Psalm 107

Observe -- Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. There are five of these refrains. In spite of all the suffering the Jews endured, David still gave thanks to a merciful God for the present blessings.

Point – No matter where God leads us, He will bless us if we will obey His words.

Question – Why would God keep punishing and then bless them repeatedly?

Resist – I resist what I know God wants me to do so that I satisfy my own selfish desires.

So What – God does not want us to forget who is the provider.

The Big Idea – Often we deserve what we get in life. If we do not put God first in everything we do, then we reap what we sow.

ME – (Psalm 107 is a mini history of the Jews before the time of David.)

I am reminded of an old joke about the farmer who fed cattle. Every fall he went to the bank and take out a loan to lay in some feeders. After the cattle were fattened and sold, he would go to the bank and pay off the loan. After the loan was paid he would notice there was very little left for his efforts. The banker would tell him that at least he still had the manure. 

One day the banker was walking down the sidewalk and seen the farmer’s wife with a fur coat and was getting into a brand new car. He got to thinking that this was about the time the farmer should be coming in to pay off the loan. Being very concerned, he rushed to the bank and called the farmer, "Have you sold the cattle", he asked the farmer. "Why yes”, said the farmer, "how did you know"? The banker told him that he had seen the wife with a fur coat and getting into a new car.

Well", said the farmer, "I decided that this year you could have the manure". Thus, the farmer after being in bondage to the banker celebrated his labor for all those years with just manure to show for it.

The first 18 years after the army, I was farmer so I have been there, done that and bought the t-shirt. As a farmer and looking back, I see myself in the struggles of the Jews as they lamented over their past. There were times that were dark and the darkest was at the end. During those darkest of days, I left God out of my decision-making and did not really seek His guidance. It was only later in life that I could rejoice or celebrate what God had done for me.

I have developed a life philosophy that helps me understand the “WHY”: if I had not been there, I would not be here. Many of my mistakes led me to another path or journey that made me appreciate the journey. I do regret many things I have done, but without those errors, I would not be where I am today.

We tend to look at our own lives as a singular experience. When we experience set back or tragedy, we sometimes think that God is punishing us for our past transgressions, and maybe He is. Most likely God is trying to bring us closer to Him.

Reading Psalm 107 I was reminded of two stories -- King Lear and Samson. In Psalm 107 we revisit the harsh experiences that the Jews went through and how God delivered them repeatedly from their dire circumstances. While reading this, I was reminded of when I was studying Shakespeare’s tragedies, King Lear especially. In all of the tragedies, the underlying theme is how the individuals portrayed, suffer and their downfalls are the result of their own doing. However, unlike Shakespeare’s tragedies, the Jews were able to celebrate redemption because God was in their lives.

Like Samson, we all ignore God and yet God loves us. Samson was living the high life and ignoring God by choosing women who were out to destroy him. When Samson was at his lowest, blinded, and humiliated by the Philistines and Delilah, Samson called on God to strengthen him one more time, (Judges 16:28) “Lord remember me. Please God strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”  

When I first read King Lear, I wept in a come to Jesus moment. I identified myself with Lear and I knew I did not want my life end as Lear. King Lear had three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. Two of the daughters plotted to divide the kingdom between them while Cordelia who honored and loved her father most, is left with nothing. Because of unwise decisions by Lear, the daughters died and Lear is left nearly blind, his strength is gone and there is no one to redeem him of his transgressions. Before King Lear dies, he is howling like an animal, his life has been a waste, “Howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones. Had I your tongues and eyes I’d use them so that heaven’s vault would crack”.

How different from Samson. King Lear is a tortured soul. In his world, there is no afterlife and no resolution of his sins. Samson prayed to God for one last gift of strength and cracked Heaven’s vault to destroy those Philistines who held the Jews as slaves.

G.K. Chesterton said, “One sees great things from a valley, only small things from the peak”. God leads through the valley of despair and death (Psalm 23) so that we may see the great things He has provided for us. When we take our sins before God and ask forgiveness, He is the one who takes the past and tears it up into little pieces. When our lives are going well and we are at the peak, we must remember that God had a hand in this and need to give thanks and celebrate His blessings.

When you look at the two stories, which character would you want to be, King Lear or Samson? Samson who sought God and became a hero to his people or Lear who died without any celebration for generations to follow?

I do not know where you at in your spiritual journey or what trials you have had in your past. From my own experience, one does not really get close to God until there comes a time when one becomes totally broken in spirit. It should not be that way but for many Christians they have not experienced that broken spirit, they become traditional Christians because that was the way they were raised by their parents and what their peer group expects from them.

As we go about life’s mundane chores, we need to celebrate whether we at the peak or in the valley. We need a farmer’s optimistic view that there is hope for one more good crop and what we sow, we will reap. We need to be joyful for what the Lord has provided, give thanks for loving us and give thanks that Jesus washed away our sins. However, God did not appear to us in human form just to forgive our sins. He came to teach us how to renew our hearts and how to love.

I would like to add that this message addresses us as individuals; it also applies to the church. As Christians, we need to show the world that because we know that God loves us, we celebrate each day as joyful Christians. Because of what God has done, we are walking talking miracles. (Psalm 118:24) Rejoice and be glad and be willing to share your joy with others.