Consider the Steadfast Love of the Lord

Christopher Lindsey

Psalms • Sermon • Submitted 10 months ago • Presented 10 months ago

Psalm 107

Steadfast Love

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Consider the steadfast love of the Lord and give thanks to him.

Notes

Transcript

Introduction

Often I find myself coming to the psalms for comfort. I will read through them one by one until one catches my eye and then I will sit in it for a time, trying to pull all that I can out of it. God’s word however, is a well that will never run out. The more you draw with thirsty fervor the more cold and calming water flows. What caused me to stop on this psalm and spend three weeks in it, was first my reflection to on the stead fast love of the Lord and second the way that God redeems his people through four scenarios. While I have been spending time reflecting in this psalm, and seeing the melody producing from this psalm. It is almost set up how our modern worship music is set up. There is a chorus, verses 1-3. The main verses are seen in 4-9, 10-16, 17-22 and 23-32. The bridge is found in 33-34 and 39-42 and the closing chorus is in verse 43. Going past the structure of a modern song, is the message that this psalm gives us.

When we are dealing with any book of the bible there is a context in which each book is written in. The book of the Psalms is the exact same. They are not just a collection of poems or song, but rather a whole book telling a story of God’s redeeming nature and love. Psalm 107 is in the fifth and final book of the Psalter. It follows Psalm 105 and 106 both begining with a call to Give thanks to the Lord. Contextually, Psalm 105 is written as a reflection of all the Lord had done in the Exodus, where God used moses to bring the people out of slavery to the Egyptians and place them in the promised land. Psalm 106 is a prayer for deliverance out of Exile. God’s people because of their disobedience have been exiled out of the promised land and have been taken into captivity by the Babylonians and Assyrians. 106 details a list of wrongdoings by the Israelites.

Psalm 107 is set after the God’s people have been redeemed out of Exile and they have been brought back to the promised land. This psalm calls for the singer and the listener to consider the steadfast love of the Lord and give thanks to him. That is what I want us to do on this Lord’s day. I want us to lay aside every weight and thought that causes us to lose focus off our God and spend some time worshiping, reflecting and giving thanks to the Lord.

1. The Redeemed of the Lord (1-3)

Psalm 107:1-3 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! 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.”

The Psalmist calls for the redeemed of the Lord to give thanks to the Lord and praise him. Why? because God’s steadfast love endures for ever. God’s goodness is reflected in his steadfast love. His love for his people was shown through his provision to bring the Israelites out of exile and returned to the promised land. They were redeemed from the transgressions and brought back into relationship with their God. Their trouble that they had experienced did not separate them from the power of God and the working that he did for them. He gathered his people to himself from all the different places of the world to now be in restored relationship with him. The temple was going to be rebuilt and the wall surrounding Jerusalem was re esatblished. as we can see in Ezra and Nehemiah in the bible.

The Psalmist of 106 addresses this in verses 40-46

Psalm 106:40-46 “Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage; he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power. Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity. Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love. He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive.”

For a sinful and rebellious people, it was not their love for the Lord that caused them to be redeemed but it was the Lord’s steadfast love that redeemed his people. This hesed love. a goodness, kindness, enduring, loyal love. Remember in Exodus 34:5-6 “The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,” This is the same love that is found in these verses. God’s hesed love was for his people. His love is not contingent upon the love that he receives from others but There is an abundance of this love in our God for his people. Notice how this love endures and is a forever love. The Love of God endures not because the more love or worship that he is given, but it endures out of response to who God himself is. He is loving and everything that he does comes out of that Love.

Ultimately for us today, we see this love fulfilled in God sending his son to die in our place for our sins. The fullness of God’s love was manifest in the death of his son to redeem his people from their sin.

1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us.”

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Do you know this love? If you do, the call of this Psalm is to give thanks to the Lord, to praise him with thanksgiving.

Maybe for you today you feel separated by God through the trials that you are currently going through. Maybe you look around and say Where is this Love that I am supposed to feel, I do not feel like i am redeemed or loved. I think that the psalmist expected this question. He gives us four types of people and shows how the Lord’s steadfast love then works in and for their redemption.

2. The Redemption of the Lord (4-32)

The psalmist gives us four verses or scenarios, to help us see the steadfast love of the Lord. While it would be nice to spend a couple hours or weeks working through these all, i want to focus on the clear themes of each one. In each scenario there is some disaster, then a cry for help, followed by redemption from the Lord, and then a thanksgiving for the work that God has done.

A. The Hungry and Lost (4-9)

First the distress: There were those wandering looking for a place to go, they were homeless, hungry and thirsty. Both their physical needs and their spiritual needs were unmet. (4-5) The cry for help: When they realized their inability to remedy their own situation, they did the only thing that was left to do and that was cry out to the Lord. (verse 6) The redemption of the Lord: The Lord heard and delivered them. He provided a straight way for the wanderer, He gave the homeless a city to dwell. (7) The Psalmist then calls the people to thank the Lord for his steadfast love for his wondrous works to the children of man, because the Lord is the one that satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul.

B. The Prisoner and Rebellious (10-16)

The distress that is seen here is there are those who are in darkness and near death, they are prisoners because of their rebellion. The people had sinned against God and rebelled against his word. So he humbled them in verse 12, he bowed their hearts down with hard labor. He gave them a burden that caused them to realize the distress that they are in because of their rebellion. The people wanted darkness rather than the light, death rather than hope and affliction and chains rather than freedom. No one could help them, so they cried to the one that could, The Lord. The Lord heard their cry and delivered them. He brought them out of the darkness to the light, he gave them hope instead of death and freedom instead of prison. Therefore they should give thanks to the Lord. for he has the power to liberate the captive.

C. The Sinful and Distressed (17-22)

The sinful were fools because of their own desire to follow their sin rather than the Lord, instead of the desired outcome they received afflictions. Their sins caused them to desire other things than the word of God and the food produced from it, then they became aquantinces with death. Having no ability to rid themselves of their sin and distress they called to the Lord and he delivered them. He delivered them by his word that healed them and brought them from destruction to safety. Just like the prisoner and the wanderer they are called to give thanks to the Lord.

D. The Storm Tossed (23-32)

With the prisoner and the sinful, their sin caused them to experience distress this distress of the stormy sea comes from the Lord commanding and raising up the storm. God caused a storm to come upon the sailors by his word. The salors with no other means to help called out to the Lord and the Lord through his power made the storm be still. There the people were to call out to the Lord because of his steadfast love. in saving him from the storm.

While there is much that we can glean from these scenarios, what do each of these show concerning the steadfast love of he Lord and the way the Lord redeems his people?

First, the situations that the people place themselves in wandering looking for a place to dwell, being a prisioner to the darkness and sin, placing themselves on a ship in stormy weather. All of these are done out of rebellion to God. God call his people to find refuge in him, however, we rather go into the world. We think that we can fix our own sin, but the burden that we place upon ourselves trying to remove our own iniquity bears us down to the ground bound in chains and enslaved to the sin that we are holding dear. We follow our own desires, not wanting to part with them because we think that they in themselves can make us happy. Notice what each of these represent. Separation from God. God is no where to be found in the midst of sin. Sin is rebellion against him, It is a means in which we do not follow his good and perfect word, where we deny the good will that he has for us. God’s justice is seen because we deserve death, we deserve to wander because we have walked off the way, we deserve to be bound in our sin, we deserve to be driven by the storm. We have placed ourselves in these situations. Our separation from God is because of our sin.

Second, The lord hears the call of his people. All those who wandered, who are prisioner, who were fools in their sin, who were being beat down by the storms, cried out to the Lord. God, being rich in mercy, because of the love in which he loved us, sent his son to die and take the full wrath that we deserve. Our sin was placed upon Jesus and he died the death that we deserve, he went to the cross and was crucified, he was dead and buried and then three days later he rose again from the dead. Jesus calls to the wanderer and those with heavy burdens because of their sins, “to come to me all of you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus breaks the prison of sin, John 8:34-36 “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

If you are thinking through what it means to be a Christian, notice the destrustion that comes from trusting in self, you wander around looking for things to fill your longing soul, you look for peace in the midst of the darkness that sourounds your life, maybe for you, you are trying to be religious and atone for past sins in your life and the burden continues to grown and become heavier. I hope this psalm gives you comfort. That if you call out to the Lord, confess your sin, repent and trust in Jesus death in year place and you will be saved.

Christian, There is something here for us as well, We have seen how the Lord has heard our cries and redeemed us from sin. This should help us remember that he hears us. I know however, the pain of suffering that blinds us from recalling what the Lord has done for us. I think the last senario should speak to us deeper than the other three. Notice that the sailors were doing business on the great waters, they saw the deeds of the Lords and the works that he was doing. They knew of what he was doing. God caused the storm to come upon them. For what purpose? why would he do this? So that they may cry out to the Lord. They may find themself realizing I cant do anything about what is happening to me in this moment, Lord help me.

There may be a reason in the Storm that you are going through. Maybe it is a call for you to once again realize your inability and trust in the Lord. Remember in Jesus’s ministry there was another storm? Mark 4:35-41 “On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?””

Our savior controls all things that we go through, he is in control of every situation that we are in. He is the sovereign one who even the winds and the sea obey. Cry to him in your need and trust him. Praise him even in the midst of the storm and tribulation. You may be going through it to deepen your faith and commitment to your Lord. Look to your loving savior and give thanks.

While we have seen the redeeming nature of the Lord, the psalmist now give a picture of the reversal of the Lord.

3. The Reversal of the Lord (33-42)

God is the one that brings about judgement on those who do not follow his will. He takes fruitful land and rivers and turns them into deserts without life. He diminish those who oppress others and do things out of evil desires. Rulers that rule ruthlessly without care for others. God often takes bad and brings good from it, sinful works ment for harm and pain produces righteousness and blessing. These lands that have no life he causes to become fruitful, he produces pools out of the dry land, gives people a city to leave in to work and produce a fruitful yield. He multiplies the people that are there in the land of promise. He watches after them, when oppression happens he pours out his judgement on the oppressor. God cares for his people. He reverses the effects of sin upon the people and the world. For those coming out of the exile they will experience blessing of the land and fruitful yield. God holds true to his promises.

For the Christian God also has reversed the reality in which we have seen. Ephesians 2:1-7 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

We were dead, now we have life. We had the wrath of God being poured out upon us, now we have savation and grace. We were walking in the world, now we are seated. We were children of wrath, now we are children of God. God’s love has revered every part of our position that defined us before. Now we have been raised out of afflictions and see the steadfast love of the Lord in our lives.

For the unbeliver today, see this room filled with the reversing nature of the Lord, he has taken dead people and made them alive in his Son. There is no no condemnation upon them, wickeness has shut its mouth in the presence of those who are saved by Jesus. This could be you. Repent and believe in jesus, see his steadfast love and call out to him.

4. The Response to the Lord (43)

So what is this response to seeing the steadfast Love of the Lord. Well, in seeing the steadfast love of the lord, it bring wisdom. true wisdom for those who are searching to be wise. Wisdom is found in the Lord. Those who are wise, attend to the steadfast love of the Lord. This word for attend, means to watch, observe, preserve, or keep. Christian, reflect often on the gospel. Reflect where you were and what you deserved, rejoice of your salvation. Do this constantly with thanksgiving. Consider the steadfast love of the Lord. Seek to understand it. We do this through the reading of the Word, bible studies and the preaching of the word. Church, we use these means to build up one another. When we are at work and use opportunities to teach of the steadfast love of the Lord and how you have seen it in your life. Parents, There is not a better way to spend your evenings searching the scripture with your children and considering the steadfast love of the Lord together. Children, ask your parents to tell you more about how the Lord saved them. Ask them where they have seen the steadfast love of the Lord. When you are at lunch today, go around and talk about the steadfast love of the Lord and give thanks to him.

No matter the trials, tribulations and situations that we are in, we know that we can call upon the Lord and he will listen. He has shown us enduring and steadfast love that generations and generations from us can rejoice in. Let us now give thanks to him as we sing praises to our Lord Jesus.

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