Psalm 107:23-28
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.
Psalm 107 begins with these
words: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!” Then at least four
more times here in Psalm 107 we read these words: “Oh, that men would give
thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the
children of men!” (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31).
Today, I want to thank you for
your prayers for our grandson, Luke, especially over these past few days. His
surgery on Sunday morning to reinsert the shunt into the brain with the drain
tube into the stomach was very successful. When I arrived at the hospital in
Roanoke on Sunday evening he was being held by his Nana in a chair and was
smiling and very alert. He continued to recover well and yesterday on Monday
they reinserted his feeding tube successfully and he is scheduled to go home
from the hospital today. He continues to gain weight and was up to 15 pounds,
which is his highest weight since his birth.
We definitely want to “give
thanks to the LORD for His goodness and His wonderful works” in answering
your prayers concerning Luke! He definitely is a miracle child, and we all
believe that the Lord has a special plan and purpose for his life! Again, we
can’t say thank you enough for all your support and prayers for Luke since he
was born.
Psalm 107 is a great reminder,
that no matter where we are at in life, or in the world, when we call upon the
LORD in our trouble, He will be there and deliver and bring us out of our
distresses. We might be wandering in the wilderness of sin looking for hope and
our way in life (vv. 4-9). But when we
cry out to the LORD, He will show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life in Jesus
Christ and will find our eternal “city to dwell in”.
We might have rebelled against
the words of God, despising His counsel and find our ourselves in bondage with
no one to help us (vv.10-12). But again, when we cried to the LORD, He brings
us of the darkness and shadow of death and breaks in pieces the chains that
hold us and sets us free (vv. 13-14).
We might even go deeper into
our sin and find ourselves living a foolish life addicted to drugs, alcohol,
immorality, and pornography, so that we have lost our appetite for food and are
even at the gate of death (vv. 17-18). But again, when we cried to the LORD, He
sent His Word and healed us and delivered us from our destructive addictions
and habits (vv. 19-20).
Now in verses 23-32, we go
even further away from God and seek to find satisfaction in “business” on the
great waters of materialism. But we soon find ourselves in the worst storm of
life where we lose all hope of being saved and are at our wits’ end (vv.
23-27). Again, when we cry to the LORD in our trouble, He brings us out of our
distresses, He calms the storm and stills the waves and brings us into our
desired haven of rest, which is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ!
Today, Jesus still calls out, “Come
to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give your rest”
(Matthew 11:28).
God bless!
