Psalm 107
Levi Stuckey
Summer in the Psalms: Breezing Through Life's Emotions • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 37:37
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· 51 viewsHardships are an opportunity to humble ourselves and experience the Lord's power to save.
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I’m not sure if you’ve noticed the tag line for this summer series, but just in case you missed it. It’s right there up on the screen. “Summer in the Psalms: Breezing through life's emotions.”
I hope, that as we’ve gone through a few Psalms together over the past months, you’ve realized that God is not offended or caught off guard by the emotions that seem to catch us off guard at times.
We here at Crossroads believe that God made us, which means He knows how we work and we work how He intended. At least for the most part. Obviously, because of what we call the Fall of man, that’s where Adam and Evil decided to obey Satan rather than God that sin entered the world. Because of that, certain things are not entirely what they should be, but the core of what it means to be a human with all of our capacity to love and experience emotions and relationships, those things were built by God. They may get a little out of balance and a little off kilter at times, but nevertheless, God made us human and as humans He gave us a rich capacity to create and to feel!
And the book of the Psalms, perhaps more than any other book in the Bible gives us a template or guideline of sorts for how to process all of life’s emotions as a redeemed member of the royal family; that is the royal family of King Jesus!
If the book of Psalms had a tag line, I think it might be something like this: The Psalms, How the People of God deal with all the Feels!
Now this morning, we aren’t going to look at a feeling per say, but we are going to look at something that has the capacity to make us feel things very strongly, that thing is hardship.
If you’re a word nerd like myself, you may have thought about the word happy a bit last week when we were discussing the word joy. Joy and happiness are not the same thing but they are very closely related. If you were with us, you’ll remember that we said joy was relational. It is the feeling that someone you love is glad to be with you! And because it’s relational, joy can be experienced no matter what we’re dealing with in life. Chances are if you’re joyful, usually you’re also happy, but not necessarily. You see, happiness, if you look at that word, you will notice that it’s very closely related to the word happening or happenings. And that’s because happiness has more to do with the happenings of our lives. Weddings, births of children, vacations tend to make us happy — good happenings typically bring about happiness, but hardships, well, hardships tend to make us not very happy.
And so I simply want to spend the morning with you thinking through hardships in general and more than that, I want you to see how followers of Jesus can deal with hardships while maintaining our joy and possibly even our happiness.
With that, let’s read Psalm 107. As you’re turning there or swiping there in your own Bible. And it’s important that you have your own Bible. You all need to keep me honest and make sure what I’m putting up on the screen is actually what God put in His word!
As you’re getting out Psalm 107 in front of you, I want you to be on the look out for 4 different groups of people and as we read watch what happens to them, look for why it happens and then consider their response and God’s response.
Be on the look out for the lost, those who wander in barren lands, the rebel prisoner of war, those held captive by their disobedience, the fool, those suffering from their poor life choices, and the slave to industry, those running themselves ragged trying to get ahead in a life they cannot control. Look at what happens to them, look for why it happens, listen for how they respond and see what God says and does! Got it?
Alright Let’s read it together: Psalm 107
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Look at this! The Psalmist in verse 1 is confirming what we discussed last week! If we want to connect with God and enter into His presence, we’ve got to turn our relational brain circuits on and that starts by practicing some joy, appreciation and gratitude!
The Psalmist starts with some joy building because he knows that without a glad to be with you relationship with God, the wisdom he’s going to drop is gonna be a tough pill to swallow!
And so, before we get into things here, let me remind you, if you’re in Jesus, God is glad to be with you. And I want us to say that together. I am a child of God and God is glad to be with me.
Now turn to your neighbor and tell them, You are a child of God and God is glad to be with you!
No in a moment of silence, I want you to close your eyes and in your mind, Thank God for the grace of Jesus. Give thanks to the LORD, for his goodness. Thank Him for coming to you in Jesus Christ. Thank Him for saving you even while we were still sinners, while we were still ignorant and rebellious! While we were foolish and spiteful. Thank Him for pursuing us with His crazy love, with that love of His that goes on and on and on and on and covers over all our mistakes, His love that covers over all our short comings and imperfections!
Thank you lord! for your goodness and your enduring faithful love.
Thank you for redeeming me, for redeeming us. For pulling us up and out of our sin. For rescuing us from the hand of the enemy, from death and a destiny of destruction!
Amen.
Now back to our Psalm:
Psalm 107:1–43 (NIV)
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, 3 those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. 5 They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. 6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. 8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains, 11 because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the plans of the Most High. 12 So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. 13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains. 15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 16 for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.
17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. 18 They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. 19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. 20 He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. 21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. 22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.
23 Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. 24 They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. 25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. 26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. 27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end. 28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. 29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. 30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. 31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. 32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.
33 He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, 34 and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there. 35 He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs; 36 there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle. 37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest; 38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish. 39 Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow; 40 he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste. 41 But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks. 42 The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths. 43 Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.
Alright, this is quite a Psalm isn’t it. It’s hard to miss the way it’s structured and the repetition that happens. Did you see the 4 different types of people? You’re all bright I’m sure you did. First we were introduced to the:
Those who are lost. They are said to be wandering through life as through a desert. They are looking for a city in which to dwell. Looking for a community they can belong to, but not able to find it. These folks are struggling to find themselves, struggle to find their identity.
Who am I and who are my people? Where do I fit in? They are hungry and thirsty for someone to show them the way! Facing the hardship of an identity crisis!
Church, doesn’t this sound like a large group of people in our culture?
Lost, looking for identity in a cultural desert? What defines me? Our culture says, your sexuality, your gender identity, your favorite sports team, your hobbies, your wealth, your occupation — but all of those things leave us feeling empty and dry don’t they! You and I are more than our jobs, more than our stuff, more than our sexuality!
We are more than our masculine or feminine characteristics! We are more than our political ideologies!
Are you lost and searching this morning for somewhere to belong!
Stop looking within! And stop looking to culture! Turn to God! He has a people for you. He has what you’re hungry and thirsty heart craves, an identity as a child of the King based upon the finished work of Jesus!
Let us give thanks to the God who leads us into a people, into a city out from the desert of meaningless identity into the throne room as a child of the King who is amply clothed and well fed! Are you lost and facing the hardship of an identity crisis? This hardship is an opportunity to humble yourself before the God of heaven and experience His power to save! This hardship is an opportunity to experience the joy of being saved by a God who’s glad to be with you!
The next group discussed, experiences hardship not because of lostness or confusion, but because of rebellion! Rather than heed the words of God and obey His commands! Rather than viewing God’s commands as being life giving, rather than trusting in the goodness of our God, these rebels view God as holding out on them, they view His commands as being burdensome and robbing them of life and fun and so they disobey the LORD! And because of their disobedience, they experience bondage and prison!
The LORD allows these rebels to reap the hardship they have sown. As Hosea 8:7 tells us, “7...they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.”
How often, loved ones have you questioned the goodness of God? How often have you ran head long into sin because you thought God was holding out on you? You’ve failed to obey and worse yet it wasn’t because you didn’t know. Oh know you knew, but you didn’t care! How often have you willfully given way to temptation, saying no to God and yes to sin only to find yourself further in the darkness than you ever intended to go and held there in bondage now with a feeling of inescapability!
Stop your disobedience! Stop running from God, child! Come home! Come back! Like the prodigal eating from the pig trough, come to your senses! Run back the Father and be free! Cry out to the Lord in your trouble, in the hardship of your own making, and hear the grace of the gospel! The Lord will save you from your distress. He will bring you out of darkness and break the chains of your bondage!
This hardship your facing from your rebellion and disobedience is an opportunity to humble yourself before the God of heaven and experience His power to save! This hardship is an opportunity to experience the joy of being saved by a God who’s glad to be with you!
Next we see the fool. This person is facing hardship in life not do to willful rebellion but do to ignorance! Calamity has visited them due to poor life decisions. Decisions made without consulting the Lord, without using His Word, His Wisdom or the guidance from His Holy Spirit.
These quick decisions and misguided ignorant choices have run this group of people headlong into hardship.
Who here among us hasn’t been here. We are quick to follow the wisdom of the world in things like finances and our schedules. We’re quick to conform to the culture which says just charge it. Figure out how to pay for it later, rather than following the wisdom of God which tells us that the borrow is slave to the lender (Prov. 22:7) We’re quick to follow the crowd and the latest trends on social media because we want to fit in, not realizing that the wisdom of God tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:33, to choose our friends wisely because bad company corrupts good character. Who here among us hasn’t made a poor choice in life simply because we didn’t know, or didn’t remember what God’s word had to say? Or we didn’t stop long enough to simply ask Him to give us His guidance on the matter at hand? Rather than pausing to pray, we just coasted mindlessly through life, letting the world, the media, the school system, coaches, social media, guide us along without a single thought to what God might have to say about it!
To those facing hardship do to foolishness and ignorance, hear the grace of the gospel! God doesn’t think you’re stupid. He’s not upset with you for your poor choices! You don’t have to clean up the mess yourself! It’s not too late. Cry out the Lord in your trouble and He will save you from your distress!
This hardship you’re facing from your foolishness is an opportunity to humble yourself before the God of heaven and experience His power to save! This hardship is an opportunity to experience the joy of being saved by a God who’s glad to be with you!
And lastly we see the slaves of industry! These are the folks who might know God, or they might not, but in their everyday lives they are industrious and hardworking. When they do know God, the Church loves these people. They are the go getting. Then never stop. They are just constantly busting it. Working. Running. Hard charging. Making something of themselves. No time to rest. If they’re worldly folks, there’s no time to rest because there is money to be made! They are merchants of the economic sea. There’s money to be made! If they’re churchy, there’s no time to rest because there are souls that need saving! Ministry tasks that need done! These are the Martha’s! That’s the lady who gets upset with her sister Mary for sitting at Jesus feet to listen to Him teach, while she’s in the Kitchen trying to prepare the meal for all the people in her home! There’s no time to rest and be with Jesus! There’s too much work to be done!
Now, as I said, the world and the Church love these people and honestly, they usually are pretty successful, but look at the text this morning. What I want you to see is that it doesn’t matter how hard working you are, life has a way of bring hardship! No matter how much to strive to control your life and order your life, you are not God! Hardship will visit our door and our courage will melt and we will reel and stagger through life like a drunkard on the deck of a ship in a storm! We cannot control mother nature! We can’t control much. Nor can we go without sleep! You and I are dust! And if we persist in working so hard, without rest, relying on our own will power and strength, eventually our well will run dry.
But there is rest to be had. We can learn to sleep soundly only when we learn to cry out to the God who never does! Only when we learn to humble ourselves and cry out to the God who controls the things we cannot! Then we can cease from our endless striving and discover the joy of resting with the God who controls all things and is glad to be with us!
Hardship for the hard-driving, hard-striving person is an opportunity to humble ourselves and experience the joy and rest of being saved by the God who is glad to be with us!
Here’s the truth and wisdom of this Psalm, as vs. 43 says Psalm 107:43 “43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.”
You see friends, God uses life, He lovingly uses hardship to bring us all to our wits end and if we will “cry out to Him in our trouble, He will save us from our distress” (6, 13, 19, 28, 41).
To those who persist in their proud wandering, unwilling to turn to God, he brings even more hardship in hopes that they will come to their senses and when they do, it doesn’t matter why or how they got themselves there! In His grace and goodness, the God who is good and whose love endures forever will save us from our distress and trouble!
It is truly as Jesus, the God who came in flesh says:
Matthew 5:3–12 (NIV)
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven...”
If you’re a follower of Jesus, you are not immune to hardship, but if you are in Jesus, He has turned all and every hardship in your life whether it was of your own doing or His, Jesus has made every hardship in your life an opportunity to cry out to God and experience the blessings and the joy of being saved by the God who is glad to be with you and has shown you mercy in and through the person and work of Jesus Christ!!
Amen! And Amen!
Let’s Pray.
Close with great commission! All authority in Heaven and Earth was entrusted to Jesus and then what did He say… You, You go no matter what hardship comes, you go teaching and preaching the good news about Jesus. Teach them to obey and do everything that I commanded. Baptize them into my Spirit and don’t miss the last part and I will be with you! I will be glad to be with you always and forever to the very end of the age!