Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Psalm 107

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.[a]
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.
6 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.
8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.
17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18 They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.
23 Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
24 They saw the works of the LORD,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
33 He turned rivers into a desert,
flowing springs into thirsty ground,
34 and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
35 He turned the desert into pools of water
and the parched ground into flowing springs;
36 there he brought the hungry to live,
and they founded a city where they could settle.
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a fruitful harvest;
38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
and he did not let their herds diminish.
39 Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled
by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
40 he who pours contempt on nobles
made them wander in a trackless waste.
41 But he lifted the needy out of their affliction
and increased their families like flocks.
42 The upright see and rejoice,
but all the wicked shut their mouths.
43 Let the one who is wise heed these things
and ponder the loving deeds of the LORD.

Key Verse:
31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

Key Observation:
The Deuteronomy psalms begin here and end with 150.

Memory Verse:
28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.

Devotion:

Oh, the faithfulness of God when we get into trouble, even trouble of our own making! He is faithful, though we are faithless. Our God is a God of mercy. Chafer, in Salvation, says: “The provision of a Mediator and the grounds of mediation for the whole world does not save the world, but it does render the salvation of the individual possible in the righteousness of God.”

Because of God’s provision in Christ’s death on the cross, the world was forgiven. The only condition for salvation is to believe God. He has not at all abandoned the world, but is actively working through his Spirit to convict people of the need to believe. God must retain his righteousness, and the substitutionary death of his Son on the cross did exactly that. I am thinking of God’s foreshadowing and testing of the great patriarchs. Did he not ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? Did he not cause Isaac to give up the birthright of Esau in favor of Jacob? Did he not cause Jacob to lose his favored son, Joseph? In all of these events God worked mostly behind the scenes to will his good purpose. Now is coming the time when no longer will he work in the shadows; his presence will fill the whole earth when he comes back to save Israel. The Bible says that in that day we shall know him, from the least to the greatest. In even the least of his saints, he has put his very presence, and we wait, with groanings which cannot be uttered for the presence of our Lord.

1. He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got the whole world in His hands.

2. He's got the wind and the rain in His hands.
He's got the wind and the rain in His hands.
He's got the wind and the rain in His hands.
He's got the whole world in His hands.

3. He's got the little tiny baby in His hands.
He's got the little tiny baby in His hands.
He's got the little tiny bay in His hands.
He's got the whole world in His hands.

4. He's got ev'rybody here in His hands.
He's got ev'rybody here in His hands.
He's got ev'rybody here in His hands.
He's got the whole world in His hands.

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