A Reminder To The Redeemed
Psalms 107
May 30, 2021
Last week we read Psalms 106
And saw a tremendous testimony to God’s AMAZING GRACE.
• We saw people who had literally infuriated God.
• The Psalmist said that God “abhorred” them.
• And yet, He saved them.
It is a tremendous testimony that our God saves His enemies.
Certainly we marvel at such grace.
Psalms 107 seems to take the next logical step.
• While Psalms 106 focused on the degree of the rebellion which God forgave.
• Ps. 107 focuses on the magnificence of the redemption which God performed.
• Psalms 106 pushed us down into despair at the depth of our wickedness.
• Psalms 107 lifts our hands in praise at the magnitude of God’s deliverance.
We could easily title this Psalm “Amazing Loyalty”
6 times in the Psalms we come across that wonderful Hebrew word CHECED
Which speaks of “God’s loyal covenantal love”.
It is a Psalm that highlights for us
Just how good God has been to helpless humanity.
But it is also a Psalm that highlights God’s loyalty for a purpose.
And it drives home for us two main points.
1. The obligation of those who have been delivered.
2. The necessity of contemplating who God delivers
You actually read it in the last verse.
(43) “Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, And consider the lovingkindnesses of the LORD.”
There is a call there
To understand God’s loyalty and who He shows it to.
This would call us then to BE THE TYPE OF PERSON
Who enters that type of a relationship with God.
This Psalm in its entirety
Is asking you to pay attention to the recipients of God’s redemption
So that you might be one who experiences it.
But first the Psalm opens with the obligation of those who have been redeemed and that is where we start as well.
#1 THE OBLIGATION OF REDEMPTION
Psalms 107:1-3
This is a great opening paragraph to the Psalm
And there is so much that is important here to grasp.
Let’s sort of take the truths revealed here in kind of a chronological order, rather than a verse by verse order.
1) THE ADVERSARY
(2) “Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary”
• We speak here of a people in bondage, and they are in bondage to a master.
• They are in bondage to an adversary.
• We know who this is, it is Satan.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
• Paul speaks there of those who are lost and even quarrelsome as those who are “held captive” by the devil.
• When John the Baptist spoke to the Pharisees at the Jordan river he called them “brook of vipers” (literally sons of snakes)
When Jesus addressed the Jews in John 8, He said:
John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
In the garden the adversary showed up and deceived the woman
And the entire human race fell into sin and into slavery to the evil one.
Men were held captive.
Some experience severe and terrible cruelties as a result of this captivity.
For example:
• In Luke 13 we meet a woman who had been bent over for 18 years due to a sickness caused by a spirit. Jesus healed her on the Sabbath.
Luke 13:16 “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
Jesus said that Satan had bound her.
Certainly we read of the demon possessed who were terribly and physically afflicted.
But not everyone who is bound by Satan is physically afflicted.
• Some are actually quite healthy and even appear prosperous in life.
• Their captivity is found in their bondage to sin.
Those who are lost are in bondage and often don’t even know it.
The reason is because their fallen will aligns with their captivity.
They are in slavery to the sin which they love
So it often doesn’t feel like slavery.
But if they ever reach a point where they wish they could stop sinning, usually due to outward consequences; then the slavery reveals itself.
• That is when they learn that they can’t stop…
• That is when they learn that they are actually slaves.
This is the adversary,
And all men begin there by reason of Adam and their own sin.
But into this horrible scene we are introduced to:
THE REDEEMER
He is “the LORD”
• Redemption means “to buy back”
• It is to pay off the debt of the person in bondage.
One of the most beautiful pictures of this comes in the book of Hosea
• Where Gomer has been an unfaithful wife.
• Because of her unfaithfulness she is sent away.
• She falls into the arms of cruel captors.
• She incurs a debt of slavery.
• And then Hosea determines to take her back, but she comes with an enormous cost.
Hosea 3:1-2 “Then the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley.”
It’s really a remarkable story.
(I always imagine Hosea telling his friends all about his intentions)
God is such a redeemer.
He redeems the unfaithful and pays off the debts they have amassed
So that He might take them back again.
And that lets us talk then about
THE REDEMPTION
(1) “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
WHAT A GREAT REALITY!
God’s CHECED is “everlasting”
• That is why He redeems.
• That is why Hosea took Gomer back.
• God’s loyalty is “everlasting”
And because of that loyalty
God “has redeemed them from the hand of the adversary.”
That’s what His redemption is.
• Fueled by His great loyalty
• God pays off the debt of those
• Who are held captive by their enemy.
And so we would also then talk about:
THE REDEEMED
(2) “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so”
This is where the obligation come sin.
“Oh give thanks to the LORD”
• There is a required gratitude.
• There is a required testimony.
• Where you enslaved in sin?
• Did you have a debt you could not pay?
• Was there a cruel enemy who sat as your master?
• Did God come in and pay off your debt?
• Did God deliver you from his grasp?
THEN LET’S HEAR ABOUT IT!
Give thanks and talk about it.
It’s the beauty of the testimony.
I loved that the W.O.M. ladies spent this last year sharing their testimonies.
• For one it is great for unity and fellowship.
• But more importantly it is glorifying to God.
God has stepped in and redeemed us from our mistakes
And delivered us from our captor,
We should tell people about this.
It is the obligation of redemption.
Sharing your testimony is not optional, you are obliged to do this.
Well, that’s how the Psalm opens.
But then we get 4 pictures of what redemption looks like.
#2 THE DESCRIPTION OF REDEMPTION
Psalms 106:4-32
Obviously these break down into 4 stories of redemption.
What you must notice as you look at these 4 stories is
• What did they all have in common that caused God to redeem?
• And, what was their expected response to that redemption?
That is what the Psalmist is wanting you to grasp.
As I said, there are 4 stories here
1) GOD SATISFIES THE HUNGRY (4-9)
Here we find a story of a lost wanderer.
• They are in “a desert region”
• “They did not find a way”
• “They were hungry and thirsty”
• “Their soul fainted”
Certainly you understand a parable when you read it.
This could be a person literally lost in a desert without food or water,
But is a picture of one who has found no satisfaction in life.
This person is Ecclesiastes personified.
They have tried and searched for everything that could satisfy
And they have come up empty.
And I would also point out that this is their fault.
The preacher in Ecclesiastes made this very clear to us this morning.
Ecclesiastes 2:25 “For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?”
God has so ordained it that
There is no satisfaction if you are seeking it apart from Him.
And yet people do seek satisfaction apart from God.
Jeremiah even rebuked the children of Israel for this.
Jeremiah 2:13 “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.”
These are people who made the mistake
Of seeking satisfaction in the world
And they came up way empty.
(6-7) “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He delivered them from their distresses. He led them also by a straight way, to go to an inhabited city.”
They called upon the name of the LORD
And He immediately straightened their path.
He took them RIGHT TO THE SATISFACTION that had alluded them their entire life.
Psalms 23:1-2 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.”
That is what He did here.
• He satisfied the hungry
• He satisfied the thirsty soul
And what then is their obligation?
(8-9) “Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.”
“give thanks”
Has God satisfied you?
Then tell Him thank you.
God, in His great loyalty satisfies the hungry soul.
And those who have been satisfied should be grateful.
2) GOD RESCUES PRISONERS (10-16)
Analogy number 2 comes to us as prisoners in a dungeon.
(10) “There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners in misery and chains.”
These were locked away in a cold dark dungeon.
But let’s make sure and also recognize that
They were there because THEY DESERVED TO BE THERE.
(11-12) “Because they had rebelled against the words of God And spurned the counsel of the Most High. Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was none to help.”
They didn’t listen.
• God told them not to go and they went.
• God told them not to do and they did.
• God told them not to touch that tree or eat from it and they did.
And in their rebellion they received far more than they bargained for.
They became slaves.
They were arrested, they were tried, they were convicted,
They were sentenced, and they were incarcerated.
And now they live as prisoners of their cruel master.
And of course we are NOT just talking about actual prisoners here.
We know of addiction and the horrors it can bring.
Alcohol, drugs, pornography, sex, gambling
But also every other sin which will enslave
Gossip, greed, ambition, anger, etc.
People who are ensnared by sin and can’t escape.
And they just rack up more and more debt they can never repay.
It is people who willfully did what God told them not to do
And it landed them in the pit of their consequences.
(13-14) “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death And broke their bands apart.”
They called on the LORD and “He saved them”
• He tore apart their chains
• He ripped away their cell door
• He set them free
No longer did they have to commit the sin they once were enslaved to.
They were now a new creation.
And what is their obligation for such a great deliverance?
(15-16) “Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! For He has shattered gates of bronze And cut bars of iron asunder.”
They also must “give thanks”
Has God delivered you?
Has God set you free from your sin?
THEN TELL HIM THANK YOU.
God in His loyalty rescues prisoners.
And those who have been delivered should be grateful.
3) GOD SAVES FOOLS (17-22)
Here we come across “fools”
People who just do stupid things and foolish things.
WHY?
(17-18) “Fools, because of their rebellious way, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all kinds of food, And they drew near to the gates of death.”
They were again people who rebelled against God
And did dumb things that nearly got them killed.
Teenagers seem to particularly identify here.
• We think of all the dumb stuff we did when we were younger that could have gotten us seriously hurt.
But even more than just innocent foolishness,
Here it is rebellious foolishness.
When we actually defied the commands of God
To do what was dangerous because we thought it would be fun.
And in our rebellion we “were afflicted”
We brought horrific consequences on ourselves.
• Not the least of which was the displeasure of God and the promise of hell and judgment.
These people were fools.
(19-20) “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.”
But in the middle of their stupidity
They called on the LORD and “He saved them”
“He sent His word and healed them”
• Indicating that He gave them instruction on how to escape their perilous
situation.
• When they listened and obeyed, they found themselves delivered.
They had been redeemed from their foolishness.
How should they respond?
(21-22) “Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, And tell of His works with joyful singing.”
Here we see gratitude again.
And we see an “also” thrown in.
“and tell of His works with joyful singing”
They should declare it at the top of their lungs
With magnificent songs of praise to God!
God in His loyalty saves fools.
And the fools He saves should respond with gratitude and praise.
4) GOD DELIVERS THE HOPELESS (23-32)
These were people who weren’t necessarily
Doing something foolish or even rebellious,
But they were caught simply in the realities of the curse.
This life is hard and this world is dangerous and they were caught in it.
And it didn’t matter how hard they worked they couldn’t get out.
(23-27) “Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters; They have seen the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep. For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, Which lifted up the waves of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, And were at their wits’ end.”
It doesn’t mention rebellion.
• I suppose you could sort of read between the lines and accuse them of greed since they were doing business, but that is hardly a sin.
In reality it was just people caught in the storms of life.
Sometimes that happens even without adamant rebellion or foolishness.
The problem is that even though they didn’t necessarily cause it,
They still had no answers for it.
They “were at their wits’ end.”
• There was no hope.
• The situation had defeated them.
(28-30) “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven.”
In their trouble they called on the LORD and “He brought them out”.
And “He guided them to their desired haven.”
HE DELIVERED THEM IN HIS LOYALTY.
How should they respond?
(31-32) “Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people, And praise Him at the seat of the elders.”
You see it again.
• “give thanks”
• “Let them extol Him also in the congregation”
• “and praise Him at the seat of the elders”
Give God gratitude and glory!
God in His loyalty delivers the hopeless.
And those He delivers should thank and praise Him.
Now those are the descriptions of God’s redemption for humanity.
And certainly as we read
You saw the fingerprints of Jesus all over this Psalm.
JESUS SATISFIES THE HUNGRY.
• We could easily read about Him feeding the 5,000
• We could easily read about the woman at the well and Him offering her living water.
John 6:32-35 “Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
Jesus alone is satisfaction.
Jesus alone gives life and life abundant.
Certainly that story is about Him.
JESUS RESCUES PRISONERS
He said it Himself:
Luke 4:17-21 “And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
• We think about that man born blind who was consigned to darkness.
• We think about that cripple at the Bethesda pool whom Jesus healed and told him to sin no more.
• We think about that paralytic lowered through the roof and the first thing Jesus did was forgive His sin, and then healed him.
Matthew certainly understood that
Those “who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death” needed Jesus.
He saw Jesus and wrote:
Matthew 4:12-16 “Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES — “THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.”
And Jesus said of Himself to those in darkness.
John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
Those who fell into sin and addiction and slavery to sin,
Jesus alone has the ability to give them back their life.
He alone can pay off their debts and release the prisoners.
Certainly that story is about Him.
JESUS SAVES FOOLS
Matthew 17:14-18 “When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. “I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.”
• Jesus is there seen saving that lunatic.
• Or go to the Gadarene demoniac who is living among the tombs and see Jesus deliver him from a legion of demons.
Jesus saves fools who do stupid things.
Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Certainly that story is about Jesus.
JESUS DELIVERS THE HOPELESS
That story is almost verbatim to the story in the New Testament
When Jesus calms the sea.
• Men in danger of the sea and Jesus rebukes the waves and the sea becomes calm.
• It was a picture of how Jesus can deliver us from what we have no power to deliver ourselves from.
• Many of those disciples were fishermen and they knew a thing or two about a storm, but on that night their strength was not enough.
We find that in life.
And to those people Jesus says:
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Those who have no hope of saving themselves.
He delivers them.
We read how “He guided them to their desired haven.”
• I can’t help but think about God brought to Carrie and I the great deliverance
from her depression when we had all but given up.
• We have often called it our “Island of Malta” because God delivered us from
that storm to an island we didn’t even know existed.
He does those things in His loyalty.
Have you experienced any or all of them?
• Have you ever been empty?
• Have you ever been enslaved?
• Have you ever been foolish?
• Have you ever been hopeless?
Did Jesus redeem you?
Then “give thanks”
“Let the redeemed of the LORD say so!”
Well, there is one more point tonight.
#3 THE LESSON OF REDEMPTION
Psalms 107:33-43
When you read verses 33-38
What you see is the sovereign prerogative of God.
You notice that God has the ability to make life hard any time He wants.
• He can send a drought
• He can make life hard
And you notice that He can make life easy.
• He can send rain and grow crops and do all sorts of things like that.
By His sovereign prerogative
He has the ability to do whatever He desires with life.
But when you get to verse 39
You begin to see that BOTH OF THOSE HE DOES FOR A PURPOSE.
• If He makes life hard and squeezes a person it is for a reason.
• And if He makes life easy and blesses a person it is for a reason.
And that reason is what you SHOULD HAVE NOTICED
During the first 32 verses of the Psalm.
God brings calamity so that men might do what?
• What is it that all 4 of those stories had in common?
(6,13,19,28) “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble”
God wants faith and submission and for you to call on His name.
That is the Psalmist explanation for your affliction.
And then when God delivers and redeems and turns struggle into blessing, why is it that God does that?
(8,15,21,31) “Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness”
So God places men in difficulty.
• (12) “He humbled their heart with labor”
• (25) “He spoke and raised up a stormy wind”
So that they will call on Him.
And then credit Him for their redemption and praise Him for it.
WHAT DO YOU LEARN FROM THAT?
Bound up all throughout this Psalm is the one foundational truth
That everyone should know now by heart.
James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
(39-43) “When they are diminished and bowed down Through oppression, misery and sorrow, He pours contempt upon princes And makes them wander in a pathless waste. But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction, And makes his families like a flock. The upright see it and are glad; But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth. Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, And consider the lovingkindnesses of the LORD.”
God can squeeze anyone He wants to squeeze
And God can exalt anyone He desires to exalt.
And it is always the same criteria.
That man will humble themselves and call on His name.
• If idolatry landed them in their distress then certainly they must confess that idolatry when they call.
• If rebellion landed them in their distress then certainly they must confess that rebellion when they call.
• If foolishness landed them in their distress then certainly they must confess that foolishness when they call.
• If weakness landed them in their distress then certainly they must acknowledge that weakness when they call.
But when they humbled themselves and call on His name,
He redeems!
That is the point!
And when they are redeemed they are obliged to give thanks and say so!
“Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, And consider the lovingkindnesses of the LORD.”
We could easily go on for many hours tonight on this topic,
But the point I hope is clear.
This week,
• If you are in peril humble yourself and call on the LORD.
• If you have been redeemed then give thanks and tell someone about it.
