¹Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. ²Let the redeemed of the Lord say so …

We live in a universe designed and saturated with the gratuity of God. All things exist because the Lord created everything out of His joy of giving. He was and is under no compulsion to create, sustain, or redeem anything or anyone. We cannot possibly comprehend all there is to know about God, but we can deduce this: creation’s very existence and nature are evidence of His free choice. His pleasure included the design and formation of beings in His image that did not exist prior to creating them. Therefore, their existence imposes on Him no moral obligation to do them good. Yet, since He is perfect and because goodness is intrinsic to His nature, we (the beings created in His image) are recipients of His pleasure. It was His gift to create us and to make all things for our enjoyment along with Him. It is better that we should exist than that we should not exist. That is God’s gratuity—He didn’t have to do it, but He did!

Enter sin, unfathomable to human understanding. Yet, even in this, we see God’s gratuity in that in His sovereignty, He gave an opportunity for the image-bearers to rebel against their Creator. That by itself would be difficult to understand as God’s grace, except that it showcases a glorious aspect of His character that would otherwise remain hidden for all eternity, namely His redeeming lovingkindness. And that is what this psalm is all about!

It is good for us to know and experience forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration to Him. In other words, God considered it supremely good to create a world where His image bearers would rebel and be redeemed rather than make a world where redemption was unnecessary. Otherwise, God would have done “better” and not allowed sin to enter the world. But He is perfect in all His ways, and therefore, we must conclude that God is to be thanked and praised for this very aspect of His character, which He graces upon us. That is what Psalm 107 is about, beginning with an invitation to the “redeemed of the Lord.” This includes all sinners who have received the redemption of God, who have accepted the grace of God in the forgiveness of sin. We should extoll God, for His lovingkindness will always bring us back to Himself.

The psalm is organized much like a present-day song, with stanzas, each followed by a repeated refrain. The general pattern of each section is this: First, the people of God experience the consequences of their disobedience to God. Second, they humbly and repentantly turn back to God for help: “Then they cried out to the Lord  in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses” (repeated verbatim in verses 6, 13, 19, 28). Third, God graciously redeems them. Fourth, the redeemed of the Lord are invited to thank God for their redemption: “Let them give thanks to the Lord  for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men!” (repeated verbatim in verses 8, 15, 21, 31)

We offer the following outline of the psalm:

• Introduction (1-3): This section begins with the refrain and an overview of God’s redemption of the people of Israel.
• The first stanza (4-9) focuses on the forty-year nomadic wanderings of Israel in the Sinai desert because of their fearful refusal to enter the Promised Land.
• The second stanza (10-16) speaks of the Babylonian captivity that resulted from Israel’s continual disobedience to God in the Promised Land and the worship of false gods.
• The third stanza (17-22) addresses the foolishness of self-inflicted problems resulting from living in rebellion to God’s ways.
• The fourth stanza (23-32) frames the consequences of human rebellion using a metaphor of sailors being overwhelmed by stormy seas.
• The fifth stanza (33-42) gives a sweeping picture of God’s control over nature and the physical blessings and detriments of life experiences.

In each of the above, God shows His lovingkindness in redeeming His people from the consequences of sin and bringing them back to a place of thankfulness. The psalm concludes with a word of wisdom to all who read this:

Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, and consider the lovingkindnesses of the  Lord. (Ps 107:43)

As we consider the Lord’s lovingkindness, we can be assured of the same promises He gave the people of Israel. When we cry out to our Lord, we can rest in His lovingkindness because He has redeemed us through Christ. We are among the “redeemed of the Lord,” and we will “say so!” We will proclaim God’s lovingkindness to be true in our individual lives. Many specific promises follow from this: He will bring us back from our wayward lives (vs. 3), lead us in the right way (7), satisfy our spiritual thirst and hunger (8-9), help us in facing death (14), free us from the things that imprison us (16-17), heal us from spiritual sickness through His word (20), still the storms of our life (29), guide us in our life travels (30), change our circumstances (33-35), establish us (36), cause us to be fruitful (37-38), defend us against oppression (39-40), provide us security (41), and ultimately make righteousness prevail (vs. 42).

Lord, I once was rebellious against You, walking in my own ways rather than Yours. Thank You for Your lovingkindness and Your wonders to me! You were not required to redeem me, and I did not deserve Your redemption. But I praise You for graciously saving me and restoring me.

Change to all caps [JP1]

Change to all caps [JP2]