Psalm 107:1-9, 33-37
107:1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures
forever.
107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, those he redeemed from trouble
107:3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the
north and from the south.
107:4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town;
107:5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
107:6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from
their distress;
107:7 he led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town.
107:8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works
to humankind.
107:9 For he satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things.
107:33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,
107:34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the wickedness of its
inhabitants.
107:35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of
water.
107:36 And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in;
107:37 they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.
107:43 Let those who are wise
give heed to these things, and consider the
steadfast love of the LORD.
Psalm 107:1-9, 43 A poem, or song, that first calls for the people to give thanks to God for He is good. The text goes on to give a brief history lesson of some of the troubles that the Israelites went through during the Babylonian Exile. After the nation of Israel cried to God they were redeemed - saved - and were returned to their land.
That's the main theme, now I just have to work it into a sermon for Communion Sunday!
Preacherg
"They cried to the Lord in their trouble and He saved them from their
distress." The Lord is the source of healing in time of trouble, even that which is
brought on by our own sinfulness. That refrain is the song returned to 4 times in this
psalm, and the steadfast love of the Lord is also sung in the psalm a number of times. How
do we live that life of thanksgiving to the Lord in the midst of war and
self-centeredness?
Tom of MO
It occurred to me that the Children of Israel were rebellious and their sin was
punished by the snakes who bit them. God provided the way out through the bronze snake on
the pole. Since that is the first lesson for this Sunday, using that story can help to
illustrate the Psalm 107? What are some ways in which we are rebellious against God? How
are we snake-bit? God provides a way out through the gift of Christ on the pole of the
cross. We look to Him for healing and salvation.
We cry to the Lord in our trouble and distress, and we are led to give thanks for God's
mercy and offer thanksgiving and shouts of joy in response to God's goodness.
When we cry out to the lord we testify to our selves of the hope that we have in him .
When GOD delivers us he does so that we should give thanks and glorify his name.
Julian Scott
The psalmist started out thanking the Lord for His steadfast love, His goodness and His
faithfulness. Not only we can count on His love, but we can count on His consistency to
show that love.
A. Illustration of God delivering the lost in desert wastes: When the people cry out,
God gave them what they ultimately need (direction) and not address the temporal problem
(hunger, thirst, weary heart). He knows that all their temporal problems will be solved
when they reach their destination. Would God intervene if they don't cry out? Perhaps not
since they still depends on their own effort to get themselves out of trouble. Then when
they cried out, even if they asked Him for immediate needs such as food and water, the
Lord knows what is ultimately good for them and He lead them there.
Am I still depending on my own efforts (to reach heaven, to preach, to get somewhere in
life, etc?) Am I willing to cry out to Him? When Jesus came to earth, He did not solve
temporal problems, the symptom of sins (social injustice, religious hyprocrisy, etc.) but
He solve the root of sins and lead us straight to our eternal destination of heaven. May
that be a model to guide our prayer life to, so we remember to prayer for the root of the
problem and not just the symptoms we encountered.
B) In the whole Psalm, the psalmist repeated the chorus of "Then they cried to the
LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress" and "Let them
thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind" over and
over. The last examples of His wonders are His works concerning the environment. God
changed the environment around us depends on our heart toward Him. No wonder Jesus
predicted there will be more natural disasters toward the end of times. I am not so sure
if I could push this point further. But that's a start.
CoHo, Santa Ana
I am surprised that verses 25-30 of Psalm 107 were not chosen for they reflect the
expression of the Psalm! Perhaps the parallel is too close. It is as though Mark dipped
into the psaltery to find this story of Jesus and his disciples.
tom in ga
Hi, Not much activity over here. But two lines caught my attention.
107:4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town;
107:5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
I am working on the second part of last week, with the knocking at the door and
thinking about the spiritual desert we live in today. just a bit of rambling pretty late.
NCWi
God suffers in grief with the illness of evil and the iniquity of the created, yet
God's love remains-- steadfast, constant, unchanging....
in amazement and gratitude,RevJanet in CNY
Thank you NCWi I hadn't considered the Psalm for Sunday but I just may change my mind.
I had planed to preach from colossians but don't feel comfortable with the text. this
really speaks to me. IBelieve God's steadfast love is able to carry us through all of our
desert and wilderness experiences. Thank you ahain! Harold in Alabama
