Psalm 107: See in History the Powerful, Faithful Love of the Lord

Psalm 107 begins Book 5, the last book within the Book of Psalms. Like in several other Psalms, the psalmist reminds the Israeli people of their history. Moreover, their history with God. Ultimately, it showcases God’s powerful and faithful love towards the Israelites and us humans who disobey Him continuously, yet He keeps loving us. Go figure. Let’s dig in…

First, I want to share some thoughts about Psalms from Pastor Sandy Adams…

Life is a mix of pleasure and pain, beauty and boredom, joy and sorrow. The Psalms are about God’s people expressing their emotions to God. Rather than numb, the Psalms embrace both pain and pleasure. Lois Cheney has a poem that sums up how we deal with emotion…

“Feeling blue? Buy some clothes.
Feeling lonely? Turn on the radio.
Feeling despondent? Read a funny book.
Feeling bored? Watch TV.
Feeling empty? Eat a sundae.
Feeling worthless? Clean the house.
Feeling sad? Tell a joke.

Ain’t this modern age wonderful?
You don’t gotta feel nothing’, there’s a substitute for everything!… God have mercy on us.”

Even some Christians want to escape life’s unpleasant feelings, rather than let God use them to mold, shape, and deepen our lives. The Psalms teach us that both pleasure and pain are opportunities for God to speak into our lives. There are lessons learned only on the peaks of elation, and there are lessons learned only in the valley of despair.

The Book of Psalms will take you to both places.

Pastor Sandy Adams

Psalm 107

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.
² Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!
    Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.
³ For he has gathered the exiles from many lands,
    from east and west,
    from north and south.

⁴ Some wandered in the wilderness,
    lost and homeless.
⁵ Hungry and thirsty,
    they nearly died.
⁶ “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
    and he rescued them from their distress.
⁷ He led them straight to safety,
    to a city where they could live.
⁸ Let them praise the Lord for his great love
    and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
⁹ For he satisfies the thirsty
    and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom,
    imprisoned in iron chains of misery.
¹¹ They rebelled against the words of God,
    scorning the counsel of the Most High.
¹² That is why he broke them with hard labor;
    they fell, and no one was there to help them.
¹³ “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
¹⁴ He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom;
    he snapped their chains.
¹⁵ Let them praise the Lord for his great love
    and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
¹⁶ For he broke down their prison gates of bronze;
    he cut apart their bars of iron.

¹⁷ Some were fools; they rebelled
    and suffered for their sins.
¹⁸ They couldn’t stand the thought of food,
    and they were knocking on death’s door.
¹⁹ “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them,
    snatching them from the door of death.
²¹ Let them praise the Lord for his great love
    and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
²² Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
    and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.

²³ Some went off to sea in ships,
    plying the trade routes of the world.
²⁴ They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action,
    his impressive works on the deepest seas.
²⁵ He spoke, and the winds rose,
    stirring up the waves.
²⁶ Their ships were tossed to the heavens
    and plunged again to the depths;
    the sailors cringed in terror.
²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunkards
    and were at their wits’ end.
²⁸ “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
²⁹ He calmed the storm to a whisper
    and stilled the waves.
³⁰ What a blessing was that stillness
    as he brought them safely into harbor!
³¹ Let them praise the Lord for his great love
    and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
³² Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation
    and before the leaders of the nation.

³³ He changes rivers into deserts,
    and springs of water into dry, thirsty land.
³⁴ He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands,
    because of the wickedness of those who live there.
³⁵ But he also turns deserts into pools of water,
    the dry land into springs of water.
³⁶ He brings the hungry to settle there
    and to build their cities.
³⁷ They sow their fields, plant their vineyards,
    and harvest their bumper crops.
³⁸ How he blesses them!
    They raise large families there,
    and their herds of livestock increase.

³⁹ When they decrease in number and become impoverished
    through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
⁴⁰ the Lord pours contempt on their princes,
    causing them to wander in trackless wastelands.
⁴¹ But he rescues the poor from trouble
    and increases their families like flocks of sheep.
⁴² The godly will see these things and be glad,
    while the wicked are struck silent.
⁴³ Those who are wise will take all this to heart;
    they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.

Psalm 107 NLT

A Psalm of Exodus

This psalm was written before the Israelites were exiled to Babylon. Additionally, this Psalm is a bit prophetic. An exodus is an exit from somewhere. For Israel, there are 4 “exits”.

1. The Exodus from Egypt in 1445 BC was from the south. The top image shows the parting of the Red Sea and the Israelites crossing on dry land.
2. The second one was from Babylon in the north in 535 BC after they were in exile for 70 years.
3. Third, in the Last Days — in which we’re living now — the Jews will return from nations all over the world — from all directions. That, my friends, is happening as we speak. It’s called making Aliyah.
4. The final exodus is spiritual. It’s our exit from sin through the sacrifice and salvation of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Sandy Adams elaborates…

Over the centuries of the Diaspora, or Jewish dispersion, the Jews were scattered all over the globe. Today, Jews come in all stripes and types…

• Jews born in Israel are called “Sabras” – named after a prickly [pear] cactus indigenous to the Holy Land. The sabra has a tough exterior, but it yields sweet fruit. The Israelis see themselves with the same characteristics.
• Falasha Jews are black Jews from Ethiopia.
• Russian Jews are the most recent immigrants to Israel.
• Ashkenazi Jews are from Germanic and European descent.
• Sephardic Jews come from Spain and North Africa. (I, Giselle, have 1% Sephardic Jewish DNA!)
• Mizrahim Jews come from the Middle East and Central Asia (they include Yemeni, Pakistani, Persian, and Syrian Jews).
• There’s even a group of Chinese Jews known as the Kaifeng Jews who have existed for hundreds of years in the Henan province of China.

And here’s the point, in the last days Jews from all over the world – east and west, north and south – will return to Eretz Israel – the land of Israel.

Pastor Sandy Adams

Lately, with the growing antisemitism in Europe, many French Jews are making Aliyah. By the way, if you’ve ever had “Sabra” Hummus, it’s from Israel! So, if you want to support Israel, buy Sabra Hummus. It’s good!

There are 5 movements in this psalm: God because of His Faithful Love delivers His people…

1. From the heat of the wilderness where they wandered for 40 years during the first Exodus (vs 1-9). Jesus saves us from a spiritual desert and fills us with Living Water.
2. From prison in vs 10-16 — “the chains of misery”. God saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and Jesus breaks our chains of sin and religion when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior.
3. In verses 17-22, God delivers us fools from our stupid mistakes. We make these mistakes when we hear the Gospel — the Good News of Jesus’ salvation — and ignore it.
4. In verses 23-32, He delivers us from storms. God calms the storms of life. Jesus showed us this on the Sea of Galilee. Was this a prophetic foretelling of Jesus’ miracle of quieting the storm? Surely, His disciples thought of this psalm when they witnessed Jesus’ power.
5. Finally, in verses 33-42, God delivers the farmer from times of barrenness. God brings droughts and famines, but He also brings the rain and allows crops to grow. Are all droughts, famines, and pestilences judgments? Is He trying to get our attention? Is He trying to get us to turn to Him for help? Maybe. Besides that, it doesn’t hurt to thank God in all circumstances.

I love the last two verses! After all that God has done…

The godly will see these things and be glad,
    while the wicked are struck silent.
⁴³ Those who are wise will take all this to heart;
    they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.

Psalm 107:42-43 NLT

Question…

When you look back at your life, do you see the faithful love of the Lord?

I don’t believe in coincidences. I look at my life and I see how God saved me from myself — from the foolish mistakes I made in my younger years. He saved me from falling into many black holes like addiction to alcohol, gambling, and drugs; the occult; pregnancy outside of marriage; and the worst — drunk driving. I never had an accident driving while intoxicated. Praise God!

Which movement of this Psalm reminds you of you?

We should daily “offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.”

If you are struggling through a spiritual drought, a storm of life, or need to exit a sinful life, Jesus is the ONLY WAY!

Jesus said…

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6 NLT

Back to Life

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Chain Breaker

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Original top image by John Paul Stanley of Yo! Ministry, CC BY-NC-ND 4 from Free Bible Images

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Soli Deo Gloria — To God Alone Be The Glory!