Psalm 59 Howling Like Dogs or Sharing the Love?

Over the years, in my devotionally commenting on this psalm, I have consistently focused on the final strophe (vv. 16-17) as my emphasis. I have posted these verses with my comments at least five times! So, in approaching this psalm today, I will intentionally discuss several other verses before hitting the well-trod landing zone in v. 17.

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Photo by Michael Ely, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.
wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13897885

This psalm starts as an individual lament with a prayer request that pulls up short of being fully imprecatory (v. 1-5). David claims his innocence, and at this point in his life, he was innocent of any wrongdoing. He had served God, the king, and the people of Israel bravely and faithfully, only to be canceled and nearly killed by the king’s jealousy. These specific enemies were persistent in their howling, prowling, and growling when they “don’t eat their fill” (v.15). The answer to the question of who let these dogs out is Saul. Still, they were seeking their own profit through treachery, which is never a good investment strategy. David asked the Lord to “punish all the nations,” not in general but sparing “none of those who treacherously plot evil” (v. 5).

What is the chorus of this psalm? What is the repeated phrase that acts as a bridge between sections? “Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.” (v. 6, 14) The psalmist adds to the point by repeating that each evening “those who treacherously plot evil” (v.5) come back looking for trouble at his expense.

Sometimes our troubles...or those troubling people just do not ever seem to go away...coming back "each evening". Yet, like the psalmist, we can choose to sing of God's strength even when we feel we do not have any; of his steadfast love amid our trials!

Don’t you just love how, in the middle of being stalked by Saul's agents each night, David could still sing of God's strength? He knew that God would preserve him until the morning! Such faith in a loving God makes for a good night's sleep, no matter what is going on outside.

Photo by Gurth Bramall on Unsplash

I love dogs, but when the neighbors’ dogs' incessant barking wakes me from sleep in the
middle of the night or early in the morning, I find it highly irritating. Imagine that the metaphorical dogs are people saying bad things about you and trying to provoke you into an emotional response. Also, it helps us to understand the imagery used here when we realize that the dogs of ancient Israel were not house pets but dirty, skulking, sneaking, thieving creatures. In my mind, I compare them to pack hunters like hyenas and coyotes… loud at night, and we should not underestimate the damage they can do.

Famous Last Words

These human “dogs” came howling and bellowing rumors, slander, and lies about David. Why didn’t they fear that they might be held accountable for their words? Because they were practical atheists and in the employ of the king, they feared neither God nor man. As verse 7 describes.

There they are, bellowing with their mouths
    with swords in their lips—
    for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?” (v.7)

Such words and boasts do not discomfit God, for indeed he laughs at the impotent self-deception. David set himself to watch for what the Lord would do negatively towards the bloodthirsty men and positively towards the faithful, summed up in verse 10,

My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
    God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

David initially wanted them to be judged and brought down but not killed, lest his people forget (v.11), in a sense that may allude to Judges 2:21-23, where the other nations were not utterly destroyed but were used to discipline God’s people when they sinned. In this sense, David’s prayer extends beyond his immediate context to the plight of God’s people living in exile in a fallen world.

However, while David starts by not wishing for their death, the more he considers their lies and sinful words, the more worked up he gets. Let's read this section together…

Kill them not, lest my people forget;
    make them totter by your power and bring them down,
    O Lord, our shield!
For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
    let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
    consume them in wrath;
    consume them till they are no more,
that they may know that God rules over Jacob
    to the ends of the earth. Selah (v. 11-14)

Photo by Resume Genius on Unsplash

We are currently living in a time where conversations with those who disagree with us are difficult, if not impossible. We have largely lost the ability to engage ideas, concepts, and policies reasonably, and too often settle for railing against the character of the other. The ad hominem attack has always been a logical fallacy, and though it has won some battles, it usually ends up losing the war.

While the wicked focus on loudly expressing their displeasure when they don’t get what they want, David models a posture of faithful worship even during perilous times. Despite his frustration at the mercenaries that surrounded his house looking to capture him for King Saul, David ended his psalm with this praise for God's hesed love, and continues to place his trust in the Lord...always the best decision!

So here is where I hit my customary landing zone in this psalm.

Photo by Cason Asher on Unsplash

But I will sing of your strength;
    I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
    and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
    for you, O God, are my fortress,
    the God who shows me steadfast love. (v.16-17)

Singing out loud of YHWH’s steadfast love today! No matter what lurks at the door or prowls around the walls of our life, God's love is a fortress! Despite being falsely accused, persecuted, and even being hunted down, David chose to focus on God's strength and steadfast love. I wish I could do the same thing more consistently!

I pray that we will never be pride-trapped by our words to the point of denying the truth of our faith. May we be people who are honest to God, kind to others, and transformed by the steadfast love of God! 

Psalm 48 "You’re Home Now!"

Great is the Lord! (v. 1-2)

Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,
    in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

Jerusalem Walls Photo: Joshua Mitchell 2011

Beautiful in its loftiness,
    the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,
    the city of the Great King.

God is in her citadels;
    he has shown himself to be her fortress. (NIV)

Great is the Lord! Psalm 48 begins and ends with its focus on the Lord. Every time we gather as the people of God, our focus...beginning, end, and middle needs to be on the nature and character of Jesus Christ! Not only is he great, but he also faithfully guides us and protects us in his steadfast love! And, “He will guide us forever”(v.14).

What the Zaphon Are You Talking About?

The Sons of Korah, as gatekeepers in the temple, often used temple/Jerusalem/Zion imagery in the nearly a dozen psalms attributed to them (see Psalm 84:5-10 “I’d Rather be a Gatekeeper!), but what is this “heights of Zaphon” thing we find here? In v. 2 there is a translation issue that needs clarification. Is the word “Zaphon” a proper noun in that it is the name of a place or is it to be understood as simply meaning “north”? Surprisingly the normally solid ESV opts for “north” and has “Mount Zion in the far north” which makes no sense geographically since Zion is not in the far north, not even the northern part of Jerusalem. The Expositors’ Bible Commentary’s technical footnotes on Psalm 48 explain it like this.

The name "Zaphon" elsewhere may be translated straightforwardly as "north." But in this context, it is best to retain it as a proper name. Zaphon was to the Canaanites what Mount Olympus was to the Greeks. The Canaanites (Phoenicians) believed that the chief God of the pantheon, El, dwelt on Mount Zaphon. The psalmist is borrowing the imagery and not the theology. Zion is the holy mountain of God. (EBC, Vo;. 5, 363)

Here... Heaven and Earth Meet

Photo: Greg K. Dueker

In the ancient Near Eastern world, there was a luminous idea of a place where a man could meet with God (Mt. Zaphon). It became more than a mythical hope at the authentic Mt. Zion (Jerusalem), as was pointed out by the late Peter Craigie, “The psalmist affirms in effect, that the aspirations of all people for a place on earth where God’s presence could be experienced were fulfilled in Mt. Zion, the true Zaphon.”[1] Yet, centuries later, at the transfiguration of Jesus, God made it clear that the meeting place between God and man was no longer a place, but a person to whom we should listen — Jesus Christ! Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand this, as seen in this dialogue between Thomas and Jesus.

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”[2]

The desire of the entire world for that place where they could meet with God was fulfilled at Mt. Zion (a symbol of the true Church today). What Jesus did on the cross was for all people. He is the fulfillment of the deepest longing of their souls.

Photo: Greg K. Dueker

The Hebrew idiom "It is beautiful in its loftiness" appears only once in the Bible (a hapax legomenon) … The theological significance of this has been well expressed by A.A. Anderson: "It is here that, in a sense, heaven and earth meet".  (EBC, Vol. 5, 363)

In the Messiah, Jesus the Son of God, heaven came down to earth and assumed all of our sins and sorrow so that we might come back to the Father—both now and forever! In Christ, we are home in a way that is more real and relational than we could ever have imagined.

They Came, They Saw, and They Freaked (v.4-5)

"For behold, the kings assembled; they came on together.

                  As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;

                        they were in panic; they took to flight."

When the kings of enemy nations came, what was the "it" at which they were looking? It seems it was Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord in its midst. The work of God in and through his people is still a fearful sight to wicked rulers wherever/whenever they dwell. Commentators such as Craigie note that while “the world’s kings (v. 4) came to Jerusalem and saw one astounding thing (v.5); the pilgrim worshipers also came to Jerusalem and saw another thing (v. 8), though in a literal sense it was the same sight that met their eyes.” (Craigie, Psalms, 353)

Pondering His Steadfast Love (v.9-10)

“We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness.” 

Do we pause to consider the greatness of God’s love, his steadfast love, available to us because of his sacrifice on our behalf? If not, let's start today! His redemptive plan reaches the ends of the earth. His praise should flow from us as we consider all of who he is: loving, righteous, strong, eternal...

It is always good to think about his steadfast love, and since his righteous, loving character reaches the ends of the earth, his praise reaches there too. I have the feeling this passage is suggesting the future salvation of the nations. For God's mysterious love is not just for one people (it's too light a thing—Isaiah 49:6) but for all peoples of the world!

As we think about his steadfast love, it should fill and overflow from our hearts. How is the overflow of this praise/worship/love visible to the people we encounter on the road, in stores, in the neighborhood, and in our homes?

The Lord’s steadfast love (Heb. hesed) is always a good thing to think about, and we should praise him from wherever we are…not just in the places considered holy!

In my spiritual formation classes, I ask my students to take a micro-retreat of just an hour without technology and get outside and walk around and look for ways that they can see God at work around them. This is what the Sons of Korah were asking the people of God to do. They were not merely to sing God’s praises and think about his steadfast love in the Temple (v.9-10) but they were told to walk around the city and see the strength of the walls and towers as a sign of God’s active work of protection for his people (v. 12-14).

How do we engage our whole being in worship and contemplation of God? How might we allow the things that God has made or provided to us to turn our eyes and hearts back to the Lord?

He will Guide Us Forever (v.11-14) 

     Let Mount Zion be glad!
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice
    because of your judgments!

 Walk about Zion, go around her,

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

    number her towers,
 consider well her ramparts,
    go through her citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
     that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
    He will guide us forever.

What a wonderful reminder of God’s goodness toward his people. May we seek this promised guidance, together as the people of God, both now and always! 

He is our true home, and in him, we are home now!

Here are a few other Bible verses for further reading:

• Matthew 11:27-29
• Luke 14:23
• John 14:1-3 
• Isaiah 19:23-25
• Hebrews 12:1-2
• 1 Peter 2:4-5
• Revelation 22:17
• Hebrews 2:14-18

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[1] Peter Craigie, Psalms Vol. 1 WBC, (Waco: TX, Word, 1983) 353.

[2] John 14:5-7 

21 Days of Prayer in Psalm 119 (Day #6)

Psalm 119:41-48

"Steadfast Love"

This section of eight verses speaks of the psalmist’s determination to keep God’s Word and to deliver the Lord’s message even to kings (v. 46), for God’s Word was his delight (v. 47), but why was this his determination? We also should speak the testimony of the Lord, we should delight in what he has said, and we should be determined to keep his commands. But why? For the same reason as the psalmist that is found in v. 41-42 which is my focus today.

Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,

    your salvation according to your promise;

then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me,
    for I trust in your word. (v. 41-42)

If we have received his lovingkindness or steadfast love (hesed) then we will have the courage to do what it takes to respond to that love. In this verse, steadfast love and salvation are used parallel to each other. Does this remind you of a verse in the New Testament?

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

If we know, beyond any doubt that we are loved by God then we will be emboldened to stand up against any taunts the world might throw at us. If we have seen the Lord’s faithfulness to his promise to send this love/salvation how can we do anything else but trust what he says all the more?

O Lord, the God who loves us faithfully—even unto your own death in our place—who seeks us out when we have gone astray and runs to meet us when we realize we have nowhere else to turn (John 15), may our hearts be set free to love you in return! May our souls be set on fire with a longing to know you more, to speak of you often, to obey you consistently, all because of the gift of your steadfast love to us. Lord, you walked among us as a man for over 30 years and you above all know how faithless we can be—let your steadfast love be pressed down into our soul in a way that we are changed and can love you and each other according to your steadfast way! (Read Romans 8:31-39)

It may not be easy, but it will be awesome—because that is the way you are! 

Psalm 25 Remembered Mercy, Forgotten Sins

I have posted commentary on parts of this psalm five times over the years but this is my first blog post on Psalm 25. For followers of this blog, you know I have been stuck on 25 for a long time while my writing time was directed elsewhere. Here are more than a few verses from Psalm 25 that I am considering in this season...

 

⁶ Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
    for they have been from of old.
⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
    according to your steadfast love remember me,
    for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
⁹ He leads the humble in what is right,
    and teaches the humble his way.
¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
    for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

 

The psalmist recognizes not only his own need for mercy but that the Lord is the only one who can provide it. He asks no less than three times for forgiveness in this psalm. Spiritually, the psalmist is humbling himself in this manner, admitting that he needs forgiveness from God as well as deliverance from his enemies. So what about us? Will we learn from the Lord in humility or continue on in our pride? No one else can say that “all their paths…are steadfast love and faithfulness” like God can. If we are honest with ourselves and not totally clueless we must admit that we all have a history that needs to be forgiven, a litany of stuff we are not proud of. I recently told my students that, “demanding law for others and grace for ourselves is the first sign of self-deception.”

 

The end of Psalm 25 continues to resonate with Israel’s cry for deliverance in Egypt, from oppression so deep and so intense that we can hardly imagine it in the comfort of the west. Where it is said that,

 

"God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.  So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them." (Exodus 2:24-25)

 

When God remembers, it is not like he forgot, but it is the moment when he manifests his loving character into the circumstances of his people. Will we look to him to remember us in our situation? Psalm 25 continues... 

 

¹⁵ My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
    for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷ The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
    bring me out of my distresses.
¹⁸ Consider my affliction and my trouble,
    and forgive all my sins.

¹⁹ Consider how many are my foes,
    and with what violent hatred they hate me.
²⁰ Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
    Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
²¹ May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
    for I wait for you.

²² Redeem Israel, O God,
    out of all his troubles. 

 

What do we do in times of trouble? Do we pray first? The psalmist advocates for God to redeem Israel, not just from the guilt of sin but from the “causeless hatred” of man that always seeks to tear down.

Rabbi Johanan said: "What was the cause of the first destruction of Jerusalem? Idolatry. And of the second destruction? Causeless hatred." He continues by explaining that causeless hatred "is more grievous than idolatry." '['The Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Kallah Rabbati 54b]

Much could be said in response to the quote above. I think the Rabbi spoke of more than even he knew. However, I would like to just briefly address v. 15 which reminds me of the person today who may be stuck in whatever trap of “causeless hatred” that has been set for him/her be it physical, economic, or spiritual, and who have no hope of extricating themselves. Can you picture yourself in the midst of a minefield or stepping on the tripwire to an IED where if you move it will go off? Something that we can’t free ourselves from is the consequences of sin (ours or another’s). David was in a situation like that…feeling and actually being ambushed on so many levels. In those situations, he trusted that the Lord was the only one who could rescue him…whether from external enemies or internal ones (sins). And, the Lord is trustworthy—Jesus said,

 

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:9-11)

 

Jesus set us free taking the blast for us…and he is no less committed to our life today than he was then!

 

As my son’s unit returns from a year’s deployment in Afghanistan, I thank the Lord for his answered prayer. He has guarded and he has delivered. In this case, delivered all the way back to Oregon. Thanks be to God, for He is faithful!

Psalm 6 "O Lord—How Long?"

Psalm 6:3-5

My soul also is greatly troubled.
    But you, O Lord—how long?

Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
    save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
    in Sheol who will give you praise?

Comments:

As you probably know by now, I love the honesty of the psalms. Here David asks the raw question of his troubled soul, one of the questions men and women have asked throughout history—“How long?” In the pain, agony, and grief of his crushing circumstances, his lament echoes that of Job. What Job struggled with was making sense of his suffering and desired an audience to plead his case. Here in Psalm 6, David recognizes that the Lord is hearing his lament but questions when the Lord would respond. In his mind time was limited. He desires to praise the Lord but believed that once dead there would be no opportunity to remember the Lord. His understanding of the resurrection was limited. I included verse five in this post as an example. When we read the Bible we need to remember the concept of progressive revelation. Biblical theology teaches us that the great doctrines of the faith were not given fully developed in the first books of the Bible, but are revealed step by step according to God’s great plan. It is important for us to remember that David didn't have complete knowledge of the immortality of the soul, thus his urgency to see deliverance in this life. You don’t see a strong concept of the resurrection develop until the writings of the prophets.

Cemetery on the Mt. of Olives

Certainly, this concept is clarified and completed in the New Testament. Ironically—in our day where as Christians we know that we will not only remember the praises of the Lord after we die but we will see him face to face—there are too few who remember his praises here on earth.

There are a couple of things in this passage that David understood very well—his own need and God’s steadfast love for him. I too am convinced of those same two things. This week I hope we can all say “Amen!” to that!

Oh, and don't forget that having poured out his lament to the Lord, having asked his burning question, David acts on the belief that God has already answered and delivered (v.8-9)!

Psalm 144 "Training my hands"

Photo by ABEL MARQUEZ on Unsplash

Psalm for Today = 144:1-2

Blessed be the Lord, my rock,

    who trains my hands for war,

    and my fingers for battle;

he is my steadfast love and my fortress,

    my stronghold and my deliverer,

my shield and he in whom I take refuge,

    who subdues peoples under me.

Comments:

What is the spiritual battle God is training us for today? He will train our hands to do what He asks us to do. He does not call us to frustration.

While he no longer works through nations to gain geographical territory for the Kingdom of God, he desires to work through us to gain souls and reform the systems that affect the way people live.

We need to remember that people are not our enemy and that our weapons are not worldly.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

If we are going to fight His fight, we must use His weapons and tactics...not our own! And it seems that most often the battlefield is within our own hearts and minds.

He is our fortress and deliverer, our shield and refuge! Our hope is in Christ!

Psalm 136 "His Steadfast Love"

Psalm for Today = 136:1, 26 

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever…

²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

Comments:

This psalm recounts the history of Israel in the first line of each verse and responds to each fact with a repeated line about God's love (Heb., hesed) for His people in the second line of each verse (26 times). The psalmist must have known we would need to repeatedly remind ourselves of that truth!

I confess that I have a love-hate relationship with this psalm. I used to hate it because it was so repetitive. It violated my internal “don’t-go-around-the-barn-again-just-put-the-horse-in-the-stall” principle. I had actually stopped reading the second line of each verse to focus on the “meat” of the poetic recounting of Israel's salvation history. Then, ten years ago, I gave a message entitled, “Say It Again,” where we walked through ten passages in the Bible that have repeated terms where God wanted to make a special point. This psalm was example number one!

 

[Excerpt: As students of the Bible, it is helpful for us to develop our observational skills. We have to train ourselves to search out the author’s original meaning and to avoid creating our own “meanings.” One simple method we can use to find clues that will help us determine an author’s emphasis in a given passage is to look for things that are repeated– either single words, phrases, or full sentences. Today we will look at the following ten passages with repeated words or phrases, and take new joy in those times when God “says it again”.]

 

I came to understand that both parts are needed! Not only that, but the refrain was probably spoken by the congregation, thus enabling them to see their history not as merely a chain of unrelated events but as a constant expression of God’s steadfast love. Their whole history was surrounded, sandwiched, and marinated in the hesed of God! So is ours! Now I love this psalm because it so thoroughly expresses our privilege of participating in the steadfast love of God.

It might be an encouraging exercise to write out our personal salvation history in short verse lines and then put this refrain between all the lines. Read it through and give thanks!

Psalm 130 "Plentiful Redemption"

Psalm for Today = 130:3-4, 7-8

³ If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    O Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But with you there is forgiveness,
    that you may be feared...

    O Lord, who could stand?

⁴ But with you there is forgiveness,

    that you may be feared...

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is plentiful redemption.
⁸ And he will redeem Israel
    from all his iniquities.

    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

    and with him is plentiful redemption.

⁸ And he will redeem Israel

    from all his iniquities.

Comments:

After making a request of the Lord in v.1-2, the psalmist makes a confession in v. 3-4 that there is a great difference between the Lord and the people. Rhetorically, he admits that if God is keeping track of our screw-ups, then no one can stand before God. This is bad news because God is omniscient—he knows everything about us. Read this as “He is keeping track.” Yet he is also the one who desires to forgive us.

Because the Lord is the source of forgiveness, the psalmist looks for him more than a watchman for the dawn 5-6, and in 7-8 exhorts the people of God to put their hope in Yahweh. Two parallel characteristics are used to support Israel’s putting their hope in the Lord. With him, there is:

1.    Steadfast love, and

2.    Plentiful redemption.

And as a result, he will redeem Israel (his people) from all his iniquities. How many will he forgive? All. Not some, but all! But sin must be confessed to the Lord. Confessing is a simple agreement with God's righteous judgment that we are not God and that He is. He is holy, and we are not.

 

We need to be willing to confess our own sins and be forgiven rather than denying our sins and dying in them. The New Testament complement to this psalm is 1 John 1:8-9, which says,

^“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)

Psalm 117 "Short and Sweet"

Psalm for Today = 117:1-2

Praise the Lord, all nations!

    Extol him, all peoples!

For great is his steadfast love toward us,

    and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

 Praise the Lord!

Comments:

Photo by William Warby on Unsplash

This is the whole psalm…the shortest, yet it says a lot! In just a few words, the psalmist gives us a life-shaping perspctive.

The psalmist’s call to praise Yahweh is not just to the Jews, but to all nations and peoples. The kingdom of God is intended to be multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and cannot be contained by any one political nation.

Why should we praise him? 

We should praise God first because of the greatness, the might, the strength of his hesed (steadfast love/ loving-kindness / loyal love) towards us. When we praise him for it, it helps us to not forget how he feels about us.

We should also praise the Lord because of his faithfulness/truth never ends. He doesn’t stop being faithful and true no matter what we do or what the condition of the world may be. When we praise him for this, it helps us to become a bit more faithful and true ourselves! 

Hallelujah! (Praise the Lord!)

How different would our lives be if we could remember these three ideas?

Psalm 107 "Some Wandered..."

Psalm for Today = 107:2, 4-9

Photo by Kasuma F. Gruber on Unsplash

² Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

whom he has redeemed from trouble…

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.

Comments:

The book of Psalms is made up of five collections of psalms. Psalm 107 is the first psalm in Book 5, the last collection of psalms. It is not the rehearsal of their national salvation history so much as a testimony to the Lord’s steadfast love delivering God’s people from whatever situation they had personally been in. There are at least four groups of people spoken of in the psalm. The verses above are the first group…The Wanderers. They are not of the happy..."Val-deri, Val-dera" kind of wanderers either.

Those described here are those who desperately hunger and thirst for more than food, longing for identity, security, and community…seeking both a place and a people where they belong. They are unable to produce what they need on their own. As they begin to fade, despairing of their self-direction, they cry out to the Lord, and he delivers them. He makes them a people and places them in a secure place where they can dwell and thrive.  

The same is true of the wanderers and searchers today. Only the Lord can fully satisfy our longings. For many, this is our story, our testimony, as a trophy of God’s grace. Let us thank the Lord for his steadfast love!

Yet, even knowing this, I know that I still fight a wandering heart at times. Robert Robinson, the 18^th Century hymn writer understood this psalm and the wandering heart when he wrote these words in the classic, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” which we still sing today:

3. Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood;

How His kindness yet pursues me Mortal tongue can never tell,

Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me, I cannot proclaim it well.

4. O to grace how great a debtor, Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.

Questions:

• What other groups of spiritually needy people do you see in this psalm? 
• Which testimony has the greatest impact on you? Why? 
• Have you thanked the Lord for his love today?