Psalm 107: God Delights to Deliver

"Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress."

Psalm 107:6/13/19/28

Psalm 107 was once described to me as God's "showing off" Psalm. In this great chapter of scripture, we find many of the Lord's great deeds on behalf of mankind. Yet, each one of them has a common theme, as found in the repeated refrain of the chapter: "Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress." Throughout all of the Lord's great works listed in this chapter, there is pattern: Man cries and God delivers. It's that simple, Yet it is something that we often forget.

Let us look at the first part of this divine process. Firstly, man cries out. Specifically, we find that man cries out to the Lord and in their trouble. If man desires to be saved, he cannot cry out to any other thing than God. So often, we cry out to other things: our friends, ourselves, our go-to comforts, Netflix, or the like. Yet, this Psalm tells us that true deliverance only comes from crying out to God. Note how this is not a mere "asking" of God to save, but a "crying out." In other words, God delights in our desperation. God does not want to see us ask for him with one hand while holding on to the world with the other. He delights in desperate calls of mercy amidst our troubles. For the Lord only saves when we surrender all other things to follow him.

Secondly, let's look at the second part of the process: God delivers. In this Psalm, we find four separate acts of God's deliverance for four separate people. Time and space restrict me from going into all of these, but I would like to note that two of them do not deal with physical deliverance but spiritual deliverance, which is from sin. Do you ever feel trapped in your sin? I know I do. If you do too, this is a good Psalm for you. Amidst your desperation, this Psalm shows us that God delights to deliver us from those sins that we feel are entrapping us. You cannot save yourself from your sin, but praise the Lord that there is a gracious God who delights to deliver.

So, amidst your troubles this week, let me encourage you: cry out to God. None of us can live without him, for every breath we breathe is from the Lord. Thus, why would you try to overcome anything on your own? We must cry out to God, who delights to deliver us, in every trial and storm. Amen!