June 22, 2015

FREEDOM!

Psalms 107–110

Claire Hornberger
Monday's Devo

June 22, 2015

Monday's Devo

June 22, 2015

Central Truth

The goodness of God will set you free!

Key Verse | Psalm 107:1

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
(Psalm 107:1)

Psalms 107–110

Book Five

Let the Redeemed of the LORD Say So

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
    whom he has redeemed from trouble 1 107:2 Or from the hand of the foe
and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to a city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
    till they reached a city to dwell in.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he satisfies the longing soul,
    and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

10  Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11  for they had rebelled against the words of God,
    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12  So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
    they fell down, with none to help.
13  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
14  He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
    and burst their bonds apart.
15  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16  For he shatters the doors of bronze
    and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17  Some were fools through their sinful ways,
    and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18  they loathed any kind of food,
    and they drew near to the gates of death.
19  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
20  He sent out his word and healed them,
    and delivered them from their destruction.
21  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
22  And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
    and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

23  Some went down to the sea in ships,
    doing business on the great waters;
24  they saw the deeds of the LORD,
    his wondrous works in the deep.
25  For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
    which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26  They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
    their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27  they reeled and staggered like drunken men
    and were at their wits' end. 2 107:27 Hebrew and all their wisdom was swallowed up
28  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
29  He made the storm be still,
    and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30  Then they were glad that the waters 3 107:30 Hebrew they were quiet,
    and he brought them to their desired haven.
31  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
32  Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
    and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33  He turns rivers into a desert,
    springs of water into thirsty ground,
34  a fruitful land into a salty waste,
    because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35  He turns a desert into pools of water,
    a parched land into springs of water.
36  And there he lets the hungry dwell,
    and they establish a city to live in;
37  they sow fields and plant vineyards
    and get a fruitful yield.
38  By his blessing they multiply greatly,
    and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39  When they are diminished and brought low
    through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40  he pours contempt on princes
    and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41  but he raises up the needy out of affliction
    and makes their families like flocks.
42  The upright see it and are glad,
    and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

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

With God We Shall Do Valiantly

A Song. A Psalm of David.

My heart is steadfast, O God!
    I will sing and make melody with all my being! 4 108:1 Hebrew with my glory
Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn!
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!
That your beloved ones may be delivered,
    give salvation by your right hand and answer me!

God has promised in his holiness: 5 108:7 Or sanctuary
    “With exultation I will divide up Shechem
    and portion out the Valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet,
    Judah my scepter.
Moab is my washbasin;
    upon Edom I cast my shoe;
    over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

10  Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
11  Have you not rejected us, O God?
    You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
12  Oh grant us help against the foe,
    for vain is the salvation of man!
13  With God we shall do valiantly;
    it is he who will tread down our foes.

Help Me, O LORD My God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Be not silent, O God of my praise!
For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
    speaking against me with lying tongues.
They encircle me with words of hate,
    and attack me without cause.
In return for my love they accuse me,
    but I give myself to prayer. 6 109:4 Hebrew but I am prayer
So they reward me evil for good,
    and hatred for my love.

Appoint a wicked man against him;
    let an accuser stand at his right hand.
When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
    let his prayer be counted as sin!
May his days be few;
    may another take his office!
May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow!
10  May his children wander about and beg,
    seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
11  May the creditor seize all that he has;
    may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12  Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
    nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13  May his posterity be cut off;
    may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14  May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
    and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
15  Let them be before the LORD continually,
    that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!

16  For he did not remember to show kindness,
    but pursued the poor and needy
    and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
17  He loved to curse; let curses come 7 109:17 Revocalization; Masoretic Text curses have come upon him!
    He did not delight in blessing; may it be far 8 109:17 Revocalization; Masoretic Text it is far from him!
18  He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
    may it soak 9 109:18 Revocalization; Masoretic Text it has soaked into his body like water,
    like oil into his bones!
19  May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
    like a belt that he puts on every day!
20  May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
    of those who speak evil against my life!

21  But you, O God my Lord,
    deal on my behalf for your name's sake;
    because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
22  For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is stricken within me.
23  I am gone like a shadow at evening;
    I am shaken off like a locust.
24  My knees are weak through fasting;
    my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
25  I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
    when they see me, they wag their heads.

26  Help me, O LORD my God!
    Save me according to your steadfast love!
27  Let them know that this is your hand;
    you, O LORD, have done it!
28  Let them curse, but you will bless!
    They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
29  May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
    may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

30  With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
    I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31  For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
    to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

Sit at My Right Hand

A Psalm of David.

The LORD says to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”

The LORD sends forth from Zion
    your mighty scepter.
    Rule in the midst of your enemies!
Your people will offer themselves freely
    on the day of your power, 10 110:3 Or on the day you lead your forces
    in holy garments; 11 110:3 Masoretic Text; some Hebrew manuscripts and Jerome on the holy mountains
from the womb of the morning,
    the dew of your youth will be yours. 12 110:3 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
The LORD has sworn
    and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
    after the order of Melchizedek.”

The Lord is at your right hand;
    he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
He will execute judgment among the nations,
    filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs 13 110:6 Or the head
    over the wide earth.
He will drink from the brook by the way;
    therefore he will lift up his head.

Footnotes

[1] 107:2 Or from the hand of the foe
[2] 107:27 Hebrew and all their wisdom was swallowed up
[3] 107:30 Hebrew they
[4] 108:1 Hebrew with my glory
[5] 108:7 Or sanctuary
[6] 109:4 Hebrew but I am prayer
[7] 109:17 Revocalization; Masoretic Text curses have come
[8] 109:17 Revocalization; Masoretic Text it is far
[9] 109:18 Revocalization; Masoretic Text it has soaked
[10] 110:3 Or on the day you lead your forces
[11] 110:3 Masoretic Text; some Hebrew manuscripts and Jerome on the holy mountains
[12] 110:3 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
[13] 110:6 Or the head

Dive Deeper | Psalms 107–110

Throughout Psalm 107, I see God’s goodness toward His people while they were facing all sorts of trials: hunger, thirst, gloom, imprisonment, trouble, distress, and fear. When God’s people were "imprisoned in iron chains of misery" (verse 10), He brought them out of bondage and freed them from captivity. The faithful love of the Lord was revealed throughout this psalm. 

God does the same thing for Christians today. Romans 6:17-18 says we were once enslaved to our sinful natures, but because of what Christ has done, we are set free to live in righteousness. I sometimes find myself "imprisoned in iron chains of misery" in bondage to the lies of the world. The world tells me that I can find satisfaction in a perfect body, good grades, or an awesome dating relationship. Struggling to be accepted by the world is an exhausting, endless, unsatisfying maze. But the truth of God sets us free!

When we cry for help, He will save us from distress, lead us from darkness, and "snap our chains" (verse 14) just as He did for His people in Psalm 107. As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us and are no longer slaves to our sinful nature. Not only that, but through Christ we have the power to live righteously.

So, give thanks to the Lord for His constant goodness and faithful love towards us!

Discussion Questions

1. What are some areas in your life where you have trouble trusting God’s goodness?

2. What are some examples of God's goodness in your life for which you can give thanks?

3. What are some lies of this world that hold you in captivity?

4. In what ways has God freed you from bondage to those lies?

5. What steps can you take to trust His goodness and allow Him to “snap the chains” to set you free from those lies?