#838 Say So

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever!

2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

whom he has redeemed from trouble

3 and gathered in from the lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south.

4 Some wandered in desert wastes,

finding no way to a city to dwell in;

5 hungry and thirsty,

their soul fainted within them.

6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

7 He led them by a straight way

till they reached a city to dwell in.

8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

9 For he satisfies the longing soul,

and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,

prisoners in affliction and in irons,

11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,

and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;

they fell down, with none to help.

13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,

and burst their bonds apart.

15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

16 For he shatters the doors of bronze

and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,

and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;

18 they loathed any kind of food,

and they drew near to the gates of death.

19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

20 He sent out his word and healed them,

and delivered them from their destruction.

21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,

and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

23 Some went down to the sea in ships,

doing business on the great waters;

24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,

his wondrous works in the deep.

25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,

which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;

their courage melted away in their evil plight;

27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men

and were at their wits' end.

28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

29 He made the storm be still,

and the waves of the sea were hushed.

30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,

and he brought them to their desired haven.

31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,

and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33 He turns rivers into a desert,

springs of water into thirsty ground,

34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,

because of the evil of its inhabitants.

35 He turns a desert into pools of water,

a parched land into springs of water.

36 And there he lets the hungry dwell,

and they establish a city to live in;

37 they sow fields and plant vineyards

and get a fruitful yield.

38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,

and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39 When they are diminished and brought low

through oppression, evil, and sorrow,

40 he pours contempt on princes

and makes them wander in trackless wastes;

41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction

and makes their families like flocks.

42 The upright see it and are glad,

and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;

let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord. Psalm 107 ESV

A Psalm of Rescue.

For His steadfast love endures forever - This unilateral covenant must speak too many volumes to the awakened mind, for as soon as we see it we know we are not so patient, kind, and we must be grateful that God is not like us. 

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so - I didn't even know what to ask for, but it would mean hell to ask for what is fair. It is the Lord Who calls and gathers His chosen from every land. Certainly we must not look upon that which we didn't even make, and think ourselves mighty for all that perishes away. From the first promise of Messiah's heel being bruised it has been God's redemption story.

…14 Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life. 15 The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet of foot will not escape, and the horseman will not save his life. 16 Even the bravest of mighty men will flee naked on that day,” declares the LORD.… Amos 2: 14-16

i. “Moses has given us in the law a clear and full idea of what we are to understand by the word goel, here rendered ‘redeemed.’ If any person was either sold for a slave, or carried away for a captive, then his kinsman, who was nearest to him in blood, had the right and equity of redemption.” (Romaine, cited in Spurgeon)

Some wandered in desert wastes - We saw before the people in the wilderness, the sons of Jacob being led by Moses out of Egypt. This seems to refer of something later, since they were called from every direction. But every time they were taken, the Egyptian captivity, Assyrian captivity, Babylonian captivity, Persian etc.. every time they had to cross hostile lands, with vanquished and hungry souls. He provided manna, but man cannot live by bread alone.  

…14 But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them. 15 From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,… 2 Timothy 3: 14-16

Some sat in darkness and the shadow of death - We refuse light, as it goes on they rebelled against the words of the Lord. That which would be a lamp unto their feet and light unto their path.

…10 With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments. 11 I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You. 12 Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your statutes.… Psalm 119:10-12

Some were fools through their sinful ways - They suffered at their own hands, doing what they knew ought not to be done. Again, they discarded the words of God, many believing that He exists, but not believing in Him. Pride and unbelief, they persist even in the face of truth. Cannot the One, Who spoke the universe into existence, brought man up from the dust, speak into history His plan of redemption? Everything hangs upon the pure word of God, that what He says, He will also accomplish. 

He made the storm be still - His word still works, He is still over His creation, though there is a tempest He is so much greater than all the things that men fear.

A fruitful land into a salty waste - Time and again, like Sodom and Gomorrah, nations rise, prosper on the earth that God has made, but their hearts are inclined to evil all the time. If God is Holy then He must be just, and He only owes men their wages.

He pours contempt on princes - They make their own laws, they cry unfair, right, wrong, but why should a righteous God yield to the whims of unrighteous men? Should He respect their title and person? None of them can stand before Him. None can call themselves into being. None can redeem themselves from the grave. When He sends the King of Kings, He looks nothing like the princes of the earth, but more like a pauper, born to a peasant home, meek and lowly. We joke of slumming, of roughing it, but we have no idea.

1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.… Isaiah 53: 1-3