Four Pictures of God's Love

And in fact, I have said the exact same things now for the last six or seven years.

And this Sunday, for the first time, I have to edit it.

You may remember, I typically say, good morning, my name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor

here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.

I can no longer say that.

I actually need to say, my name is Matthew Capone, and I am one of the pastors here at

Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.

Some of you know Andy Perch has been serving with us through the Skill Bridge Program.

The Skill Bridge Program and Andy's full-time work as a chaplain came to an end on Friday,

January 31st.

And on February 1st, Andy began officially working for us as an assistant pastor.

It's a sign of really of God's grace and mercy to our church.

You may not know this, but right now it's actually a very challenging time to hire pastors.

Many men have left the ministry.

The pipeline is not what it used to be, and so churches here in town, some of us spent over

a year looking for someone.

God just brought us Andy and brought us someone in such a good fit for our church with his

military background and his gifts.

And so I am very grateful now to only be one of the pastors at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian

Church.

And it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

What is the rest of the things I say?

I think I say we're following Jesus together as one community, and as we follow him together

as one community, we become convinced that there's no one so good, they don't need God's

grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back week after week

to hear what God has to say to us in his word.

And we're continuing our short series.

Actually, we're ending our short series this morning in the book of Psalms with Psalm 107.

Next week, Jonathan Clark is going to begin a four-week sermon series on evangelism, which

I'm excited about.

I hope you are as well.

But we are not there yet.

And so as we finish our series in the book of Psalms, we're in Psalm 107.

And I have the sad news that we are only going to skim the surface of that psalm this morning.

It is the type of psalm that we could camp out in for weeks.

Someone asked me earlier this week, someone outside our church, if I was going to end with

a bang, and I make no promises to end with a bang.

In fact, I'm going to tell you the same thing I told you around Advent, that the great English

writer Samuel Johnson in the 18th century said people need to be reminded more often than they

need to be instructed.

And this morning is a reminder sermon.

And so that might be a bang.

I'll let you figure that out.

Some Sundays are reminder Sundays, and that's today.

We're going to have a very simple sermon from Psalm 107, which is actually what a lot of

psalms are.

A lot of psalms simply are there for us to rehearse and remember what we already know is

true.

To rehearse and remember, remind ourselves of God's faithfulness.

So our sermon this morning, our passage, is very simple.

You'll see the title on page nine, which I've already referenced, four pictures of God's

love.

And it's as simple as that.

This psalm gives us four different angles on God's faithfulness to his people, which remind

us of why we praise him.

In fact, we're going to focus in on that this morning.

So I'm going to read for us verses 33 through 42.

But we're not even going to touch those this morning because there is so much here in this

passage.

So I invite you to turn with me now to Psalm 107.

You can turn in your worship guide.

You can turn in your Bible.

You can turn on your phone.

No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word.

Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5 tells us, every word of God proves true.

Proverbs 30:5

He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

And so that's why we read now 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.

Verse 4.

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.

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 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 in 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 into the bars of iron.

Verse 17.

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.

Verse 23.

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 wit's 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.

Verse 33.

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.

Verse 39.

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.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we do praise you and thank you for your steadfast love, which endures forever.

We thank you that one way that you show that to us is through your word, which guides us and instructs us,

and most of all shows us Jesus Christ.

And so we ask that you would do that by your Holy Spirit again this morning,

that you would use these words in a powerful way in our lives,

that you would grow our love and affection for Christ.

You'd grow our reverence and awe for him.

You'd grow our obedience to him.

And we ask all of these things in his mighty name.

Amen.

If you are not living under a rock, which I assume you're not since you're here this morning,

you, like me, probably find that more and more of your purchasing comes online through websites rather than stores.

And you can almost set your clock by the emails that you will receive after you make the purchase.

Of course, you have emails confirming and emails telling you about the shipping and emails telling you about the delivery.

But even after it's delivered, there's one final email,

that email that asks you for a review.

And so here are some of the emails I've received from online sellers.

Share your two cents.

It's okay.

Here's another one.

Don't forget to rate and review your purchase.

Maybe I want to forget.

Your thoughts on product name are valuable.

Leave a review.

That's a little better.

I love, always love to hear that my thoughts are valuable.

Flattery can go a long way.

We're all ears.

Leave a review and get rewarded.

I opened that email.

It didn't say what the reward was, so I didn't leave a review.

Here's another one.

Review your recent purchase and win.

This time they told me what I could win.

Wasn't a guarantee, so I didn't fill it out.

It was a $100 gift card.

What are these emails asking for?

In a word, they are asking for praise.

And I bring that up to remind you that praise is a normal, a constant part of the human life.

Sometimes when people come to passages in the Bible that command us to praise God, they think,

man, what a strange, unnatural thing.

Who is this God who needs praise?

What does that say about him?

Is he somehow tiny and small or insecure?

No.

This is actually something we do all the time.

Praise is a normal part of being human.

So much a normal part that you have and you will continue to receive emails requesting, asking, demanding it.

Even, in some of the examples I've given you, bribing you for it.

One time I got an email asking for review saying I would get a gift card.

So I filled it out.

It wasn't a gift card.

It was a discount code.

You can imagine my shock and upset.

Verse 1 here in this psalm gets right to the point.

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

Give praise to God.

Now, when we come to a passage of Scripture, really any passage of Scripture, our task, our goal includes many things.

But the primary thing really we're trying to get at is this.

What do we learn about God?

And what do we learn about ourselves?

How does God meet us in his grace?

Ultimately, how does he meet us in Jesus Christ?

And then how do we respond to that grace?

And those are the two questions that preachers, pastors, struggle with week after week as we prepare sermons and then deliver them to congregations.

That's not just for pastors, really.

That's the question of any good Bible student.

What is this passage revealing about God?

And what is it that I am supposed to do with it?

And sometimes that's a real struggle.

That's a real challenge.

You're working through commentaries and ideas and books trying to figure out what is God revealing in this passage.

Then, every once in a while, you'll hit a passage of Scripture where you don't have to do that work.

Because it tells you.

And this morning, we are in one of those passages.

We don't have to wonder what we're supposed to know about God and how we're supposed to respond.

What do we learn about God?

How does he meet us in his grace?

Verse 1,

He is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

And if you were listening, you heard that repeated over and over throughout the psalm.

How are we supposed to respond?

What is asked and commanded of God's people?

Well, we don't have to search for that either.

Verse 1,

Oh, give thanks to the Lord.

What is the point of Psalm 107?

Praise God because he's good.

And how is he good?

He is good in his steadfast love.

Now, this Hebrew word for steadfast love includes more than anything any of our English words have in it.

And so we really need to dig deeper into it to understand the depth, the power, the significance of this.

Some people will tell you that if you are starting on a topic, a subject, and you're doing some research,

and you want to learn as much as you can, the best place to start is a children's book.

The best place to start is a children's book because it makes everything so simple.

You want to learn about the Civil War?

Find a children's book on the Civil War.

You want to learn about space exploration?

Find a book about space exploration.

I'm not saying you stop there.

I'm saying you start there.

My favorite definition of God's steadfast love comes from a children's book,

and it's on page 8 of your worship guide.

God's steadfast love is this,

his never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love.

And so we could read Psalm 107, verse 1 like this,

Psalms 107:1

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

For his never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love, endures forever.

Next question is this, how do we see God's steadfast love?

Well, this passage tells us, verse 2, it's because he has redeemed us from trouble.

And then verse 3, he's gathered his people together from every corner of the earth.

This is a reference, by the way, to God bringing his people back from the exile

when they had to leave the promised land because of their rebellion.

Of course, we take that now in a fuller sense of God gathering his people, his church to himself

from every tribe, tongue, and nation,

and ultimately God gathering his people to the new Jerusalem, to heaven.

And so that gets us to what I mentioned at the beginning.

This is the introduction.

It tells us the point of the sermon.

We're supposed to give thanks to God for his steadfast love.

And then we are given four pictures of God's steadfast love.

Before we jump into that, I want you to take a look with me at the very last verse,

verse 43, which tells us this.

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things.

Let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Do you consider yourself to be wise?

Would you like to be wise?

Then attend to these things.

Consider with me the steadfast love of the Lord.

Picture one is a picture of God's people being brought from a desert to a city.

You'll find this in verses four through seven.

Now, we could take this at times in a literal sense.

There were times when God's people were in a literal desert separated from his promised land, right?

They're crying out that they would be able to return to Jerusalem, God's holy city.

We think now, though, as Christians in the New Testament,

our hope is not tied to earthly Jerusalem.

No, instead, we are thinking here of a spiritual desert, God's people,

as they are separated from God's presence and his blessing.

So this cry is coming from people who are experiencing the opposite of verse nine.

Look with me there.

What does it mean to be in the desert?

If you are in the desert spiritually,

you are trying to satisfy your soul with things that won't deliver.

If you are in the desert, we might think of that common phrase,

looking for love in all the wrong places.

Those who are in the desert are those who are separated from God's people and his power and his presence.

Those who need to be brought into God's church, into relationship with Jesus Christ.

Looking, of course, not ultimately to the church, but as I mentioned before,

the new Jerusalem, looking forward to heaven,

when God brings all his people from around the world and throughout time,

finally and fully together.

And so what do we learn from this picture?

We praise God for gathering his church.

We praise God for gathering his people.

That includes God gathering his people here on February 2nd, 2025 at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.

That includes praising God for calling you to himself.

Right?

You were one of the people in the desert.

To go from looking in all the wrong places for what can be only fulfilled by God is to be in that place.

Finding no way to a city to dwell in, hungry and thirsty.

This is verse 5.

You might say your soul fainted within you.

God takes his people out of the desert and he brings them to a place of life and blessing and flourishing.

Is that true of you?

If it is, give thanks to the Lord for he is good for his steadfast love endures forever.

I warned you during the announcements that we were going to go back to page 2.

We were going to look at our summary of this psalm that we already sang.

What is the first picture if not this?

We were wandering in the desert with our souls so starved and weak.

We were hungry for a homeland we did not know how to seek.

But we lifted up our voices to the only one who hears.

And the God of mercy came and brought us near.

If you are a Christian, the God of mercy has come and brought you near.

Give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever.

Of course, we see this fulfilled fully and finally in our Lord Jesus.

The last time I preached on, I think it was Psalm 46, I reminded you of John chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

Jesus says,

Let not your hearts be troubled.

Believe in God.

Believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many rooms.

If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself.

That where I am, you may be also.

He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.

And how do we reach that city?

Jesus tells us also in John 14.

I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is the one who brings his people from desert wastes to a city to dwell in.

That's picture one.

Picture one doesn't speak about sin explicitly, although of course it's there.

That is part of God calling his people from the desert to the city.

The second picture, what we see in verses 10 through 16, becomes much more direct.

Picture one was a trip from the desert to the city.

Picture two is release from prison.

Verse 10, some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death.

We find out that these folks are prisoners.

And why are they prisoners?

Well, verse 11, because they rebelled against God and they spurned him.

Verse 12, it turns out now they are facing God's punishment.

What do they do?

Verse 13, they cry out.

Verses 13 and 16, God sets them free.

Has God set you free?

The image here of a prisoner is one we're familiar with from the New Testament

when the Apostle Paul and others speak about being slaves to sin.

Has God set you free from your slavery to sin?

Remember, we've talked about the three Ps that we reference when it comes to sin.

There's a presence, a power, and a penalty.

If you have been set free from slavery to sin,

sin no longer has power over you and you no longer face a penalty.

Yes, the presence is there, less and less.

If you've been set free from the slavery to sin,

it doesn't mean you don't struggle with sin anymore.

Actually, it means now you're able to struggle with it.

Sin is no longer the dominating force in your life.

It's present.

It's not in control.

Instead, since it is not in control,

since you are now a son and a daughter of God,

the Holy Spirit is at work growing and multiplying

and increasing the fruit of the Spirit in you.

You have, year by year, by God's grace,

sin is pushed back and is weakening year by year.

Righteousness and holiness are moving forward and advancing.

Has God set you free from the slavery to sin?

Is that true of you?

That's the Christian life.

If you experience that,

you can say,

By the way, notice what it doesn't say.

It doesn't say the prisoners pulled themselves up by their bootstraps

and figured out a way to destroy their chains.

No.

Verse 13,

That's God's grace, brothers and sisters.

God's grace here is that in all of these scenes,

none of these folks are able to deliver themselves.

They must be rescued by someone else.

They don't break their chains.

No.

Verse 16,

For he, that is God,

shatters the doors of bronze

and cuts into the bars of iron.

We might describe it this way.

We were locked out of the garden

and our backs bent down with pain.

In the shadow of death's darkness,

we were slaves to sin and blame.

Then we cried out in our labor

to the only one who hears,

and the God of mercy wiped away our tears.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord

for his love endures forever.

Of course, we see this ultimately in our Lord Jesus.

Jesus tells us in John chapter 8,

John 8 · chapter mention

Truly, truly, truly, I say to you,

everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

The slave does not remain in the house forever.

The son remains forever.

So if the son sets you free,

you will be free indeed.

Christian, the son has set you free.

You are free indeed.

You may have the presence of sin.

You have not the penalty nor the power.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good

for his steadfast love endures forever.

The next picture we have here is even more specific.

The idea of slavery to sin,

that's kind of this general idea.

Now we're gonna dial in a little bit

and see not just the slavery,

but the damage of sin.

Verses 17 through 22 show us fools and sinners.

Verse 17, these are fools who are suffering affliction,

and they're suffering affliction.

This has gotten so bad.

Verse 18 tells us,

excuse me, not,

yeah, verse 18,

they drew near to the gates of death.

The presence of sin here

had become so destructive, in other words,

that they were almost gone.

One pastor puts it this way.

He says,

the picture is of those who have badly damaged

their spiritual and physical health

through foolish, self-indulgent lifestyles

and addictions.

And so the psalmist here

is talking about a person

who has found himself or herself ensnared.

That their sin is in fact destroying them more and more.

Could be the person who is buried in credit card debt,

chasing that feeling of fullness

and satisfaction from consumption

that never delivers.

Could be the person who's ensnared

in an addiction to pornography

or drugs in a desperate attempt

to numb the pain.

It could be the person who wakes up

and because of their loth

and their sloth and their laziness,

they are avoiding life.

And they realize suddenly

there's not much of a future for them.

And so of course it says,

what do these people do?

They find a self-help book,

they get to work, right?

You see that in verse 20.

That was a joke, you can laugh.

Verse 19,

they cried to the Lord in their trouble

and he delivered them from their distress.

Once again, brothers and sisters,

this is God's grace.

The answer here is not

that suddenly they discovered

more focus and self-discipline.

No, the answer is that

they experienced and cried out

for the great and matchless mercy of God.

That is what caused them to break free.

So this psalm reminds us,

God offers freedom from these things too.

He doesn't offer us freedom

by muscling our way down,

by exercising greater self-control

and listening to the right influencers

and podcasts.

No, he reminds us that these addictions,

these habits entice and seduce us,

but they cannot fulfill us.

And he reminds us of

and provides for us

what can only fulfill,

which is the relationship with God

that flows out into healed relationships

with ourselves,

with the world,

with others.

We might say this,

as God fills us

in a variety of ways,

our hunger for these things

becomes less and less.

We might summarize it in this way.

We were fools in our rebellion

with our hunger strike of pride.

We were sick and growing closer

to the death we should have died.

Then he heard of our condition

and he called us by our names

and the God of glory

took away our shame.

Has the God of glory

taken away your shame?

If so,

give thanks to the Lord

for he is good,

for his steadfast love

endures forever.

Our final picture

comes in verses 23 through 32.

This one's a little different.

This is not about people

trapped in the desert

or necessarily experiencing

direct affliction from sin.

No, these are sailors

and they hit a storm

that is too much for them.

Verse 23,

some are going down

to the sea in ships.

They see the deeds

of the Lord,

his wondrous works

in the deep.

Then in 25 and 26,

this storm comes up

that is more

than they are able

to manage.

Verse 26 tells us this,

their courage melted away

in their evil plight.

Verse 27,

they were at their wit's end.

Now that phrase,

at their wit's end,

if you're reading

an ESV translation

of the Bible,

you'll see a little note

at the bottom

that says,

and all their wisdom

was swallowed up.

One version puts it this way,

all their skill

was useless.

The point is this,

no matter how strong

or wise

or experienced

you are

in this world,

no matter how much

power you have,

you will

run up

against forces

that are too

much

for you.

There are some

things

that you cannot

outrun.

run.

We might think

of economic

and political

forces.

We might think

of the limitations

of our own bodies,

the tragedy

and chaos

that nothing

can protect us

from.

These verses

are reminding us

of a simple

truth.

You are just

not that

powerful.

and there

are some

things

that no

human

can stand

against.

There are

moments

where we're

overwhelmed

by the power

of nature

and of this

world.

And our

only hope

is God

and His

mercy.

Our wisdom,

our wealth,

our experience,

our influence

cannot

and will

not

save us.

We might

say this,

we were far

out on the

ocean,

making wealth

and chasing

dreams,

but the waves

of great

destruction

brought us

trembling to

our knees.

Then we

cried like

drunken sailors

to the only

one who

hears,

and the

God of

comfort

took away

our fears.

God

there is

only one

maker

of heaven

and earth.

There is

only one

God

more

powerful

than the

forces

of this

world.

We see

this again

in our

Lord Jesus.

You may

remember when

we were

together in

the gospel

of Mark,

we saw

this story

in Mark

Mark 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

that Jesus

is with

his disciples

in the

boat and

this great

storm comes

up.

Jesus is

asleep and

the disciples

are afraid

that it is

going to

kill them.

Jesus has

the audacity,

we're told in

verse 38,

to be in the

stern,

asleep on the

cushion.

The disciples

woke him

and said to

him,

teacher,

do you not

care that

we are

perishing?

Jesus awoke

and rebuked

the wind

and said

to the

sea,

peace,

be still.

The wind

ceased and

there was a

great calm

and he

said to

them,

why are

you so

afraid?

Have you

still no

faith?

Christian,

there are

forces in

this world

that are

greater than

you can

handle,

but they

are not

greater than

our God.

Verse 29,

he made

the storm

be still

and the

waves of

the sea

were hushed.

Has

the God

of comfort

taken away

your fears?

If he

has,

give thanks

to the

Lord,

for he

is good,

for his

steadfast

love

endures

forever.

I started

this morning

by talking

about the

proliferation

of online

reviews and

the emails

and the

requests

that you

receive for

them.

why

do you

receive so

many?

What is

the point

ultimately

of a

review?

The point

is so that

when you

shop,

you would

know

what is

good.

You'd

grow in

knowledge.

You would

make the

right

choice.

know

what is

the point

of this

psalm?

That you

would know

what is

good.

That you

would grow

in knowledge.

That you

would make

the right

choice.

That you

would praise

God and

you would

follow him

because his

steadfast love

endures

forever.

forever.

We might

even go so

far as to

say this.

Oh,

give thanks

to the

Lord for

his love

endures

forever.

We were

wandering

and lost

and our

father brought

us home

to a safe

dwelling place,

to a feast

of joy

and laughter.

Oh,

give thanks

to the

Lord for

he is

good.

God.

Let's

pray.

Our

father in

heaven,

we do

praise you

and thank

you that

you are

good and

your steadfast

love endures

forever.

We ask

that you

would help

us to

meditate on

these things

so that we

would become

wise and

even more

than that,

we would

trust and

follow you.

We ask

all of these

things in

the mighty

name of

Jesus Christ.

Amen.