Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 107

Psalm 107 begins as everything should in the life of a Christian, with praise and thanksgiving.

Psalm 107:1
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

As usual, this psalm is historically about the nation Israel, yet clearly has a direct spiritual tie to us today. We are the redeemed who are those who live by faith in Christ for our salvation. The Gospel is available to every tongue, nation, and tribe; to everyone across the face of the earth.

Psalm 107:2-3
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

Spiritually, people are in the same dire straits that the psalmist describes here in this psalm.

Psalm 107:4-5
Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.

People are lost. They wander from place to place. They go from one relationship to the next looking for something to fill their hunger and to quench their thirst.

Psalm 107:10-11
Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

Sin imprisons. If you have ever dealt with an addiction, then you know the affliction this speaks of. You want to quit. But you cannot escape the call back to the very thing that keeps you in the darkness and under the shadow of death. All sin is rebellion against God and it leads to death. 

Psalm 107:17-18
Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.

Some of us are just plain and simple, our own worst enemies. As verse 11 states, we spurn the counsel of God. We ignore the commands of the Bible and we suffer because of it. Not all sickness is a direct result of our personal sin, but some is. We must wake up to that fact.

Psalm 107:23-27
Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep.  For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.  They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.

But the struggles of this life aren’t always a result of our complete rebellion against God. Everyday life is hard. Storms will come upon us and it will seem as if life itself is about to simply drown us.

This sounds hopeless and life can feel that way. But Psalm 107 has the answer. Listen to what each scenario described speaks of.

Psalm 107:6-7
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.

Psalm 107:13-14
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.

Psalm 107:19-20
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.

Psalm 107:28-30
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.  Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.

I have heard it said many times that when God repeats something three times in scripture, then it is an extremely important point. This psalm tells us four times what to do in our distress. Cry to the Lord in your trouble. Every time the people in this psalm did that, God delivered them from their distress. He will do the same for you. And then they turned their pain back to praise and thanksgiving.

Psalm 107:31-32
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!  Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

The psalm closes with a great description of what God does for those who cry out to Him in their need.

Psalm 107:33-42
He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.  He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.  And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in; they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.  By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.  When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow, he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.  The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

Wherever you are today, Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Today is the day of salvation. He is waiting. Cry to Jesus in your distress. His love is steadfast.

Psalm 107:43
Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

Amen