TUESDAY 28th
Psalm 107
Scriptures in devotion
I have returned to Psalm 107 again today, and just want to highlight what this psalm has to say about the places from which the LORD had redeemed, I will highlight some of the verses.
Verses 4-5 – ‘Some wandered in desert wastes finding no way to a city to dwell in, hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted within them.’
Verses 10-11 – ‘Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.’
Verses 17-18 – ‘Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.’
Verses 23-24, 27 – ‘Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep . . . they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.’
The psalm then ends with these words, ‘Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.’ (v43)
As I read these verses, I see something that portrays what men and women outside of God are like today, wandering in desert places, sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, fettered by addictions that have gripped them, foolish though their determination to continue in sinful ways, and many reeling and staggering around in a drunken stupor or a drug induced stupor. It seems that all hope is lost, all sensibility is gone, unrighteousness is the order of the day, many have fallen into a snare that has been placed before them by those who seek through their own stupidity and sinfulness to be wanting to ensnare others to follow into the way that they have gone.
As I write this devotion the news that has been making some of the headlines is about the County Lines drug pandemic, when we lived in North Wales, you could go into the town centre of one of the local towns and see plainly how this evil had trapped so many, you would literally see those who were in a stupor, dazed, out of it, because of the evil of the drug world, and this particular town is probably no different to many.
What can be done? Firstly, we know that God has done something, as we learned in yesterday’s devotion, he has sent his Son to be the Redeemer, the One who can set the captive free, the One who can take away the sin, the addictions, the drunkenness and turn lives around, transforming them by his amazing grace. We may see lives and think impossible, but God’s grace can reach down to the deepest hell, a song is playing at this very moment that I am typing these words, ‘Ah LORD God . . . nothing is impossible with thee’. We can say NO ONE is impossible to you.
Secondly, we can play our part, we can pray, we can seek to show the love of God, and even if we do not feel that we can go to where those who are deeply affected by these things are found, we can support those who do so, organizations like ‘Teen Challenge’ who have done so much the world over to reach out to those addicted in so many ways.
Thirdly, we must share the good news of the gospel!
This psalm, time and time again is testimony to how God met the need of those who cried out to him, we pray that many more in this day will see where they are as sinners and will cry out to God and know what it is to be redeemed by his grace. I will return to this psalm again tomorrow.