Worship based on Psalm 107
During this time of thanksgiving, I’d like to offer this worship activity for you to focus on God’s redemptive story in your life.
Psalm 107:1-3 reads:
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary
And gathered from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.
This psalm focuses on experiences that call us to give thanks to God. There are 5 categories of his work in the rest of the psalm. Before reading the rest, pray for the Spirit of God to lead you to see how God has redeemed you and to enable you to express your gratitude…
WANDERING (verses 4-9)
They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region;
They did not find a way to an inhabited city.
They were hungry and thirsty;
Their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He delivered them out of their distresses.
He led them also by a straight way,
To go to an inhabited city.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
For He has satisfied the thirsty soul,
And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.
This is a picture of insecurity, loneliness, empty uncertainty, personal hunger & thirst. Nothing satisfies. The Lord hears our cry and takes us home and fills our souls.
How have you wandered? How has God heard your cry and led you home to rest and nourishment? Give thanks to the Lord…
IMPRISONED (verses 10-16)
There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Prisoners in misery and chains,
Because they had rebelled against the words of God
And spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Therefore He humbled their heart with labor;
They stumbled and there was none to help.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them out of their distresses.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death
And broke their bands apart.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
For He has shattered gates of bronze
And cut bars of iron asunder.
This is a picture of trying to break free of God-centeredness to live by our own ideas and ways. Godless freedom only results in bondage. We become prisoner to sin, Satan, self-centeredness. Jesus enters dungeon and breaks the chains and brings us out to freedom and new life.
How have you rebelled and found yourself in bondage? When you cried out, how did Jesus come and set you free? Give thanks to the Lord…
SELF-DESTRUCTION (verses 17-22)
Fools, because of their rebellious way,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
Their soul abhorred all kinds of food
And they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them out of their distresses.
He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And tell of His works with joyful singing.
This is a picture of refusing what we need for life – suffering spiritual anorexia. We reject God’s provisions for our souls and self-destruct. In our weakened condition we cry to God and he saves. He speaks what we need to hear; he nourishes and heals. By grace, brings us back to life.
How have you refused what God has for you? How has God poured out his grace to save you and restore your life? Give thanks to the Lord…
OVERWHELMING ODDS (verses 23-32)
Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters;
They have seen the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.
For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind,
Which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;
Their soul melted away in their misery.
They reeled and staggered like a drunken man,
And were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
He caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people,
And praise Him at the seat of the elders.
This is a picture of overwhelming odds, crisis times – like being in a storm at sea. We are at our wits’ end, don’t know what to do. When we cry to Lord, we find him in the ship with us. He leads through the crisis to safety and peace.
What storms have you been threatened by? How has God shown he is with you and given you peace? Give thanks to the Lord…
REFINING (verses 33-43)
He changes rivers into a wilderness
And springs of water into a thirsty ground;
A fruitful land into a salt waste,
Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
He changes a wilderness into a pool of water
And a dry land into springs of water;
And there He makes the hungry to dwell,
So that they may establish an inhabited city,
And sow fields and plant vineyards,
And gather a fruitful harvest.
Also He blesses them and they multiply greatly,
And He does not let their cattle decrease.
When they are diminished and bowed down
Through oppression, misery and sorrow,
He pours contempt upon princes
And makes them wander in a pathless waste.
But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction,
And makes his families like a flock.
The upright see it and are glad;
But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.
Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things,
And consider the lovingkindnesses of the Lord.
This is a picture of God refining his redeemed people with a process of blessing and trauma – sometimes it’s like paradise, sometimes like desert. God refines our character to make us like Jesus – God-centered and holy. All is in “lovingkindness” – the ferocious passion of awesome God.
What in your character has needed changed? How has God refined and transformed you more into the likeness of Christ? What a loving gift! Give thanks to the Lord…
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
“For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
