Psalms 107:1-22

Psalms 107:1. O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

In the heading of this Psalm we are reminded that the psalmist here exhorts the redeemed, in praising God, to observe his manifold providence over travelers, prisoners, sick men, seamen, «and in divers varieties of life;» but, inasmuch as the exhortation is specially addressed to the redeemed of the Lord, I shall endeavor to cast the red ray of redemption over it, and to explain these various circumstances as relating to the spiritual experience of God's people, and to their deliverance out of divers perils to which their souls are exposed. «O give thanks unto the Lord.» This seems to imply that we are so slow to praise God that we have to be stirred up to this sacred duty. This exhortation looks as if we needed to be entreated to give thanks unto the Lord. Yet this ought not to be an uncongenial or disagreeable task. It ought to be our pleasure to praise the Lord; we should be eager to do it; and yet it is to be feared that we are often silent when we ought to be giving thanks unto his holy name. He deserves them, «for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.»

Psalms 107:2. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.

Whenever God's people are redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered unto himself, it is always by his grace and power. They are not only gathered to him, but they are gathered by him; and therefore let them all praise his holy name.

Psalms 107:4. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.

This is the experience of all God's redeemed and gathered ones; they were, at one time, all lost, and wandering to and fro in the wilderness, as God's ancient people did.

Psalms 107:5. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.

This is the point to which a true spiritual experience sooner or later brings all God's elect ones; they cry unto the Lord in their trouble. The end, the design of their trouble is that they may cry unto him; and when they do so, it is absolutely certain that they shall be delivered out of their distresses.

Psalms 107:7. 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. 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:

All God's people, all his redeemed have been made to feel, in a greater or lesser degree the agony of their spiritual bondage. They have been like captives sitting in darkness, dreading death, realizing that they are utterly unable to deliver themselves. They have been rebellious against the words of God, and have despised his counsel, so that it is absolutely needful that they should be brought to their right position, and be made to kneel before the Lord in true humility of heart.

Psalms 107:12. 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 bards 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.

Is any child of God thus shut up in the dark? Those of you who have ever been lost in a London fog know what a depression of spirit it brings upon you while you are in the impenetrable darkness, out of which you cannot see any way of escape. All that you can do is to stand still and cry out for help. Well, try what crying to God will do for you in your spiritual depression. Your spirit is cast down into the very deeps; then, out of the depths cry unto the Lord, as Jonah did; rest in him, trust in him, and see whether he will not bring you up into the light of his countenance.

Psalms 107:17. 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.

All God's redeemed people have suffered from soul-sickness, and some of them have suffered from it so acutely that they have lost all appetite for spiritual comfort. «Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat;» they cannot bear the sight or the thought of it. A man in this condition says, «Do not bring me any food; I loathe it.» The very nourishment that might have restored him he rejects because of the nausea which soul-sickness brings.

Psalms 107:19. 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.

He healed them with his Word; and there is a specific, in God's Word, for every form of spiritual malady. What we need to know is where the particular remedy for our special form of soul-sickness is to be found; and this the Holy Spirit will teach us if we will but ask him.

Psalms 107:21. 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.