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0:46Maybe it's that recurring sin in your life. Maybe it was something years ago, a life-wrecking decision that brought catastrophic consequences into your life and others' lives. A couple months ago, I was listening to a John Piper sermon, I think, on YouTube, and I scrolled down the comments section, and I saw a comment that stood out to me. And the individual said, This, I've fallen so far away from the Lord. Sin is everywhere in my life. I can't get out of it. I can't pray or read the Bible. I desperately need... Him, but don't know how to find him again.

1:34We're missing a lot of context there, but maybe some of you feel like you're in that place right now. You feel like you're beyond God's forgiveness, and other people can experience that, but you feel like it's too late for you. You've outsended God. Maybe you're in a different situation. Maybe you're facing some kind of insurmountable crisis in your family. Maybe you're a mom and a dad. You've prayed for years for the salvation of your kids, and now they're grown up and they're unconverted, and they don't know the Lord, and the family's being ripped apart.

2:20Maybe you're watching a loved one waste away from some horrible disease. You're helpless. You can't do anything to stop it. And you're thinking, God, where are you? Maybe you're young. Maybe you're a college student and you feel lost. You feel like you need God's help, but you don't even know how to say what you need. You can't even articulate it. You want to serve the Lord. You want to be vibrant for Him, but you don't know where to start.

2:53Maybe you're in a place this evening where simply everything's gone wrong in your life, it seems to you. Never thought you'd be where you are today, right now, and you're beginning to question God's goodness, God's loving-kindness. And the foundations of your Christian worldview are beginning to crack. Whatever situation you're in, there's something in Psalm 107 for you right now. And so, my goal tonight is to set this Psalm before you in all of its beauty. And before I go any further, I want to just take a moment to read all of Psalm 107. It's the whole thing, it's 43 verses, but I want to set it before you, starting in verse 1.

3:45Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loving kindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary, and gathered from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness, in a desert region. They did not find a way to an inhabited city. They were hungry and thirsty. Their soul fainted within them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. He delivered them out of their distresses. He led them also by a straight way to go to an inhabited city. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loving-kindness and for his wonders to the sons of men. For he has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul he has filled with what is good.

4:44There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in misery and chains, because they had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High. Therefore, he humbled their heart with labor. They stumbled and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke their bands apart. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loving-kindness and for his wonders to the sons of men. For he has shattered the gates of bronze and cut bars of iron asunder.

5:30Fools, because of their rebellious way, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all kinds of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. He saved them out of their distresses. He sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their destructions. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loving-kindness and for his wonders to the sons of men. Men. Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and tell of his works with joyful singing. Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they have seen the works of the Lord and his wanders in the deep. For he spoke and raised up a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths. Their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wits' end.

6:38Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet. So he guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness and for his wonders to the sons of men. Let them extol him also in the congregation of the people and praise him at the seat of the elders. He changes rivers into a wilderness and springs of water into a thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He changes a wilderness into a pool of water, and a dry land into springs of water, and there he makes the hungry to dwell. So that they may establish an inhabited city and sow fields and plant vineyards and gather a fruitful harvest. He also blesses them and they multiply greatly. He does not let their cattle decrease. When they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, misery, and sorrow, he pours contempt upon princes and makes them wander in a pathless waste. But he sets the needy securely on high, away from affliction, and makes his families like a flock. The upright see it and are glad. But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.

8:10Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things and consider the loving kindnesses of the Lord. Consider the loving kindnesses of the Lord. That's where the psalmist leaves you at the end of Psalm 107. And that's really what God and the author of Psalm 107 wants you to take away from this. The psalmist's prayers for his reader, and I believe his prayer for you, everyone in this room, is to consider God's loving kindness so that you'll give thanks to him.

8:50And I want to dive into Psalm 107. And Psalm 107 shows us five ways that God shows his loving kindness. Five ways. Before we get into that, those five ways, I need to situate you in the psalm a little bit and kind of get you up to speed on the context. And I think you'll appreciate this. So look at verses 1 to 3. Start in verse 1. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loving kindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary, and gathered from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

9:39So right away, we're invited into this celebration of God. And now the psalm, we're not told who the author is. It lacks the superscription that's present in other psalms, but it seems to describe a setting of Israel being gathered in from exile. The psalm was probably written after the Babylonian captivity. And Psalm 107 actually begins book five of the Psalter. And it trails on a series of psalms that show us God's loving kindness to Israel in spite of their faithlessness and their hardened hearts. But notice verse 1. There's an invitation to praise immediately. He says, Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loving kindness is everlasting. The author wastes no time with Psalm 107. Right away, give thanks to the Lord. And there's two realities about God in verse 1 that the psalmist invites us to celebrate and give thanks for. The first one is: we're to give thanks to God, for he is good. Notice that in verse 1. Goodness there refers to God's moral goodness. He can't do wrong, he can only do good.

11:00The second one is really the attribute in Psalm 107 that receives the most emphasis. And really, we could say God's goodness is displayed through this attribute in Psalm 107, and that's God's loving-kindness. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loving-kindness is everlasting. The emphasis in this psalm is on God's loving-kindness. And some of your Bibles might have a different word there, depending on your translation. It's a word in Hebrew that's really difficult to capture in English. It's such a theologically significant word in the Old Testament. Some of your Bibles might have steadfast love, covenant love, loyalty.

11:48It's a beautiful word. And if you, I encourage you to, on your own time, do a study on this word. It pictures God's unconditional love, and often in the Old Testament, Demonstrated through his covenant keeping. And in Psalm 107, the dimension of that loving kindness is God's unconditional mercy to rescue distressed people in their distress. And notice also, give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His loving kindness is everlasting. It's immutable. It's never changing. God can never not be a God of loving kindness.

12:31So God's people are to celebrate that in verse 1. But there's also an occasion for giving thanks, and that's in verses 2 to 3. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary and gathered from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. So that's the occasion. There's a redemption that's happened, and there's a gathering. And this is a situation where God has gathered back Israel from the nations to which they were scattered because of unfaithfulness. Now, circle the word redemption. That word is an important word, and it pictures this concept.

13:23In the Old Testament, in that time period, if you're, let's say you're a farmer and You've had a lot of bad harvests, and you're out of money, and you're in debt. And the only option for you and your family to get out of this situation or to put food on the table is to sell yourself into debt slavery to somebody else. And let's pretend you're right in the middle of making those arrangements with this individual you're going to sell yourself to, and out of nowhere, a relative comes. It may be a cousin or a brother. He comes and he pays off your debt.

14:05He redeems you. That's the picture behind this word. And what you see in verse 2 is that God buys back his people from the hand of the adversary. That's the word picture. He redeems them. In verse 3, he gathers them to himself. And what compels God to do this? His loving kindness, that unconditional mercy that God shows in rescuing his people. So, how are God's redeemed to respond? Verse 1: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loving kindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. There's nothing that should bring the soul of God's redeemed people more delight, more joy, than worship and thanksgiving toward God for his loving kindness. Psalm 107 is going to be relentless in calling God's people. To this.

15:02Now, for us, there's a problem here, and the problem is that we often don't feel this way. We don't feel like celebrating God's loving kindness. And we struggle with this concept. The Psalms are constant about calling us to praise God for His loving kindness. These invitations, they don't excite our hearts as they should. And all too often, frankly, we find God boring. There's so much more that grabs our attention these days. C.S. Lewis struggled a lot with this concept of praising God.

15:45And he came to a conclusion, and he writes this: The Psalms in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. So, meaning what impacts them. And earlier in that paragraph, in this essay, he says, All enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise. All enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise. So, our hearts need to be trained to enjoy praising God for his loving kindness. So, let Psalm 107 train your heart that way.

16:29All enjoyment spontaneousness. Spontaneously overflows into praise. That's the response of God's redeemed to his loving kindness in Psalm 107. And we'll see that pattern play out again and again: redemption, gathering, thanksgiving, and praise. So, what follows verses 1 to 3 is several groups that God redeems and on whom God pours out his loving kindness. And as we examine them, you've got to keep this at the forefront of your mind: this overriding theme of Psalm 107, that God and the psalmist want to motivate you to consider God's loving kindness and give thanks to him for that.

17:14So, let's look now, now that I've situated you in Psalm 107, let's look now at five ways that God shows his loving kindness in Psalm 107. Number one, God satisfies the thirsty soul. We see this in verses 4 to 9. We're introduced to a group of people of God's Redeemed, people who are lost here and about to die in the wilderness. So, it's a very physical distress that they're in. Look at verse 4. Verse 4. They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region. So, this is a people who are wandering. They're looking for a city, but they're lost. This isn't like the North American wilderness where it's forest and rivers and streams. Probably what the psalmist has in mind is something like the wilderness around the Dead Sea area, a moonscape. There's nothing, no water, no vegetation, desolation. And so they're lost here with no GPS, no map system. They're lost. Look at verse 5.

18:29They were hungry and thirsty, and their soul fainted within them. So they're lost. They don't have food and water. And it's over for these people. If you get lost in an environment like this, no food, no water, nobody's coming for you, you're done. It's over. Nobody's coming to rescue you. Nobody will even remember you were there. And situations like this have a way of turning your thoughts to things that really matter. That's what these people do. They have nothing. They have no hope. Have you ever been in that place?

19:09Something happens in verse 6. They become desperate. Look at their response to their situation. First part of verse 6. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. Cried out to the Lord in their trouble. That's the pivotal phrase in Psalm 107, right there. Circle that. If you like circling your Bible, we'll see that three more times in Psalm 107. It's the phrase that changes everything in these people's situation. When you cry out to the Lord in your trouble, it changes everything. And for the first time in their distress, God is, everything has been stripped away from them, all hope, and now they're turning to the only person who can rescue them, the Lord. And the key is desperation.

20:02But look at God's response. Second part of verse 6: He delivered them out of their distresses, he led them also by a straight way to go to an inhabited city. So, what happens when they cry out to the Lord? Does God turn a deaf ear? Is he aware of their condition? Is he listening? He is. God's response is one of loving kindness. And the second they cry out, God has absolute sovereignty to reach down and rescue these people. He knows, He sees, and He intervenes, and He rescues them because of His loving kindness. So, how should they respond? Look at verses 8 and 9. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving kindness and for His wonders to the sons of men, for He has satisfied the thirsty soul. And the hungry soul, he's filled with what is good. So they're to give thanks to God because he satisfies the thirsty. He fills the hungry and he gathers them to himself. He leads them to that inhabited city. This isn't just a hypothetical here. God actually does this. This is your God. He satisfies the thirsty soul. He can, and he does rescue his people. And notice that all of that flows from God's loving kindness. All of that. All of that mercy and goodness that God pours out on his people. That's his loving kindness. And he demonstrates it that way and breaks into these people's lives.

21:46And this points back to verses 2 and 3 of the Psalm. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary. So that's one way that God redeems his people and demonstrates his loving kindness. He satisfies the thirsty soul. So let's look at a second way that God shows his loving kindness. In Psalm 107, he sets the prisoner free. Sets the prisoner free. And I have to confess, this is my, if I had to pick a favorite of the four of these groups, this is my favorite. So, and look at verse 10. Verses 10 to 16, we're introduced to a new group. New group of people in need of God's loving kindness. These people are in a different situation.

22:38This is a group of people who've rebelled against God and are facing the consequences of that rebellion. Look at verse 10. There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in misery and chains. So what's their condition? Their condition is imprisonment. Darkness, misery, chains. Maybe some of you feel like you're in that place right now. Maybe this describes you. But why are they in this condition? What happened to get them here? Look at verse 11. The cause.

23:24Because, because they had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High. Therefore, for he humbled their heart with labor. They stumbled and there was none to help. So circle because in verse 11. They're prisoners because they had rebelled against the words of the Lord and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So sin and rebellion against God brings enslavement and misery and chains. And that condition is not by merely. Coincidence.

24:03The word because indicates that God is the one bringing that on them, the consequences of their sin, by God's direct intervention. We see that again in verse 12. Therefore, he humbled their heart with labor. Nothing will bring more destruction, more misery into your life than rebelling against God. So, what's true of this group is true of us today. There's a principle here, and if you're in a state like this right now, there's hope. There's hope. Look at verse 13.

24:47What's the response? Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. Desperation. God's brought them to the end of themselves, and they finally cry out to him in desperation. It's a kind of desperation that you have when you wake up to the fact that you've rebelled against God, and your life has been dominated by that rebellion. It's a kind of desperation you have when you realize that that rebellion is so vast that only God's immense loving kindness can pardon you. I think of that song we sang: sin and despair like the sea wind. Waves roll, threaten the soul with infinite loss. That's the condition of these people.

25:38They're desperate. This is the kind of desperation that God loves. Look at God's response, verse 13, second part. And he saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke their bands apart. That's the power of God to set the prisoner free. That same power is available to you today. Maybe you're here and you don't know Jesus, you don't know about all this Christian stuff. Maybe you're awakening to the fact that you're in a state of rebellion against God.

26:21He offers you loving kindness and pardon through your son, through his son, Jesus Christ. Be desperate. Cry out to him for his loving kindness, and he'll bring you out of that prison of sin. And if you're a believer awakening to a particular sin, the invitation's the same. Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress. Allow God's loving kindness to break into your life. Cry out to him. Do it now. Don't wait. Now, how have those who've been broken out of prison, how should they respond?

27:00Look at verse 15. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness and for his wonders to the sons of men. For he has shattered gates of bronze and cut bars of iron asunder. I love the visual here. It's just this picture of God breaking into this prison, omnipotent, powerful to save, and the chains fall off and they're rescued. Isn't that amazing? That's the reality of God's loving kindness. He sets the prisoner free, sets the prisoner free.

27:43So let's look at a third way that God shows his loving kindness. He delivers the fool from destruction. Delivers the fool from destruction. So we're introduced to another group in verse 17. Verse 17. Fools, because of their rebellious way, because of their iniquities, were afflicted. So we're introduced to a group of people here called the fools. What's their condition? Because of their rebellious way, they're afflicted. But what is a fool here? What's a fool? Quite simple. You just look at verse 17 and see how Psalm 107 defines a fool. A fool. Is someone who walks in a rebellious way against God and works iniquity. And if you do that, you're a fool, according to Psalm 107. These are people who reject God's ways and they make really, really bad decisions because of that.

28:50Wrong decisions bring consequences. So these people are afflicted, and it says that And because of their iniquities, they were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all kinds of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. So they're in some kind of physical condition. The psalmist doesn't tell us about the exact nature of this, but they're on death's door, and all hope is lost. And we've seen this before in the Psalm, and I think y'all are starting to pick up on the pattern. There's no one to help them.

29:29Now look at verse 19. They reach a place of desperation that abandons all hope in self, and they turn to the Lord. Verse 19. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. So maybe you're one of these people this evening. Maybe you made a really sinful, life-wrecking decision last yesterday, last week, last month, last year. What do you do? You cry out to the Lord in your trouble. Look at God's response, second part of verse 19. He saved them out of their distresses. He sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their destructions. So in his loving kindness, God delivers the fools from their destructions. That's God's loving kindness. Now, how do these people respond? How does the psalmist want them to respond? Look at verse 21. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness and for his wonders to the sons of men. Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and tell of his works with joyful singing.

30:46Now there's something interesting here. We see the usual pattern. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness. But the psalmist adds more elements to that pattern, that formula. He adds, let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and tell of his works with joyful singing. So he even heightens the invitation here with more ways to celebrate God's loving kindness. So when you're distressed, when you're in the place of the fool and you cry out to the Lord and God's loving kindness rescues you from your destructions and breaks into your life, this is what happens. You give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness. You offer sacrifices. Of thanksgiving, and you tell of his works with joyful singing. Remember the words of C.S. Lewis again: all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise. This isn't a contrived thanksgiving, this is just the spontaneous overflow of God's rescue of them because of his loving kindness.

31:54So, consider if you're in that place as a fool who's turned from God, consider how his loving kindness can break into your life. So, God delivers the fool from destruction. Let's look now at a fourth way that God shows his loving kindness. A fourth way: he guides the perishing to safety. Look at verse 23. We're introduced to a fourth group here: those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, verse 24, they have seen the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep.

32:38So, we've got a group of sailors doing business on the ocean, the sea, and that's their livelihood. Now, but something happens. Look at verse 25. Verse 25. For he spoke and raised up a Stormy wind, God spoke, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths. So suddenly God brings a storm out of nowhere onto these sailors at sea, and the sea erupts into this chaos, and their lives are now in danger. Now, sailing in the ancient world was really dangerous at times, and there's many shipwrecks from the ancient world that survive today. And you never wanted to be in this situation. You never wanted to be caught on the sea when there's a storm and the waves are crashing against the boat, and the boat is going to be ripped apart, and you're going to drown in the sea. You never wanted that. That was the nightmare of a sailor at that time. And there's no Coast Guard. Nobody's coming to rescue you. There's no life jackets.

34:00It's the end. Now look at their condition in verse 27. Verse 26, the second part. Their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken man and were at their wits' end. And literally, all their wisdom was swallowed up. There's a more literal rendering of that. And they're at their wits' end. Maybe you're at that place. But look again. This group becomes desperate. Look at verse 28. We've seen it three times now. We're going to see it again. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. They cried out to the Lord in their trouble.

34:56And he brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still so that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet. So he guided them to their desired haven. See God's response there. The second they cry out to the Lord, even in this catastrophic situation where their world is coming apart, and he obliterates the storm instantly. And he doesn't just do that, he guides them to safety because of his loving kindness. And what's amazing, though, is that God's the one that brought the storm. And God brings in this place of desperation where they cry out to him, and he's watching the whole time, and he sees.

35:46And that moment they cry out to him, he shows his loving kindness. His loving kindness. God is glorious. The God of the Bible is glorious. And he... Rescues those who are desperate in situations like this. And he's all-powerful and he reigns over the universe and he's sovereign. But when his people cry out, he hears. And in his loving kindness, he rescues them out of their distresses. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without him knowing. Jesus tells us, he rescues his people and he gathers them to himself.

36:29And look at the response of his people. How does the psalmist say that they should respond? Look at verse 31. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness and for his wonders to the sons of men. Let them extol him also in the congregation of the people and praise him at the seed of the elders. So again, God's loving kindness produces thanksgiving. It produces celebration and worship. But look at the second part. Look at verse 32. Again, the psalmist adds new elements here to that formula. Let them extol him also in the congregation of the people and praise him at the seed of the elders.

37:15So he's saying that these people, because of that rescue, because of God's loving kindness, they're to publicize it. They're to talk about it publicly. If they've experienced God's loving kindness, they tell other people about it. They share their testimony. The psalmist invites them to that, and he invites us to that as well. You know, it's just human nature. When you experience something amazing, you want to talk about it with other people. You want them to know about it. You know, if you eat a great dish, man, you've got to try this. You've got to try that steak. You've got to try that burger and see what foods I like there.

37:59You've got to try this. You've got to experience this. It's glorious. And that's what's in mind here with these people's response to God's loving kindness. Share it. Talk about it. I think the longer, for us as Christians, the longer you're a Christian, the more this should be a reality in your life. And the more I consider my conversion, I've been a Christian five years, and I just more and more see this reality of God's loving kindness in my life in so many ways. He rescued me at the moment of my conversion, and he continues to rescue me, guide me to safety.

38:45All enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise. And the more you know God, the more you know the glories of Jesus Christ and His rescue, His loving kindness, the more that overflows into praise. So, God guides the perishing to safety. Let's look now at a fifth way that God shows his loving kindness. God cares for the needy. He cares for the needy. Now, I need to say here: beginning in verse 33, there's a bit of a shift in the psalm. We've gone through four groups of God's redeemed, four ways that God shows his loving kindness to them in redeeming them and gathering them to himself. In verse 33, there's a shift, and the psalm begins to culminate into a series of lessons from these acts of redemption we've seen so far. So, let me read verses 33 to 34.

39:48He changes rivers into a wilderness, and springs of water into a thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salt waste because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it. So, first lesson there is pretty simple: God punishes the wicked. We've seen that with the prisoners and the fools earlier. Rebelling against God brings serious consequences. Don't underestimate that lesson in your life. Just as God is sovereign to rescue his people, he's also sovereign to bring judgment on the wicked at any moment. We see that in verses 33 to 34. Don't harden your heart against him. Don't stubbornize your heart.

40:36God will bring on you the consequences of your sin if you do. But let's look at the stronger emphasis here, verses 35 to 42. Let me read those. He changes a wilderness into a pool of water, and a dry land into springs of water, and there he makes the hungry to dwell, so that they may establish an inhabited city, and sow fields, and plant vineyards, and gather a fruitful harvest. Also, he blesses them, and they multiply greatly, and he does not let their cattle decrease. When they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, misery, and sorrow, he pours contempt upon princes. He makes them wander in a pathless waste, but he sets the needy securely on high from affliction and makes his families like a flock. The upright see it and are glad, but all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.

41:39So God cares for the needy. Who are the hungry and the needy here in verse 36 and verse 41? I think we can say from the rest of the psalm, it's those who cry out to the Lord in their distress. God shows his loving kindness by blessing those people and caring for them. For them. God cares for the needy and rescues them from oppression. See that in verse 39. When they are diminished and bowed down through oppression and misery and sorrow, he pours contempt upon princes and makes them wander in a pathless waste. God cares for the needy. So are you needy tonight? Are you in need? Are you oppressed? Look to God's loving kindness. Verse 41, he sets the needy securely on high, away from affliction. God loves to bring and rescue his people in that place of neediness and show his loving kindness to you.

42:46And he wants his people to look to him as that sole provider of their needs. And some words from Psalm 36 help illustrate this. Psalm 36. How precious is your loving kindness, O God. And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of your house, and you give them the drink of the river of your delights. God cares for the needy. If you're in a place where you're doubting God's care for you, look to his loving kindness. Don't doubt his care for the needy.

43:29God cares for the need for the need for the need for the For the needy. So we've come now to the end of our journey through Psalm 107. We've seen five ways that God shows his loving kindness. And again, what does the psalmist want us to take away from all this? Look at verse 43. It's the last verse of Psalm 107. Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things and consider the loving kindnesses of the Lord.

44:03Those are the last words of Psalm 107. That's what the psalmist leaves you with. That's the lesson from Psalm 107. Consider God's loving kindnesses. Give heed to these things. These things being the lessons that we've learned from the Psalm so far. But I want you to notice something in verse 43. Consider God's loving kindnesses. It's plural. At every point where we've encountered this word, it's been singular, but now it's plural. And again, the pluralness, I don't know if that's a word, pluralness of that word, points to the fact that the psalmist has the whole psalm in view here. All of God's loving kindnesses, all of the ways that he breaks into these people's lives and shows that loving kindness. Consider that.

44:57Ponder it. It into your life situation, whatever crisis you might be in. That's what the psalmist calls you to. Consider God's loving kindness and give thanks and celebrate the reality of God's loving kindness. I know in a group this size, there's probably a lot of you that need to grasp something of this reality of God's loving kindness in this psalm. And we've seen considering God's loving kindness brings joy, celebration, joyful singing, thanksgiving. If you're in any of those situations that I described earlier, you need God's loving kindness. You need to consider this and let it sustain you in that crisis. Maybe you say, I don't get how God's loving kindness can help me in my particular situation.

46:00Cry out to the Lord. You've seen the pattern four times. Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress. He delivered them out of their distresses. So, with any crisis, God wants to bring you to that place of brokenness and dependence on him. And God wants to show his loving kindness to you. I think of one of my favorite hymns. I asked the Lord that I might grow. It's a hymn that's spoken a lot to me these last few months. And it pictures a Christian who is praying for growth in his Christian life. And he prays and he asks God to, Lord, I'm just paraphrasing it, cause me to grow. And it's a good prayer, but to his surprise, God begins to answer that prayer in a way he didn't expect.

47:02And God begins to bring on him trials and inward trials. And God begins to crush him and bring him to a place of desperation. And the Christian in the hymn cries out at one point, Lord, why is this? Why do you pursue your worm to death? And God's response in the hymn, tis in this way, the Lord replied, I answer prayer for grace and faith. These inward trials I employ from sin and self to set you free and break your schemes of earthly joy so that you may find your all in me.

47:49So cry out to the Lord and pray that he brings you to that place. And in that place of desperation, God will show his loving kindness to you. If you say, I don't get that, that doesn't make sense to me, read Psalm 107 again and again and again and study those groups of God's redeemed and those different, drastically different situations that these people were in and in which God showed loving kindness, his mercy. And let God's loving kindness point you to the enjoyment, worship, and celebration of that God of irresistible glory who shows his loving kindness. And be at that place C.S. Lewis mentions, all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise. Praise Him.

48:48So consider the loving kindnesses of the Lord. That's where Psalm 107 has left us. Consider God's loving kindness so that you'll give thanks to him. We've seen the ways that God demonstrates that. He satisfies the thirsty soul. He sets the prisoner free. He delivers the fool from destruction. He guides the perishing to safety. He cares for the needy. So now it's up to you to consider God's loving kindness and to give thanks to him for that reality.

49:27That's what the psalmist leaves us with. And they pray for us. Father, we thank you for the reality of your loving kindness and the ways that you demonstrate that toward your people. Father, for inspiring and giving us a glorious psalm like this. Lord, we want to see you as a glorious God, and we need to see your loving kindness in the ways that you show us that in our lives. Help us to look for that and to cry out to you when we're in distress and in need of that rescue. Father, rescue us from those things that hold us in bondage and enslavement and break into that prison and lead us out as Psalm 107 portrays you.

50:31We thank you for that, the way that your loving kindness is supremely manifested toward us in Jesus, your Son, in that gospel that rescues us and forgives us and pardons us and rescues us out of the distress of sin. And so, please help us consider your loving kindness. In Jesus' name, amen.