“Thankful for God’s Deliverance” – Psalm 107:1-32

We live in world designed for deliveries. We get packages from the Post Office, FedEx, UPS and others. We can have food delivered to our doors from the restaurant of our choice. All we need to do is pick up a phone or get on a computer and our delivery will come to us within minutes or days, depending on what we want delivered.

While these deliveries are convenient, it pales in comparison to the delivery we receive from God. Only God can deliver us from sin and deliver us into His presence. The deliverance God offers sets us free and allows us to walk in fellowship with Him through Christ and the Holy Spirit.

For this reason, we must give thanks to God in the Thanksgiving season.

Background

We do not know for certain who wrote this psalm, but he was probably a Baptist, or at least someone who wanted it to go into a Baptist hymnal. It is a psalm of thanksgiving to God, and it has four clear verses with a refrain after each verse. Each of the verses tells about how God delivered someone from a dire circumstance, with each verse speaking of a distinct problem.

The Bible notes that this psalm is the lead psalm in Book V of the psalms. The first book consists of the first 41 psalms, with Psalms 42-72 making up the second book. Book III is made up from Psalms 73-89, and Book IV finds Psalms 90-106 in them. There are no distinctive characteristics of any of the books and was probably put together long after the 150 psalms had been decided to be a part of the Bible.

This particular psalm is a psalm of thanksgiving and deliverance. The first three verses introduce the psalm, followed by the four stories of deliverance. The last 11 verses of the psalm speak to how God uses nature and our environment to reward the repentant and to punish the sinner.

Each of the stories in this psalm speak to a specific way God brought deliverance and ends with a call to give thanks to God and to praise Him for the deliverance.

Central Truth: We thank God because He delivers us.

God delivers us from:

1. Wandering (1-9)

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say this—those He redeemed from the hand of the foe, those He gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lived ebbed away. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

We honor our veterans this week as we celebrate Veterans Day and the end of World War I. We have been blessed that our nation has never been invaded and occupied by an enemy force. Granted, the British invaded the United States during the War of 1812, burning Washington, D.C., but they never occupied our land for long.

Part of the sad parts of our history are the way we forced the native people out of their tribal homelands and relocated them to places that were deemed less hospitable. We relocated Japanese citizens from our west coast during World War II, and have forced others to our lands to work our fields as slaves. It is hard to imagine the pain and loss that these actions must have caused.

It is this sense of loss that is reflected in the first stanza of this psalm. The psalmist wrote of men and women wandering in the wilderness, torn from their homes and seeking a place of refuge, a place where they could settle and begin to rebuild their lives. These people were suffering from hunger and thirst and they grew weaker every day. We can’t say why these people were wandering, whether they were seeking a better life for their family or whether driven from their homes. All we know is they were seeking shelter and the promise of a fresh start.

Finally, in their hour of desperation, they called out to God. We read God’s response—He delivered them from their distress. God did this with a straight way to a place where they could find shelter, a place where they could call home and begin to reestablish the roots so important to each of us.

Jesus said in John 14:6 that He is the way, the truth and the life. In Christ God delivers us to a new settlement, a place of security and family. He brings us in from the wilderness and establishes a relationship with us, giving us a peace that passes all understanding, protecting our hearts and our minds in Christ (cf. Philippians 4:7). It is a relief to know where we are going and that we will find rest for our souls in Christ, who is the Way.

For this deliverance, we must give thanks.

2. Darkness and gloom (10-16)

Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. So He subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled and there was no one to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.

The story of Joseph in Genesis is one of a man with amazing faith. His faith allowed him to endure circumstances that seemed to be far more painful than you or I would ever have to go through. He was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery. As a slave he was wrongfully accused of a crime when he refused to commit adultery, and was thrown into prison. In prison, he interpreted dreams for two men. The interpretations were accurate, but the men ignored their friend in prison. Finally, he was remembered and exalted to the second most powerful position in Egypt.

As he sat alone in his jail cell, probably a dank and rancid place with no comforts whatsoever, he must have wondered what God was doing and how God was going to rescue him. Joseph never lost faith.

The people described in these verses, on the other hand, are suffering because of their rebellion against God. The psalmist wrote that the people had rebelled against God’s word and refused to heed God’s counsel. As a result, they suffered a life in darkness and gloom, prisoners in chains for their rebellion. Whether the darkness, gloom and chains were literal or figurative, the portrayal is one of despair and longing.

When we turn our faces from God, when we ignore His counsel and disobey His will, we find ourselves wandering in darkness and gloom. There is an unsettledness of the spirit that affects the way we respond to our world and to ourselves. We claim to be happy, but our spirit is in turmoil and our freedom is constrained.

How do we find deliverance from the darkness, gloom and chains that bind us? The Bible tells us that He brought them out of the darkness and broke away the chains. The way to overcome darkness and gloom is to enter into the light. Jesus stated in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John, writing in 1 John 1:7, wrote: “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”

The answer to darkness is light, and Jesus is the Light that sets us free. For this we must give thanks.

3. Foolishness (17-22)

Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the grave. Let them give thanks to the Lord and His wonderful deeds for men. Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of His good works with songs of joy.

Foolishness in the Bible is different from foolishness in Western thought. When you and I hear the word “fool,” we think of someone who lacks intelligence or who acts stupidly. In Hebrew thought, though, foolishness was to deny the existence and sovereignty of God. Psalm 53 begins with the words, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.”

In the case of today’s text, the foolish ones are the ones who indulge in sin, who rebel against God and His ways. They deny His lordship over them, and they flaunt their rebellion by embracing iniquities.

But, like the prodigal son, there comes a time when they realize that there is more to life than indulging every whim of the flesh. Their attitude, according to the psalmist, shows that the fools become depressed, losing their appetite for food and affecting their health and attitude to the point of looking longingly for death to set them free from their suffering.

They begin to yearn for a relationship with God, to be restored and reunited with a loving God. We know this because they cried to the Lord in their trouble. The result is that God saved them through His word, healing them and rescuing them.

The very first verse of the Gospel according to John, we are told that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In 1:14, we are told that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.

When the lost soul, the fool who questions the validity of God, calls to Him, God hears and saves us through His Son, the Word made flesh. In Christ, we are redeemed and made the children of God, no longer dead in our sins, but alive in Him. The hunger we may feel is filled by the Bread of Life, who is Jesus (cf. John 6:35). Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount that we how hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied (cf. Matthew 5:6).

Salvation comes from the Word of God, and for this we must give thanks.

4. Storms (23-32)

Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the might waters. They saw the works of the Lord, His wonderful deeds in the deep. For He spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men. Let them exalt HI in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the council of the elders.

John Lennon once wrote, “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” Sadly, the song in which those words are written was released shortly before his murder at the age of 40.

In the verses of this stanza, the people described are simply living their lives, making plans and seeking a living. In this particular instance, the people in question are sailors, plying their trade in merchandise, importing and exporting goods.

It was during one of their trips at sea that a storm arose, a powerful storm that battered the small ship in which the men sailed. It was carried by the waves, soaring high into the air as the waves brought their ship forward, then crashing into the bottom of the wave.

The Bible has stories of storms at sea. Jonah comes to mind, as do the disciples while Jesus slept in the back of the boat. Paul was shipwrecked on an island as the result of a fierce storm. In each of the instances, those on board cried to God for deliverance.

In this psalm, God delivers them by stilling the storm and guiding them to a safe haven. Just as Jesus did when He was awakened by His terrified disciples. God rescues us from the storms that beat against us.

When Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was, Simon’s response was that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God (cf. Matthew 16:16). As a result, Jesus gave the disciple a new name, Peter, which means rock. The rock Jesus referred to was God’s revelation to the disciple and the faith he demonstrated by his confession of Jesus as Christ. Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that a person who hears and does what He teaches is a wise person who builds upon a solid foundation and so is able to withstand the storms of life (cf. Matthew 7:24-25).

When we trust in God in the midst of storms, we know He will deliver us. And for this we give thanks.

Conclusion

Four examples of people who were lost, alone and frightened. People who needed deliverance from their troubles. Each of them called to God, and God did indeed deliver them. God delivered with His Word, His Light, His Way and His power over the elements.

Jesus is the Word, the Way, the Light and the creator. When we turn to Him, we find deliverance. And for this, we must give thanks.