Psalm 107:1-10
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.
Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
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.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
This is one of my favorite psalms. I encourage you to take a moment and crack open your Bible to read it in its entirety.
The psalmist opens declaring God's goodness, and we immediately know this is a spiritual song about the steadfast love of the LORD. He declares that this love has brought people out of darkness from all ends of the earth. I love that the psalmist has the insight to realize nothing can describe the steadfast love of God but God Himself. So after declaring God as good we see the psalmist deferring to God’s redeeming work to speak for itself (vs. 2). I am greatly helped by this through remembering that the best way to declare God's love is not with my rhetoric, but with reflection on God's redemptive work in history. How beautiful a thing to contemplate the different places where God has met us in our sin, and welcomed us into His family; bestowed on us such a rich inheritance that we did not deserve or earn in any way!
After laying out the different places God has brought people from death to life, the psalmist reflects on how God is truly LORD over everything. God orchestrated every moment that led each of these persons into spiritual and physical thirst, hunger, and need in order to draw them to Himself. This is what is so interesting about this psalm. It is a reflection upon the “steadfast love of the LORD.” How could steadfast love be exemplified in a God whom sends hunger and thirst on his creation?
In my darkest hour during my freshman year, I knew exactly what this psalm meant by saying "their soul fainted within them." I was wandering, hungry and thirsty for life, and I just felt tired. It was terrible. How can a God of steadfast love put us in positions where we just feel like our souls are faint within us?
Towards the end of the psalm the psalmist says, "He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste." It seems like the psalmist is derailing the train. This is the point where I would stomp on his foot under the table to stop him from embarrassing himself and God. But he knew exactly where he was going with the psalm because he had a God-centered view of reality.
These difficulties have been orchestrated in such a way that God can reveal His steadfast love by coming in and turning that desert into "pools of water" (vs. 35). He says that "he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks" (vs. 41). It is in our point of need that we see the magnificent glory and love of the Lord. Why else would Jesus teach that it is hard for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom (Matt. 9:23)? Our ability to know the full measure of God's love is limited by our personal awareness of our spiritual need. Prior to my darkest hour, I would have scoffed if someone told me I had a need for anything. But God had different plans. His hand was over the course of events that led me to cry out to Him in need. This is precisely why it can be considered steadfast love for God to place thirst and hunger in our hearts; in order to reveal a need in ourselves that draws us to fulfillment in Christ.
Every example of God's redeeming work in this psalm is preceded by the person in need crying out to the LORD. This reminds me of how stubborn I am at times in acknowledging my need for God. This is ironic because it is precisely in my acknowledging that need that my eyes are open to see, as Paul describes it, the vast breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ.
The psalmist ends encouraging us to reflect on this steadfast love God has for us and orchestrates in us. “Whoever is wise,” he says, “let him attend to these things” (vs. 43). I wish I could say I was good at following this advice. I can count a number of times in my short life that in the midst of difficulty I did not reflect on how God uses suffering to declare his steadfast love for us. Without that perspective, I had nothing but self-pity, bitterness and envy going for me.
It brings great joy to God and those around us when He brings us out of difficulties in life and fixes our eyes on Jesus. The psalmist says, “The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth” (vs. 42). How joyful is it to see God bring joy and delight into a friend or family member who has been depressed and distraught over something? Do we not sing praise to God in our hearts to see those brought out of affliction? It is out of this great praise to God for His work in our lives that we are motivated to live a life pleasing to him.
We have done nothing good to merit this favor from God. He gives it to us as a free gift to us. The only way I can think of to respond to such amazing grace and love is to wake up and ask how I can please Him daily.
Have you contemplated the steadfast love of the Lord lately? Take some time today to sit quietly, read over Psalm 107, and think of all the good things He has given you, and all the difficult situations He has brought you through.
