Psalms

This Psalm begins with "Oh, give thanks tot he Lord!  This links this Psalm with Psalms 105 and 106.  It's kind of a trilogy of praise.  Psalm 105 praises God for His mighty works and how He had worked through the lives of men like Joshua, Moses and Aaron.  It was the story of men of faith and God speaking to His people through individual men.  There was very little spoken of the failure of the people of Israel.  Then Psalm 106 starts "Praise the Lord!"  And it goes into the stories of Israel's unfaithfulness and rebellion.  Over and over again they turned from God.  Yet, God is still faithful in His covenant to them.

Now we come to the third Psalm of this trilogy.  And it is similar to Psalm 106 in that it details the unfaithfulness of men and the faithfulness and goodness of God.  We can see God continually deliver the people in spite of their disobedience.  This Psalm is different in that it addresses how these events might be remembered and who will remember them.

¹ Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
² Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
³ And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.
The Lord had delivered the Israelites from their enemies many times; from Egypt, the Philistines, Syria, Assyria, and Babylon to name a few.  The Lord is good and He is merciful to His people.  The redeemed are to say so.  Those people God has delivered should praise Him for it and thank Him.  God's people should never forget and they shouldn't be quiet about what He's done.  The redeemed should remember and say so.

⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.
⁵ Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
⁶ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
⁷ And He led them forth by the right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
⁸ Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
⁹ For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
This is the first example of People who should see God's faithfulness and mercy and be thankful.  There aren't enough details to know for sure what event in history this relates to.  It is by sin that men are brought to a desolate place.  They suffered physically and spiritually.  They were demoralized and they cried out to the Lord.  Because God is faithful and merciful He delivered them.  He brought them to a dwelling place.  In HIm they found satisfaction for their soul and God filled them with goodness.

Oh that men would recognize that and give Him thanks.  Oh that men would know that God alone satisfies hungry and thirst and that He gives direction to life.  Oh that all men might find that it is God alone that fills the void in any life.

¹⁰ Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Bound in affliction and irons-
¹¹ Because they rebelled against the words of God,
And despised the counsel of the Most High,
¹² Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was none to help.
¹³ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their chains in pieces.
¹⁵ Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
¹⁶ For He has broken the gates of bronze,
And cut the bars of iron in two.
Sin leads men and women to prison.  Sometimes that is a real prison in real chains.  Sometimes it is a emotional or spiritual prison.  In either case the chains are just as real, just not visible.  The chains bring affliction, pain and sorrow.  It is by mans rebellion we end up in chains.  It is because we despised the counsel of the Lord we find our self in bondage.  God breaks those who rebel.  He brings the rebel low until he is face down and crying out to God.  When that person does cry out to God, He brings them into the light; out of darkness and out of the shadow of death and their chains are broken.

Oh that men would recognize that God delivers men and women from all kinds of bondage.  Oh that men would see and give Him thanks.

¹⁷ Fools, because of their transgression,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
¹⁸ Their soul abhorred all manner of food,
And they drew near to the gates of death.
¹⁹ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
²⁰ He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.
²¹ Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
²² Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And declare His works with rejoicing.
Foolish people (like you and I) were led away to sin and transgression.  And those transgressions had grave consequences.  People were afflicted.  They suffered physical affliction where they could not eat or keep down food.  They were so sick and weakened that they were near death.  On their deathbed, in their affliction, they cried out to God and He saved them.  By a word they were healed and delivered.

Oh that all men would recognize that God is loving and merciful and will deliver us from illness.  Oh that men would recognize that God warns us to stay away from sin, not because He wants to keep us from having fun, but because He knows that in our foolishness we sin and are led to death.  Oh that men would give Him thanks for continually caring for us when we don't even care for our self at times.

²³ Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,
²⁴ They see the works of the LORD,
And His wonders in the deep.
²⁵ For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
²⁶ They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths;
Their soul melts because of trouble.
²⁷ They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And are at their wits' end.
²⁸ Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.
²⁹ He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.
³⁰ Then they are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven.
³¹ Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
³² Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,
And praise Him in the company of the elders.
No sin is mentioned here.  Sometimes bad things just happen.  Sometimes bad things happen because we live in a fallen world.  Sometimes bad things happen as an opportunity for us to cry out to our God.  Those who sailed on ships knew this.  They had suffered through great storms.  They saw the wonders of the deep.  A sea that could not be controlled.  They were small men on a small ship tossed about on a large and angry ocean.  At their wits end they cried out to God. and He delivered them from their distress.  He calmed the storm, stilled the waves and delivered them to their port.

Oh that all men would recognize that He is the one who calms the storm.  Oh that all would see and know this and respond by giving Him thanks.

³³ He turns rivers into a wilderness,
And the watersprings into dry ground;
³⁴ A fruitful land into barrenness,
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
³⁵ He turns a wilderness into pools of water,
And dry land into watersprings.
³⁶ There He makes the hungry dwell,
That they may establish a city for a dwelling place,
³⁷ And sow fields and plant vineyards,
That they may yield a fruitful harvest.
³⁸ He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly;
And He does not let their cattle decrease.

Sin dries up rivers and sin makes the ground barren.  It is God who can bring deliverance.  It is God who can bring the rains.  It is God who blesses the land.  It is God who satisfies the hungry and not just to be satisfied but to dwell abundantly. 

Oh that all men would recognize that it is by God's hand from which all blessings come.  Oh that all men would praise Him.

³⁹ When they are diminished and brought low
Through oppression, affliction, and sorrow,
⁴⁰ He pours contempt on princes,
And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;
⁴¹ Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction,
And makes their families like a flock.
⁴² The righteous see it and rejoice,
And all iniquity stops its mouth.
Sin causes oppression, affliction and sorrow.  And some men take advantage of these things to prey on the afflicted and oppressed.  God has contempt for these people.  He removes the direction from their life.  God sets the poor, afflicted and oppressed on High.  He exalts them and blesses them.

Oh that men would see this and understand.  Oh that all men would know that God has a special place in His heart for the poor, afflicted and oppressed.  Oh that men would understand and praise Him.

⁴³ Whoever is wise will observe these things,
And they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

The wise will see and understand.  The wise will see the loving-kindness of the Lord.  The wise are those that fear the Lord.  The wise are the redeemed.  These are the stories of the redeemed.  The redeemed are those who were once lost, once afflicted, once hungry. The redeemed also stood in the dark and felt the shadow of death.  Those who were addicted, in bondage, and in prison.  The redeemed have all sinned and felt the consequences of their sin.  They have felt that life is out of control.  They felt like they always had bad luck.  These are the stories of the redeemed.  These are our stories.  God has saved us all through the worst of stories. 

Remember at the beginning of the Psalm it said:

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
² Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,

Oh that all men would understand that God alone satisfies hungry and thirst and that He gives direction to life; He directs us out of darkness and out of the shadow of death. 

Oh that all men would understand that God delivers men and women from all kinds of bondage and breaks their chains, and that God is loving and merciful and will deliver us from illness, and that He warns us to stay away from sin that we might not suffer the consequences. 

Oh that all men might understand that God gives direction and purpose to life and that He alone calms the storms that we all experience. 

Oh that all men would know that God has a special place in His heart for the poor, afflicted and oppressed.  For the Broken and contrite He cries out.

If all men only knew and if they understood they would come to the Lord and they would praise Him and thank Him.  We are the redeemed; we have to say so.  We have to remember what He saved us out of and praise Him and not be ashamed to tell others.  And they too would be saved by Him to abide in Him for all eternity.