At the end of this Psalm the Psalmist states that "they will see in our history the faithful love of the LORD". For me, while I can appreciate how faithful God has been to His people throughout history, it's in my own life that I can see His faithfulness. There have been so many times that God really didn't need to rescue me. He could have let me perish at the hands of a fallen world. But He has, through His faithful love, rescued me, so that I might continue to serve Him here. I am ever so grateful to have a loving God at the helm of my ship!
Enjoy the anticipation of these last days of Advent.
Blessings,
Lili
Psalm 107
1Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.2Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies.3For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.4Some wandered in the desert, lost and homeless.5Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.6"LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.7He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.8Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them.9For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.10Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, miserable prisoners in chains.11They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High.12That is why he broke them with hard labor; they fell, and no one helped them rise again.13"LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.14He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains.15Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them.16For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron.17Some were fools in their rebellion; they suffered for their sins.18Their appetites were gone, and death was near.19"LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.20He spoke, and they were healed -- snatched from the door of death.21Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them.22Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.23Some went off in ships, plying the trade routes of the world.24They, too, observed the LORD's power in action, his impressive works on the deepest seas.25He spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up the waves.26Their ships were tossed to the heavens and sank again to the depths; the sailors cringed in terror.27They 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.29He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.30What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!31Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them.32Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.33He changes rivers into deserts, and springs of water into dry land.34He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands, because of the wickedness of those who live there.35But he also turns deserts into pools of water, the dry land into flowing springs.36He brings the hungry to settle there and build their cities.37They sow their fields, plant their vineyards, and harvest their bumper crops.38How he blesses them! They raise large families there, and their herds of cattle increase.39When they decrease in number and become impoverished through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,40the LORD pours contempt on their princes, causing them to wander in trackless wastelands.41But he rescues the poor from their distress and increases their families like vast flocks of sheep.42The godly will see these things and be glad, while the wicked are stricken silent.43Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the LORD.
(the following is from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary -- www.christnotes.org)
"Chapter Contents
God's providential care of the children of men in distresses, in banishment, and dispersion. (1-9) In captivity. (10-16) In sickness. (17-22) Danger at sea.(23-32) God's hand is to be seen by his own people. (33-43)
Commentary on Psalm 107:1-9
In these verses there is reference to the deliverance from Egypt, and perhaps that from Babylon: but the circumstances of travellers in those countries are also noted. It is scarcely possible to conceive the horrors suffered by the hapless traveller, when crossing the trackless sands, exposed to the burning rays of the sum. The words describe their case whom the Lord has redeemed from the bondage of Satan; who pass through the world as a dangerous and dreary wilderness, often ready to faint through troubles, fears, and temptations. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, after God, and communion with him, shall be filled with the goodness of his house, both in grace and glory.
Commentary on Psalm 107:10-16
This description of prisoners and captives intimates that they are desolate and sorrowful. In the eastern prisons the captives were and are treated with much severity. Afflicting providences must be improved as humbling providences; and we lose the benefit, if our hearts are unhumbled and unbroken under them. This is a shadow of the sinner's deliverance from a far worse confinement. The awakened sinner discovers his guilt and misery. Having struggled in vain for deliverance, he finds there is no help for him but in the mercy and grace of God. His sin is forgiven by a merciful God, and his pardon is accompanied by deliverance from the power of sin and Satan, and by the sanctifying and comforting influences of God the Holy Spirit.
Commentary on Psalm 107:17-22
If we knew no sin, we should know no sickness. Sinners are fools. They hurt their bodily health by intemperance, and endanger their lives by indulging their appetites. This their way is their folly. The weakness of the body is the effect of sickness. It is by the power and mercy of God that we are recovered from sickness, and it is our duty to be thankful. All Christ's miraculous cures were emblems of his healing diseases of the soul. It is also to be applied to the spiritual cures which the Spirit of grace works. He sends his word, and heals souls; convinces, converts them, makes them holy, and all by the word. Even in common cases of recovery from sickness, God in his providence speaks, and it is done; by his word and Spirit the soul is restored to health and holiness.
Commentary on Psalm 107:23-32
Let those who go to sea, consider and adore the Lord. Mariners have their business upon the tempestuous ocean, and there witness deliverances of which others cannot form an idea. How seasonable it is at such a time to pray! This may remind us of the terrors and distress of conscience many experience, and of those deep scenes of trouble which many pass through, in their Christian course. Yet, in answer to their cries, the Lord turns their storm into a calm, and causes their trials to end in gladness.
Commentary on Psalm 107:33-43
What surprising changes are often made in the affairs of men! Let the present desolate state of Judea, and of other countries, explain this. If we look abroad in the world, we see many greatly increase, whose beginning was small. We see many who have thus suddenly risen, as suddenly brought to nothing. Worldly wealth is uncertain; often those who are filled with it, ere they are aware, lose it again. God has many ways of making men poor. The righteous shall rejoice. It shall fully convince all those who deny the Divine Providence. When sinners see how justly God takes away the gifts they have abused, they will not have a word to say. It is of great use to us to be fully assured of God's goodness, and duly affected with it. It is our wisdom to mind our duty, and to refer our comfort to him. A truly wise person will treasure in his heart this delightful psalm. From it, he will fully understand the weakness and wretchedness of man, and the power and loving-kindness of God, not for our merit, but for his mercy's sake."
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