Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

and amen! ’ Perhaps the emphasis on the failures of Israel in this section diluted the second amen. It is also the first book of psalms to end with ‘Praise the Lord’ (Hallelujah). The Bible is a book that does not emphasize the failure of mankind but the faithfulness of God to which we can add ‘Amen and amen!’

1 Keil & Delitzsch 2 Spence

PSALM 107: LET THEM PRAISE THE LORD Journey to the Heavenly City

This psalm is a call to the Jews who have been redeemed from the exiled lands to remember the love and power of their God that turned their misfortune into blessing. It contains four pictures of peo- ple that exemplify their return from Babylon to Israel; the person lost in the desert, the condemned pris- oner, the one suffering an incurable disease and the powerful image of mariners caught in a horrific storm at sea. In a larger sense, it is the story of the redeemed people of all ages who are making their journey through the difficulties of life to the heavenly city of Jerusalem. Jesus is seen as the ‘ Word of God’ that is sent to heal those afflicted with the ravaging disease of sin. Psalm 107 marks the beginning of the 5th Book of Psalms that corresponds to the Book of Deuteronomy. It is closely related to Psalms 105 and 106; ‘ …these three anonymous Psalms form a trilogy…they are a tripartite whole from the hand of one author 1 .’ The three psalms each emphasize a different time period regarding the Land of Israel and the lands of the exile. • Psalm 105:44- Given the Land- “He gave his people the lands of pagan nations,” • Psalm 106:27- Exiled From the Land- “…he would scatter their descendants among the nations, exiling them to distant lands.” • Psalm 107:3 Restored to the Land- “For he has gathered the exiles from many lands,”

The Psalm is outlined in 7 sections:

I SAVED FROM YOUR ENEMIES - 1-3 The Intimate Song of Thanks II SOME WANDERED IN THE DESERT - 4-9 The Impassable Desert III SOME SAT IN DARKNESS - 10-16 The Unbreakable Chains IV SOME WERE FOOLS - 17-22 The Incurable Disease V SOME WENT OFF IN SHIPS - 23-32 The Impossible Storm VI SPRINGS OF WATER - 33-38 The Conversion of the Land VII SEE IN OUR HISTORY - 39-43 The Increase of the Nation

I

SAVED FROM YOUR ENEMIES - 1-3

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved your from your enemies. For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.” (1-3) Psalm 106 has just ended with the Jews in exile extending a prayer: “Gather us back from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you.” (Ps. 106:47) These verses in Psalm 107 are the fulfillment of the prayer, God has redeemed his people and the psalmist is encour- aging them to tell others about His goodness. Paul spoke about expressing his love for God in this way “…whom I serve with all my heart by telling others the Good News about his Son.” (Rom. 1:9) The following four pictures are meant to be a likeness of what the captivity was like for the Jewish people. They are also cameos of the spiritual condition of a person without the salvation of Christ. There is a spiritual formula presented in these examples; 1.) The problem, 2.) The cry to the Lord, 3.) The de- liverance, 4.) the encouragement to praise.

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