This morning I read several Psalms.  I started in 96 and ended in 107.  The title of Psalm107 stopped me and caused me to reflect on it, and it was as if I had never read the Psalm before.  The Title was “Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So.”  The opening stanza was like the others that preceded it this morning they all spoke of giving praise to God.

Psalms 107:1-3 (ESV)

¹ Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever!

² Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,

whom he has redeemed from trouble

³ and gathered in from the lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south.

But after this first stanza, things changed a bit each subsequent stanza told an initial tale of woe.

Life

Life happened to these people that God redeemed.  Some were not good people.  Some were simply lost others thrown into trials that tested their faith to the brink.

As I read each tale, I could see myself in all of them to one degree or another.  Sometimes lost sometimes angry and in rebellion and other times simply frightened and overwhelmed by my circumstances.

Psalms 107:4-5 (ESV)

⁴ Some wandered in desert wastes,

finding no way to a city to dwell in;

⁵ hungry and thirsty,

their soul fainted within them.

 Psalms 107:10-11 (ESV)

10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,

prisoners in affliction and in irons,

¹¹ for they had rebelled against the words of God,

and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

These are but two examples, but they continue through the whole Psalm.

Redemption

There was another common theme in this Psalm.  When each person reached their bottom.  They cried out to the Lord, and He delivered them.  He lifted them out of their circumstance and saved them… Saved US.

Reflection

You know in this season, for some reason, we can all seem to look back on the years and give thanks, even non-believers.  But it does not take long for that to fade.  Circumstances can get our attention, and before you know it, we are in a struggle with something or someone that has no real power over us.  Besides that, with all the frustration, anger or worry, we have little or no power over it either.

Sure, you used to be able to smack the side of a TV and it would work for a while and you can intimidate someone into relenting in an argument, but in the end the TV is still broken, and the persons mind is unchanged; in fact, you probably made both things worse in the long term for that short-term gain.

Closing Thoughts

I am thankful for the Lord leading me to this Psalm this morning.  He reminded me regardless of my circumstances my best option is always to trust in Him and if my faith waivers, as it sometimes does, He will be there when I come to my senses.  I am also reminded of two favorite passages in the New Testament.  One in Matthew and the other in Ephesians.

Matthew

The passage in Matthew is Jesus reminding us what the Psalmist said in the title of Psalm 107 “Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)

¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Ephesians

The passage in Ephesians reminds me of the lostness of the individuals in each stanza and how God saved them when they cried out.

Ephesians 2:4-10 (ESV)

 ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We were saved while we were still dead in our sin.  Saved by grace through faith.  I get cold chills when I think of it.  I give praise to God for His mercy.

Prayer

Father, thank you for saving me while I was dead in my sin.  Thank you for pulling me free by grace through faith.  We praise you Lord and serve you with a joy-filled heart in Jesus name Amen!