Psalms 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.

Thanksgiving Day is over yet God is still delivering and the cry of what He has done still needs to go out. As we continue to look at the last two groups of people we again see that their difficulties were different but their deliverer was the same.

• The 3rd Group ‘Rebels’ (Need Doctor)

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.

Here is another self-made group, those who walk through life with a rebellious attitude. Because of their rebellious ways they suffer, they are sick and dying. Sin takes control of the rebel’s life like a disease takes over the body of a healthy person, eating them from the inside out. We rebel against the truth, feeling like we have it all handled because “we can do better and God isn’t doing it, so I will”. Even as we feel our life fading away we continue in our sin, pride, arrogance, and ignorance. Rebellion turns us completely away from our basic need to survive because He is all we need. We loathed all food and it’s not until we are at a point that nothing can satisfy and death is knocking on our door that we CRY out! 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.

God hears the rebels cry and personally speaks life into them, His word saves. The second part of the rebels cry is a cry of revival. 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.

The difference in this “give thanks” compared to the last two, is now there is agiving back. It’s not enough to just give praise with words; there is a greater praise, one through actions. Rebel, is it time to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving?

• The 4th Group ‘Workers’ (Need Rest)

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.

Those that went to sea did it for business not pleasure, and it was there that they experienced God’s power. We can also experience God’s power taking care of business as we work for his kingdom. Yet even here we can experience the testing storms that melt our courage and cause us to stagger around wanting to give up. In this life we will see both the wonderful deeds and the worrying storms. Are the ups and downs of life causing you to stagger and give up? Drunken people don’t see clearly because their eye sight is distorted, in the middle of the storm our perception can become distorted, we can lose sight of His wonderful deeds. Storms don’t necessarily mean we have done anything wrong, sometimes tests come. We strive to live a good life, to follow His words, and still we are faced with tragedy.

Charles Spurgeon writes:

The Lord sends some of his saints to the sea of soul trouble, and there they see, as others do not, the wonders of divine grace. Sailing over the deeps of inward depravity, the waste waters of poverty, the billows of persecution, and the rough waves of temptation, they need God above all others, and they find him.

As we come to the end of our power, at our very wits end we can cry out to be rescued and experience the beginning of His power. Do you hear the deep cry of a heart at its 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! The second part of the workers cry is a cry of rest, the waves are hushed, the storm is stilled, and He guides us into the harbor of peace.  Has God calmed the storms of your life, is He your refuge, will you give Him thanks? 31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. 32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.

Where are you at:

• If you are wandering through life aimless, tired, hungry for more but don’t know which way to go, Cry Out to Him the cry of homecoming.
• If you are in the prison of bondage, blinded by the dark circumstances that surround you and feeling alone and hopeless Cry Out to Him the cry of freedom.
• If in rebellion you have turned away from Him and you are dying on the inside Cry Out to Him the cry of revival.
• If you have lost your courage, and your hope is dwindling as the waves swamp your boat then Cry Out to Him the cry of rest.

As we Cry out to Him, admitting our utter dependence on Him, power is released, direction is given, eyes are open, chains are broken and storms are calmed. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out, is it time to stop right now and give thanks?

Psalms 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.

Psalm 107 starts with a call to give thanks to the Lord, it is a proclamation of His power, presence, and protection, it is the cry of thanksgiving. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! It is really about two cries, a cry for the Lord and about the Lord. Psalm 107 deals with God’s deliverance of 4 different groups of people, their difficulties were different but their deliverer was the same.

• The 1st group ‘The Wanderers’ (Need Direction)

“4 Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless.”

This is the group who has lost their way, they walk through life without true direction or a deep sense of belonging. Drifting from place to place, they are up and down, here today and gone tomorrow. Through hurts or a series of wrong choices they just go through life a little numb, wandering through life with little peace or rest, constantly searching, and never settling. The result: 5 They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. They long for something more but do not know where to turn. They have a desperate hunger and intense thirst but everything they have tried leaves them empty, so they are never content. Unsatisfied and with the attitude of, “this is all there is, this is all I deserve” they end up on the verge of exhaustion.

But…..Here’s the first Cry… 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.

He heard their Cry and answered them. At the last moment, as they are fading away, they cried out. Charles Spurgeon writes:

‘Some men will never pray till they are half starved, and for their best interests it is far better for them to be empty and faint than to be full and stouthearted. If hunger brings us to our knees it is more useful to us than feasting; if thirst drives us to the fountain it is better than the deepest draughts of worldly joys; and if fainting leads to crying it is better than the strength of the mighty.’

Deliverance comes on the heels of prayer and God didn’t just show them the way out, He delivered them and led them by a straight way, for there is only one way. Why do we always seem to take the long way home? Maybe because it takes a long time before we stop long enough to admit we are lost. Do you want God to lead you to a place where you can settle, where you can belong, lay down roots and live. Then cry out, you don’t have to go round and round you can experience direction and return. The second part of the wanderers cry is a cry of homecoming : 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.

Has God directed you out of the desert will you praise? He is the one who satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry who gives direction to the lost and a home to the wanderer.

• The 2nd Group ‘The Prisoners’ (Need Deliverance)

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.

The thought of sitting in darkness and the deepest gloom really speaks of isolation, it brings a sense of fear, abandonment despair and hopelessness. What lurks in the dark is every nightmare imaginable. The sad thing is that these prisoners put themselves in this situation, they turned away from God. They rebelled against the words of God and despised His counsel, they heard and chose to go in another direction. Look where it led them into bondage, they labor and work and stumble. There is no rest while in bondage, no pity or sympathy, because no one is around to help. So they become prisoners in the chains of their choices.

The second CRY….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.

He brought them out, again he did not show them the way out, “Uh the door is over there”, He brought them out personally as He broke away their chains. You don’t have to be a prisoner, you can be free, do you need to cry out and experience deliverance and be released.

The second part of the prisoners cry is the cry of freedom 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. God desires to deliverance us from our bondage, to break the chains and tear down the gates that bar our way to freedom.

Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out, stop right now and give thanks.