Reading: Psalm 107
The
Bible is the story of redemption; Psalm 107 is a snap shot of that
story. This
psalm begins by calling us to do something.
Give
thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. 2Let
the redeemed of the LORD say this—those he redeemed from the hand
of the foe, 3those
he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
(Psalm 107:1-3)
Psalm 107 is about God and it is
about us; it calls us to respond to the loving, saving acts of God
Who has redeemed us and brought us together as His people. It
begins calling us to give thanks to the Lord, proclaim that He
has redeemed us and gathered us from the ends of the world.
It ends calling
us to pay attention to the
ways of God in redemption and how He saved us, and to
ponder the Lord's acts of faithful love
(Psalm 107:43). In the
middle, is a description
of how God in His mercy went about saving us, the redeemed, in our
rebellion (Psalm 107:4-42).
Each
of these redemption stories begins with a description of humanity as
we are prior to the redeeming work of God. It describes the
condition we are in when the Lord sets out to save us by His loving
deeds. These
groups of people represent each of us who have been gathered from the
four corners of the earth (north, south, east, and west).
Which
one describes your story:
“Some
wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they
could settle, they were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed
away.” (Psalm 107:4-9)
“Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in
iron chains, for they had rebelled against the words of God and
despised the counsel of the Most High.” (Psalm
107:10-16)
“Some became fools through their rebellious ways and
suffered affliction because of their iniquities. They loathed all
food and drew near the gates of death.” (Psalm
107:17-22)“Some
went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty
waters.” (Psalm 107:23-32).
You
have those who are lost and lonely; those who are in deep darkness
and gloom, bound and captive; those who are living lives of folly and
blatant rebellion; and those who are prospering in this life and
making their mark on it. Which
were you?
Psalm
107:33-38 gives an overview description of the common pattern God uses in redeeming each of these four people groups. Verse
33-34 tell us how it starts:
He
turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground,
34and
fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those
who lived there.
As
long as we think we can make it on our own we continue living lives
independent of Him in our rebellion.
Only when we realize that we are dependent upon God for even the
river and spring that bring us water, and the ground that causes
plants to be fruitful—for life itself—that we consider the
hopelessness of our lost estate. So the Lord allows us to have life
without Him (in part) as the waters dry up and we discover how
dependent we are. We plant seeds and think we are producing crops;
the Lord reminds us that He is the One Who does the producing.
Verses
35-38 describe what He does when we turn to Him, crying out to Him
(Psalm 107:6, 13, 19, 28) in our desperation.
35He
turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into
flowing springs; 36there
he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they
could settle. 37They
sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest;
38he
blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let
their herds diminish.
(Verses
39-42 restate this pattern using less poetic language.)
The
redeemed are those God has gathered from every part of the world and
every walk of life. He has not left us alone but placed us together
with all those He has gathered into a church, a local gathering of
the redeemed. Together
we are to give thanks for His goodness; together we are to proclaim
He has redeemed us from the hand of the foe, and gathered us from the
four corners of the earth, and the “four corners” of life
situations; together we are to ponder the glorious goodness of God's
faithful love.
Love the Gospel, Live the Gospel,
Advance the Gospel,
Jerry
