion to the Babylonish captivity (Psalms 105:41 -46). It consists of an introduction (Psalms 105:1-5), comprising praise and prayer; an historical sketch, which is mainly a confession of the sins of the people (Psalms 105:6 -46); and a conclusion, in which prayer and praise are again united, as in the introduction.