November 30, 2025 | His Wonderful Works
His Wonderful Works | Psalm 107
Psalm 107
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
they saw the deeds of the LORD,
his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.
By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish.
When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
but he raises up the needy out of affliction
and makes their families like flocks.
The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD. (ESV)
In His Wonderful Works from Psalm 107, Jed Gillis shows that gratitude is not reserved for easy seasons but grows out of seeing God’s character in the middle of real crises. The psalm paints four portraits of God’s people as hungry wanderers, rebellious captives, foolish sufferers, and limited adventurers on stormy seas, all brought to the end of themselves. Each group reaches a breaking point, cries out to the Lord, and discovers that he alone satisfies, frees, heals, and brings them safely home. God may let us feel the weight of our choices or our limitations, yet he delights to turn deserts into springs and chains into praise. The wise response is to cry to him instead of trusting our control, remember how he has already delivered us in Christ, and let the redeemed “say so” by giving thanks for his steadfast love even when life still feels like a wilderness or a storm.
Transcript of His Wonderful Works | Psalm 107
Was It Hard to Be Thankful This Thanksgiving?
Jed Gillis: Psalm 107. Uh, before we get into this psalm, this last week, we had Thanksgiving, and I wanna ask you a question just for you to reflect for a minute. Did you find it easy to be grateful, or did you find it a little hard? Did you find it easier because there was a holiday marked Thanksgiving then the rest of the year to be grateful?
I think if every day we're like Thanksgiving, we might find it pretty easy to be grateful. Many of us are off work. We're out of school. Family gathers. We all know this is the holiday marked where you're not supposed to complain. You're only supposed to give thanks. It might seem easy on Thanksgiving.
Or it might not, depending on your situation, family gathering might not help you be thankful, actually. Or maybe you miss family who were here last Thanksgiving who aren't here now. It might be harder to be grateful at Thanksgiving.
Psalm 107: A Psalm for People in Crisis
Jed Gillis: I'm grateful that when God writes his word. He doesn't give us a naive view of gratitude. Instead, he gives us things like Psalm 107, which is really written for people whose lives feel more like a crisis than a feast. It's written for wanderers, for prisoners, for fools, for sailors, for people who have to decide is God worthy of my thanks and my praise when it feels like my world is unraveling?
And really it's not about our circumstances primarily. This is the question for Psalm 107, is God the kind of God who can be praised and thanked when your circumstances feel more like a crisis than a holiday?
Reading the Beginning of Psalm 107
Jed Gillis: So let's see what God's word says. Psalm 107, beginning in verse one, oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
Some wandered in desert wastes finding no way to a city to dwell in, hungry and thirsty. Their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man, for he satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul, he fills with good things.
Four Characters Who Should Give Thanks
Jed Gillis: We'll stop there for now. We'll read some more in a few minutes, but this is the pattern that you're gonna see show up in this psalm. He has a little introduction, a few verses, verse three verses, and then he describes four different characters, four different ways of describing people that are God's redeemed, who should give thanks.
And in each case he describes who they are. Some of the crisis they feel in their lives. He then says he repeats this once for each character, then they cried to the Lord. That's where their cry goes. Not to themselves, not to other things that they could look to, but in their distress, they cry to the Lord and he delivers from their distress. And then in each case, he concludes, not the last verse, but towards the end of each section he says, let them give thanks.
This whole Psalm, it starts with an introduction. It gives you patterns of, here's some crises you could find in your life. The pattern is to cry to the Lord. You'll find his deliverance. Although we'll see, it might not be the deliverance you expected. You find his deliverance from your distress, and that should drive us to gratitude. In other words, this Psalm really reminds us that gratitude isn't so much a convenient response to circumstances. It's a deliberate memory of the character and works of God. That's what this psalmist drives us to.
Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is Good and His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
Jed Gillis: So let's look at his introduction. He begins with this very familiar, repeated throughout the Psalms phrase, give thanks to the Lord for he is good and his steadfast love endures forever. We could really say it this way, if his steadfast love is towards me, we could say for He is good and He is good to me.
It's easy to believe God is good somewhere out there to somebody else. That's different from saying God is good to me. Even when somebody else is in a bad circumstance, we could say, sure, I understand God can be good in their situations because we don't feel it. But when you're in crisis, when you're irritated by the person around you, when you feel like you're stuck in life, when you feel like this circumstance is so bad, his Psalm starts by saying, yes, God is good, but that doesn't stay out there. His steadfast love endures forever. He's good, not in a generic sense, but in a way towards his people, towards you if your trust is in him.
Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So
Jed Gillis: He says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. I thought that's, it's just an interesting phrase. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, like, well, of course we would say so, wouldn't we?
But it's easy to go through our lives and to think God has done such wonderful things for me, and yet I don't tell anybody. And I don't just mean going out and proclaiming the truth of the gospel to unbelievers. I mean, even in this context, how easy is it to get together, and we talk about the football game, which I enjoy football, we talk about the weather, oh, it's cold today. We can easily do all that, and sometimes we go a really long time without a conversation about God and what he's done for us.
This Psalm starts, if you want a heart of gratitude that overflows, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Don't keep it quiet. Don't take it for granted. One of the songs we, we sing often starts, did you draw a breath as the dawn awoke this morning? Did you breathe? Did God watch over you? And it says, then, then you have a reason to sing. You have a reason to praise, you have reason to give thanks. There's so many things we take for granted. We forget God has done these things. His goodness has overflowed, so let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Which can mean telling your neighbor who may not believe in Jesus. Sure. It can also mean telling people within this room who love Jesus.
Honestly, though, I think maybe the hardest one is to keep telling ourselves, and if you find it hard to praise God's goodness to other people, I'm going to guess you don't continually repeat it to yourself either. That's where I have problems.
It's easy to repeat to myself the crisis and the complaint. We say, thank you for Thanksgiving dinner, and then the next day it's easy to repeat, well, this bad thing's happening and I don't know how that's going to work out, and this health problem is there and this relational struggle is there. And we repeat all of those things. But we say, thank you for your goodness once and forget it.
He starts, let the redeemed of the Lord say so verbalize to yourself, to other believers, to unbelievers, here is God's goodness to me. Remember God's goodness. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.
God's People Still Experience Trouble
Jed Gillis: Notice verse two. He says that he has redeemed them from trouble. So in other words, he's not calling out any of you who have never felt any trouble in your life, you be grateful, and the rest of you go ahead and just complain and not be grateful. That's not the point, right? He says, these are people who have felt deep trouble. And we'll see that as we look at each character through this psalm.
These are people who have been redeemed from trouble. They've not had like a neutral existence. Not too bad, not too good, and they get to decide, do I want to complain or give thanks? He's saying these are people who have walked through hard situations. This Psalm is written to people who know the pattern of living life in a fallen world where you move from crisis and difficulty, and you see God's goodness, and you find another crisis and difficulty, and maybe you don't see God's goodness for that one yet, and five crises gang up on you at once, then you start to see God's goodness and steadfast love in those as well. That's the kind of person he's writing to encourage and to empower, to give thanks to God.
And they aren't just pulled out of trouble. Notice verse three, this description, they're gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west and from the north and from the south.
We have a little version of that in this room 'cause some of you live east of here and west of here and north and south. That's a much smaller version than what he's talking about, but it's true. God has gathered this group of redeemed people. Some of you live a pretty good ways away. God has gathered this group of redeemed people to sing, behold the Lamb, to let the Redeemed to the Lord gathered in from all these places, say so. Respond with gratitude. Jesus, thank you. I was once your enemy, but now I'm seated at your table. I hope those words don't just roll out of our mouths while we still think about all the difficulties and crises, and that's what occupies all of our minds. I hope we recognize we're thanking Jesus for redeeming us, so let the redeem of the Lord say so. Let them praise him with gratitude.
The Four Characters of Psalm 107
Jed Gillis: So I wanna look at these four characters and we'll, we'll have a short description of what they are.
The Hungry Wanderer
Jed Gillis: The first one is, is Hungry Wanderers. We read that one a minute ago, beginning in in verse four. Notice this description. It says some of these people, some of these redeemed who need to praise God and give thanks, some of them, they wandered in desert wastes, finding no city to dwell in.
They have desperate longing. They're hungry and thirsty to the point that their soul faints within them. They've got no roots like they, they're looking for a city. They want to dwell somewhere where they can have roots and permanence, and they don't have that. Their soul is ready to collapse.
So what does this look like in a modern world? Most of us aren't wandering around deserts in Knoxville, but where do you feel stuck like you don't know where to go? Where do you think I want my life to look different than it does now, but I'm not even sure what I want it to look like? I'm not sure what that city looks like, that I'm gonna dwell in. I know I'm hungry and thirsty for something, but I don't feel like I can find my way there. Where do you feel like the thirst of your soul can't be quenched?
Maybe it's in your relationships. And you think I really wanted friendships that were gonna fulfill me, and they don't seem to do that. I was hoping my marriage would satisfy a kind of thirst that it just isn't. Maybe it's in your spiritual life and you feel stuck and you say, I was hoping I wouldn't be struggling with that sin anymore, and here I am. Maybe it's in your career and your life plan, and you had a good goal for where you were going to be and what your job was going to be, and you're nowhere near that, and it seems like that door was closed.
Don't they feel like desert wastes sometimes? Don't they feel like you're wandering around and you're hungry and you're thirsty? There's a crisis there.
But the psalmist says verse six, they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress. We're so tempted to cry everywhere else, right? I cry to myself, get it together. Pull your life together, do better. I cry to friends around me. Stop failing me in these areas. I cry to my business connections. Where can I get the next job?
They cried to the Lord like we've been talking about from Galatians, they cry. Abba, father, they're in distress, but that's their cry. Abba Father. They cried to the Lord and he delivers them from distress.
Notice the way he describes this deliverance. Verse seven. He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. The thing they really wanted is exactly where God led them. They wanted a city to dwell in. They wanted their hunger and thirst to be satisfied. He leads them by a straight way till they reached a city. In verse nine, he satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul, he fills with good things.
Where you feel stuck, where you feel hungry. God promises you satisfaction. Jesus says, I'm the living water, he who drinks of me, will never thirst again. Where you long for a city for connection, for roots, for stability, that's what God offers in Jesus. It might not look like the bank account you want it to look like, but it does look like the king who died for you and will give you eternal life.
This first group knows that stable satisfaction comes from God, so the psalmist calls on them, verse eight, let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man.
The Rebellious Captive
Jed Gillis: Second group, we have hungry wanderers. We have rebellious captives. Notice verse 10, some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the council of the most high. So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor. They fell down with none to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and burst their bonds apart. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man, for he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.
Notice how he describes them. There's darkness, death, affliction, chains. These aren't just people who feel stuck and lost. These are people, in this description, they've rebelled against God, and as a result they feel chained. It's not that they don't know which way to go, it's that they feel like they cannot go there. Their freedom has been taken away. They rebelled against God's word and tried to solve their own problems with their self-centeredness.
So notice this text tells us in verse 12, God brought them to difficulty. He let them feel the chains of their choices. Have you ever felt that way? You knew you made the wrong choice? You knew you'd rebelled against God, and God lets you feel some of the difficulty that brings? That's hard. Why does God do that?
So that we get to verse 13, then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distresses. Where do you find yourself returning to sins you can't seem to break out of? You've rebelled against God and you feel the power of those chains, and you say, it's too late. I've sinned too much. It's been too bad. I've treated that person too badly. I can't restore that relationship.
God works so that the things you think are freedom, I get to determine my own life and go my own way are actually chains. This is where scripture is so different from our culture, 'cause our culture says you're free if you get to determine your own life however you want to. You get to determine what's right. You get to determine what's wrong. You get to determine your identity. You get to determine all this stuff, and our culture says that's what freedom is. And Psalm 107 says no, when you rebel against God, you find chains not freedom.
But the answer is the same thing for the hungry wanderer: cry out to the Lord. See the hungry wanderer finds stable satisfaction comes from God. What this character finds is that true freedom comes from God.
And the way he describes this is that God breaks our chains. I know in a room of this many people, there are some of you who feel very chained and trapped, and you've pulled on those chains by your willpower and you've tried over and over and over to break them and they haven't even budged.
Psalm 107 says, the answer is to cry to the Lord 'cause there's no chains he can't break. He burst their bonds apart. He shatters the doors of bronze. He cuts into the bars of iron.
So if that's what our God does, he doesn't just give us satisfaction, he gives us true freedom, if that's what our God does. Verse 15, let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man.
The Foolish Sufferer
Jed Gillis: So we have hungry wanderers and rebellious captives. Then we get foolish sufferers. Verse 17, some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities, they suffered affliction. They loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord and their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man, and let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and tell of his deeds in songs of joy.
Here you have someone who's made foolish choices that's similar to the previous one, but the previous one has more of like this high handed rebellious. I know you're king, but I will not listen. Maybe you think, I mean, that's really not where my heart is in most of the time. That's not me. This might sound more like you. You make choices and you look back and think, you know, that wasn't really a great choice and maybe you look back 30 years and see some choices that you think that wasn't a good choice.
And you might be suffering from that in some way. You might feel that really was foolish and it causes problems in my life. You might not even make the connection between your foolishness and your suffering now, but this text draws us to say, this is what happens sometimes. They're not stuck. They don't feel stuck, but they feel bad. They have the results of their foolishness. It says that they don't want, they loathed any kind of food, and yet they're about to starve.
Sometimes I think especially as as children, we do this sometimes, you know, we, we joke at my house that there's a separate stomach for dessert. You come in, you're like, I'm really, really hungry. Great. Here's salad. No thanks. I'm not that hungry. And if I'm honest, we do it as adults too. Right?
That's what they're doing though. They're coming and saying, I'm hungry. Here's what's available. No, I don't want that. Don't gimme that food. It's like they're trying to eat gravel instead of food and wondering why it sat, doesn't satisfy.
What's this look like? Like take that poetic image and say, what's it look like in, in a modern context to have someone who is foolishly suffering because they won't take the good food God offers and instead chase something else.
It, it looks like the spouse who flirts around in real life or online, who's foolish, and they feel the difficulty and the suffering, but they don't want to pursue the hard work of marriage. They hate the food that actually brings nourishment and life, and they keep eating sand.
This looks like the teenager who pursues online connections and relationships, but doesn't want to actually connect with a real person, because that's awkward. It's hard. That's not just teenagers, by the way. It looks like anyone who says, no, I don't want to actually live alongside other believers and have the challenging conversations that are there. That's good food that God has said, this is how you grow. And instead, I wanna hide anonymously and only look online and find scripture messages there and not actually know any real people.
This might look like a young man who lives for the fake achievements in a video game world rather than the satisfaction of hard work and productivity. Or who lives for the entertainment of the next book or the next TV show. All these things. That won't truly satisfy your soul. And you say, I'm hungry. What does God say satisfies your soul? Well, I don't want that. I wanna go somewhere else.
So where does this person cry? Just like the other two. Verse 19, they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress. What does that deliverance look like? For the first one, it was just satisfaction and a place to live, A place to dwell. For the second one, that deliverance was freedom. For this person, God not only breaks chains, he restores appetites. He gives you hunger for good things.
We know this works in diets. If you've been eating junk food forever, good food may not taste that great. But if you've ever said, you know, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna stick with eating good stuff, I'm gonna exercise, I'm gonna do this, some of that junk food doesn't taste so good anymore.
Our appetites change, and that is part of the way God heals. If you say, I know I long for the wrong things sometimes. I don't want the food God gives. I want something else I know it doesn't satisfy. What are you supposed to do about it? Cry to the Lord. Take that to him.
He not only breaks chains, he restores appetites. He gives you satisfaction. He gives you freedom, and he gives you wisdom to look back and see foolish choices and say, I wanna make a better choice now. It's part of the goodness of God and the responses, so give thanks.
The Limited Adventurer
Jed Gillis: We get to the last one, we'll call them limited adventurers. Verse 23 says, some went down to the sea in ships doing business on the great waters. They saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep, for he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven. They went down to the depths. Their courage melted away in their evil plight. They reeled and staggered like drunken men, and were at their wits end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man. Let them extole him in the congregation of the people and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
See these people, they're just going about their lives. They're businessmen. They're out on the sea. This was one of the ways that they would go about making a living. They get in the boat. Sure, it's dangerous because sailing is dangerous, especially back then, but they're not doing something foolish. They're not rebelling against God. They're not starving and unsure where to go. They have a plan. They're being productive. But as they start going, they're faced with their limitations.
If you've ever been out on the ocean and saw the waves start to swell, you realize pretty quickly how small you are and there's nothing you can do about it.
That's what they felt. They're just going about life saying, here's my plan, and they realize I am really out of control. I can't control these things. And they get, they become afraid. This text says they melt. It's like they melt away in the face of things they can't control. Do you ever feel like that? I do.
Then it says they, they stagger around like drunks. They can't even control the ground underneath their feet 'cause it's actually a ship and they're falling. Like, I can't even walk straight. How am I supposed to keep myself safe and make this plan of mine work? This is what happens in our lives. We come up with some way to try and have control, and when it's shaken, we have fear.
So this might look like the mom who tries to organize everything about her life to protect and care for her kids, but she feels fear and anxiety because she knows I can't guarantee that.
This might look like the dad who works hard to provide for their family, and they get passed over for the promotion again and again, because they can't control it.
And especially on a Sunday when we celebrate children and baby dedication. Parents, you will face fear because you can't control things for your children and for you.
What's the solution? It wasn't for these guys to not go sail on the ocean. That wasn't the point. They didn't solve it by saying, forget that. I'm not gonna try to do anything. I'm just gonna jump off at the nearest port. No, they reeled and staggered. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress. Just like the other characters, they cried to God and they found his deliverance.
What's his deliverance look like in this case? He stills the storm, which we know he can do 'cause he did when he was on earth. Jesus is in the storm and he says, peace be still. That means that whatever storm you feel, when you feel uncertain, you feel I can't control my circumstances, whatever storm you feel is only still raging because the Lord of the storm hasn't said that yet. Because all he has to do, unlike you who can't even affect it, all he has to do is say, peace be still and it's silent. And that's exactly how he delivered.
Notice he also says in verse 30, then they were glad that the waters were quiet and he brought them to their desired haven. I love this 'cause sometimes I think we get the idea that we try to pursue something, we have a plan, and we're like, well, I'm sure God just laughs at my plans. So I know that's not what's gonna happen. And we act like that's the spiritual answer. I had this plan. No, no, no. God can't possibly give me my plan. He's gotta gimme something else.
That's not what this text points you to. Now, he does sometimes give you better things than you would've thought. He has better plans, not denying that. But sometimes, he looks at you while you're afraid and out of control, and you cry out to him and he says, I want to calm it so that you go exactly where you meant to go. That's what they're praising him for.
In other words, the first one needed satisfaction. The second one needed freedom. The third one needed wisdom, and this one needs safety. Now, how much of your life. Is driven by a desire for satisfaction, freedom, safety, and wisdom. He's pointing you to say, in every one of those areas, cry out to the Lord and find he delivers.
Why Don't We Cry Out to the Lord More Often?
Jed Gillis: Now, when I put it that way, you might think, especially if you're a believer, you've been a believer for a long time, you say, well, why on earth don't I just do that more often? I mean, it seems simple, right? I'm not satisfied. Cry out to the Lord. He ses. It may not happen right away, but I know it's going to happen and I trust him. He's done it before. I feel chained and restricted, and I want freedom. I know God gives freedom. Why don't I just cry out to him?
Well, here. Here's why. The paradox is we all have our own ways of trying to find satisfaction and freedom, and safety and wisdom. We have our own human ways, and when we pursue God's ways, it feels all wrong to us.
Perhaps you trust your control for safety. You think as long as I'm in control in my life, I don't have to be afraid. I have safety. Well, if you then say, no, I'm not going to trust my control, I'm gonna trust God's control, guess what you have to do? You have to stop trying to control everything. And as soon as you do that, it feels very unsafe. So most of us, we go, I'm gonna control everything. Well, I'll try God's way. No, that's scary. I'm coming right back.
Or we think, God says satisfaction can be had this way. But I know I can get a little pleasure this way, so I'll try that. No, I need God's way. And we go over here. No, that feels bad. I'm right back over here.
Maybe you trust your own self rule in your life. That's how I'll be free. I can determine my way. Well, if I trust myself, it feels very confining to say I'm gonna do whatever my king says.
See, we know that God promises these, promises, these things, but because we have our own ways of trying to find them ourselves, it's hard to let go of that and trust the God who is good and whose steadfast love endures forever.
God Delights to Deliver You
Jed Gillis: But thankfully, that's not the end of the Psalm. The psalmist gets to the end here and he knows that you fight against God just like he does when God's deliverance doesn't fit your little box. When you say, it sure seems dangerous to trust God here, so maybe I'll just control things myself. He knows that.
So he gets to verse 33 and he talks about how God can do all these things even when it feels impossible to you. He says, God turns rivers into a desert springs of water into thirsty ground. A fruitful land into a salty waste because of the evil of its inhabitants. If you chase your selfish, self-centered ways of trying to get safety and control and freedom, it might look really good. God can make sure it doesn't satisfy.
But the flip side's there too. Verse 35, he turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water, and there he lets the hungry dwell and they establish a city to live in. They sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. By his blessing, they multiply greatly and he does not let their livestock diminish.
The good news of this passage is that God is the kind of God who delights to deliver you. He loves to, especially when it seems impossible to us, especially when we're walking through the desert saying, how on earth will my soul be satisfied here? I tried to control my life. I tried to work out my life plan and my relationships, and they've kind of all fallen apart. How on earth could I be satisfied here?
And the psalmist says, cry out to the Lord. Look to him for deliverance because he can take deserts and make them springs. He satisfies when it seems impossible.
Paul Tripp says, human weakness isn't our problem, it's our delusions of strength.
Probably could have just said that it would've been better than most of what I say. He says, your weakness isn't the problem. We try to get freedom by our strength. We need to have weakness that just cries out. We try to get safety by controlling, and the reason your control never takes away, your fear isn't because you're not doing it right. It's because it can't, you're not big enough, you're not powerful enough, but you can cry out to one who is, and he's good. And his steadfast love endures forever.
This is what our God delights in to deliver people like us. When you feel hungry and you're wandering and you need satisfaction and roots, God can do that, and he promises it in Jesus. When you feel like I've been rebellious and I'm chained and I'm stuck, God delivers cry to the Lord. He promises. Jesus is the one who breaks those chains. When you feel like you are, have been foolish and you're suffering for it. He delights to give wisdom to those who ask, who cry to him, and he doesn't scold you. He doesn't say, why didn't you ask me in the first place? I don't think I'm gonna give you any. Now he delights to. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.
And when you're afraid, because you know you are limited. Don't look to yourself. Parents, we just had baby dedication. Every one of those things you need for your life and it will help you to interact with your kids. But also your children will at some point feel the need for satisfaction. They will want freedom and not know where to get it. They will. It's not a question. They will. They will at some point deal with the consequences of their foolishness. You might even help those come along sometimes. And they will be afraid, because they'll find out they're limited.
Teach them the pattern to cry to the Lord. You've gotta teach 'em by you doing it 'cause they won't learn it, otherwise. Teach them the pattern of crying to the Lord and finding his deliverance. Chains broken. Appetites restored. Satisfied souls. Peace and safety. Teach them that pattern.
And when you say, oh, I failed in that, guess what you do? Then? Cry to the Lord and he delivers from your distress. He delights to save people like us, our God is the kind of God who delights to deliver.
The Psalm ends with this statement, verse 43. Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things. Let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord. If you're wise, if you say, I wanna be wise, learn these patterns. Learn the pattern that says, if I look to myself, I find uncertainty. I find a lack of satisfaction. I find that I am trapped. I find that I am foolish. I find that I'm fearful and that I am weak.
But when I look to the Lord, I find satisfaction and I find freedom. I find wisdom and safety. That will make you give thanks to the Lord. And if we say that over and over to ourselves and remember it, it gets so much easier to respond with gratitude.
So I want to ask you just to take a moment, close your eyes and respond to God's truth, invite you. To respond with gratitude for the good that God has given you.