His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

Psalm 107: 1-7, 33-37 (November 2, 2008)
1) The Text

1O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. 2Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from trouble 3and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. 4Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town; 5hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. 6Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; 7he led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town.
33He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, 34a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. 35He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. 36And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in; 37they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.

2) The Context

This Psalm has no title, either in the Hebrew, or any of the Versions; the word "Hallelujah," which is prefixed to some of the latter, is no title, but was most probably borrowed from the conclusion of the preceding Psalm.

The author is unknown; but it was probably like Psalms 105 and 106, made and sung at the dedication of the second temple. The three Psalms seem to be on the same subject. In them the author has comprised the marvelous acts of the Lord towards his people; the transgressions of this people against God; the captivities and miseries they endured in consequence; and finally God's merciful kindness to them in their restoration from captivity, and re-establishment in their own land.

3) Interpretation

Steadfast love endures:

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever!

This is the recurrent theme of the 107th psalm. It introduces the fifth book of the Psalms, the book that corresponds to the book of Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch and has the same message as that book. Deuteronomy declares the "Second Law" and that is what the name means. Deutero means "second;" nomos is "law": the second law. The First Law is the law of sin and death, the law that condemns, the law that destroys, the law that makes us feel guilty and brings us under a sense of fear and condemnation. But the Second Law, says the Apostle Paul, is the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus which sets us free from the law of sin and death. It is the way God finally redeems his people. He buys them back (redeems them) by the operation of the Second Law, of which this psalm speaks.

The Psalmist speaks of the steadfast love of God. In Hebrew, the word means "an eager and ardent desire" and refers to the fact that God's love never gives up. Today, instead of "steadfast love" read "unqualified acceptance." That is what God's love does. It accepts us without reserve.. Acceptance means you are valuable just as you are. It allows you to be the real you. That is what this psalm is all about, because that is what God does. He accepts us as we are and then sets about to make us what we ourselves are longing to be. That ability is what the Psalmist calls "steadfast love of God."

The psalm is very simple in its structure. It is divided into two major parts. The first is a testimony of how God delivered people from circumstances and difficulties which are very much like the ones we are going through today. He describes four different kinds of trouble from which God can deliver. The first description is found in Verses 4-5.

Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.

Who are these? They are what we might call the restless ones. They are the ones who wander about from place to place or from job to job from marriage to marriage, filled with questions and seeking to find where the answer lies. There are a lot of them today. They cannot find the answers. They are looking for something but they cannot find it. They keep wandering from place to place and from experience to experience, trying to find something to satisfy.

Then we are told how they find satisfaction in Verses 6-7.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; he led them by a straight way, till they reached a city to dwell in.

Some of us are finding this true in our lives. Gradually, step by step, as we walk the straight way, God is leading us to a place of excitement and security, of adequacy, of power.

The latter part of the psalm describes the way God does this, his methods. First, to accomplish his purposes, God uses adversity. He deliberately at times sends into our pathway trouble and disaster, because it is the only way he can get our attention. You know that you never had time to listen to the voice of God until you got sick, or in difficulty, or in trouble. But when trouble loomed then you had time to listen to what God had to say. But God knows that the most important thing for you to learn is to hear his word, because that word reveals what life is all about. So he sends trouble, deliberately. C. S. Lewis put it well. "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our consciences, but shouts at us in our pain. Pain is his megaphone to reach a deaf world."

Then God can use prosperity. When you take God at his word, you walk in the fullness of his strength and supply, and you begin to fellowship with him and enjoy his presence, he rewards you. He sends you the very thing you are looking for. He meets your needs, satisfies your heart, and fills you with good things. Your prayers do not go unanswered for God moves to meet your need. And protects you. He not only supplies, abundantly, but he also protects.

4) Thought Exercise

Does God deliberately put adversity in our lives so we pay attention?
Is it possible to see God’s mercy in adversity?