Prayer Meeting September 26, 2007
Psalm 107 – A Psalm of Thanks for Every Aspect of Life
OBSERVATIONS
1. First Psalm in Book 5
2. V. 1, v 43 “give thanks – Consider the great love of the Lord
3. “Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so!”
a. Are we to say “I’m redeemed?” Note, what we are told to say comes
before the command.
b. Are we to “give thanks to the Lord for He is good.” (Correct interpretation)
c. The NIV makes better sense then the NAS and KJV
4. Note the repeated phrase in 8, 15, 21, 31.
5. We are given four circumstances in which we are told to give thanks
6. The conclusion – God is sovereign in all things – we are to consider his love and deliverance
I. The WANDERER should give thanks to the LORD. 107:4-9
A. The reasons
1. God satisfies
2. God settles
3. God fills the hungry
4. God satisfies the thirsty
B. The response – PRAISE – 107:9
C. Application – Times of FAITH should lead us to be thankful
II. The SUFFERER should give thanks to the LORD. 107:10-14
A. The reasons
1. Possibly the children in bondage in Egypt
2. He hears the cries of his children
3. He is the deliverer
B. The response – PRAISE 107:16
C. Application – Times of TESTING should lead us to be thankful
III. The FALLEN should give thanks to the LORD. 107:17-21
A. The reasons
1. Possibly the children in the wilderness
2. The LORD was patient
3. He rescued them
B. The response – CONFESSION 107:22 Sacrifice thank offerings
C. Application – Times of FAILURE should lead us to be thankful for
God’s patience and forgiveness
IV. The FRUITFUL should give thanks to the LORD. 107:23-30
A. These are those who leave home on great adventures for God.
B. Times of GROWTH and ministry bring us to some of our greatest need for the Lord’s assistance
C. The response. TESTIMONY. 107:32
D. Application – Times of SERVICE should lead us to be thankful
V. Conclusion – Everything is in God’s Control, so learn to live a life of thankfulness
A. The CLIMATE is in His control. 33-37
1. Rivers and dessert (note the parallelism in 33, 35)
2. Spring and dry ground. (Parallelism in 33, 35) B. GROWTH is in His control. 38-39
C. PEOPLE are in His control. 40-41
D. Therefore, consider the great love of the Lord for us. E. Can I thank God for anything today?
1. What are your circumstances like right now?
2. Are you praising God for those circumstance?
3. Are you experiencing His deliverance?
4. TAKE HEED – “God is working all things for the good of those who love him.” (Romans 8:28) "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
FOLLOWING are the expanded notes I e-mailed to Ken Thomas, who was absent from prayer meeting but who I thought would appreciate this commentary
Dear Ken,
1. Thanks much for the article on Kathie Lee Gifford's blasphemous remarks at the Emmy awards. I had heard about the episode, but did not have anything in print form to use for documentation. I appreciate your assistance.
We had a great study in Psalm 107 last night. I would like to share it with you via my notes, with a few comments so that you can follow on your own and be blessed by the text.
Psalm 107 – A Psalm of Thanks for Every Aspect of Life
Before getting into the specifics of the text, let's make some overall observations:
– 107 is the first Psalm in Book V
– The theme is given in 107:1 and repeated in 107:43 "give thanks – Consider the
great love of the Lord"
– The phrase "Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so!" (107:2, KJV) encourages us to "say" what was said in 107:1. Specifically, we are told that the redeemed are to speak of God's great love. Our testimonies should focus on God's love, and should give Him glory. The NIV makes the sense a little more clear, in translating 107:2 "Let the redeemed of the Lord say this – " The NIV translation emphasizes that the testimony of the redeemed is a testimony that contains the praise of the preceding verse – "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, his love endures forever."
Now, of utmost importance, note that a key phrase is repeated in 107:8, 15,
21, 31. It would be helpful to mark these verses in a distinctive way in your Bible. Note also, that each of these verses is followed by an exhortation or command. This phrase divides the Psalm into five sections. The first four sections tell various aspects of Israel's history and demonstrate that no matter what the circumstance, the people of God have reason to give thanks to the Lord for His goodness. The fifth section speaks about God's sovereignty in all things and also reminds us that because He is in control, we ought to give thanks in all things.
The general outline of this Psalm is:
1-3 Introduction and theme
4-6 Scene One – The Wanderer should give thanks to the Lord (Times of Faith lead us to thankfulness)
8 THEME
9 Exhortation –
10-14 Scene Two – The Sufferer should give thanks to the Lord (times of
Testing lead us to thankfulness)
15 THEME
16 Exhortation
17-20 Scene Three – The FALLEN should Give thanks to the Lord (Times of failure lead us to thankfulness)
21 THEME
22 Exhortation
23-30 Scene Four – The Fruitful should give thanks to the Lord (times of
Service lead us to Thankfulness)
31 THEME
32 Exhortation
33-42 God's Sovereignty in all things is reason for us to give him thanks
43 Conclusion – Consider God's great love
Here is the development of the Psalm
I. The WANDERER should give thanks to the LORD. 107:4-9 (read this) The reasons
God satisfies
God settles
God fills the hungry
God satisfies the thirsty
The response – PRAISE – 107:9 Note that each time the theme verse is stated (107:8, 15, 21 and 31), an exhortation is given. The exhortation given for the WANDERER, is that they should praise God. I submit that the Wanderer here may be an illusion to Abraham, who had to accept God's word and by faith left his country, his security, his familiar things to obey the voice of the Lord. He speaks
to us at the moments of our faith testing. We should respond in the same way. When we do, the result is PRAISE, as we read in 107:9.
SO. . .in summary of point I, The WANDERER should give praise to the Lord. The WANDERER is a reminder to us that
Times of FAITH should lead us to be thankful
II. The SUFFERER should give thanks to the LORD. 107:10-14 (read this)
I believe that the sufferer here may be a reference to the Israelite bondage in Egypt, although there is not enough in the text to say this with 100% confidence. However, the circumstance seem to match the circumstances of the Israelites. The application of this section points to TIMES of TESTING. We can "give
thanks to the Lord" during times of testing for He will deliver us.
The reasons
He hears the cries of his children
He is the deliverer
The response – PRAISE 107:16 (read this) Note, that just as in v. 9, an exhortation follows the theme verse. This exhortation is a call to praise for God's deliverance
Application – Times of TESTING should lead us to be thankful
III. The FALLEN should give thanks to the LORD. 107:17-2
This section seems to be describing the wilderness wanderings.
We are not thankful for our FAILURES, but rather for his FORGIVENESS even when we do fail.
The LORD was patient
He rescued them
Note The response – CONFESSION 107:22 Sacrifice thank offerings. Today, we do not bring a sacrifice to the priest, but rather we confess our sins (1 John 1:9) and are restored to fellowship with the Lord, based on the accomplishments of the cross.
Application – Times of FAILURE should lead us to be thankful for God’s patience and forgiveness
IV. The FRUITFUL should give thanks to the LORD. 107:23-30
This illustration from the sea represents those who venture out in faith to do God's work. To me, this is a picture of the fruitful Christian life. Such a life is not without trials and testing, often to the extreme that we are at "our wits end"
(107:27, NIV). As we mature in Christ and attempt great adventures for God, He is right there with us, and will deliver us from the trials we face. THEN we can be thankful!
Times of GROWTH and ministry bring us to some of our greatest need for the
Lord’s assistance
The response. We give TESTIMONY to God's people of the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord (107:32)
Application – Times of SERVICE should lead us to be thankful
Conclusion – Everything is in God’s Control, so learn to live a life of thankfulness
The CLIMATE is in His control. 33-37
Rivers and dessert (note the parallelism in 33, 35) Spring and dry ground. (Parallelism in 33, 35)
GROWTH is in His control. 38-39
PEOPLE are in His control. 40-41
Therefore, consider the great love of the Lord for us. Can I thank God for anything today?
What are your circumstances like right now? Are you praising God for those circumstance? Are you experiencing His deliverance?
TAKE HEED – "God is working all things for the good of those who love him." (Romans 8:28) "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
END of sermon.
I hope that you were able to at least follow the key themes and thought of Psalm 107. It brought me great joy and encouragement, and I hope it will for you also.
In His Service, Pastor Paul
Paul Barreca Teaching Pastor Faith Bible Church
3139 E. Chestnut Ave. Vineland, NJ 08361
(856) 691-3460
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