Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So

“O 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 lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south…Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man!  And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of His deeds in songs of joy!...The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth.  Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.” –Psalm 107: 1-3, 21-22, 42-43 (ESV. Read Psalm 107).

Scholars are generally agreed that Psalm 107, another long Psalm, is both an historical psalm and a psalm entreating the people to give thanks to God, expressing gratitude to Him for His “steadfast love” during times when they were in exile.  Now that they have returned to their homeland, they are to remember God’s care and provision and bring sacrifices of praise to Him, recalling the distresses through which the Lord led them.  The divisions of the Psalm are significant:

                ·Introduction and invitation to praise and thank God (1-3)

                ·God’s care during desert wanderings (4-9)

                ·God’s provision to those in darkness, in prison, in forced labor (10-16)

                ·Those who suffered for their own folly but who turned to God (17-22)

                ·Those who suffered on the seas, in forced service, were spared (23-32)

                ·God accomplishes reversals in situations to benefit His people (33-38)

                ·His children are brought low, but God restores them; praise be to God! (39-43)

    

It is good for us to give sincere testimony to the Lord’s work in our lives.  A caution is also necessary:  do not allow personal testimony to reflect one’s own goodness; the credit for any personal accomplishments should go to the Lord God.  “Thank God for His steadfast love and mercy” should ever be the theme of our personal testimony; and this with humility.  One of “the life verses” I claim is Philippians 4:13:  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Daily in my work and in my life I want what I do to be a reflection of Christ who gives me incentive and strength. Recently I have been re-reading some journals I kept over the long period of my husband’s illness when I would visit him daily while he was in the Veterans’ Home, seek to feed him at least one of his three daily meals (sometimes two), and do what I could to make him comfortable and encourage him.  Physically, I would not have had the stamina to continue this long vigil.  I will admit that sometimes the days grew long and I myself would become very weary.  But then I would recall the exceedingly godly life my husband led before his illness, the many people he turned to the Lord, and the encouragement he gave to others.  Remembering, my heart would fill with gratitude for the “steadfast love” of the Lord and the privilege I was given to be able to keep vigil by the side of one of His choice servants.  These journals, for whatever worth they may be, recall for me how the Lord was with us, even in the “desert wastes” of long-term illness   To God be the glory!  He never leaves His own helpless, and, indeed, “His steadfast love endures forever!”

Prayer:  Oh, Lord.  Help us remember all Your benefits to us.  Let the redeemed give thanks!

Honest Confession Is Good for the Soul

“Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedness.”-Psalm 106:6.  “Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity.  Nevertheless, He looked upon their distress, when He heard their cry.  For their sake, He remembered His covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.  He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive.”-Psalm 106: 44-46 (ESV).

Psalm 106 is another historical Psalm, but this one, unlike 105 which recounts God’s faithful dealings with his people, gives incident after incident of the Israelites’ rebellion when they strayed from God’s laws and rebelled against His purposes.  That is why I entitled these thoughts, “Honest Confession Is Good for the Soul.” Many of their sins are recalled.  They built a golden calf and worshiped it (v. 19).  They forgot the wondrous works God had done to release them from Egyptian bondage and to deliver them from the waters of the Red Sea (21, 23).  They complained and murmured in the wilderness (25).  They failed to destroy the pagan nations from the land as God had commanded and worshiped the idols already set up there (34, 38).  They sacrificed their own children to idols (38).  Sundry sins marked the journey of deliverance through the wilderness to the Promised Land.  Had God made a mistake in choosing to save the nation?

Then we read God’s verdict and learn why honest confession is good for the soul:  “He looked upon their distress…He heard their cry” (44).  Because of His covenant and His steadfast love, God relented from destroying them (45-46).  In reading this Psalm and the catalog of sins the chosen people committed, I am reminded of what Paul taught when some in the early church had a wrong doctrine about sin. In writing to the Roman Christians, Paul asked: “What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  God forbid.  Haw shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?’ (Romans 6:1-2).  The doctrine of Antinomianism (i. e. against law, against morality) was abroad.  The reasoning was:  “If God pardons sin so easily, then is it not reasonable that the more people sin, the greater God’s forgiveness of that sin?  The false belief was growing that the more they sinned, the larger would be God’s forgiveness for them. How strongly did Paul answer them!  “God forbid!”  God did not provide free grace for us to keep on dwelling in sin!  Yes, we err.  We fail often in our Christian walk and fall short of God’s expectations for the Christian.  But to deliberately choose again to go into rebellion and sin was not God’s intent so that His grace might abound.  Sin belonged to the old life before conversion.  In coming to Christ, the Christian has experienced a change of direction.  He flees from sin and seeks righteousness.  And when he does err, “honest confession and repentance are good for the soul.”  God does hear the cry of the erring Christian and stands ready to replace guilt with joy.  Justification by faith is not a legal matter between the believer and God; it is a living relationship that brings new purpose and meaning into a redeemed life.  As the forgiven psalmist proclaimed:  “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!” (Psalm 107:2a).

Prayer:  Thank You, Lord, for leading us to see our sin and rebellion and to cry for forgiveness.  Thank You for hearing and restoring us to Your favor.  Amen.