Psalms 107:7
Psalms 107:7-9, And he
led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh
that men would praise the LORD for his
goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he
satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
The Bible says God is love. The Bible does not say God is wrath. Of
course God gets angry at sin. But because God is love we can expect him to do
many wonderful works and fill our lives with much goodness. Psalms 107 is going
to talk about the wonderful works and goodness of God. In talking about the wonderful works of God
mostly what is going to be talked about its Gods judgments and the way Jesus
works in peoples hearts to turn them from sin to him.
Psalms
107:10-43 says, Such as sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; Because they
rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there
was none to help. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and
he saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the
shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his
goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in
sunder. Fools because of their transgression, and because of their
iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they
draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the LORD in their
trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word,
and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his
goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let
them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with
rejoicing. They that go down to the sea in ships, that
do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders
in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind,
which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is
melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken
man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble,
and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they
glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto
their desired haven. Oh that men would praise
the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the
children of men! Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and
praise him in the assembly of the elders. He turneth rivers into a wilderness,
and the watersprings into dry ground; A fruitful land into barrenness, for the
wickedness of them that dwell therein. He turneth the wilderness into a
standing water, and dry ground into watersprings. And there he maketh the
hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation; And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield
fruits of increase. He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly;
and suffereth not their cattle to decrease. Again, they are minished and
brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. He poureth contempt
upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is
no way. Yet setteth he the poor on high from
affliction, and maketh him families like a flock. The righteous shall
see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Whoso is
wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the
lovingkindness of the LORD.
We just read
through Psalms 107. As said before reading it Psalms 107 talked about the
wonderful works and goodness of God. Mostly what was
talked about is Gods judgments and the
way Jesus works in peoples hearts to turn them from sin to him.
Psa 107:43 says, Whoso is wise, and will
observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of
the LORD.
If you look
out at the world around you you can observe the lives of other people and you
can see for yourself what God is doing in their hearts and in their lives to turn
the sinner from self righteousness to the righteousness of Christ. A wise
person is a person who is always in tune to Gods gospel work in the world and
who always recognizes the great lovingkindness of God in the work that Jesus is
doing.
Psalms
108:1-3 says, A Song or Psalm of David. O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise,
even with my glory. Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee
among the nations.
It is important to praise God and not just to praise Him but to do so
around other people. Why? Because the things you do and say effect and
influence other people. One of the great ways of being a testimony to the lost
of the world is by sharing your praises of God.
Talking about Jesus and the great things He has done should be part of
normal every day conversation. It doesnt have to sound like a sermon to say,
The Lord Blessed me Today.
How else are the lost people of the world who are blind and ignorant
of the truth going to have the opportunity to learn about the great works of
grace that God does for them?
Psalms 108:4 says, For thy mercy is
great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.
Considering how merciful God is it is a strange thing that so many
people accuse Jesus by saying, The way of the Lord is not equal. The truth anyone who accuses God of being
unmercifully is probably doing so to justify their own sinfulness.
Jesus gave his own life. Jesus suffered a cruel death. Jesus was
innocent and without sin and yet he suffered the punishment for your sins and
the sins of all the world. In thinking about this
truth how can anyone dare accuse God of being unmerciful.
Mankind is unmerciful. God is merciful. Hebrews
All men are sinners. Men are weak. We are not stronger than our own
sinful flesh. That is why we need the Spirit of God inside us to empower us, to
enable us to do what is right. Because we are so sinful we can expect to fail
from time to time even when we do our best. Therefore we should always keep in
mind how merciful God is. God has endless storehouses of mercy to be handed out
to those who come penitently seeking His mercy. Jesus will never refuse to give
out his mercy to t hose who seek it. After all Jesus suffered and died so that
he can freely give out his mercy.
Psalms 108:5, Be thou exalted, O God, above the
heavens: and thy glory above all the earth.
Some human beings have the desire to increase, to increase in their
name, to increase, in their fame, to increase in who they are and there is
nothing wrong with such a desire. But in the end it is God, Jesus Christ who will
be exalted above all.
Psalms 108:6, That thy beloved may be
delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me.
The greatest benefit to God being exalted is deliverance. The Bible
says of Jesus in Philippians 2:6-10, Who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things
in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
After Jesus completed His work on the cross, defeating death and sin
and rising from the grace He was exalted. There is no greater exaltation given
than that which is given to Jesus. Therefore we can see how deliverance and
exaltation go together. God is all powerful therefore God should be exalted.
The more that he is exalted the more sinners will have the opportunity too see
the power of his deliverance.
To exalt means to lift up to set on High. Jesus was lifted up on the
cross and lifted up from the grave all the way to the very throne of heaven.
That is where Jesus is now sitting his throne ruling the universe with his
great power.
Psalms 108:7-13 says, God hath spoken in
his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the
Because God is all powerful, He controls and He
decides. He decides which kingdoms will rule which lands. He decides which
kingdoms will rise up and which will fall. Because God is all powerful He
should be exalted. Because Jesus is all powerful He can have mercy.
Psalms 109:1-4 says, To
the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Hold
not thy peace, O God of my praise; For the mouth of
the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have
spoken against me with a lying tongue. They compassed me about also with words
of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. For my love they are my
adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
If you follow Jesus then those that are against
Jesus will be against you. They will use the power of the tongue against you.
They will lie about you. They will hate you for loving Jesus. The best way to
handle this kind of adversity is to pray. Ask and ye shall receive. With God
all things are possible. Pray to Jesus to deliver you from evil and to not lead
you into temptation and He will.
Psalms 109:5-15 says, And
they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. Set thou a wicked
man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged,
let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few; and
let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a
widow. Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their
bread also out of their desolate places. Let the extortioner catch all that
he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour. Let there be none to extend
mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children. Let
his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name
be blotted out. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD;
and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the
earth.
These verses list the many consequences which
will happen to those whom persecute Gods children. The consequences are not
light but they are grievous. There will be no mercy
for such people. They will be given over to the devil who
will devour them. And their memory will be cut off from the earth. God loves
His children very much. Jesus died for them. Jesus blood covers them. And God
is a jealous God. Such people would be wise to repent of their sins and seek
mercy from God before it is too late for them.
The ones who will be remembered and honoured at
the end of human history are the Christians. They will be remembered for their
service to Jesus and for their sacrifice. The Christians will be rewarded and
their names will be great among the earth.
Psalms 109:16-20, Because
that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man,
that he might even slay the broken in heart. As he loved cursing, so let it
come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. As
he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into
his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. Let it be unto him as the
garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded
continually. Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the
LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
A man will reap what he sows. Throw a ball at a
wall and it will bounce back. It is true that we do not always see the full
consequences in this life time but at the judgment it will be seen. At the
great white throne judgment all men will stand before God and they will reap
what they have sown.
That is why we are so dependant upon the grace of
Jesus through His blood. Because we are all weak and sinful.
We have all done evil. Some worse than others but still without Christ, of our
own righteousness we are all doomed to face the judgment of God.
The important thing is not how much you have or
have not sinned or how better of a person you might be compared to other people
but the important thing is that you repent of your sins to Jesus Christ and let
His righteousness be your righteousness instead of relying upon your own works.
In Christ there is redemption. In Christ there is
salvation. In Christ there is eternal mercy and grace, eternal life. If you
have never turned from your sins to Jesus then please do so right now. Jesus is
calling to you. Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart and pleading with
you to let Him in.
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Copyright; 2017 by Bruce
Creech
All Rights Reserved