1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary
3 And gathered from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south. (Psalm 107:1–3)
We have only one real adversary in our lives, and that is our natural sinful state. Failure to be redeemed out of it as we draw our final breath condemns us to an eternity without God, which will result in abject misery and excruciating pain for all time, as described by the “rich man” in Luke 16:23-24.
23 “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 “And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’”
Yet God is up to the task, and we can relax in knowing that he will gather all of us up, those of us who trust in him, “from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.” But the warning to the great unwashed stands and must be heeded before time runs out.
But what about our daily trials and tribulations? Logically, if God has saved us from eternal condemnation and wrath, is it not probable that he can solve and resolve our “momentary light affliction” while we tread this earth?
16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. (2 Corinthians 4:16–17)
For starters, our “good” God has extended to us his “lovingkindness.” This everlasting benefit is not reserved in heaven but deposited in an account from which we can draw upon in the here and now.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region;
They did not find a way to an inhabited city.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
Their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He delivered them out of their distresses.
7 He led them also by a straight way,
To go to an inhabited city.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
9 For He has satisfied the thirsty soul,
And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good. (Psalm 107:4–9)
Without Jesus directing our paths, even as beneficiaries of everlasting life, we are prone to wander, inevitably into uninhabited wastelands in which we faint from the lack of food and water as we stagger in the blistering sun. We all go through “desert” experiences. The key is to get to the other side, not to meander. We must cry out to God for help in these situations, begging for deliverance. He will right our course. He will lead us “by a straight way,” which may still be through the desert, but it will be His way! If you read the accounts in Ezra and Nehemiah, you’ll be able to correlate this psalm with the songs sung in praise to the Lord for returning his people to their land, restoring the wall around Jerusalem, and reestablishing worship in the temple.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5–6)
God is to us a God of deliverances; and to God the Lord belong escapes from death. (Psalm 68:20)
He will get us to civilization yet again. He will sustain us. His wonders never cease. (v. 8) In everything give thanks! Note the repetition in this Psalm so that we might get the point:
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He delivered them out of their distresses. (Psalm 107:6, 13, 19, 28)
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men! (Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31)
If you live long enough you’ll be able to recall these distresses and deliverances and trust not only in the words of this psalm, but in your recollection of his past help in your life and how he did it. As frequently as the Psalmist repeats these refrains, so should we!
35 He changes a wilderness into a pool of water and a dry land into springs of water; 36 And there He makes the hungry to dwell, So that they may establish an inhabited city, 37 And sow fields and plant vineyards, And gather a fruitful harvest. 38 Also He blesses them and they multiply greatly, And He does not let their cattle decrease. (Psalm 107:35–38)
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