Psalm 107

Paul has very kindly allowed me to choose what to preach from this morning and I have something of an ongoing love affair with the psalms.

And so I've picked a psalm which has meant a great deal to me recently and my hope and prayer is that it may mean a great deal to us.

Psalm 107. So I'd be very glad if you could turn back to that, the psalm that Rachel read to us earlier.

Psalm 107. If you've got one of the church Bibles, it's page 506.

Page 506.

And before I preach, let's, as we sit, bow our heads and pray for God's help.

Gracious God, our Heavenly Father, we thank you that by your Spirit you've caused these psalms to be written and prayed and sung over many years.

We ask that as we consider this psalm now, you would put it into our hearts and onto our lips, that we too might join your people in singing it.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

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

I want to begin with a question which is enormously important.

And the question is this.

What will it feel like to be loved with an unchanging love?

If it is true, if you and I are men and women in Christ, if it is true, as the Bible teaches, that you and I are loved with an unchanging love,

that we have a Heavenly Father who has loved us, as one of our songs said from before the world began,

that he loves us now, that he has demonstrated his love in the coming and the death of the Lord Jesus,

that he pours his love into our hearts by his Holy Spirit, that he will love us always,

and that his love never changes, the question is what will it feel like?

And it's an enormously important question.

Because one of the things I often feel, especially when I have the privilege of being a visiting speaker somewhere,

is how lovely it would be if we had time to share our stories.

All of us have stories to tell.

Some of them are stories of our past and their hopes and aspirations and perhaps fears for the future.

Depending on your age, the balance will be different.

So, younger children, you'll have stories from the past, but they may not be very long ones yet,

but you'll have a great many hopes and aspirations for the future.

Those of us who've been around the block a few more times have got a few more stories from the past,

and maybe not quite so many for the future.

Who knows?

But we all have stories.

Now, is it not true that our natural feeling as we go through life,

the ups and downs of life, is that there are days when everything's marvellous.

We're in good health, we're perhaps happy in relationships, friendships,

perhaps happy in marriage, perhaps happy in parenthood, perhaps happy at work,

and everything's going well.

And we feel that it's a natural thing to say that God loves me,

because everything is great.

But there are other days, and there'll be plenty of us here, I have no doubt,

who can echo this.

Other days when our health is difficult, perhaps seriously difficult,

when those we love are struggling,

perhaps when we're going through bereavement,

perhaps when there've been sadnesses and disappointments,

when we naturally feel that God doesn't love us as much.

There are times of darkness, times of uncertainty.

And so the question, what should it feel like to be loved with an unchanging love,

is a really important one.

If you're here this morning and you're not, as yet, a Christian believer,

it's so lovely to have the chance to talk to you about the love of God for these minutes,

and I hope you'll listen carefully.

The psalm begins with the words,

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

The God of the Bible is good.

His steadfast love endures forever.

And his steadfast love is the theme of the psalm.

So you see it again in verse 8.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love.

You see it again in verse 15.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love.

You see it again in verse 21.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love.

You see it again in verse 31.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love.

And you see it again at the end.

Let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

so that's the theme

and the psalm invites us to think about

the steadfast unchanging love of God

and you'll notice in the last verse

that we're invited at the end

that if you want to be wise

and we all want to be wise

wise doesn't mean having a high IQ

wise doesn't mean clever

it's possible to be clever and a fool

and it's possible to be not so clever

and to learn wisdom

but if you want to be wise

and we all want to learn wisdom

then says the psalmist

attend to these things

listen, consider, think about this

and think about what's going to happen

so verses 2 and 3

set the agenda

so verse 1 says the theme

it's about the love of God

what it is to be loved by the steadfast love of God

incidentally

if you've been a Christian for a while

and a Bible reader for a while

I hope you know that the steadfast love

the word translated steadfast love

loving kindness in the old versions

sometimes just love

but steadfast love is a good translation

it doesn't just mean God generally smiling

and being nice

so God is very kind

Jesus said

he lets the rain fall on wicked people

so that their crops grow

he's kind to people in all sorts of ways

but the steadfast love means the promised love

the pledged love

the covenant love

that God gives to all who are in relationship with him

ultimately in the Lord Jesus Christ

that's what the steadfast love is

that's what it's about

so it's about

what's it like to be loved

to be a man, a woman

or a child

in Christ

so verses 2 and 3

give us a little bit of context

and the agenda

let the redeemed of the Lord say so

and when you get the word redeemed

it reminds you of the exodus

the slaves in Egypt

being bought out of slavery

and the exodus

by God's mighty act of rescue

let the redeemed of the Lord say so

let them tell their stories

it's a kind of invitation

to have some story telling

those he's redeemed from trouble

and verse 3

those he's gathered

notice that word gathered

from the east, west, north, south

and the word gathered

reminds us much later

in Old Testament history

so the exodus from Egypt

right near the beginning

and the gathering

reminds us of coming back

from exile in Babylon

much later in Israel's history

so as we read the stories

we remember the people of Israel

who were slaves in Egypt

coming out

and we remember the exiles

in Babylon

hundreds of years later

being regathered into the land

and you'll see that this is

the beginning of book 5

the books of Psalms

are divided into 5 books

and once you get to book 5

some of the Psalms

are very, very old Psalms

but they're put together

late in the Old Testament history

they're put together

at the time when the people

have been gathered back

from exile

it seems

if you glance at the

second last verse

of the previous Psalm

verse 47

on the same page

there's a prayer

verse 47

save us O Lord our God

gather us

it's a prayer to be gathered

back from the nations

to come back from exile

so

the person leading the singing

here says

let's tell some stories

what's it like

to have been a slave in Egypt

and redeemed

what's it like

to have been an exile in Babylon

and been redeemed

what's it like

to be loved

with the steadfast

covenant love of God

and they're very, very

vivid stories

so

let's

let's listen

to these stories

the Psalm

begins with four

very similar stories

there are four stories

they each begin

with trouble

and then there's a prayer

and then God answers

and then there's

thanksgiving

so there's four stories

very similar structure

as we go through them

we'll discover

that these stories

are not

four different groups

of people

these are the same people

telling their stories

in poetic form

in different ways

so it's not like

I'm the leader

and I say

let's have some stories

and a bunch over there

stand up and tell us

verses 4 to 9

the first story

and then another bunch

stand up and say

oh our story's different

it's verses 10 to 16

and so on

it's actually the same people

telling the stories

but in different ways

and they're very vivid

and I want us to

in a sense

get

into them

in our imaginations

so verses 4 to 9

here's the first story

I'd call this

lost

in a wasteland

world

so some people

as it were

they stand up

the people of God

and they say

well we were

we were wandering

in desert wastes

like the Sinai Desert

or the Sahara Desert

a place where there aren't

any roads

and road signs

and there's no water

and it was a

it was a

it was a miserable business

verse 4

we couldn't find any way

to a city

a place where there'd be

food and drink

and verse 5

we were hungry

and thirsty

and our soul

our being fainted

within us

we were weak

and we were lost

and we couldn't find

where we were going

and you think of the

the slaves in Egypt

at the beginning

lost

not literally in a desert

but metaphorically

lost

not knowing where

they were going

and unsatisfied appetites

hungry

thirsty

you think of the exiles

in Babylon

not literally in a desert

but unsatisfied appetites

hungry

thirsty

then you think of the Lord Jesus

singing this psalm

later

you think of him

in the desert

hungry

thirsty

in the desert

and then you think of

Christian people

all down the years

saying

I know what it feels like

to have unsatisfied appetites

I know what it feels like

to be hungry

to want something

maybe literally food or drink

it may be something

in a relationship

or a job

or health

you know what it feels like

to be hungry

and thirsty

and they go on

verse 6

we cried

they said

they cried to the Lord

in their trouble

they prayed

he rescued us

verse 7

he led them

by a straight way

to a city

to dwell in

where their appetites

could be met

their hunger

and thirst

so verse 8 and 9

let them thank the Lord

for his steadfast love

he satisfies

verse 9

the longing soul

the hungry soul

he fills

with good things

so you get to the end

of that first telling

of the story

and you say

aha

I've got it now

now I know

how God loves me

I know God loves me

when I was hungry

and thirsty

and now I've got

food and drink

I know God loves me

when I had unsatisfied appetites

and now they're satisfied

I know God loves me

when I wanted to be married

and now I'm happily married

I know God loves me

when we wanted children

and now we've got children

I know God loves me

when I was

in need of a job

and now I've got a job

that's how I know

God loves me

or is it?

let's park that

and go on to the next story

we'll come back to that

in a minute

here's the second story

verses 10 to 16

same people

telling their story

from a different perspective

you might want to call

verses 10 to 16

trapped

in a dark world

so verse 10

they're describing it now

they're saying

they sat in darkness

and a shadow of death

that's deep deep darkness

that's darker than a dark night

in the countryside

that's a spiritual darkness

and then you discover

verse 10

that it's the darkness

of a dungeon

prisoners

in affliction

they're in a dungeon

they're trapped

and it's because

they'd rebelled

against God's words

they'd spurned him

verse 11

and so they were

bowed down

with hard labour

verse 12

you think of the slaves

in Egypt

before the exodus

bowed down

with hard labour

falling down

verse 12

no one

to help

you think of the exiles

in Babylon

metaphorically

in a prison

a prison is where

you can't go

where you want to go

and do what you want to do

you're trapped

and you know

the strange thing is

that it's possible

at the same time

to be lost

in a world

that's too big

a desert

and at the same time

to be trapped

in an inward world

that's too small

and dark

same people

telling their stories

from a different angle

as it were

think of the Lord Jesus

a prisoner really

ultimately a prisoner

before the cross

but not able to go

where he wanted

not able to do

everything he chose

trapped

watched

dark

ultimately dark

at the cross

with the darkness

of the shadow of death

and you think of

Christian people

all down the ages

saying yes I know

what it feels like

to be in darkness

I remember

trying to open up

this psalm

to the students

at Corn Hill actually

and one of them

said to me afterwards

that these descriptions

in these stories

matched exactly

with their experience

of depression

I can identify

with all of that

they said

to me

but again

they pray

verse 13

they cry to the Lord

in their trouble

he delivers them

he brings them

out of darkness

you think of the

slaves coming out

of Egypt

at the exodus

the exiles

coming back

to the promised land

from Babylon

the Lord Jesus

being raised

from the dead

and Christian people

being brought

out of darkness

he burst their bonds

apart

they were set free

my chains fell off

my heart was free

and so verse 15

they thank God

because he shatters

doors of bronze

verse 16

cuts the bars of iron

so you see

now I get it

now I know

how God loves me

I know God loves me

because there were

times in my life

when it was dark

and I felt trapped

and constrained

and I couldn't go

where I wanted to go

but now my heart

is free

and I found freedom

in Jesus

and it's wonderful

and that's how I know

God loves me

or is it

hold on to that

and we'll go on

to the third story

we've got a lot

of loose ends here

so hold on to that

and we'll go on

to the third story

verses 17

through to 22

we might want to call

this telling of the story

weak

in a sick world

lost in a wasteland world

the first one

trapped in a dark world

and now it's sickness

weak in a sick world

so verse 17

some were fools

through their sinful ways

and because of their iniquities

they suffered affliction

they got ill

and sick

verse 18

they lost their appetite

they loathed

any kind of food

one of the

common symptoms

of sickness

and they drew near

to the gates of death

death

pictured like a city

with gates

and they got so close

that the gates

were beginning to open

and any second now

they were going to die

and that's what it was

to be like that

you think of the

slaves in Egypt

with the diseases

of Egypt

you think of the

exiles in Babylon

you think of the

Lord Jesus

sick all the way

until the gates

of death

opened for him

and us

with inward

weakness

so verse 19

then they cried

to the Lord

in their trouble

he delivered them

we've heard this before

haven't we

he delivered them

sorry I've got

the wrong story

but it's much the same

where are we

no I've got the right story

I'm getting in a muddle

verse 19

that's right

we're in the right story

they cried

he delivered them

he sent out his world

he healed them

from their sickness

he delivered them

and so they're

to thank him

verse 21

and be grateful

for his love

that's the third story

so this is someone

I understand

I know God loves me

when I was sick

and now I'm better

I was talking to a student

at a church student house party

just a week ago

and he was telling me

a fit strong man

he was telling me

about his brother

who's played rugby

schoolboy rugby

for England

fit strong man

suddenly taken ill

and according to the doctors

when he was operated on

he was overseas

he was operated on

the doctor said

he was within an hour

of dying

suddenly

the gates of death

were opening

so close

but now he's strong

he's back to health again

so you see

that's how I know

God loves me

because there have been times

when I've been ill

and sick and weak

and now I'm strong again

and now I know

God loves me

or is it

or is it

let's park that

and go on to the fourth one

here's the fourth one

verses 23 to 32

we might want to call this

something like

scared

in a dangerous world

so verse 23

some went down

to the sea

in ships

doing business

on the great waters

and as we read

the description

it's both a literal

description

of a storm

and a metaphorical

description

of a storm

so they went

to the sea

in ships

verse 23

and they saw

the deeds

of the Lord

verse 24

and you think

that's nice

his wondrous works

in the deep

until you see

what they are

verse 25

he commanded

he raised the stormy winds

there was a gale

a severe gale

a hurricane

lifted up the waves

of the sea

and you picture this

terrible storm

at sea

and they mounted up

to the heaven

as they went up

to the top

of these huge waves

and down to the depths

in between

the waves

and their courage

melted away

they were scared

they were terrified

in their plight

and they reeled

and staggered

you can see them

can't you

on the deck

holding on

as if they were drunk

it's so terrifying

and they're at their

wits end

and it's both literal

and metaphorical

there's a prophecy

in Isaiah

which describes

Jerusalem

at the time

of the exile

as being

a storm

tossed city

lash with storms

and it wasn't

literally that

but metaphorically

it was that

and the storm

is the time

when you're

chugging through life

and life

seems quite stable

and you've got

your diary

or your planner

and what you plan

to do tomorrow

more or less

happens tomorrow

and the day after

it more or less

happens

and the storm

hits

when what you thought

you were going to do

tomorrow

doesn't happen at all

the storm hits

when suddenly

there's a sickness

suddenly there's

a terrible diagnosis

suddenly there's

a death

suddenly there's

a redundancy notice

suddenly there's

a breakdown

of some precious

relationship

and the storm

hits

and suddenly

you don't know

where you are

you thought you

were on solid ground

and now everything's

moving around you

and you just don't

know where you are

and you're holding on

you might as well

be drunk

you're holding on

and you're at

your wits end

that's the picture

so you think of

the slaves in Egypt

you think of

the exiles in Babylon

you think of

the Lord Jesus

on the sea of Galilee

with this life

threatening storm

on this small

fishing boat

threatening

threatening

threatening to kill

him

and all

his friends

so what happens

well again

verse 28

they cry to the

Lord

he delivers them

from their distress

he makes the storm

still

think of the Lord

Jesus standing up

on the front of the boat

be quiet

shut up

tells the wind

and the waves

shut up

and they do

and they're still

they're stilled

and they're hushed

verse 29

and verse 30

they're glad

that the waters are quiet

they get to their haven

they get to the harbour

so verse 31

they thank God

verse 32

they extol him

and they say

what a great God

now I know

he loves me

I wasn't so sure

but now I know

now the storm

is stilled

he loves me

and if you're

a thoughtful person

as I'm sure you are

you'll be thinking

to yourself

this preacher

is being mischievous

are you thinking that?

you think this preacher

is being a little bit

mischievous?

this preacher

is deliberately

being mischievously

shallow

this preacher

is saying

the times you know

God loves you

are the times when

your appetites are fulfilled

rather than when

you're in the desert

the times when

you're strong

rather than sick

the times when

you're free

rather than trapped

in darkness

the times when

you're on solid ground

rather than being

washed around by storms

that's how you know

God loves you

and you must be saying

hang on a minute

because we're

we're not all English

but even those of us

who aren't English

are being enculturated

to Englishness

or Welshness

but anyway

Britishness

and sort of

politeness

but if we had a

different culture

you'd have been

interrupting me by now

wouldn't you?

you wouldn't have been

saying preach it

pastor

you know

like the Jamaicans

would

you'd be saying

hang on a minute

stop

that can't be right

what about those times

when Christian people

feel lost

and they're hungry

and thirsty

literally

or in other ways

when they have

appetites

that are not satisfied

what about those times

when

Christian

people

feel trapped

and in darkness

and go through times

of darkness

what about those times

when Christian people

get sick

and die

what about those times

when Christian people

are tossed

by storms

what's with the love

of God then?

I don't think you've

quite got the point

of the sermon

so let's have a look

at the surprise

verse 33

there's a

the closing section

is very surprising

verse 33

we've had these

four stories

and verse 33

he

that is God

turns rivers

into a desert

and you say

hang on a minute

Mr. Psalmist

haven't you made

a mistake

isn't that a typo

I thought

bad things happened

and then God

did the good stuff

but now you're

telling me that

God turns rivers

which are good

and life giving

into deserts

and I thought

deserts were bad

springs of water

to thirsty ground

fruitful land

into salty ground

like Sodom and Gomorrah

where nothing grows

because of the evil

but you hang on in there

verse 35

when you find the desert

he turns it into

pools of water

and you think

ok it's going to be

like Disney

it's going to work out

ok

parched land

springs of water

hungry people live there

their appetites

are fulfilled

verse 36

there's a city

they can live there

verse 37

they sow fields

the vineyards

there's harvests

they multiply

more and more people

healthy

happy

smiling

Disney

verse 38

and then you read on

to verse 39

and it all goes wrong

again

verse 38

there's no diminishing

everything's going well

shares are going up

portfolios are going up

the footsies going up

everything's going up

house prices going up

everything's happy

verse 38

verse 39

suddenly they're diminished

it's all gone bad again

they're brought low

through oppression

bad government

evil

sorrow

and God pours contempt

on princes

proud

people

makes them wander

in trackless wastes

just like at the beginning

of the psalm

but then he raises up

the needy out of affliction

he makes their families

like flocks

so it's good again

and upright people

who believe

they see it

they're glad

and wickedness

shuts its mouth

it's got nothing

to say

and then you have

the conclusion

think about it

so let's think

about it

together

here's the thing

and this is the one

thing I'd love you

to take away

if you've drifted off

and you've been

thinking about

yesterday's rugby

or I don't know what

you know

yesterday's rugby

is sort of up and down

isn't it

unless you're

Scottish

or Italian

in which case

it's all down

but if you're

kind of

Welsh or Irish

or English

yesterday was an

up and down

kind of day

wasn't it

in the rugby

so if you've

drifted off

and you've been

thinking about that

just come back

for a moment

and think of this

the psalm

is about the

steadfast love

of God

the psalm is saying

God's love is

unchanging

the psalm is saying

in Old Testament

language

what we know

in the New Testament

that if you're a

Christian

I'm a Christian

you have a

heavenly father

who's loved you

from all eternity

who loves you now

who's demonstrated

that love

in the coming

and the death

of the Lord Jesus

who pours that love

into your heart

by the Holy Spirit

and who will love you

to all eternity

and whose love

for you is

unchanging

so what's the psalm

saying

surely it's saying

this isn't it

what would you

expect

you expect

times which feel

like the desert

but in the end

God will bring you

to a city

you expect

times which feel

like prison

and darkness

but in the end

you'll be free

you expect

times

of sickness

perhaps death

but in the end

you'll have life

you expect

times of chaos

of the storm

at sea

but in the end

there'll be stability

it's what the Lord

Jesus trusted

that in those times

his heavenly father

loved him

as he had always

loved him

and would always

love him

so let me try

and earth this

we had a

Carolyn and I

had a strange

summer

last summer

so in

June

my elderly

father

was taken

ill

in the end

of March

and in June

he died

it was very

sad

I grieved

deeply

in August

our lovely

daughter

got married

it was a really

happy day

we love her to bits

we love our new

son-in-law to bits

it was a blissfully

happy day

and it seems to me

the point of the

psalm is this

God's love

for me

for the sake

of example

was no different

on the day

our daughter

got married

which was a day

of smiles

and laughter

than his love

for me

on the day

I saw my father

fade away

and die

his love for me

was unchanging

his love for me

was enduring

his love for me

is steadfast

and although

there will be times

if we're Christian

people

when we do not

feel that

there will be times

of desert

and darkness

and sickness

and weakness

and chaos

and

when it

you think

I don't

I find it hard

to feel

that God loves me

but the point

of the psalm

is if we're wise

we get to the end

and we listen

to these stories

and we think

these stories

demonstrate

that God's love

is unchanging

and at the end

of the story

on that great day

that resurrection

morning

when the

new Jerusalem

comes down

the new heavens

and the new earth

and we

live

with God

with the Lamb

at the centre

and there's no more

sea in Bible imagery

no more chaos

that day

we shall

know

as we can know

by faith now

that God's love

for you and for me

is unchanging

so if you're not

a Christian

believer

I'd love to invite

you to join us

to follow Jesus

and I want to say

to you that

if you do that

you will have

times of desert

and darkness

and sickness

and chaos

but in

and through them

all

you will be able

to say

I know

I have a heavenly

father

who has loved me

from all eternity

I know

I'm in Jesus

his son

who has died

for me

I know

the Holy Spirit

pours that love

into my heart

and I know

that the love

of this heavenly

father for me

given to me

in Jesus

brought to my

heart by the

Holy Spirit

I know

that this love

is unchanging

I know

that he has

loved me

from before

the world

began

I know

that he

loves me

now

and I know

he will

love me

forever

sometimes

I'm a

typical

eeyore

and if there's

any possibility

of being gloomy

I'm in

you know

gloominess

I'm in

like eeyore

but even I

sometimes

am walking

to work

full of gloom

and I say

to myself

I find myself

saying to myself

against my

eeyore nature

Christopher

you have a

heavenly father

who has loved

you from all

eternity

who loves you

now

who will love

you forever

and whose love

is unchanging

that is a

wonderful thing

to know

and it's a

wonderful privilege

to be a man

or woman

or child

in Christ