The emphasis in 105 is on Israel’s exodus from Egypt and in 106 on God’s longsuffering care of His people. This psalm focuses on the Lord’s redemption of the nation from captivity in Babylon (vv. 2-3). While the circumstances described in the psalm could be experienced by almost anyone, they especially apply to what Israel had to endure while in captivity. The word “redeemed” is often used in Isaiah to describe this great deliverance.

When God’s people called out to God their thinking changed.  Their thoughts shifted from their overwhelming circumstance to God’s everlasting power and glory.  God’s love never runs out on His people, declares the songwriter of truth.  God’s love never runs out on us today!  Jesus was sent as our Redeemer to deliver us from all our sins so that we can be set free from that life that only leads to death.  We go from hopeless to full of hope!

God’s love and care never runs out on those who believe and call on His Name.  Our psalmist closes with “If you are really wise, you’ll think this over—it’s time you appreciated God’s deep love.”  I ask myself, how wise am I?  Do I appreciate all the ways God expresses his unchanging, relentless, unconditional love for me? 

When we call out to God, we immediately see our circumstance from a new perspective.  We go from hopeless to full of hope because no matter what is happening around us or to us, God’s love never runs out on us.  He comes “in the nick of time” when we let go, give up what the world says and, most of all, our own plan. 

As we read the “repeat chorus” we see that each lyric of resolve begins with “THEN they called out to God”…and everything changed.  God came in the “nick of time”, HIS time.  He is waiting on us to let go so He can work His goodness.  Let Him.  As I read this psalm from long ago, this contemporary praise song is playing in the background of my mind…

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won’t turn back
I know You are near

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me…

(Matt Redman)

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 107, The Message

^1-3 Oh, thank God—he’s so good!
    His love never runs out.
All of you set free by God, tell the world!
    Tell how he freed you from oppression,
Then rounded you up from all over the place,
    from the four winds, from the seven seas.

^4-9 Some of you wandered for years in the desert,
    looking but not finding a good place to live,
Half-starved and parched with thirst,
    staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.

Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God.
    He got you out in the nick of time;
He put your feet on a wonderful road
    that took you straight to a good place to live.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
    for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
He poured great drafts of water down parched throats;
    the starved and hungry got plenty to eat.

^10-16 Some of you were locked in a dark cell,
    cruelly confined behind bars,
Punished for defying God’s Word,
    for turning your back on the High God’s counsel—
A hard sentence, and your hearts so heavy,
    and not a soul in sight to help.

Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;
    he got you out in the nick of time.
He led you out of your dark, dark cell,
    broke open the jail and led you out.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
    for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;
He shattered the heavy jailhouse doors,
    he snapped the prison bars like matchsticks!

^17-22 Some of you were sick because you’d lived a bad life,
    your bodies feeling the effects of your sin;
You couldn’t stand the sight of food,
    so miserable you thought you’d be better off dead.

Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;
    he got you out in the nick of time.
He spoke the word that healed you,
    that pulled you back from the brink of death.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
    for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;
Offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
    tell the world what he’s done—sing it out!

^23-32 Some of you set sail in big ships;
    you put to sea to do business in faraway ports.
Out at sea you saw God in action,
    saw his breathtaking ways with the ocean:
With a word he called up the wind—
    an ocean storm, towering waves!
You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out;
    your hearts were stuck in your throats.
You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk,
    you didn’t know which end was up.

Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;
    he got you out in the nick of time.
He quieted the wind down to a whisper,
    put a muzzle on all the big waves.
And you were so glad when the storm died down,
    and he led you safely back to harbor.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
    for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
Lift high your praises when the people assemble,
    shout Hallelujah when the elders meet!

^33-41 God turned rivers into wasteland,
    springs of water into sunbaked mud;
Luscious orchards became alkali flats
    because of the evil of the people who lived there.
Then he changed wasteland into fresh pools of water,
    arid earth into springs of water,
Brought in the hungry and settled them there;
    they moved in—what a great place to live!
They sowed the fields, they planted vineyards,
    they reaped a bountiful harvest.
He blessed them and they prospered greatly;
    their herds of cattle never decreased.
But abuse and evil and trouble declined
    as he heaped scorn on princes and sent them away.
He gave the poor a safe place to live,
    treated their clans like well-cared-for sheep.

^42-43 Good people see this and are glad;
    bad people are speechless, stopped in their tracks.
If you are really wise, you’ll think this over—
    it’s time you appreciated God’s deep love.

TRUTH:  It’s time we appreciated God’s deep love for us.

NOT AS EASY AS IT SOUNDS?  LET’S GO DEEPER STILL…

The people described in this psalm needed God’s help, either because of their own folly or because of circumstances beyond their control, and they called on the Lord and He delivered them. Five specific situations are described involving people who lose something valuable:

When you lose your way

When you lose your freedom

When you lose your health

When you lose your hope

When you lose your home

God’s people lost it all, THEN they called out to God.  Everything changed.  God’s love never runs out, it never runs out on us!  Call out to God.  Believe Jesus and be saved.  New life with a new perspective is yours for the asking.

And what should we learn from these five pictures that depict God’s power and mercy in action? To be wise and obey the Word of God (v. 43; Hos. 14:9). Yes, God shows His love and mercy to the disobedient who repent and call on His name, but our Father would rather share that love with obedient children who would enjoy it even more (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).

Proverb 30:5, The Message

WISDOM:  The believer replied, “Every promise of God proves true; he protects everyone who runs to him for help.”

Abba Father,

Thank you for your love, mercy and grace that never runs out on me and others who believe on your Name.  Help us to trust and obey even through the storms of this life for we know you know and are there with us.  Teach us through the circumstances of life that challenge us.  Thank you for the lessons.  Thank you for your mercy.  Help me to love like you love.  Help me to forgive like you forgave us.  Thank you for hope in seemingly hopeless times.  Thank you for glimpses of your glory at work daily!

In Jesus Name, Amen

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me