Sermon
Oh, That Men Would Praise The Lord! -- Psalm 107
July 20, 2003
Pastor Donald Sheley

For you that join with us today we are in the summertime going through various psalms, and I've selected for our psalm today Psalm 107. Now the more I study of the psalms the more I fall in love with them, and if you would ask me what is my favorite? I think this would be about 1 mm above the rest of them, although I love them all. This one has become very precious to me. There are numerous reasons; Number one, it is jam packed with great theology. And its themes: it deals with the theme of redemption, the situation of rebellion and backsliding, it deals with the matter of healing, and it deals with this whole issue of wrestling with our faith, the trial of our faith. It's really an intense psalm.

This became very real to me back in 1956. I had been invited to preach in the land of Burma. Burma as you know lies next to India and we had had a crusade in Calcutta. And just for a few weeks they allowed the Christian missionaries to come back into Burma, and I was one of those that was invited. The church that I preached in in Rangoon was on the old Burma Highway. And many of you know the history of World War II, from Rangoon into southern China, the Burma Road was a very famous road.

The church that I preached in was a Scottish Kirk, church. It was built by the Scottish missionaries. During the war the Japanese had used it for a dormitory. It had been cleared out, the war was over, and the missionaries had returned and I had the joy of preaching there. At the end of the service a man who you knew who really war had taken its tremendous toll on him came forward and he looked me straight in the eye, and with the interpreter he said, Pastor, I'm at my wits' end. And I grabbed my Bible and I turned to this page, and I want you to turn there with me.

Look at verse 25: For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end.

When he heard that he quickly grabbed my Bible to make sure that it was there. And I said, but don't forget to read the next verse. Look at what the next verse says: Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. And I saw a facial and a life transformed that evening as he put his trust in Christ. So this psalm is very precious.

Now there's another observation that I'd like for you to make with me. Do you notice there in your Bible it says book 5? Well, the psalms are divided into five books. Book number 1 has Psalm 1 through 41. Book 2 has Psalm 42 through 72. Book 3 has Psalm 73 through 89. Book 4 has Psalm 93 through 106, and book 5 has Psalm 107 through 150. Now you say, Pastor, why is that so? Well, when you go back into the Hebrew text the Torah, which was the ancient text, has five books; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. So if you went to the synagogue to worship you would read portions out of book 1, which was Genesis, and then out of the Psalm you would sing a psalm out of book 1. So today they have read from the book of Deuteronomy because that would be the fifth book, and they're going to sing a psalm, and this is the song they sing; it's book 5.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.

They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
And He led them forth by the right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

Remember, they are singing now. They are back in their land. They've returned from captivity. They know the wanderings in the wilderness. They understand captivity. They had been shackled and bound for 70 years in Babylon. But now they are home. God has touched the heart of the king and now they are back and they're worshiping. They've been redeemed. They've been returned home. And so the psalmist says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. So they are invited to sing. Now look at the next stanza. The subject changes now because there are four different subjects.

It says: Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Bound in affliction and irons--
Because they rebelled against the words of God,
And despised the counsel of the Most High.
Now here's a picture of people who knowingly, purposely, with intent, violate the teachings of God and go their own way.

Look at what happens: Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was none to help.
It's the picture of Israel. They were a nation that had turned against the counsel of God. They had gone into idolatry, and God brings them low. He sends them into captivity for their rebellion and their rejection of His counsel. They know what they're talking about. They had to pay a price 70 years long for being a rebellious people.

Then they cried out to 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 broke their chains in pieces.
It's a song, singing of God's deliverance and His mercy even when in rebellion we turn against Him.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He has broken the gates of bronze,
And cut the bars of iron in two.

It's the picture of God's redeeming love forgiving our rebellion and bringing us back into fellowship. Stanza 3 the subject changes.
Fools, because of their transgression,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
Their soul abhorred all manner of food,
And they drew near to the gates of death.
It's the picture of somebody dying and has now no desire for food any longer.

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And declare His works with rejoicing.

Even though sometimes illnesses come because of our own transgressions, God is merciful and when we call it says that He does heal. We talked about that last Sunday, remember? Now we come to stanza 4 of the hymnal, and this is the one that really fascinate me. Remember now he's a poet that's writing, and a poet always thinks in pictures. So you have to understand what he's writing, and he's describing in picture form life as like a boat on a turbulent sea being tossed. Watch how he writes it.

Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,
They see the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.
For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths;
Their soul melts because of trouble.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And are at their wits' end.

What he's doing is he's describing the turbulent storm when faith comes under pressure. There are times you and I have known when we have wrestled with our faith. It's just like we're beat up all over the place and with all the rest of the problems we throw our faith into the turbulent pot that's boiling and it gets cooked too. It's a picture of faith in its turbulence. Do you see it? What happens?

Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.
Boy I like these next verses -- He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.
Then they are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,
And praise Him in the company of the elders.

Now the next few verses are a poet's way of saying that life very quickly has its turbulent changes. Look how he writes it: He turns rivers into a wilderness. In other words, there are some days it seems that all is flowing well, I mean, everything is wonderful and hunky-dory. And you wake up the next morning and everything has changed and all hell has broken lose. He has changed the river now into a life of barrenness. And He turns the watersprings into dry ground. Sometimes were floating along and everything is wonderful. It's just like spring is every place, and all of a sudden it all changes that life becomes very, very difficult to handle.

He turns: A fruitful land into barrenness,
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
He turns a wilderness into pools of water,
And dry land into watersprings.
There He makes the hungry dwell,
That they may establish a city for a dwelling place,
And sow fields and plant vineyards,
That they may yield a fruitful harvest.
He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly;
And He does not let their cattle decrease.

When they are diminished and brought low
Through oppression, affliction and sorrow,
He pours contempt on princes,
And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;
Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction,
And makes their families like a flock.
The righteous see it and rejoice,
And all iniquity stops its mouth.

Now look at how he ends this psalm: Whoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord. He's painted a picture of life with many of its difficulties, and what he is saying is if we will just take time to backup far enough to see things as God sees them, you'll be amazed at the goodness of God. Now let's go back to stanza 1 and let's apply it to our lives. You and I have wandered in the wilderness of sin. We knew what it was like to be held captive by Satan. We knew what it was like not to have purpose and goal, and there was an emptiness. We understand that just like those children of Israel did. But there came a moment in our life when we call into God, as we did today, Jesus, become my Savior for I turn my life over to You. Save me from the bondage of sin and bring me into the perfect liberty of Your love and Your forgiveness. It says when we called He answered us, and He heard our prayer. He delivered us not only from our captives but He set our feet towards a city where now we can dwell.

When you and I become Christians our citizenship changes. We're pilgrims here on earth and our citizenship is in heaven, and as Christians now our goal is to someday be with God and enjoy that fellowship we talked about for all of eternity. We sing the great hymn -- When we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus we're going to sing and shout the victory. And he says let the redeemed of the Lord say so. If you're on your way to heaven, you ought to be shouting. We sing it! Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it! Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb; Redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child, and forever I am.

And we have these great hymns of redemption, and what our song is saying is; if God has redeemed us we ought to be singing about it, and talking about it, and rejoicing. That no longer are we the captives of sin, but by His grace we're making our way heavenward in His life. Now he goes to the next one. The next stanza talks about times of rebellion -- times when we deliberately, knowingly, know what God's words says and yet we defiantly go our own way. Those are those pathways of disobedience, and many of us at times take them. We know that God's words says one thing and we choose to live otherwise.

Some months ago I had someone sitting in my office and after discussing the whole matter as to how it should be handled in accordance with God's word, I said, if you're going to follow God's word and not rebel against it, this is the pathway you must take. And I shuddered when that person said to me, I don't care what God says. I'm going to do it my way. And I raised my head and said, conversation closed. I have nothing more to say. Because I know the price of disobedience. And many of us here know you pay a tremendous price. For Israel God brought them low into 70 years of captivity. They knew what rebellion cost them.

You know, when we turn and rebelliously and defiantly go against the words of God, we do something very interesting. Go with me in your notes just one scripture verse. Down on the bottom of page 4. You see it there? It has a warning that is very, very solemn. It says: "For it is impossible [to restore and bring again to repentance] those who have been once for all enlightened, who have consciously tasted the heavenly gift and have become sharers of the Holy Spirit, and have felt how good the Word of God is and the mighty powers of the age to come." Now that's speaking of somebody who is spiritually knowledgeable, having great spiritual experience.

Look at what it says: "if they then deviate," that's rebelling, "from the faith and turn away from their allegiance-[it is impossible] to bring them back to repentance, for (because, while, as long as) they nail upon the cross the Son of God afresh [as far as they are concerned] and are holding [Him] up to contempt and shame and public disgrace." Do you see the picture that he's painting? He is saying when we deliberately defy and go against God's teaching -- do you know what we're doing? We're saying, Jesus get back up on that cross because I've got some more nails to drive. I crucify Him afresh and I put Him to open shame when I turn against truth. I don't know what that does to you, but I see that picture and I see a defiant heart saying, Jesus, get on the cross because I've got some more nails. I've got some more nails to drive.

You say, but I've never thought of rebellion like that. I've never thought of rejecting truth like that, but that's what the Bible says. When we turn against truth we nail afresh the Son of God to His cross, and we put Him to an open shame. I plead with you as your pastor, when you know something from the Scriptures -- you have no question -- don't wandered down the pathway of disobedience because the price you pay is terrible. Just ask Israel in the middle of their 70 years of captivity.

Stanza number 3, fools, because of their iniquities and transgressions become sick. What he is saying is that there were times because we, again, violated God's laws of good health we were brought to sickness. And even in our self-inflicted illness God in His grace was gracious to heal us. I'll not dwell on that because we talked about that last week.

Let's come to stanza 4. This is the one that, like I suggested to you, I really relate to this one because it's the picture, it's stanza number 4, it's the picture of faith under trial. Let me paint it this way. They go down to the sea in ships and do business on great waters. They see the works of the LORD and His wonders in the deep. When we start this great journey of faith you start sailing in the great deep truths of eternity. When your mind and my mind begin to grapple with the vastness and the glory and of the almightiness and the wonder if God and His thoughts, I mean, we're sailing in deep seas because then we're confronted with His sovereignty. And we don't understand why God does some things as He does. It seems to violate every bit of human logic we've got. We come to a conclusion and say, God, I don't understand. Why are You doing it that way?

When you start drawing close to the heart of God and try to comprehend the vastness and the magnitude of an infinite God, you're sailing in deep seas spiritually. It says they go down and they see the wonders the works of God. You understand that. When we start our spiritual journey there are times our spiritual experiences are so rich, and so personal, and so wonderful, and there are other times our little bark is just beat all over the place.

You say, Pastor, do you have problems like that? Yes I do. I'm just like David. Look at what old David says: Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why are you disquieted within me? He's wrestling. He doesn't understand. He said I've even quit going to the house with the multitude. I don't know why I'm so cast down. Then he answers, hope thou in God.

Look at Elijah out there praying under a tree, God, I'm the only one left. Even men like Elijah and David had moments when their faith just seemed like going topsy-turvy. Do you have those experiences? It's true of all of us, isn't it? You can't find answers. You say, God I don't know why. You almost want to give up. You don't want to keep going on because you understand it all.

You say, Pastor, I thought you had it all worked out. Well, I'm on this journey and my little boat gets in rough seas just like yours does. You say you've been at it for 40 or 50 years, but I'm still out there on the sea, and I'm still trying to understand God. I really am. And any preacher who stands up and tells you they've got it all made, they're not telling you the truth folks. Because we're out sailing in our bark right along with you. And there are times I cry myself through the night wrestling deeply in my faith just like the psalmist says. We all do.

What do you do? I go to my office and say God, I'm going to just set aside my questions. I'm just going to focus on You. I want to know You, but I don't know how. But I want You to reveal Yourself to me. And you know folks, time and time again it seems like God's presence just folds in on me and I sit there. I don't understand a thing more than I understood an hour ago. I just know He's heard my prayer and He's brought me to a quiet place in my search. Have you experience that? It happens that way. So the psalmist is saying, when you back away from life, if sailing was always on a sea and faith was always wonderful and you had no questions and you were just sailing along, you wouldn't really appreciate God as much as when you back away and see how He lets us go through those turbulent times and then brings us through. You'll stand amazed when you realize how wonderful it was that He brought you out of the wilderness and saved you. When you think of those moments where you didn't have faith and now you do, you say, God that's wonderful. You are a good God and I didn't understand You before.

The psalmist says if you'll look at life through God's eyes, back away, and realize life will always be this way; but if He's in the boat... You know, I think one of the most foolish pictures in the Bible. Here's Jesus crossing the lake with His disciples. He's in the boat. He's asleep, and the waves are really beating. And they say Jesus, we're going to sink. Can you imagine a boat going down with Jesus in it. That's the most ridiculous thing in the world. I mean He created the sea. He walks on it. And those disciples said, Jesus, we're in a mess. We're going to go down, and all the time He's in the boat. Boy if He's in your boat, He's not going to go clear down. Right? He's there, and we'll make it through the storm. Got it? It's a beautiful psalm, isn't it?

Let's pray. Father, there are some of us today who wrestle with our faith. There are some of us who understand the turbulence, the rapid change of life and the conditions that surround us. And yet we're told that if we're wise we'll observe these things, and in observing them we'll come to the conclusion that You are always at work, and that all things will work together for good to those who love You. So our heart is at peace, and the harbor is calm, and You're our God, and that's enough. In Jesus' name, amen. God bless you all.