Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Reflections on Psalms 107

 Psalms 107(Contemporary English Version)
  1. Shout praises to the LORD! He is good to us, and his love never fails.
  2. Everyone the LORD has rescued from trouble should praise him,
  3. everyone he has brought from the east and the west, the north and the south.
  4. Some of you were lost in the scorching desert, far from a town.
  5. You were hungry and thirsty and about to give up.
  6. You were in serious trouble, but you prayed to the LORD, and he rescued you.
  7. Right away he brought you to a town.
  8. You should praise the LORD for his love and for the wonderful things he does for all of us.
  9. To everyone who is thirsty, he gives something to drink; to everyone who is hungry, he gives good things to eat.
  10. Some of you were prisoners suffering in deepest darkness and bound by chains,
  11. because you had rebelled against God Most High and refused his advice.
  12. You were worn out from working like slaves, and no one came to help.
  13. You were in serious trouble, but you prayed to the LORD, and he rescued you.
  14. He brought you out of the deepest darkness and broke your chains.
  15. You should praise the LORD for his love and for the wonderful things he does for all of us.
  16. He breaks down bronze gates and shatters iron locks.
  17. Some of you had foolishly committed a lot of sins and were in terrible pain.
  18. The very thought of food was disgusting to you, and you were almost dead.
  19. You were in serious trouble, but you prayed to the LORD, and he rescued you.
  20. By the power of his own word, he healed you and saved you from destruction.
  21. You should praise the LORD for his love and for the wonderful things he does for all of us.
  22. You should celebrate by offering sacrifices and singing joyful songs to tell what he has done.
  23. Some of you made a living by sailing the mighty sea,
  24. and you saw the miracles the LORD performed there.
  25. At his command a storm arose, and waves covered the sea.
  26. You were tossed to the sky and to the ocean depths, until things looked so bad that you lost your courage.
  27. You staggered like drunkards and gave up all hope.
  28. You were in serious trouble, but you prayed to the LORD, and he rescued you.
  29. He made the storm stop and the sea be quiet.
  30. You were happy because of this, and he brought you to the port where you wanted to go.
  31. You should praise the LORD for his love and for the wonderful things he does for all of us.
  32. Honor the LORD when you and your leaders meet to worship.
  33. If you start doing wrong, the LORD will turn rivers into deserts,
  34. flowing streams into scorched land, and fruitful fields into beds of salt.
  35. But the LORD can also turn deserts into lakes and scorched land into flowing streams.
  36. If you are hungry, you can settle there and build a town.
  37. You can plant fields and vineyards that produce a good harvest.
  38. The LORD will bless you with many children and with herds of cattle.
  39. Sometimes you may be crushed by troubles and sorrows, until only a few of you are left to survive.
  40. But the LORD will take revenge on those who conquer you, and he will make them wander across desert sands.
  41. When you are suffering and in need, he will come to your rescue, and your families will grow as fast as a herd of sheep.
  42. You will see this because you obey the LORD, but everyone who is wicked will be silenced.
  43. Be wise! Remember this and think about the kindness of the LORD.

The psalmist calls for the redeemed of the Lord to give Him thanks for His goodness and His love that endures forever. The redemption to which the writer refers is both physical and spiritual. He gives four examples, and in each the subjects were in peril because of their sin of rebellion against God. They eventually came to their senses and called out to the Lord for help and He delivered them from the peril. Spiritual redemption, repentance of sin and restoration of fellowship with the Lord, led to their physical redemption, deliverance from the peril.

In the first example people were lost in the desert unable to find their way to a city where there was food and water. When their "spirits failed within them," they "cried out to the Lord," and "He rescued them from their distress." (107:5, 6) They should "give thanks to the LORD for His faithful love and His wonderful works." (107:8)

The next example is of those who were held prisoner because "they rebelled against God's commands and despised the counsel of the Most High." (107:11) Through hard labor their spirits were broken and they cried out to the Lord and He saved them. They, too, should "give thanks to the LORD for His faithful love and His wonderful works." (107:15)

A third example is of those who became ill because "of their rebellious ways and their sins." (107:17) The writer calls them fools. But when they "came near the gates of death" (107:18) they gained wisdom and cried out to the Lord. They joined those who should "give thanks to the LORD for His faithful love and His wonderful works." (107:21)

In the fourth example of those redeemed by the Lord, God's power was demonstrated both in bringing the peril upon them and in delivering them from it. Though their sin is not mentioned as the cause of this, the psalm implies that all of the examples follow this pattern of peril brought on by sin and deliverance or redemption given because of repentance. In this case, men were at sea shipping their goods and the Lord "spoke and raised a tempest that stirred up the waves of the sea." (107:25) The swells were so high it seemed the ship was raised to the sky. When each swell was past it was as if the ship sank "down to the depths." With each rise and fall "their courage melt(ed) away in anguish." They, too, cried out to the Lord and He brought them out of their distress by stilling the storm "to a murmur." The Lord controlled the elements both causing and stopping the storm. These sailors should also, "give thanks to the LORD for His faithful love and His wonderful works for the human race." (107:31)

The last section let's us know these examples are small in comparison to God's vast provisions for His people. In fact, there is nothing that we have in life that is not a provision of the Lord. From the provision of water and fruitful crops to deliverance from oppression. Those who are wise "pay attention" (107:43) to these things and consider that they come from the Lord. In so doing they will continue to receive His provisions. However, those who do not pay attention and do not see the Lord as their provider will forever wander in a desert wasteland.

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