God's M.O.

Let's talk about mottos for a minute.

We'll start with an easy one.

What's the Marine Corps motto?

Semper Fidelis, Semper Fi, always faithful.

How about the Coast Guard?

It's similar.

Semper Paratus, always ready.

The Coast Guard actually has a much older, unofficial motto as well.

You have to go out.

You don't have to come back.

How about Air Force pararescue men?

That others may live.

Have you heard of the Postal Service Creed?

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night

stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

It's actually not an official creed at all.

No one has to swear by it.

They don't have to sign on it.

But it is chiseled in stone above a post office in New York City

that was built in 1914.

And it became associated with the USPS

and became called their creed.

But why do groups have creeds and mottos?

It's because they capture something.

They distill something.

It gives them the opportunity to say,

this is who we are and this is what we do.

This is our modus operandi.

It's how we operate.

If God had a motto,

what would His motto be?

If God had a motto,

I'm pretty sure it would be something like,

steadfast love to the children of man.

Steadfast love to human beings.

That's who He is.

That's how He operates.

Steadfast love to us.

And that's what Psalm 107 is all about.

It's easy to see the purpose of why Psalm 107 is in our Bibles.

We see it in verses 1-3 at the beginning

and in verse 43 at the end.

Look at verses 1-3.

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

and gathered in from the lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south.

And then at the end, verse 43,

whoever is wise, let him attend to these things.

Let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

So the purpose of this Psalm for God's people

is that we would consider God's steadfast love

to give Him thanks.

And what is steadfast love?

It comes from a Hebrew word

that if you've been around church for a while,

you've probably heard before, chesed.

It's notoriously difficult to translate into English

with one word.

Very commonly it's translated as steadfast love.

Sometimes it's translated as loyal love.

It's trying to communicate something

about an intention to do good to someone

no matter what.

In Exodus 34-6, this word, this term,

steadfast love,

is an important part of God's self-declaration

describing who He is.

As He passes before Moses,

it says,

The Lord passed before Him

and proclaimed,

The Lord, the Lord,

a God merciful and gracious,

slow to anger,

and abounding in steadfast love

and faithfulness.

It's also often translated in your Bible

in the Old Testament

simply as kindness.

My favorite example is from 2 Samuel 9,

where David is now the king of Israel

after Saul has died,

the previous king,

Saul who tried to kill him many times.

And David asks the question,

Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul

that I may show him kindness

for Jonathan's sake?

Chesed, steadfast love.

The expectation of the time and culture

could be that he would eliminate

the previous king's house and family

to secure his own throne.

But David says,

Is there still anyone left

that I may show him kindness?

Steadfast love.

I'd like you to think of it as kindness

that doesn't give up.

So in our psalm today,

we're to consider the steadfast love,

the kindness of the Lord.

The second thing you need to know

about this psalm before we jump in

is that this psalm

is set in the context

after the exile.

You see a clue to that

in verses 1 through 3,

where it says,

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

those who he has gathered in from the lands

from the east and from the west

and from the north and from the south.

That's exile terminology

because that's not how Israel started, right?

They started from one family in one place.

And they grew and they multiplied in Egypt

and their establishment as a nation came

when that group as a whole

came from Egypt altogether at once

and became God's people.

So Israel was not founded

by gathering from all different directions.

So when this psalm talks about

this gathering from around the world,

it means after the exile.

Because Israel was in its land,

in the promised land.

It was rebellious against God.

God punished them

as he told them that he would.

He allowed them to be conquered,

to be dispersed,

to be exiled.

And after a time,

they were allowed to return to their land.

Still under foreign rule,

but they were allowed to return

to rebuild Jerusalem.

They were gathered back together.

So this psalm was meant to be understood

as a description of the experiences

of God's people

experiencing the steadfast love of God

in exile.

And in this psalm,

we see God's steadfast love in two modes.

We see it in deliverance

in verses 4 through 32.

We see God's steadfast love

in reversal in verses 33 through 42.

Deliverance and reversal.

So first of all,

we see God's steadfast love

in deliverance from troubled circumstances.

This psalm shows us

that the steadfast love of God

cuts through our troubled circumstances.

So if you are currently in trouble,

this psalm is for you.

Or if you have been in trouble

and been delivered from that,

this psalm is for you.

And of course,

I don't just mean trouble

like I'm in trouble with my parents

or I'm in trouble with my boss.

I mean trouble like

I don't know if I'm going to make it.

Physical health trouble,

like I don't know

if I'm going to make it.

I don't know how I can go another day.

Financial trouble,

like I don't know

how we're going to make it.

Or relational trouble,

like I don't think

our marriage can make it.

Or mental health trouble,

like I don't think

I can make it.

Or grief trouble,

like I don't know

how I can make it

without them.

If you are in trouble

or if you have been in trouble,

this psalm is for you.

The steadfast love of God

cuts through

our troubled circumstances.

This psalm gives us

four examples of people

who have been redeemed

from trouble.

Four different types of trouble.

Four situations

that exiled Israelites

found themselves in.

And there's a common pattern

for each one.

First situation of trouble,

verses 4 through 9,

homeless and hungry.

Look at verses 4 and 5.

Some wandered in desert wastes,

finding no way to a city

to dwell in.

Hungry and thirsty,

their soul fainted

within them.

Wandering in the desert

is not a good situation.

If you're going to travel

through the desert,

you want to take

a straight and short path.

It's an inhospitable environment.

You don't know

where your next meal

will come from

because you don't have

fields to draw from

or pasture land

for any animals

who might be with you.

You don't know

where or when

you will find water next.

You just have to rely

on what you're carrying

with you.

And you're in danger

because you don't have

the walls of a city

around you

or a community of neighbors

to protect you.

And to wander in the desert

would be an especially

painful situation

for Israelites

who remember

the desert wandering

of their ancestors.

Who wandered for 40 years

before entering

the promised land

because of their disobedience.

So for them

to wander in the desert

now was to have

lost everything.

To have no home at all

after all of Israel's history

in their own land.

Now some of them

are back right

where they started

and they have nothing

to show for it.

And this psalm

finds these exiles

at the end of hope.

It's been a long time

since they've had food.

A long time

since they've had water

to drink.

And they can't seem

to find anywhere to settle.

Only desert.

Have you ever felt like that?

Unemployed

or underemployed.

Maybe living paycheck

to paycheck

and the end of one

never reaches

the start of the other.

Housing trouble.

No security.

No stability.

No provision.

No end in sight.

These exiles

are in troubled circumstance

and that's the first part

of the pattern

that we see repeated

in these four situations.

We see a troubled circumstance.

And the second part

of the pattern

is in verse 6.

Then

they cried

to the Lord

in their trouble

and He delivered them

from their distress.

These people

turn to God

as their only hope

and they cry out to Him

and this is not simply

a quick prayer

God please help us.

Please send some food.

It's not just

a simple prayer

of desperation

because remember

the psalm

is describing

their experiences

in exile

and why did they go

into exile

in the first place?

One major reason

is because they

worshipped

and they prayed to

and they hoped in

other gods.

They looked to

Baal

and Molech

and Asherah

for provision

for security

for food

for rain.

So when it says

that they cried

to the Lord

all caps

Yahweh

that's significant.

That's intentional.

This isn't a generic

God please help me

this is

God of my fathers

Yahweh

God of Abraham

Isaac

and Jacob

all other gods

have failed us.

You're our only hope.

God

and he delivered

them from their distress.

God

responds

his steadfast

love

cuts through

their troubled

circumstances.

It acts

on their behalf

in verse 7

he led them

by a straight way

till they reached

a city

to dwell in.

Instead of wandering

they were led

straight out

of the desert

to a city

a city

to dwell in

a place

to be secure

a place

where there is

provision

for their needs.

And what is

the right response?

What's the only

response

that can well up

within them

that can't help

but give

in verses 8-9

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.

It's the

steadfast

love of God

his kindness

that doesn't

give up.

Troubled

situation

number 2

is verses

10-16

captivity

verses 10-12

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.

So these

exiles are

not just

wandering

they're in

actual

captivity.

These are

some of God's

people in

exile chained

up as

slave labor.

labor.

The

conditions are

cruel and

the labor

and harsh

treatment has

left them

with no

strength left.

They fall

and no one

cares to

help them.

And this

too is

some painful

deja vu

for the

Israelites,

right?

They've been

slave labor

before in

Egypt and

their entire

identity as a

people is

hey we're a

people who

have been

delivered by

God's mighty

hand out of

slavery.

And now

some of them

are in chains

and under the

whip again.

And it's

devastating.

And why are

they in this

trouble?

God put

them there.

Right?

Verse 11.

For they had

rebelled against

the words of

God and

spurred the

counsel of

the Most

High.

So he

bowed their

hearts down

with hard

labor.

God gave

his people

his good

word,

clear wisdom

for life,

a beautiful

structure of

morality to

create a

just and

healthy society.

And most

importantly,

he gave

them knowledge

of himself

and the

opportunity to

know him

and be in a

relationship with

him and to

be his special

people among

all the peoples

of the earth.

And they

rebelled against

him.

They counted

his words as

meaningless.

They spurned

them.

They tossed

them aside

like trash.

So now here

they are,

prisoners in

darkness.

And as they

sit in

darkness with

the clasps on

their wrists

rubbing bloody

grooves into

their skin,

afraid that they

won't have the

strength for the

next day's

labor,

they remember

their God.

God.

And they

too turned

to Yahweh.

Verses 13

and 14.

Then they

cried to the

Lord in

their trouble

and he

delivered them

from their

distress.

He brought

them out of

darkness and

the shadow

of death and

burst their

bonds apart.

To those in

captivity, God

brings freedom.

His steadfast

love cuts

through their

troubled

circumstances and

breaks apart

their chains and

brings them out

into the light.

And what's the

only response

they could

possibly give?

What would

you do?

Verses 15

through 16.

Let them

thank the

Lord for

His steadfast

love for

His wondrous

works for the

children of

man.

It's the

steadfast love

of God.

It's His

kindness that

doesn't give

up.

Troubled

situation number

three, verses

17 through 22,

sickness.

Verses 17 and

18, it says,

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.

So for some,

their sin has

led to terrible

sickness.

And whether the

sickness is

specially sent

by God or

simply the

natural result of

a sin-filled

life, we don't

know.

But either way,

they're now near

the end of a

brutal sickness.

Think of the

last time you

were really

sick.

I was sick

earlier this

week.

I was not

near the gates

of death, but I

did loathe any

kind of food.

And when

you're sick,

nothing else

matters, right?

You don't have

the strength to

do what you

need to do.

The things that

are expected of

you each day,

you're not able

to do.

And anything

that was

interesting or

excited to

you just a

day or two

ago when you

were healthy

now means

nothing.

All that

matters is,

how can I

get past

this?

How can I

get through

this?

How can I

get my

health back?

Even sleep

is miserable.

And the

people here

in Psalm

107 are

past any

hope of

medical

intervention

or recovery.

All that's

left for them

is to die

and get it

over with.

But you

know how

this pattern

goes now,

right?

Verses 19

through 20.

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.

He heals

them.

The steadfast

love of God

cuts through

their sickness

and delivers

amazing health.

Here's how I

imagine it

going for

them.

They're

tossing in

bed,

half asleep,

in pain,

and that's

when God's

word of

healing reaches

them.

And they

take a deep

breath and

they really

fall asleep.

And in the

morning they

open their

eyes and

they think,

wait a minute,

did I just

sleep through

the night?

They sit

up and

they feel

great for the

first time

in a long

time and

the life

that they

had given

up on

is theirs

to live.

Verses

21 and

22,

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

and songs

of joy.

they

thank and

praise and

sing to

God because

of his

steadfast

love,

because of

his kindness

that doesn't

give up.

troubled

situation

number 4,

verses 23

through 32,

life-threatening

danger.

Look at

verse 23.

Some went

down to the

sea in

ships doing

business on

the great

waters.

Now,

Israelites were

generally not

a seagoing

people.

So,

likely what's

going on

here is that

as part of

the exile,

as God's

people were

dispersed

from their

homeland,

some of

them,

whether

voluntarily

or

involuntarily,

become part

of sailing

crews.

And this

is what

they experienced,

verses 24

through 27.

They saw

the deeds

of the

Lord,

his wondrous

works in

the deep.

For he

commanded

and raised

up a

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

wits'

end.

A massive

storm has

these sailors

deeply afraid.

They are

beyond any

skill that they

might have

as sailors.

They're beyond

any capacity

of their

ship to deal

with the size

of these

waves.

All that's

left for

them is to

hang on,

wait for it

to capsize.

And then

they remember

the God

of their

fathers,

the God

of their

homeland,

verses 28

through 30.

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.

God's

steadfast

love cuts

through the

clouds and

the wind and

the lightning and

the rain and

he stills the

storm and

hushes the

waves and

quiets the

waters and

he guides them

to their

port and

they step

foot on

solid dry

ground again

which was

something they

thought would

never happen.

Verses 31

through 32,

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.

What else

would you do

if you were

them?

When God

shows incredible

kindness to

you that

doesn't give

up?

four

examples of

troubled

situations

where the

steadfast

love of

God cut

through.

And these

are four

specific examples

but the

point in this

psalm is that

God's steadfast

love cuts

through any

circumstance.

The point of

this psalm is

that our

trouble is an

opportunity to

see God's

kindness

clearly.

Let's

highlight

something

that we've

seen but we

need to think

about for a

minute.

God's

steadfast

love cuts

through our

troubled

circumstances

even the

trouble of

our own

sin.

Remember

this psalm

is set in

the context

of the

sin of

God's

people.

That's

what exile

was.

Exile

was God's

judgment on

his people

for their

rebellion

against him.

So in

every

circumstance

that we

see here

in these

psalms

these people

are experiencing

God's

judgment.

And in

two of

these

situations

it explicitly

says that

their trouble

is the

direct result

of their

sin.

It was

their sin

that brought

them to

captivity.

It was

their sin

that brought

them to

sickness.

So God's

steadfast love

cuts through our

troubled

circumstances

even the

trouble of

our own

sin.

We

naturally

assume that

if we're

going to ask

for God's

help we need

to earn it

or at

least we

need to

temporarily

be in

a situation

where we

feel like

we're okay

asking for

it.

You know

like if

trouble

randomly

comes to

me while

I am

following

Jesus and

reading my

Bible

regularly

and you

know not

sinning

too much

I think

then yeah

when trouble

comes that's a

great time for

me to say

God please

deliver me

please save

me please

help me

that's a

good time to

ask God to

deliver us.

We have

trouble when

we know

that's not

our situation

and we

might assume

that if our

trouble is the

result of our

own sin we

shouldn't dare

ask God to

help us.

We just have

to live with

the consequences

of our actions

right?

Suck it up.

You got

yourself into

this.

You don't

deserve to

ask for

God's

deliverance.

If this is

God's

discipline we

just have to

endure it.

And the

truth of

course is

yes that

God does

send trouble

sometimes as

discipline for

sin as he

does in this

psalm and we

should let that

discipline have

its effect in

our lives but

the effect the

intended effect of

that discipline is

to turn us to

God.

It is to cause

us to turn away

from whatever it

was that was

leading us away

from him and

cry out to him.

So what this

psalm is teaching

us is that God's

steadfast love is

so good,

he is so kind

that he even

loves to deliver

us from the

trouble of our

own sin.

God's kindness

toward you

does not

depend on

you being

innocent.

A lot of us

have a hard

time believing

that.

God's kindness

toward you

does not

depend on

you being

innocent.

the

steadfast love

of God

cuts through

our troubled

circumstances

even the

trouble of

our own

sin.

And this

psalm wants

us to see

the steadfast

love of God

in action

in many

different

situations

and when we

cry out to

God in our

trouble in

the same

way,

turning to

him as our

only hope,

we also will

see his

kindness to

us.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

But the

truth is,

we know,

he does not

always heal.

He does not

always save

in the ways

like we just

read.

Sometimes his

faithful people

who cry out

to him remain

in their

troubled

circumstances.

You might

think particularly

of Christians

who are

persecuted

around the

world and

there's no

out in

sight.

love.

The psalm

ends by

showing us

that God's

steadfast

love is

not only

expressed in

deliverance

from trouble,

but also

in reversal

of what is

wrong in

the world.

We see

reversal in

verses 33

through 42.

He turns

rivers into

a desert,

springs of

water into

a thirsty

ground,

a fruitful

land into

a salty

waste because

of the evil

of its

inhabitants.

water.

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.

When they

are diminished

and brought

low through

oppression, evil,

and sorrow, he

pours contempt

on princes, i.e.

those who are

oppressing them, 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.

Do you see

what's happening

there?

God is not

simply saving

people from

trouble, troubled

circumstances, and

taking them out

of that and

putting them

somewhere else.

He is reshaping

reality itself

according to his

kindness and

his justice.

justice.

He's making the

world right.

The evil people

of the world, who

at one point seem

to have everything,

end up with

nothing.

And those who

are poor and are

upright are given

a home and a

wonderful future.

God's people live

in a city, and

those who oppress

them end up

wandering in the

desert.

God's kindness

that doesn't give

up is shown in

his work of

reversal.

And what these

verses are telling

us is that even

for those who

don't experience

God's deliverance

right away, it's

going to be okay.

even when it

looks like wrong

is winning,

reversal is

coming.

God is committed

to making the

world right.

God's steadfast

love will win

in the end.

And he works

these reversals

in small part

throughout history,

and he will do

so ultimately at

the end of

history.

He's making

the world

right, and

our assurance

of God's

steadfast love

both in the

present and

for all of

the future,

our assurance

of God's

kindness to

us, no

matter what,

is secured

for us by

Jesus.

In his death

and resurrection

for us, the

ultimate example

of God's

kindness that

doesn't give

up.

He who did

not spare his

own son but

gave him up

for us, how

will he not

also with him

graciously give

us all things?

And what is

God's plan for

all of the

future, for all

of eternity when

he makes the

world right?

It's that in

the coming

ages he might

show the riches

of his

kindness.

towards us

in Christ

Jesus.

That's what our

future is.

It's more and

more and more

of God

showing kindness

to us in ways

that we

could not

expect or

imagine.

So in Psalm

107 tells us

about God's

steadfast love

reversing the

situations of the

world, it's

telling us that

it's going

to be okay.

God will

bring you to

a home.

What does

John see in

his vision and

revelation?

He sees a

city prepared

by God, a

place where

God will dwell

with his

people.

That's the

steadfast love

of God.

Where do you

find yourself

in relationship

to Psalm

107 this

morning?

Are you

in trouble

right now?

Maybe

trouble as a

result of your

own sin,

maybe not.

Are you

turning to

him?

Are you

crying out to

him?

Are you

hoping in

his steadfast

love?

Are you

trusting that

his kindness

will win out

for you in

the end,

even when

things seem

bleak?

Have you

experienced

trouble in

the past

God's

deliverance?

Are you

offering him

thanks for

that?

Are you

praising him?

Are you

extolling him

in the

congregation?

Are you

continuously

sharing with

others what

God's kindness

has done

for you?

Are you

God's

kindness

doesn't

give up?

God's

steadfast

love cuts

through our

troubled

circumstances,

even the

trouble of

our own

sin,

to bring

us to

a home.

Let's

pray.

Amen.

Father,

we,

on our

best days,

do not

deserve

your

kindness.

Thank you

that you

have

steadfast

love,

that it's

who you

are,

it's how

you

operate.

Help us

to believe

it.

For those

in this

church who

are in

trouble

right now,

we cry

out to

you.

You are

our only

hope.

And we

ask that

you would

deliver,

you would

save,

and you

would show

your kindness

to us.

Amen.