Psalm 107

One of the hardest things that we’ve faced as parents of young kids is training our girls in the most basic skills of politeness. When someone gives them a gift, or complements them, we have to constantly remind them what they are supposed to say. And I’m not sure why it is so difficult. It’s literally just 2 words. “Thank” and “you.” Have you ever heard a parent say this to their young child: “What do you say?” It’s a basic concept. Someone gives you something or does something for you, the proper response is, “thank you.” And while we are trying to build muscle memory, there’s a much deeper process of growth that takes us from just saying the words out loud, to actually recognizing what someone does and feeling a deep sense of gratitude. 

Big Idea: Redemption should always compel us towards a deep sense of  gratitude.

We don’t know for sure who wrote our Psalm this morning. But what we do see is a really cool pattern of redemption and gratitude throughout the Psalm, and it starts with a “call to worship” of sorts. 

Read Psalm 107:1-3

Give thanks to the Lord. Why? Because He is good. The Hebrew word for good carries many meanings: excellent, rich, kind, right. And why can we call Him that? Because His past and present, never-wavering, steadfast love will carry on into eternity. And who is it that should be thankful? The redeemed. Let those who have been saved by God cry out in worship out of a place of gratitude. 

Now, what the Psalmist does here is he lays out 4 different life situations from which God saved people. All 4 of these are relatable. As we go through these, maybe one of them will especially resonate with you. Underline, highlight, circle in your Bibles. 

Here’s the pattern that we see in each one:

• Desperation

• Cried to the Lord / Deliverance

• The healing matched the hurting

• A call to worship

• A reminder of the work

1. God Rescues Those Who Are Lost (4-9)

Read Psalm 107:4-9

The implication of the wanderer is not that they were on their way somewhere. It wasn’t like Israel that was on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land. The idea here is that they had no destination, they were lost with no hope of finding a home. As a result of their wandering, they were hungry and thirsty. Naturally when wandering in a wilderness, one would be hard pressed to find food or water. 

On top of that, their souls fainted within them. This could be exhaustion from wandering with no food or drink. This could be a deep sense of hopelessness. Whatever it was, their wandering and desperation led them to cry out to God for salvation. They “cried out to the Lord in their distress.” They had nowhere else to turn, so they turned to the Lord. And look again what it says He did for the desperate wanderer:

“He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.”

He took the one who was lost, who had been wandering in circles, with no place to call home, in search of something to fulfill them, and He placed them on a straight path that led them to a city to live in. He took the wanderer, and He gave them a home. He took the hungry and the thirsty and He led them to a place where they could eat and drink. He took the one whose soul fainted within them, and He filled them with hope with a new life.

Therefore, let them “thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man.” And here’s the reminder for the one who was lost: “For He satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul He fills with good things.” Thank the Lord.

2. God Rescues Those Who Are Guilty (10-16)

Read Psalm 107:10-16

Here we have a picture of one held captive because of the disregard for the way of the Lord. We have someone who is imprisoned. We have someone who is afflicted. We have someone living in darkness. We have someone bound by chains. It would appear that this person has refused help, and their sin has led them to isolation. Their life had produced a heaviness on their shoulders. They can’t carry the burden anymore. And what’s worse, the result of their choices and their being held captive in their sin is that they are living in the shadow of death. If they remain in captivity they will soon die. 

Everyone had abandoned them, and even though they had turned their backs on God in disobedience, they now turn back to Him and cry out, “Lord save me from my distress!” And God delivered them. 

He snatched them out of the darkness. He shattered the chains that held them captive. He brought them into the light and brought them freedom!

Therefore, let them “thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man.” And here’s the reminder for the one who was guilty in their sin: The Lord destroys the iron bars that hold you captive. The Lord breaks the chains that enslave you. That which kept you from a life of freedom, the Lord removed and led you into that freedom. Thank the Lord.

3. God Rescues Those Who Are Sick (17-22)

Read Psalm 107:17-22

This sounds very similar to the previous profile. The difference is that this person has made some decisions that have led to a sickness or disease. The word “afflicted” in the Greek implies that it was self-inflicted. They are afflicted by health issues because of decisions they have made. They loathed food because they were unable to eat. You know when you are very sick and your appetite is gone? Sometimes it even makes you sick to look at food? They were so sick, they couldn’t even imagine eating. And, we see here as well that they were close to the gates of death. Whatever affliction or illness they had, it was so severe that they were near the point of dying. 

And here they sit, an unfortunate product of their decisions, their health failing, and with labored breath, they cry out to the Lord for salvation. And the Lord delivered them. 

He spoke a word of healing and they were healed. The path of destruction had nearly ruined their lives, but God picked them up and put the pieces back together. I just picture this intense battle of wills that has been fought. Maybe a modern day example would be someone who has a drug or alcohol addiction, and they have tried to fight, but in their own power there is no victory. And I just picture the damage and destruction that this has caused their lives, the lives of those around them. But the psalmist says that God looked into the rubble and rescued them out of their destruction.

Therefore, let them “thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man.” And instead of an added emphasis what God did, the psalmist instead gives instructions on thanksgiving. “Offer sacrifices of thanksgiving. Tell of his deeds in songs of joy!” Let’s take the example of addiction. It’s so powerful for the one who has been delivered from addiction to share their story of deliverance. To stand before someone and share the damage that was done to your life, but be living proof that God can give you victory! That’s really powerful.

4. God Rescues Those Who Are In A Storm (23-32)

Read Psalm 107:23-32

The psalmist turns from one who has brought trouble on themselves, to one who is in trouble that is outside of their control. The picture is that of a storm where the waves are causing the ship to drastically rise and fall. These men who were skilled sailors and traders, most likely spending most of their lives on the sea, had seen their courage leave them. It melted away. The intensity of the storm caused them to stumble with no firm footing like one who is drunk. The psalmist tells us they were “at their wits end,” which meant that they had done everything they knew how to do and nothing was working. The storm of life rolled in and in their power they could not stop it. Now, in a state of fear and discouragement, what do they do? 

They cried out to the Lord for salvation. And the Lord delivered them. He stilled and quieted the seas. There was overwhelming peace in their midst. And then the Lord led them to a place of safety. 

Therefore, let them “thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man.” And in the same way the ones who brought destruction on themselves are encouraged to use their story to help others, those who were faced with peril were encouraged to do the same. “Extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly.” 

And here’s the really cool thing about all 4 of these profiles. While everyone’s story is very different, their stories are in fact very similar as well. Each is faced with a unique situation in their life. But, each follow the same pattern in their story of rescue:

• They are in desperation and realize there is nothing they can do to save themselves

• They cry out to the Lord. The Lord hears them and delivers them. 

• They worship 

Application

We have to start by restating the 4 profiles laid out by the psalmist. 

• Those who are lost (unsaved)

• Those who are guilty (held captive by their sin)

• Those who are sick (self-inflicted affliction)

• Those who are in a storm (afflicted by things outside of their control)

Maybe as we were walking through this together, you resonated with one of these situations. Maybe it’s because you are currently in the midst right now, and you’ve tried everything but there is no end in sight. The truth that we find in the midst of this Psalm is that when someone cries out to the Lord in desperation, the Lord is faithful to deliver them. We need to be clear, though, that there is a very complex theological struggle underneath all of this, because sometimes we can cry out to God and we don’t experience immediate deliverance. In some situations, we may not experience true rescue until we see Jesus in glory. And I don’t want to dwell on that too much this morning, but I want to make sure it’s said. 

Maybe you resonated with one of the situations because you are on the other side of it, and you experienced rescue from God. The pattern that we see, and the encouragement we find is that first, we are to worship God for what He’s done, and then we proclaim His rescue to anyone who needs to hear it!

And so we see a pattern of thankfulness. This should be the cry of our hearts because of everything that the Lord has done for us. “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!”

No matter what your story of deliverance is, recite it this week leading up to Thanksgiving. Share it with your family. Share it with your friends. Rejoice in what the Lord has done in your life. Let this week be one marked by gratitude