Thanksgiving #3

November 21, 2020 (Saturday)

 

Psalm 107 is about the “redeemed” and the various times of trouble when they cried out to God. Spoiler alert: God rescues them! Let’s take a small sample of this in our journey of thanksgiving.

 

Some of the redeemed were fools because of their sinful ways.
    They suffered because of their wickedness.
¹⁸ They had absolutely no appetite for food;
    they had arrived at death’s gates.
¹⁹ So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
    and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
²⁰ God gave the order and healed them;
    he rescued them from their pit.
²¹ Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
    and his wondrous works for all people.
²² Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices
    and declare what God has done in songs of joy!

[Psalm 107:17 – 22 CEB]

 

The Psalms are an expression of the experience on life seen through the eyes of faith. This section does not address salvation. However, this Psalm pictures the “redeemed” as “fools.” The word “fool” is a theological term to describe someone without God. It is unsettling when there is no discernable difference between the redeemed and those who are still outside of God’s saving grace.

 

Yet, here are the “redeemed of the Lord” suffering because of their “their sinful ways” and “their wickedness.” The expression translated “sinful ways” means “rebellion.” The word translated “wickedness” carries the idea of “perversion.” I think we are observing sin causing its own consequences.

 

Ironically this brings them to “death’s gates.” It is this point of desperation they are willing to cry out to God. Why does it take us so long? We know sin is a tool of the enemy of our souls. He uses sin as chains, or an addiction of sorts, to keep us heading the wrong way. The devil also uses sin to blind us and bind us in darkness.

 

Who am I kidding? Let’s be honest with ourselves. We do not need a devil to blame. We are selfish, self-deluded, and stupid because that is our human nature. We love sin. We love the darkness sin brings. We love being as stupid as a rock. We want to believe a lie, any lie, and the lie. Don’t believe me? In America we just suffered through an election cycle where claims were made. People believe what they want to believe.

 

The remarkable thing in verse 19, somewhere these suffering people come to their senses, call out to God (presumably for help), and God saves them from their circumstances. God then heals them AND saves them from “their pit.” Another way this can be translated is God saves us from our self-destruction.

 

That brings us to God’s “faithful love.” Other adjectives that can be used to describe God’s love include: unfailing and steadfast. This is cause for thanksgiving. Actually offering “thanksgiving sacrifices.” These sacrifices first appear in Leviticus 7. They are not required but given in celebration. Celebration is required.

 

The last bit says to declare what God has done. Thanksgiving has two parts: worship and witness. Time to think about that…