Psalm 107: God, Showing Off

Psalm 107:43 "Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD."

Some of you know this, but on April 28th of 2017, I was the primary witness to a fatal car accident. I was driving home from work when an unattentive driver was going 50 m.p.h. in the wrong lane. By God's grace, I was able to get out of the way and keep myself from danger--but the car behind me was not so lucky. Ten feet or so outside my driver's side window, the two cars had a head-on collision, leaving the man in the oncoming car dead instantly. As you can immagine, I had to go through quite a bit of counseling to get past that situation in my life. Pastor Timmy helped me so greatly, and amidst it all, he led me to Psalm 107.

"This psalm is truly God showing off," Pastor Timmy told me. I remember him asking me to take a pencil and circle in my Bible all of the ways in which we see God "showing off" in this psalm. Through the horrible PTS of being a primary witness to a fatal car accident, this psalm helped me see the fact that even though circumstances in life are difficult, we have a God who is much, much higher than anything in this world--and Psalm 107 shows us that.

In Psalm 107, we see the Lord delivering mankind from a number of different trials. In verses 4-9, the psalmist tells us of how God delivers mankind from wandering in the deserts, finding no city to dwell in (v. 4). In verses 10-16, the psalmist tells of how God delivers mankind from sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death (v. 10). In verses 17-22, the psalmist tells us of how God delivers mankind from being fools in their sinful ways (v. 17). In verses 23-32, the psalmist tells us of how God delivers mankind from being caught up in a great storm in the sea (v. 25). If that isn't enough, the psalmist speaks of God doing many other things such as turning deserts into pools of water (v. 35) and raising the needy out of affliction (v. 41)...and many other things. Surely in this Psalm, God is "showing off" all of his wonderous deeds--and they are surely too many to count.

In verse 43 (quoted above) we see the conclusion to the psalm. Because of the Lord's mighty works, the psalmist says, those who are wise ought to "attend to these things" and "consider the steadfast love of the Lord." In other words, since the Lord has done so many great things, we ought to realize his steadfast love--and worship him accordingly. We ought to praise him for all that he has done, because he is the rescuer who has saved us from many perils.

So, how have you considered the steadfast love of the Lord? Do you have a good knowledge of what the Lord has done for you? Have you remembered his mighty deeds? If so, I encourage you to praise the Lord and consider his steadfast love. If not, I encourage you (to first read Psalm 107!) to think of all the Lord has done for you, even in the giving of your very breath, and then praise him accordingly!