It's all right. Joe always says I'm the substitute
teacher, so no one really cares. Listen, yeah,
I heard an amen for that. I don't know. Hey,
good morning to you. It's just good to see Greg
Katz, Grandpa Greg back there. Let's go. I see
you with that, baby. That's what I'm talking
about. It's Thanksgiving already in here. This
is awesome. Hey, well, good morning to you. If
you don't know me, I'm Shay. I'm obviously one
of the pastors here and so glad to be able to
open the word this morning. Even as I say that,
would you grab your Bibles and turn to Psalm
107. Psalm 107 is our text this morning. Maybe
as you turn, you can just think with me. I mean,
I'm sure if... As a child you experienced this
and maybe as a parent you experienced this I
like most parents, you know with our kids We're
we're trying to help them with just normal kindness
normal manners, right? I'm sure your parents
have done this with you I mean we dropped them
off at school. We're hey, make sure you say good
morning to adults speak to adults, right? We're
you know, say hello to people look them in the
eye We're doing this but you know the one that
we I feel like we say a lot is did you say Thank
you. Did you say thank you? Your youth leader
picked you up took you out and dropped you off.
Did you say thank you? Your teammate or your
coach gave you a compliment Did you say thank
you to them that person at Chick -fil -a held
the door for you? Did you say thank you? I mean
your mom made you dinner and she went back for
the 15th time to the kitchen to get you something
You know, did you say? Thank you. I mean it seems
like it shouldn't be something that we have to
remind Children about you know being being thankful
for someone doing something for you Should be
normal It should be regular and it should be
common. And it would be obviously really easy
for me to come down on my kids, right, and just
say, man, why is it so hard for them to learn
this lesson? But as I was reflecting on even
this Psalm the past few weeks, I realized this
isn't just a lesson for my children, is it? It's
a lesson really for every child of God. To ask
that question, did we say thank you? And we too
need reminders. We need reminders to even build
habits of thankfulness. Because I think if we're
honest, right, I think you're probably like me,
you know, we too struggle at times to say thank
you for the incredible things that God has done
in our lives and that he is doing. I mean, we
often just struggle and need to be asked pointedly,
hey, did you say thank you? So that's the title
of my sermon to try to catch the flavor and theme
this morning. And that's the question I'm really
asking. I mean, have you spent time or will you
spend time, maybe even this week, simply giving
thanks to God? Is this the habit of your life
that it's not just even one week, but it's normal,
it's regular, it's common in response to God's
sovereign care over you? I mean, that's really
my desire to try to to see this. I have no doubt.
that some of you are already doing this. You
are full of gratitude. You have a thankful heart
and spirit about you of the ongoing work of God.
And I just wanna say, hey, praise the Lord, stay
at it, stay at it. But I also know some of you
are like me, right? At times and seasons we struggle.
We often struggle with ingratitude, right? It
just seems that it's more natural at times for
our sinful hearts to just... Forget and to not
say thanks to the Lord fact you don't have to
turn there But I know this to be true because
the scripture tells us as much in Romans 1 The
text should come up on the screen the Apostle
Paul speaks about this in in terms of of humanity
of sinful humanity it says this for although
they knew God Catch this they did not honor him
as God or give thanks to him But they became
futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts
were darkened Claiming to be wise they became
fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal
God for images resembling mortal man and birds
and animals and creeping things So if you struggle
It's just part of what it means to be a sinful
human even Paul here describing its They're not
giving thanks to God. It tends to be our natural
sinful state. And so, listen, I don't want to
leave you on a negative note. There's hope for
you this morning. There's hope even from the
Word of God. And even when we come to Christ
and we still battle the old flesh, listen, we
can grow by the power of the Lord in His Spirit
and through His Word. And I think, of course,
it helps that every year we put on the calendar
a season of Thanksgiving. Isn't that helpful?
Wait, as you look down at Psalm 107, I had been
reading this psalm just in my own Bible reading,
and it just kind of just jumped out at me, and
I began to underline a repeated phrase that we're
going to look at throughout this psalm. And that
repeated phrase is simply this, Oh, give thanks
to the Lord. Oh, give thanks to the Lord. This
is what the psalmist wants for the people of
God to do. And of course, it's our desire to
do that this morning. And while this is a longer
psalm, in fact, someone this week even asked
how's Shay gonna get through 43 verses, I don't
know. We'll see how it goes this morning. But
it's a relatively simple song. It's a call for
the people of God whom he has rescued, whom he
has delivered, whom he has redeemed to give thanks
and praise to him. And what the psalmist does
here is he gives us different insights, different
pictures, really kind of different parables or
examples of situations that he has taken the
people of God through. And then the response.
to that. And so these little stories throughout
this psalm are going to guide us, but I do want
to give you just a little bit of background to
kind of catch you up so you know what's kind
of going on. You notice at the top of the psalm
that there's really no header. Your Bible may
have supplied some kind of header, but you know
sometimes the psalms will say a psalm or a song,
a psalm of David. There's no header to this psalm
and we don't exactly know who wrote it. It very
well could be David himself, I mean, some of
the language definitely fits him, but there's
no specific author attributed. But you might
also notice that right above the title of your
psalm there, 107, it says Book 5. Book 5. This
is really just calling out the last major division
in the Psalms. There's five divisions in the
Psalms. This, of course, will take us from 107
all the way to the end in 150. And interestingly
though, I think that that division is kind of
funny because actually Psalm 107, many commentators
point out, it's probably the last psalm in a
four -part series. I'm sure many of you watch
a four -part, a six -part series on television.
This would be a fourth part of God's work in
history up to this point. You don't have to look
at them. I just want to give them to you. Psalm
104 would really be the history of creation and
the flood story. Psalm 105 is a history of the
patriarchs and they're coming in to Cain in the
promised land Psalm 106 the history of Israel
in the in the in the land until the Babylonian
captivity and really here this seems the background
of Psalm 107 may be the history of the return
to the land as the people are coming out of exile
and So we have in this background people were
turning from exile recalling remembering the
Lord's work. In fact, I want you to see the connection
in Psalm 106. You shouldn't have to turn. I have
two columns in my Bible. It's on the same page.
But look back at Psalm 106 verse 47. There's
a prayer here. It says this, save us, O Lord
our God. Gather us from among the nations that
we may give thanks to your holy name and glory
in your praise. The prayer is gather us. It's
bring us back so we can give thanks to the God
who brings us out of exile, who rescues us, who
redeems us. And this, of course, brings us to
Psalm 107. I want to look with you. I have a
few different sections. I'll give them to you
as we go. But the first here is simply the call
to thank the Lord, the call to thank the Lord.
Look down in your Bible. Oh, 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 the lands from the east and
from the west From the north and from the south.
Let's stop there the psalm of course starts with
this call give thanks to the Lord say thank you
says the psalmist this is the repeated refrain
throughout the psalm and Specifically, he says
there say thank you or be thankful because of
what? because of who the Lord is, because of
who the Lord is. He is good. His steadfast love
endures forever. I mean, the Lord's steadfast
love is a common idea. You'll see that language
throughout the Old Testament, especially in the
Psalms. And in this psalm, it's repeated at least
six times. It's it's one word steadfast love.
It's two in English one in the original Hebrew
It's a word you may may have heard before hesed
hesed and it's a weighty word It's full of of
just meaning it carries the idea of of God's
goodness of his graciousness Or more specifically
it speaks of God's God's loyal love The loyal
love of God. It just means that God's love is
unfailing. It means that he is Himself completely
and utterly faithful in His love to His children.
It even carries the idea that God is always faithful
to His covenant with His people. So God is good.
He is faithful in His love. He won't fail. He'll
always be this way, loving, kind, and gracious.
This is who He is. And of course, His steadfast
love endures forever. This is a never -ending
attribute of our never -ending God. And so the
focus of the psalm and the call here in these
first few verses is to praise the lord for who
he is as loving and gracious and he always keeps
his promises always keeps his word which apparently
is an answer to the prayer that we just read
back in psalm 106 Verse 47, to save us, to bring
us out. He's answering this in Psalm 107. He's
bringing them back from exile. And verse two
adds that this should be on the people's lips.
It says, I love this, let the redeem of the Lord
say so. That is, those who've been rescued, they
should praise Him openly. Let them speak of God's
steadfast love and goodness, not to unlike what
you just did a moment ago as you sang out. I
sat up here and was just blessed to hear you
sing out praise to God. So the question is for
us, has God been good to you? Has He redeemed
you from trouble? Has He done that? The call
is of course to give thanks and we're gonna dive
in now to some specific reasons. to give thanks
the psalmist calls them out and and he really
does this in these kind of four different pictures
let's look at the first one i'll put it in a
phrase for you it's just this thank the lord
for reorienting the wanderers thank the lord
for reorienting the wanderers look down in your
bible at verse four it says this some wandered
in desert wastes finding no way to a city to
dwell in Hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted
within them. 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. Let them thank the Lord for
His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to
the children of man, for He satisfies the longing
soul and the hungry soul He fills with good things.
You'll notice that the verse four begins with
the word some. Some this is an indicator the
psalmist uses throughout the psalm you'll see
it down in verse 10 down in verse 17 and again
down in verse 23 kind of marking out kind of
these four different stories or parables or situations
And these will guide us as we look and they're
really not four different people so much as four
different looks Maybe not the people of Israel,
four different aspects. But the first picture
here we're given is a picture of people wandering
in the desert, apparently hungry and thirsty.
The situation seems dire. Immediately of course
we think of who? The people of Israel. Them wandering
through the desert, 40 years. And while this
could be specific to that, it also could be speaking
of any kind of exile, like in Babylon, that God's
people had experienced. I mean, you know it.
It'll come up on screen in Hebrews 11. It says
that specifically they were stoned, they were
sawn in two, they were killed with the sword,
they went about in skins of sheep and goats,
destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the
world was not worthy. Says wandering about in
deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of
the earth So as the nation of Israel wandering
around why did they wander? Why were they sent
out this way? Well, of course it was tied to
their their disobedience their unbelief They
didn't trust in the promises of God that He had
prepared a place for them, this place called
the promised land. And so the psalmist says in
verse four, they had no city. They had no place
to call home. They had no place to rest and to
be restored. They were wandering about homeless.
I mean, I'm from the deserts of California, in
Southern California. And I've wandered about
in the desert. Never for days. As a child, only
hours at times. But even then I always had my
house in view I could always see where my my
home was We had these we call them the holes
me and my friends on my street these holes we
take our bikes They're a big just giant holes
know the desert we take our bikes and and ride
through them But I could always see my house
from where that was of course not these people
They're gone off away from home wandering wandering
about And because of this, the text says they're
hungry and thirsty. Did you catch it in verse
5? Their soul fainted within them. Of course,
we are body and soul. That's part of this, but
this isn't just a physical reality for Israel
wandering in the desert. It is too about their
souls. There is a spiritual dynamic. They are
wandering souls, disoriented souls, looking to
have their spiritual hunger and thirst quenched,
but apparently looking in all the wrong places.
Mean have you had any time this year where your
soul has wandered about? just wandering off running
after the wrong things going into the to the
wrong places a friend of mine a former elder
a church that I was a part of in Southern California
just happens to be a a Hebrew scholar and He
had some comments on this text specifically his
name is Bill Barrick. He said this he said the
people in Psalm 107 had hungered and thirsted
for righteousness, but they had not come to the
righteous one. They were still depending upon
their own worthless righteousness." End quote.
They're in trouble, aren't they? They're in trouble,
or as one commentator put it, they're discouraged
and unable to continue. It was as though their
souls had collapsed. This is what happens to
the wandering heart, the wandering soul. But
it was at that low point The verse 6 says then
they cried to the Lord in their trouble They
cried to the Lord in their trouble good decision
To cry out to the Lord in prayer the faithful
one who is good and full of steadfast love And
of course he answers their prayer in verse 6
and it says and he delivered them from their
distress Even though they had no city no home
the Lord reorients is reorients them and reestablishes
them in their wandering and Sends them straight
in to a city to dwell He does this of course
because of his steadfast love his loyal love
that we looked at already in verse 1 See God's
always faithful He's not gonna leave his people
out wandering around hungry and thirsty. He satisfies
them. He always leads them home And so of course
the best response To that kind of deliverance
to that kind of rescue to that kind of reorienting
of the wandering soul is to thank The Lord verse
8 let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love
Thank God for his kindness. Thank him for his
deliverance. I just want to ask us that question
Have you done that? Has your heart been wandering
this year and you've allowed it to go places
and you've sought a righteousness That is only
in yourself and not in the the righteous one
What you really really want is the righteousness
that only Christ can bring right? The righteousness
that he accomplished on the cross the one that
we just sang about that is at the heart of the
gospel message We don't earn salvation in our
own righteousness. It is gifted to us And so
your wandering heart needs to be reoriented,
and the Lord can do that. I'm just asking you
that question. Have you cried out to Him? Have
you cried out to Him? He is faithful. God steadfastly
loves to reorient wandering hearts. And you say,
Pastor, I have done that. I've done that this
year, and I've actually done it multiple times.
And you say, I'm back. And I say, praise God.
Let me just ask you one more thing. Did you say
thank you? Did you thank Him for For satisfying
you look down at verse 9 for he satisfies the
longing soul and the hungry soul he fills with
good things Have you done that this year? Let
me just give you another one. Let's look at the
next one. So we thank the Lord for Reorienting
wandering hearts, but how about this one? Thank
the Lord for releasing the prisoners look down
at verse 10 Some sat in darkness in the shadow
of death prisoners in affliction and in irons
For they had rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the council of the most high So he
bowed their hearts down with hard labor. They
fell down with none to help Then they cried to
the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them
from their distress He brought them out of darkness
and the shadow of death and burst their bonds
apart Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast
love for his wondrous works to the children of
man for he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts
into the bars of iron Again, you saw the word
some there in verse 10, calling out another group,
no longer wanderers, but now prisoners. These
people, they're stuck in one place. It's a prison
cell. And this prison apparently is full of darkness,
full of affliction, and full of death. It's possible
the psalmist is describing the nation of Israel,
enslaved, captive, in Egypt. Especially, I think
that might be true in verse 12, where they have
hard labor as we read about in the scripture.
But the biggest issue here, in this picture,
That the reason that they're in prison is that
they have rebelled against the words of God It
says they have spurned his counsel I mean it
says if they have turned their back on the law
of God his word Literally this week. I told this
to Joe and Jonah. I was in this section I was
looking and studying this part. I turned around
in my office and looked out my window There on
the street was a guy being handcuffed just outside
over here Four cop cars are here. He is being
handcuffed. He's up against you know, the the
cop car and then later I told the guys an unmarked
van showed up they transferred him into that
so I don't know what he did I did see the one
of the ladies from the Lutheran Church walk over
and check on the situation seemed like it was
okay and He's I'm assuming at this moment behind
bars No light not unlikely that he spurned the
law of the land He ignored the law of our state
and listen listen likely sitting now Behind bars
at least I hope that's true But these prisoners
these prisoners they're they're imprisoned because
they spurned the counsel of God and because of
the consequences of their own sin. They have
apparently thought that their own counsel was
better than God's. They're not like the wise
men we read about in Psalm 1, who are meditating
on the Word of God day and night. No, these people
have trusted in their own Word. God's Word has
not been a delight to them, and now they sit
in darkness in the shadow of death, the text
says. But thankfully, Just like the wandering
souls we read about these prisoners cry out to
the only one who can free them, right? They cry
out to the Lord in verse 13 During their trouble
and it says he delivers them even from the darkness
and the shadow of Death doesn't Paul use that
kind of language and he speaks of the New Testament
believers there in Colossians Should come up
here. He has delivered us from the domain of
darkness. It says And He's transferred us to
the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins. This is
the reality for all the children of God. Psalm
107 -14, back in 107 -14. He burst their bonds
apart, it says. I love that. Reminds me of an
old radio show I used to listen to when I was
a kid. Maybe some of you know this show I used
to listen to it with my parents usually late
late in the car. It was called unshackled Anybody
know this old old it was an old evangelistic
radio drama each episode was was riveting as
a young kid They have sound effects and there'd
always be a story of someone becoming unshackled
from their sin They're broken free. I think that's
what I'm seeing here in Psalm 107. These people
are set free. They're unshackled. God's heard
their cry. It's not their own strength that saved
them, not their own power that has released them.
It's God who breaks their bonds apart. Of course,
this is a call to praise. A call to thank the
Lord. Verse 15, let them thank the Lord for His
steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the
children of man. Thank Him for His loyal love,
for His wondrous works. Listen, this could be
about Israel. What about us? You're going to
hear me keep coming back to that. What about
us? Maybe you've rebelled against the Word of
God this last year. Maybe you've done this last
week in recent memory. Maybe you sought even
your own counsel and not the Lord's even just
for a Moment and you found yourself in this sense
in this picture shackled by sin I would just
remind you the hope of the gospel is yours The
hope of the truth of Christ is yours. Remember
what Jesus said and in Luke 4 Speaking about
this very thing. It says the Spirit of Lord is
upon me Because he has anointed me to proclaim
good news to the poor He has sent me to proclaim
liberty to the captives and recovering of sight
to the blind to set at liberty those who are
oppressed to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor Listen if you're in Christ this promise
is yours today The bonds of sin have been broken
Listen, have you thanked him? Have you said thank
you to the Lord for setting you free for delivering
you? Let's look at another reason to thank him
There's another little story here. This one is
thank the Lord for restoring the sufferers. Thank
the Lord for restoring the sufferers. Look down
at verse 17. We're just walking through this.
Again that word some. Some were fools through
their sinful ways and because of their iniquities
suffered affliction. They loathe any kind of
food, and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and He delivered them from their distress. He
sent out His word and healed them and delivered
them from their destruction. Let them thank the
Lord, underline it, 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 and songs of joy. No longer
prisoners here now. We have just simply what
I'm calling a group of of sufferers they suffer
simply because of their sin I Think we all know
that there is some suffering that exists in this
world simply because we live in a broken and
sinful and fallen world But that's not the description
here in this song These people aren't suffering
just because of the plight of sinful humanity.
They suffer because it's all self -inflicted.
These people suffer because of their own sinful
actions and their own sinful ways. In fact, it's
so much so that in verse 18, it says they drew
near to the gates of death, nearing death, loathing
food itself because of their sin. That's why
the best word is used in verse 17 to describe
these people. What are they called? They're called
fools. Fools. Those people that Proverbs spend
so much time telling us not to be like, right?
Not to be like the fool. The people who lack
sound judgment. They run after evil things. They
don't listen. Often the Proverbs even talk about
the fact that they're lazy. I mean, they disregard
the Word of God, yes, and then they seek to satisfy
their hearts in wrong and evil things. They even,
as Proverbs 1 says, they even get others to engage
with them in their foolish ways. I mean, fools
are often described just simply as being wicked.
Or one banner phrase is they don't fear the Lord.
So what is it that they do? They suffer. They
may even suffer the natural consequences of their
sin even in their their bodies Literally bringing
them near to death. It's as if they're looking
over the edge into their own Grave peering down
six feet into the ground is the picture The psalmist
is trying to get to give us and it's all because
their sinful life has led them here You know,
I can't help but think About the prodigal son
when I think about this Remember he he runs away
takes all of his money expends it in and a life
of sinfulness and wickedness and Squanders everything
and he sits there in a pig pen At one point even
even longing to be fed with the food of the pigs
were eating possibly starving at this point Mean
it's interesting the prodigal son actually longs
for food, but here in Psalm 107. They don't even
want food They loathe it. That's how much they're
suffering has come And of course, I don't know
if you've been at a place like that physically
I Mean you may have what about in your own soul
a place where you found yourself suffering, the
effects, the natural consequences of your sin,
even feeling the intensity of death at some point.
Dr. Barrack, the one I quoted earlier, he said
this, not until some people come face to face
with death do they realize, they finally realize,
their terrible condition. He says there are many
whom God has had to bring to the edge of their
own grave before they had finally turned to Him
for His help. Don't know that that's been you
maybe you've been near someone that this has
been true of But have You cried out to the Lord
in that moment? That's the question. I keep coming
back to the psalmist keeps coming back you have
you turned to him? Have you run to him? He loves
to deliver his people from trouble He loves to
deliver them from these things I mean, this is
what these sufferers do, and we would take note
of how they did it. They cried out to the Lord
in their trouble. They said, Lord, we need help.
We're in a situation that we've brought upon
ourselves, and now we need You to pull us out.
And of course, the promise in 19, and He delivered
them from their distress. He delivers them. Psalm
116 has the exact same language. You'll see this
throughout the Psalms. It's a call to run to
the Lord. And I wanted you to check this out.
Look down at verse 20. Did you catch this? Look
at it says how he does this. It says of God he
sent out his word and healed them and delivered
them from their destruction It's specifically
speaking here of God's word that does this kind
of work And you say how does God's word do this?
I'm thankful for the comments of Jim Hamilton
in his commentary. I love this. Look at this
with me He said the Bible produces wisdom and
foolish people It reorients our perspective The
Bible gives people a new way of life that does
not lead through affliction to the gates of death
But rather on a straight and narrow way to the
presence of God where people prosper in all they
do end quote I mean, the Word of God is incredibly
powerful here. And God uses it to heal and restore
the sick and the suffering here. I mean, you
know, the longest Psalm, Psalm 119, it'll say
it like this in verse 25, my soul clings to the
dust. Give me life according to your word, it
says. Or verse 28, my soul melts away for sorrow.
strengthen me according to your word." You see
how the psalmist calling out to the Lord that
God's word would do this? Or verse 50 of Psalm
119, this is my comfort in my affliction, that
your promise gives me life. The Word of God bringing
life, the Word of God healing the sick and suffering
soul. Let me just ask you this question, do you
run to it when you're in distress and when you're
suffering? Mean sometimes I fear I think I might
have said something similar to the ambassadors
group a couple weeks ago Sometimes the Word of
God's the last place we go. I Mean we're quick
to turn on a podcast I need to you know listen
to seven different voices for an hour and a half
while I drive and Then talk about what it means
to suffer You know, I mean we're quick to run
to a friend Not always wrong, of course or run
to a spouse or click on YouTube or even distract
ourselves with social media or whatever it may
be. I'll watch a seven second video on suffering.
That'll be enough. I mean, so many voices, so
many other words that we can listen to that don't
have the promise and the power of the Word of
God. You've got to run to God in His Word. And
by the power of the Word, I can say this, it
will heal. It will restore. It will bring you
back in that sense to life. And when it does,
listen, what's the call in verse 21? Let them
thank the Lord. Let them offer sacrifices of
thanksgiving. Let them tell of His deeds and
songs of joy. I just have three S's. There's
the saying of thanks, the sacrifice of thanks,
and the singing of thanks. Just bring it all.
So I asked you that question. Did you say thank
you have you thanked the Lord? Well, there's
a another kind of last little parable here in
the text I want you to see It's another reason
to thank the Lord. He reorients the wandering
soul. He releases the The prisoner from captivity
he he restores the suffering heart and here the
last one we can thank the Lord for rescuing the
troubled Rescuing the trouble look at it with
me It says some Went down to the sea and ships,
doing business on the great waters. They saw
the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in
the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy
wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They
mounted up to heaven. They went down to the depths.
Their courage melted away in their evil plight.
They reeled and staggered like drunken men, and
were at their wit's end. Then they cried to the
Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from
their distress He made the storm be still and
the waves of the sea were hushed Then they were
glad that the waters were quiet and he brought
them to their desired Haven let them thank the
Lord for his steadfast love for his wondrous
works to the children of man Let they let them
extol him in the congregation the people and
praise him in the assembly of the elders You
know, there's all this water And sailor language,
I almost wanted to make the title of this section,
thank the Lord for rescuing the mariners. I mean,
he's powerful, but no, I'm just joking. But the
picture we have is one of sailors. And there
really isn't a ton to compare it to in the nation
of Israel, which lends a lot of commentators,
and I tend to agree that this isn't just about
Israel. this is about individuals and Here we
have people working at sea and God in his sovereignty.
He brings a storm He and it pounds them and and
they're in trouble. I Mean it says in verse 26
that they lose all courage Mean these are people
that do business out on the sea They're probably
used to being out there and and and and they're
experienced sailors, but now there's verse 27
They're staggering around because their boat
is just being pounded to the point That they're
at their wits end. It says You know my Bible
has a little note. It brings me down to the bottom
of my page little footnote It says here, all
their wisdom was swallowed up, it says. That's
the idea there. They're at their wit's end. Their
wisdom's gone. I mean, even the most experienced
of fishermen are at the mercy of the sea, and
they can lose all hope and all courage. I don't
know if you've been in a situation like this.
I mean, but it's amazing how small you can feel
out on a boat. Even a big boat out on the ocean.
I don't have a lot of personal experience of
being caught in the storm the only experience
I have of manning a ship was a small sailboat
in Balboa Harbor in California that me and my
friend Zach crashed into a parked boat and One
of us had to jump out and physically move the
boat ourselves with our feet because we just
couldn't get control of this thing But but I
called a couple in our church this week Called
the first fisherman. I know Tim Schwitters. He's
in our church. He said you need to call Josh
and Eleanor Nelson Because they had an experience
Like this just a year ago Caught in a storm up
near the San Juan Islands coming down from Victoria
to Seattle and I called them I said hey guys,
I need an illustration for my sermon. No, I said
I said I said I'm studying this text I Just heard
that you guys were caught in a storm. Tell me
about it Well, they started telling me it was
Shay. It was it was unbelievable We were going
down from Victoria just a year ago. We got caught
in the storm They had some friends and some family
on the boat and suddenly the sea turned on them
They told me that it was an incredibly frightening
experience. They were hitting what were 14 foot
waves Some of which were just hammering their
boats at high their boat at high speeds And they
told me we literally thought we were going to
die. I Mean Shay we we just they literally said
it was a storm of biblical proportions. Those
were their words and you can imagine What that's
like feeling completely helpless, especially
if you're the captain of the ship Seriously fearful
of their lives. Some of you are like man. I'm
never going on a boat again. I'm like, I know
I'm with you You know, it's amazing I told him
I said listen, it's so interesting because my
text talks about this and they were telling me
Yeah, every time we read anything about boats
and sailing now. It's all we think about is this
experience We had a year ago and I said man Well
in the psalm it says it says that they they prayed
to the Lord and they said oh Shay That's exactly
what we did We we cried out to the Lord I said
what happened They said, we're not kidding, Shay.
And I don't know how much time it took. They
said the storm calmed, and I'm quoting now, the
waves went from 14 feet to two inches. And their
boat had gotten in between two different islands,
and suddenly things were calm. And the Lord had
spared them and brought them safely to their
destination. Or as the psalmist says in verse
28, he made the storm be still and the waves
were hushed. And of course, what in verse three,
they were glad. Glad that the waves were quiet
and bringing them to where they wanted to go.
I told that couple and I say it to you, praise
the Lord. In the midst of trouble, In the midst
of even something that God may bring, a humbling
experience for you. There's no indication that,
I mean, the psalmist indicates that this was
a storm that God brought. It just happened. God
may do that to show you His power, His might,
remind you how tiny that you really are. Even
then we need to cry out to Him. Of course, it's
not just being in trouble on the sea. This stands
for anything that could humble us anything that
causes us to fear to reel and lose our courage
we to cry out to him Maybe you're in a situation
like that right now. I Don't know what you brought
in but you can call out to the steadfast God
the God that's loving and gracious and kind and
good And when you do he will rescue and then
of course the response is just simply this let
them thank the Lord for his steadfast love You
notice in verse 32 he adds a few more things
that says let them extol him in the congregation
of the people and Praise him in the assembly.
This isn't just a personal dynamic It's a corporate
one if you experience God's love in this way
when he's brought you back from your wandering
brought you back from your imprisonment of your
own sin and your suffering and in your trouble
You need to tell people about it. Go and tell
them. Tell the church. Tell the elders. Tell
everyone what he has done. Maybe make it part
of your Thanksgiving meal this week. Hey listen,
I had this thing happen and God was so faithful.
Thank the Lord. Thank the Lord. Well, my time
is going quick. I'll give you my next point for
those who get upset. They don't have all the
points. It's in verses 33 to 42. It's thank the
Lord for his reversals It's a very different
section of the text. I can't make a lot of comments
here, but it generally speaks about the sovereignty
of God. He allows things to happen and He can
reverse them. This is all part of His work and
it's all part of why we need to thank Him. He
can reverse the things that seem irreversible
at times. Just look at verse 35. I'll make this
comment here. He turns a desert into pools of
water and a parched land into springs of water.
This is the work that God can do and of course
verse 41 reminds us that God is the one who helps
in our Affliction because and because of that
the people of God are called to rejoice and be
glad Well, finally, let me just look at this
last thing. I have to get to verse 43 with the
time that we have left It's simply a call to
reflect on the Lord's work a call to reflect
on the Lord's work Look at verse 43 whoever is
wise Let them attend to these things Let them
consider the steadfast love of the Lord The call
here is just simply to reflect deeply on all
the Lord has done It's to give careful attention
is the idea or careful consideration To the Lord
steadfast loyal love. Maybe you need to do that
this week Just give careful attention write down
The ways in which you can be thankful to the
Lord. I mean we saw those those pictures. This
is also what the psalmist is talking about. Consider
what he's just written. Look at Psalm 107. All
those who are lost in trouble near death, consider
these things in light of the love of God. That
is what it means to be wise. I appreciate just
a really small comment by Dane Ortland. He said
this, a miserable Christian is a contradiction
in terms. A miserable Christian is a contradiction
in terms. I mean, how could a Christian be miserable?
When the Lord has saved them and rescued them
and delivered them. And Christians who are wise
are going to be spending their time and their
days considering these things. And of course,
what that's going to do is make them more thankful.
Make them more joyful, not miserable. I mean,
we have so much to be thankful for, don't we?
I mean, we need to ponder, reflect, meditate,
and listen, I'll tell you this, here's what's
cool. When we do that, our feet are going to
follow. We're going to begin to do what God called
us to do, just simply out of a thankful heart.
That's why one unknown author said it this way,
the art of thanksgiving is thanks living. Thanks
living. Christians aren't miserable, they're
thankfully living their lives that align with
godliness. So much to be thankful for. Listen
when you cry out to the Lord, he's always faithful.
That's the cry even of of this psalm And so I
asked you that question one more time. Did you
say thank you? Maybe as way of application. I'm
asked the band if they're in the room I'm gonna
ask them to just start coming up and getting
ready. I was thinking about this I was like I
could probably share like a really sweet story
of thanks Thanksgiving or I could read from George
Washington's, you know original proclamation,
which does I believe give glory to God But if
you go back to verse 2, this could be our application.
It says here, let the redeemed of the Lord say
so. That is, let them say out loud their thanks.
In verses 21 and 22, let them thank the Lord
for his steadfast love for his wondrous works
to the children of man. Here it is. Let them
offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and tell of
his deeds in songs of joy. And so even though
last week we had the joy of singing this song,
I asked Jonah if we could sing once again, we
give thanks or Psalm 107. And as we do, let's
sing it loud and proclaim to each other. to our
God listen our gratitude for all he has done
you should be thinking of things even right now
yeah man I know this thing happened I could thank
the Lord for that and you can begin to pray even
in your own heart and thank the Lord would you
stand would you stand and we're gonna sing this
one together maybe just as our a prayer in song