Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So!

Psalm 107   by Samuel E. Ward   Theme:  Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So, Psa 107:1.   Introduction   In a church in Estonia, a paralyzed member was asked what song he'd like to hear. He answered without hesitation, "O, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing." He said, "And if I had a thousand tongues, I could sing a thousand songs. "[1]   I am reminded of a scene in heaven where thousands and thousands of angels encircle God's throne singing songs of praise to the Lamb of God.   (Rev 5:11-14 NIV)  I [John] looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.  {12} In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" {13} Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" {14} The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.   The great English preacher Charles Spurgeon (1834-1891) agreed with this view when  he wrote in his classic commentary on the Psalms, The Treasury of David, that Psalm 107 is dedicated . . .   . .  to the redeemed who have been gathered from captivity, Ps 107:1-3; he then likens their history to that of travellers lost in the desert, Ps 107:4-9; to that of prisoners in iron bondage, Ps 107:10-16; to that of sick men, Ps 107:17-22; and to that of mariners tossed with tempest, Ps 107:23-32.  In the closing verses the judgment of God on the rebellious, and the mercies of God to his own afflicted people are made the burden of the song, Ps 107:33-42; and then the psalm closes with a sort of summing up, in Ps 107:43, which declares that those who study the works and ways of the Lord shall be sure to see and praise his goodness.   The message of Psalm 107 is as much a call for the redeemed of all ages to praise God for the goodness and love He bestows upon them as it is for Israel to praise God for their deliverance from captivity in Babylon.  There is no denying the parallels that exist between those who have been redeemed from their bondage in sin and Israel who has been redeemed from their bondage in Babylon. In the first place, both those who were redeemed from Babylon and those from sin can testify to the fact that . . .   I.  He Has Redeemed Israel and the Church from the Hand of the Foe, Psa 107-1-7.   Before God redeemed us were, like Israel,  living in a miserable place.  Our efforts to find our way out of the spiritual desert (if indeed we wanted out) were fruitless because the ruler of the desert (Satan) had hidden the way out of his kingdom and blinded us to any light that might lead us out of the darkness.  In this desert we were wasting away from spiritual hunger and thirst.    First, we first praise God for seeing us in our need.   A.  Like Israel, We Were Hopeless in the Desert Under the Oppressive Hand of the Foe, Psa 107:2-5.   (Psa 107:2-5 NIV)  Let the redeemed of the LORD say this-- 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.   Paul describes our situation when we were living under the oppressive rule of Satan's world.   (Eph 2:1-3 NIV)  As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, {2} in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. {3} All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.   1.  In the desert place we were dead in our transgressions and sins. 2.  In the desert place we were following the ways of the world and under the rulership of Satan (the ruler of the air). 3.  In the desert place we were living only for ourselves. 4.  In the desert place we were by nature the objects of God's wrath. 5.  However, in the desert place we were still greatly loved by the merciful God.   Second, we praise God for His mercy and grace toward our need..   B.  Like Israel, We Were Loved While We Were in the Desert and Revived by the Merciful and Gracious Hand of God.   All we have to do was to call out to the Lord in the midst of our trouble   (Psa 107:6 NIV)  Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.   We have noted from Paul in Ephesians 2:1-3 our situation before being redeemed.    In Ephesians 2:4-7, Paul expounds on the great love God has for us that moves Him to exercise his mercy and grace towards us.   Eph 2:4-7 NIV)  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, {5} made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. {6} And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, {7} in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.   1.  In His mercy He made us alive even when we were dead in transgressions. 2.  In His mercy He extended His grace so that we might be saved. 3.  In His mercy He allowed us to become trophies of the incomparable riches of His grace.  (He raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in heavenly display.) 4  In His mercy He expressed the magnitude of His kindness to us   Third, we praise God for acting upon our need.   C.  Like Israel, We Were Rescued from the Dominion of Darkness by the Hand of a Redemptive God   (Col 1:12-14 NIV)  [We give] thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. {13} For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, {14} in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.   1.  He gave us sonship in His kingdom of light and all the rights pertaining thereto. 2.  He forgave us our rebellious sin that separated us from Him from the beginning.   Consider as well . . .   (Gal 1:4, 5 NIV)  [The Lord Jesus Christ] gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, {5} to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.    Fourthly, we praise God for leading us to a place in His kingdom where we can  settle and serve Him.   D.  Like Israel, We Are Chosen to be a People Under the Rule of God.   (Psa 107:7 NIV)  He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.   In our new kingdom, we are in a place to receive God's blessing.  We are also given a ministry by which we can be a blessing to God and each other.  We are blessed by being a blessing.   (1 Pet 2:9-10 NIV)  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. {10} Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.   Because God wants to be declared to the world as a redeeming God . . .   1.  God has chosen His church to be a chosen people for that purpose. 2.  God has established the church to be a royal priesthood to lead the world in the worship of God, intercede for the world in its prayers to God, and minister to the world's needs as the hands of God. 3.  God has established the church to be a holy nation and to be testimony of God's work among His own people to the rest of the world.   These three (a chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation) are the designated roles for the church.  What a privilege to be called to such a task! Allow me to add two more promises from elsewhere in Scripture to encourage us in our walk with God in His kingdom. We can praise God for His power over any need we might encounter.   E.  Like Israel, We Are Given a Promise of  Deliverance.   We can have the same confidence in God's deliverance as Paul expressed.    (2 Tim 4:18 NIV)  The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.   We can praise God for the Destiny of our foe (the devil).   F.  We Are Assured that One Day Justice Will Come to the Devil   a.  The devil will be destroyed.   (Heb 2:14 NIV)  Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil—   b.  The devil's work will be destroyed.   (1 John 3:8 NIV)  He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.   c. The devil's servants will be cast into the lake of fire with him.   (Rev 20:10 NIV)  And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.   The first step to deliverance is the same today as it was when Psalm 107 was written.   (Psalm 107:6, 7 NIV)  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.   He's waiting for those in bondage to their sin to come near to Him.  He will lead them  out of the wilderness and into His glorious kingdom   (James 4:6-8 NIV)  But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." {7} Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. {8} Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.   II.  He Has Redeemed Israel and the Church from Themselves.   A.  The Inspiration for Giving Thanks to God Is Presented.   (Psa 107:8 NIV)  Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.   B.  The Expressions of His Unfailing Love and Wonderful Deeds Are Noted.   (Psa 107:9 NIV)  He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.   C.  The Condition of the Spiritually Imprisoned Is Noted.   (Psa 107:10 NIV)  Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains.   D.  The Imprisonment Was Self-Inflicted and Due to Two Things.   (Psa 107:11 NIV)  They had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.   1.  Rebellion against God's words (actions) 2.  Disregard for God's counsel (attitudes)   a.  For many it is an emotional, not an intellectual decision.   The late Isaac Asimov once wrote: "Emotionally I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect that he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time."[i]   b.  For others, it is not wanting to have their personal liberties restrained.   In one of his books, Aldous Huxley acknowledged that he had reasons for "not wanting the world to have a meaning." He contended that the "philosophy of meaningless" was liberating. He confessed that the morality of theism interfered "with our sexual freedom".   E.  The Discipline Was Administered by God.   (Psa 107:12 NIV)  So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.   Why would anyone want to add to the normal struggles of life by choosing to rebel against and despise God's word and counsel?    1.  Because we live in a world that chose to rebel against God in the beginning, life, even for believers will have trouble and sorrow, Psa 90:10   (Psa 90:10 NIV)  The length of our days is seventy years-- or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.   2.  Those who rebel against God have the added burden of the consequences of that rebellion.   a.  This was true for Israel, Lev 26:21.  They experienced the hand of God's discipline with a view toward repentance.   (Lev 26:21 NIV)  "'If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve.   b.  This is true for Christians, Heb 12:5-6.  We, as believers, also experience the hand of God's discipline with a hope that it will lead to repentance.   (Heb 12:5-6 NIV)  And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, {6} because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."   c.  This is true of all unbelievers, Rom 2:4-8.  They experience the kindness and patience of God who desires that they repent of their sin.  However, if they do not repent they will experience His wrath and eternal judgment.   (Rom 2:4-8 NIV)  Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? {5} But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. {6} God "will give to each person according to what he has done." {7} To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. {8} But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.   d.  There is no one else to help except the One against whom they have rebelled.  The stubborn will perish because of their stubbornness for there is no other who god can redeem.   (Isa 44:8b-10 NIV)  Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." {9} All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. {10} Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit him nothing?   (Acts 4:12 NIV)  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name [Jesus Christ] under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."   F.  The Deliverance from Our Spiritual Bondage Begins with a Cry to God.   (Psa 107:13a NIV)  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble.   In every building the first stone must be laid and the first blow must be struck. The ark was 120 years in building; yet there was a day when Noah laid his axe at the first tree he cut down to form it. The temple of Solomon was a glorious building; but there was a day when the first huge stone was laid at the foot of Mount Moriah. When does the building of the Spirit really begin to appear in a man's heart? It begins, so far as we can judge, when he first pours out his heart to God in prayer. —Bishop J. C. Ryle   G.  The Liberation from Our Spiritual Bondage Can Only Come from God.   (Psa 107:13b-14 NIV)  He saved them from their distress. {14} He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.   (Isa 45:21-22 NIV)  Declare what is to be, present it-- let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. {22} "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.   (Acts 4:12 NIV)  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name [Jesus Christ] under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."   H.  The Freeing of Those Held in Spiritual Captivity by Sin and Its Consequences Is Why Jesus Came.   (Luke 4:18-19 NIV)  "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, {19} to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."   There is no need to stay in bondage to sin chained to its weights and awaiting judgment.  Waiting until a "more opportune time" has one major risk.  You can wait too long.   The story is told of a young man who ran to catch a train. Just as he reached the platform the train moved off and left him. He stood there panting and watching the train, now in the distance. A man said to him: "You didn't run fast enough!" "No," said the boy, "I ran as fast as I possibly could, but I didn't make it because I didn't start soon enough."   Many will wait past their last opportunity to come to Christ and miss it completely.  They simply "didn't start soon enough."   (Heb 2:1-3 NIV)  We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. {2} For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, {3} how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.   III.  He Has Redeemed Israel and the Church from the Afflictions Due to Their Iniquities, Psalm 107:17-22.   The state of distress described in this section is due to foolishness.    A.  The Kinds of Fools in Scripture Are Numerous.    In Psalms and Proverbs alone we find these descriptions that relate directly to sinful acts and attitudes:   1.  A fool finds pleasure in evil, Prov 10:23. 2.  A fool is hotheaded ,reckless, and causes much evil, Prov 14 16. 3.  A fool is often perverted in his speech, Prov 19:1.  4.  A fool is quick to quarrel and cause strife, Prov 20:3. 5.  A fool is ever repeating his foolishness, Pro 26:11. 6.  A fool does not control his anger, Pro 29:11.   B.  The Characteristic That Is Common to All Kinds of Fools Is That They Are Rebellious Toward God, Psa 107:17a.   (Psa 107:17 NIV)  Some became fools through their rebellious ways.   C.  The Consequence That Many Must Bear Is Life-Threatening Affliction,  Psa 107:17b, 18.   (Psa 107:17-18 NIV)  Some became fools . . . and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. {18} They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death.   D.  The Condition for God's Deliverance Is Always the Same. Psa 107: 19.   (Psa 107:19 NIV)  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.   E.  The Means of Deliverance Is His Word, Psa 107:20.   (Psa 107:20 NIV)  He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.   It is important that we remember:   1.  Obeying God's Word will bring healing. 2.  Obeying God's Word will deliver from the grave.   It is advantageous to note the following in this matter.   a.  There are afflictions and illnesses that are God's chastisement for sin.  If this is the case, then we should heed the words of James 5:14-16.   (James 5:14-16 NIV)  Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. {15} And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. {16} Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.   b.  There are afflictions and illnesses that lead to death because God sees that as the only remedy for the situation, 1 John 5:16-17.   (1 John 5:16-17 NIV)  If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death.  There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. {17} All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.   F.  The Proper Response to God's Deliverance Is Thanksgiving and Songs of Testimony, Psa 107:21-22.   (Psa 107:21-22 NIV)  Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. {22} Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.   John W. Peterson reminds us the security we can enjoy when we submit to the guidance of our Great Shepherd of Love.  It is a wonderful testimony of his appreciation the deliverance he has experienced in Christ.   "Shepherd of Love",   by John W. Peterson   Shepherd of love, You knew I had lost my way. Shepherd of love, You cared that I'd gone astray. You sought and found me, placed around me Strong arms that carried me home.   No foe can harm or alarm me—Never again will I roam. Shepherd of love, Savior and Lord and Guide Shepherd of love, forever I'll stay by your side.   Shepherd of love, contentment at last is mine. Deep in my heart there's a peace and joy divine. The future's brighter, burden's lighter, My cup runs over each day. Your grace supplied me now provides me, all that I need for the way.   Shepherd of love, Savior and Lord, and Guide Shepherd of love, forever I'll stay by your side.             [1] 1000 Windows: A Speaker's Sourcebook of Illustrations Copyright © 1997 The Standard Publishing Company. [i] Asimov, Isaac (1982), "Interview with Isaac Asimov on Science and the Bible," Paul Kurtz, interviewer, Free Inquiry, pp. 6-10, Spring. See also Hallman, Steve (1991), "Christianity and Humanism: A Study in Contrasts," AFA Journal, p. 11, March.