It’s March 23; Good Morning Union
“Let the redeemed of the earth say this.” Psalm 107:1
Say what? The rest of the psalms (107-150) all form the fifth division of this book and they are mostly about PRAISE. Five times in this song the same phrase is repeated, “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men.” David gives his own historical reasons for this conclusion as he retraces the path of God’s chosen people up to that point. God lead, God saved, God delivered, God forgave. Most of the time they missed it, as I probably do, but as I train myself to listen and to be observant from a spiritual perspective, I find PLENTY of evidence of His “unfailing love,” AND of His “wonderful deeds” for me. The daily challenge is, how will I respond? With thanksgiving? With greater selfish demands? By taking it all for granted? By giving “credit” to some one or some thing else?
Here’s the way their process went, according to this song, written I believe in hopes that I don’t have to follow their ways:
They wandered in the wilderness- God waited
They cried out- God delivered them
They sat in darkness and rebelled against the word of God- He allowed them to reap the consequences of their choices
They cried out- He brought them out of darkness and broke their chains of bondage
They became fools through their rebellious ways- He allowed them to suffer affliction because of their iniquities
They cried out- He rescued them and gave then His word to guide them
They saw the wonders of God’s creative powers but didn’t acknowledge Him as the Source- He allowed nature to wreak havoc in their lives
They cried out- He stilled the storm and guided them safely to their desired haven
The list goes on but I’ll stop. Here is the key verse for me this morning-
“The upright saw and rejoiced, but the wicked shut their mouths.” 107:42. Plenty of evidence of what God can and will do and what we can and too often do. Wise people see God’s willingness to deliver, to save, to lead, to forgive, and respond accordingly. Not so wise people might see the same thing but they do not respond with gratefulness and thanksgiving and those are the ones I believe who get frustrated with God and leave Him. The secret is in seeing AND responding, both to the ways my own poor choices have caused trouble in my life (so I can cry out and be heard by Him) AND for the goodness continually demonstrated by God for me. I need to choose wisely in life and I need to practice the art of “giving thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds.
Have a great day saying this,
Pastor Rich