God Speaks
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!
Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.
3 For he has gathered the exiles from many lands,
from east and west,
from north and south.
4 Some wandered in the wilderness,
lost and homeless.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
they nearly died.
6 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he rescued them from their distress.
7 He led them straight to safety,
to a city where they could live.
8 Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
9 For he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom,
imprisoned in iron chains of misery.
11 They rebelled against the words of God,
scorning the counsel of the Most High.
12 That is why he broke them with hard labor;
they fell, and no one was there to help them.
13 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom;
he snapped their chains.
15 Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
16 For he broke down their prison gates of bronze;
he cut apart their bars of iron.
17 Some were fools; they rebelled
and suffered for their sins.
18 They couldn’t stand the thought of food,
and they were knocking on death’s door.
19 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
snatching them from the door of death.
21 Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.
23 Some went off to sea in ships,
plying the trade routes of the world.
24 They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action,
his impressive works on the deepest seas.
25 He spoke, and the winds rose,
stirring up the waves.
26 Their ships were tossed to the heavens
and plunged again to the depths;
the sailors cringed in terror.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards
and were at their wits’ end.
28 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
29 He calmed the storm to a whisper
and stilled the waves.
30 What a blessing was that stillness
as he brought them safely into harbor!
31 Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
32 Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation
and before the leaders of the nation.
33 He changes rivers into deserts,
and springs of water into dry, thirsty land.
34 He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands,
because of the wickedness of those who live there.
35 But he also turns deserts into pools of water,
the dry land into springs of water.
36 He brings the hungry to settle there
and to build their cities.
37 They sow their fields, plant their vineyards,
and harvest their bumper crops.
38 How he blesses them!
They raise large families there,
and their herds of livestock increase.
39 When they decrease in number and become impoverished
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
40 the Lord pours contempt on their princes,
causing them to wander in trackless wastelands.
41 But he rescues the poor from trouble
and increases their families like flocks of sheep.
42 The godly will see these things and be glad,
while the wicked are struck silent.
43 Those who are wise will take all this to heart;
they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Whereas Psalms 105 and 106 specifically address historical accounts of God’s interactions with the Israelites, Psalm 107 relates various situations in which God has rescued people in their distress and how they should respond. Verses 1 and 2 are an introduction that instructs all those who have received God’s blessings to thank the LORD for His faithful love and, if He has redeemed them, to speak up and tell others. Verses 3-9 give an example of how the LORD has aided exiles, the homeless, the hungry, the thirsty, the lost, and those in distress. They cried out to Him, and He rescued them. Verses 8 and 9 tell what they should do in response and why. Verses 10-16 describe prisoners in chains. They cried out to the LORD, and He led them out of darkness and set them free. Verses 15 and 16 tell what they should do in response and why. Verses 17-22 focus on people who had been foolish and were suffering because of their sinful rebellion against God and His ways. They cried out, “LORD, help!” and He saved them from their distress. Verses 21 and 22 tell what they should do in response to His blessing them. In verses 23-30 we find sailors in the midst of a mighty storm crying out to the LORD and His response. Verses 31 and 32 tell what they should do once He brings them to safety and rest. Verses 33-38 declare how the LORD God restores the land and plants His people there, and how they are truly blessed. Verses 39-41 tell what God will do should troubles return. In conclusion, in verses 42 and 43 the responses of the godly and the wicked are contrasted. The godly and the wise will see these actions of God and be glad, while the wicked will be struck silent. May we all be wise and take the history of God’s people to heart.
Prayer: Dear Awesome Father God, thank You for how You respond to people who cry out to You in reverence and repentance. I hereby cry out to You on behalf of myself, my family, my community, my congregation, my county, my state, and my nation. I confess that we have sinned by not turning to You, turning away from You, and/or outright rebelling against You. Whether our troubles have been brought about by our own sins, those of others, or the sin-filled condition of the world, You still hear us when we cry out to You in repentance and faith. Thank You for hearing and responding to the concerns of the people mentioned in this psalm (and many more not mentioned). Please do the same in this day and time. Then those who are godly and/or wise will thank and praise You with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and out of gratitude to You, treat their neighbor in love as they would wish to be treated. I know that this will bring joy to Your heart and glory to You forever. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will cry out to the LORD, wait for His answers, and thank and praise Him for His response, daily.
- I will tell at least one person what God has done for me in the past and recently.
- I will write down a history of how the LORD has rescued me and blessed me to be shared with future generations to point them to faith in Him alone.
- I will ask at least one person, daily, how they have cried out to the LORD, and He has rescued and blessed them, and then join them in praising and thanking Him for it.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.