START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 107:1-9, 43
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OBSERVE:
There are some familiar refrains in this Psalm of deliverance. The very first sentence is repeated in full at least five times in the Psalms, including this one (Psalm 106:1; Psalm 118:1 & 29; Psalm 136:1).
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
This is not to mention the numerous times that the steadfast love of the Lord is referenced throughout the Old Testament.
This phrase serves not merely as a musical lyric, but as a kind of confessional creed — the Lord is good, full of steadfast love, and that love is everlasting.
This “creed” is expanded when those who have experienced the Lord’s steadfast love are exhorted to bear testimony to that love:
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
The Psalmist’s description of those who are redeemed reminds us of the salvation history of the Patriarchs and Moses and Joshua in the wilderness:
Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
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,
until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.
And the Psalmist reminds his audience that this steadfast love continues even to their own time:
Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
APPLY:
Do we ever feel lost and wandering, without a home to call our own? This is a Psalm that reminds us that God will lead us home, and make our lives productive and abundant.
When we are dry and feeling lost, we need to turn to praise:
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe.
RESPOND:
In our time, the world seems held together by the World Wide Web and satellite signals. And yet, this same world seems to be fragile, and even to be coming apart.
It is well for me to remember the promises of Scripture, and the character of God — that:
he is good, and that his love endures forever.
Long after all our current concerns and anxieties have become footnotes in history, God’s goodness and steadfast love will remain.
Our Lord, when we feel lost and homeless, remind us that you are still with us, you are still guiding us, you have not abandoned us. Bring us home, and quench our thirst. Amen.
PHOTO:
“Psalm 107:43b” by Sapphire Dream Photography is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.
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