Bible Studies for Life: November 27

Three Reasons for Giving Thanks • Psalm 107:1-9

By Laura Lee Leathers

How did you spend Thanksgiving week? Did you thank the Lord for His faithfulness to you this past year? Did you write out a gratitude list in your journal?

For the final lesson of this quarter, Psalm 107, our focus is on giving thanks for deliverance from captivity and on restoration. “It is a glorious Psalm,” states Christian author John MacArthur (1939-). British preacher Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) writes, “The theme is ‘thanksgiving’ and the motives for it.” It is rich and deep regarding God’s mercy and goodness.

Psalms 107 through 150 comprise Book 5, the last book within The Psalms. This Psalm has the subheading, “Let the Redeemed of the LORD Say So” (ESV), or “Thanksgiving to the LORD for His Great Works of Deliverance” (NKJV). The focus is on the first nine verses; however, the entire chapter should be read.

Reading it entirely helps you see the four illustrations which have the same sequence. First is the predicament that describes a dangerous situation. Next is the petition, the people crying out to the Lord.

Then, God grants a pardon because of His mercy and goodness. The final aspect, the people are to give thanks — praise (John MacArthur, sermon, Giving Thanks for Redemption).

Give thanks because God redeems us (Psalm 107:1-3). Read verse one aloud and with meaning. “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” What a beautiful declaration of thanksgiving. God is good. He never changes.

Spurgeon writes, “It is all we can give Him, and the least we can give, so let us diligently give Him thanksgiving” (The Treasury of David).

There is no end to His mercy. Here is where you can shout, “Praise the Lord!” Perhaps you are like me — whenever I think about God’s mercy, I go to Lamentations 3:22-24. What a beautiful reminder that every new day brings His mercy.

Only the redeemed can genuinely say so, because we have seen and experienced God’s goodness. It should cause us to sing, rejoice, and praise Him. Why? Because He has delivered us from the hand of the enemy and redeemed us from sin.

The reference in verse three shows the gathering of the captives (see Psalm 106:47) from all directions: the north (Syria and Assyria, 2 Kings 10:29-37), the west (Palestine, 2 Kings 18:8), the east (Babylon, Ezra 1), and the south usually represented by the sea.

Give thanks because God leads us (Psalm 107:4-7). The first reference to a predicament is the people wandering in the wilderness. They have lost their way. They are alone with no permanent place to live. They are hungry and thirsty. This describes their physical status, but it also explains their spiritual state.

They see their desperate need and cry out to the LORD in their trouble. He delivers them, “and He led them forth by the right way. That they might go to a city for a dwelling place” (v. 7). In the Old Testament, when the people cried out to the LORD, it was their cry for salvation.

“There are many wrong ways, but only one right way and none can lead us but God. When the Lord is the leader, the way is right; we never need question that,” writes Spurgeon.

Give thanks because God gives us everything good (Psalm 107:8-9). “Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness and His wonderful works to the children of men!” (v. 8). You will find verse eight repeated within the other three illustrations of deliverance which are:

— Being a prisoner and the loss of freedom (v. 10-16).

— Dealing with health issues and being healed (v. 17-22).

— Hopelessness which arises amid a storm (v. 23-32).

In verse nine, the Psalmist writes, “For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” The word, “satisfies,” means to “gratify fully the desire of; to make content, to supply to the full” (biblehub.com).

In the New International Version of the Bible, the phrase is, “he satisfies the thirsty.” Remember the story about Jesus meeting the woman at the well (John 4:1-26). She was there to draw water. In their conversation, Jesus told her that the water she was drinking would not satisfy her that only the living water He provided would satisfy the deep longing in her soul.

Are you grateful for your redemption — your salvation? For this, give thanks. “Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord” (v. 42).

Laura Lee Leathers is a freelance writer and a member of First Church, Lexington.