Thanksgiving to the Lord for His Great Works of Deliverance
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons—because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High, therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He has broken the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two.
Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.
Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, and praise Him in the company of the elders.
He turns rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and dry land into watersprings. There He makes the hungry dwell, that they may establish a city for a dwelling place, and sow fields and plant vineyards, that they may yield a fruitful harvest. He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly; and He does not let their cattle decrease. When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, and makes their families like a flock. The righteous see it and rejoice, and all iniquity stops its mouth. Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.”
Face it, folks, we don’t deserve God’s love, His mercy, or His grace. But God remains loving, merciful, and gracious. This psalm describes four different groups of people in dire straits whom God delivers. The first group is refugees. Considering the number of disasters with displaced people in the world, this psalm is amazingly applicable to current events. It is God’s will for people to dwell in safety and for longing souls to be satisfied. If there are refugee crises, it’s because those whom God has assigned to help are refusing to do so. People become refugees because those who should be protecting them in their own countries or in surrounding countries are attacking them or mishandling their governments or refusing to follow God’s will in a myriad of different ways.
Hamas has attacked Israel, and the Israelis are defending themselves from a group bent on wiping them out. Russia has been attacking Ukraine, a country that was living peaceably next to it, because Russian leaders want to dominate all those around them. In Sudan, Christians are dying due to a government bent on wiping out Christianity in their country. People are fleeing Venezuela because the government has destroyed the economy. God cares for refugees wherever they are.
The second group in need of God’s grace and mercy is prisoners, especially those chained in darkness. No prison is enjoyable, but some prisons are far worse than others, being actual dungeons where prisoners languish in darkness. Here the psalmist affirms that God breaks gates of bronze and cuts bars of iron, two of the strongest metals known at the time this psalm was written. The meaning is clear: God can deliver people from any prison, no matter how strong.
The third group appears to be those suffering from diseases they may have brought on themselves by abusing food, nicotine, or other drugs. Again, God demonstrates that He is the ultimate Healer with power over every sickness and infirmity.
The fourth group is those who travel, particularly on the seas. Air travel didn’t exist at the time the psalmist was writing, but it doesn’t matter. Whether a storm is on the sea or in the air, God is still the Master of the winds and the waves and nothing is too difficult for Him. Airplane crashes make big news, but there are the miraculous landings when people’s lives are saved, such as the landing of a huge airplane in the Hudson River several years ago.
Finally, the psalmist describes the miraculous works of God. “He turns rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and dry land into watersprings. There He makes the hungry dwell, that they may establish a city for a dwelling place, and sow fields and plant vineyards, that they may yield a fruitful harvest. He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly; and He does not let their cattle decrease. When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, and makes their families like a flock. The righteous see it and rejoice, and all iniquity stops its mouth. Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.”
APPLICATION: If each of us thinks about it, we can quickly identify times when God has delivered us from our own foolishness or from attack. God has done so much for each one of us, but are we grateful? What good is a gift if we refuse to be grateful for it? We can claim that we are entitled to God’s goodness, His mercy and grace; however, what is the basis for our sense of entitlement? The Bible tells us that all our righteousness is as filthy rags. We have nothing to commend us apart from God’s mercy and grace.
We have just celebrated Christmas. When people gave you Christmas presents, did you reject any of them or did you gladly open them and thank the giver? How many of us can remember what we received for Christmas last year? If you are so excited about gifts you won’t remember, why can’t you receive God’s gift of eternal life and praise Him for it? God’s gift will last forever while all those other gifts will fall apart.
Let’s pray.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we praise You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to be born as a baby, to live as a sinless man, and to die for our sins so that those of us who will believe will gain eternal life in
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