| | Introduction Most of us spent at least a couple of days stuffing our faces in the name of thankfulness. Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, pie. All so good! Thanksgiving is the favorite holiday of many people including myself. The pressure of presents is completely absent. Best of all, we are encouraged to eat till it hurts. Besides all that, Thanksgiving does provide us the opportunity to consider the place of thankfulness in our lives. Thankfulness in our hearts is a key component of godly living and of joy. Yet, it is contrary to the lusts of our flesh. Psalm 107 helps us re-focus our hearts on the God to whom we are to be thankful and on the things we are to be thankful for. · Giving thanks to the Lord is a responsibility of his redeemed people, 1-3. · The redeemed people of the Lord have abundant reason to give thanks to him, 4-32. · If the reason in vv. 4-32 weren't enough reasons, here is more, 33-42. · Conclusion & applications I. Giving Thanks to the Lord Is a Responsibility of His Redeemed People, 1-3. A. In this psalm, the redeemed are the ones giving thanks to the Lord, 2-3. 1. These are the ones delivered from the hand of the enemy. a. It is significant that it is one singular enemy, Satan. b. God has redeemed his people from the power of Satan. Col. 1:13-14 – He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 2. This is just half of the story, however. a. We have been redeemed from ourselves so that sin no longer has dominion over us. b. But above all, we have been redeemed from the guilt of sin and from eternal wrath. c. So, we give thanks to the Lord. 3. This is not the peculiar activity of one particular Christian whose life is peachy, but of the redeemed everywhere, 3. a. This is a reference to the victorious church at the end of the ages. b. But this victorious church finds its best representation in the gathering of the militant church here today. Isa. 43:5-7 – Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth—everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him. Mt. 8:10-11 (Centurion's faith) – When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. B. There are two core reasons in this psalm why we, as the redeemed of the Lord, should thank the Lord. c. Do you interpret all of life in light of the fact that God is good? d. Say with me, "God is good!" 2. His mercy endures forever. a. His covenant faithfulness in which he swore by himself that he would never leave us nor forsake us (the ESV translates it as steadfast love). b. This is a word that is very full of meaning: in it we see God's goodness (8, 15, 21, 31) and his lovingkindness (43). C. The several cycles of troubles that culminate with the Lord's deliverance and an exhortation to thanksgiving (5 stanzas) challenge our natural tendency to forget the goodness of the Lord and to thank him. Rom. 1:21 – …because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. II. The Redeemed People of the Lord Have Abundant Reason to Give Thanks to Him, 4-32. A. The proof of God's covenant faithfulness to us and his goodness to us is in the pudding of his wonderful works to the children of men, 8, 15, 21, 31. B. God brings satisfaction to the soul, 4-9. 1. Here we have Israel's wandering in the wilderness and being brought into the Promised Land by God. 2. The refrain uses this historical event to illustrate a spiritual truth. 1 Cor. 10:11 – Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 3. God's people are not intended to be wandering in the wilderness. a. The wilderness is a place to go through quickly. b. There is nothing there and our resources are quickly depleted. c. As the Christian wanders in the wilderness of their own sin, life loses its meaning and the Christian experiences purposelessness. 4. Instead of wandering in the wilderness, we must cry out to the Lord to have our souls satisfied with him, 6. Ps. 63:1-5 – O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. 5. Thanking God for his soul satisfying presence in our lives is part of our purpose in life. C. God brings freedom to the captive, 10-16. 1. This is a summary of the captivity that the Southern Kingdom experienced under the Babylonians and, later on, under the Medes and Persians. a. Judah was taken captive because of her rebellion against the Word of God, 10-11. b. Their own sins led them to captivity, yet God broke the chains of their bondage, 13-14. 2. Do you see in this what Christ has done for you? a. While we were bound by death's destruction because of sin, Christ freed us. Rom. 5:8 – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. b. The ultimate deliverer, the one who broke the chains of sin in our lives, the one who unshackled us from the dominion of sin, is Jesus Christ our Lord. Lk. 4:16-21 – So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." Then He closed the book, and gave itback to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." "Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee." Charles Wesley 3. Christ frees us from sin in general, but also from specific sins. 4. And this psalm teaches us that by remembering that he is good and that his steadfast love endures forever and giving thanks to him, he delivers us from sin. 5. Would you, ladies, recite, verses 15-16 with me? D. God brings life to the dying, 17-22. 1. The psalmist speaks of those who became sick due to their own sin, 17-18. 2. Once again sin led them to suffering and God in his mercy to deliverance, 19-20. 3. Do you see here God through the power of his Word bringing back to life those who were at the brink of death? Better yet, those who were dead in their trespasses and sins? Eph. 2:1, 4-6 – And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according … but God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus… 4. The restoration of life leads the Christian to burst forth in thanksgiving, 21-22. a. Notice that this thanksgiving is not empty and abstract. b. Sacrifice and declaration of God's work to others are a godly response to the Lord's mercy – makes me think of Policarp's confession of Christ. The Proconsul asked him whether he was Polycarp. On hearing that he was, he tried to persuade him to apostatize, saying, "Have respect for your old age, swear by the fortune of Caesar. Repent, and say, 'Down with the Atheists!'" Polycarp looked grimly at the wicked heathen multitude in the stadium, and gesturing towards them, he said, "Down with the Atheists!" "Swear," urged the Proconsul, "reproach Christ, and I will set you free." "86 years have I have served him," Polycarp declared, "and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?" (Translated by J.B. Lightfoot. Abridged and modernized by Stephen Tomkins.) "Thanksgiving was not an empty platitude but consisted of a concrete expression of loyalty to the Lord by the giving of 'thank offering' (v. 22), a kind of communal offering, accompanied by 'songs of joy.'" Willem VanGemeren 5. Would you, kids in Kids Klub, recite verses 21-22 with me? E. God brings peace to the troubled, 23-32. 1. Here we have the sailor's experience. a. The sea and large bodies of water are powerful things. b. One feels helpless in them. 1) Going to Victoria in the Coho, a fairly large boat with big trucks and cars in its belly, and being tossed around by the sea. 2) Kayaking at Point Defiance. d. In their trouble, the sailors call upon the Lord and he calms the storm, 28-29. 1) Not to Saint Nicholas the patron saint of sailors. 2) Doesn't this remind you of the story of Jonah? 2. Through this we see the one who calms all the storms, the Lord Jesus Christ. Mk. 4:36-41 – Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" a. Sometimes he calms the storms of life by changing the actual circumstances. b. But more often than not, he calms the storms of our lives by changing our attitude towards the circumstances. c. This reminds me of Horatio Spafford's story in which his daughters remained dead, his business remained ruined, yet Christ gave him peace in the midst of the storm as we see it in the great hymn It Is Well with My Soul. When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say (originally know),
It is well, it is well, with my soul. Refrain:
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul. But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul. And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul. Horatio Spafford "This hymn was written after several traumatic events in Spafford's life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871 at the age of four, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the SS Ville du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sea vessel, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford's daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone . . .". Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died." (Wikipedia) 3. Christ gives us his peace. Jn. 14:1, 27 – Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me…. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 4. So, we exalt him by thanking him, 31-32. 5. Would you, kids in Youth Groups, recite verses 31-32 with me? III. If These Weren't enough Reasons, Here Is more, 33-42. A. The psalmist breaks the pattern here because he can't contain himself any longer. B. He needs to declare the goodness of the Lord! C. There is so much for him to be thankful for; there is so much for us to be thankful for. D. Even the judgments of the Lord are a reason to praise him. E. The great Baptist preacher, C.H. Spurgeon said, "I have learned to kiss the wave that strikes me against the Rock of Ages." Conclusion & Applications, 43. The more we give thanks for whom God is and what he has done, the more we will understand his lovingkindness, his goodness, his covenant faithfulness, his steadfast love, his mercy toward us. That's wise thing to do. So let me give you some action points for this week that flow from this psalm: · Mediate on Psalm 107 – spend time reading and thinking about it; · Make a list of the deliverances God has brought to your life – it can be as little as giving you air to breathe; · Mediate on what God has done for you in Jesus Christ; · Take time to praise him because of what he has done for you; · Tell somebody of the goodness of the Lord in your life – it can be in your family devotions. May our great God teach us to praise him for all he has done for us! http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2016/11/thankfulness-ps-107.html |  | Send olympiabp blog feed to OBPC Podcast |  |  | |
