Embrace the Word for Monday, August 24, 2026

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Psalm 107 is an expression of praise and gratitude for the recusing power of God’s steadfast love. Psalm 107, which is the start of Book 5 of the Psalter, is a fitting response to Psalm 106, which was the close of Book 4. The closing verses of Psalm 106 are a prayer: “Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations” (106:47); whereas the opening verses of Psalm 107 acknowledge that the LORD “has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands” (107:2-3) the redeemed. Psalm 106 and Psalm 107, which share many common links with each other, open with the same statement: “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (106:1; 107:1). The seam between Book 4 and Book 5 of the Psalter is tightly joined. Book 5 opens with a strong orientation of a new exodus and return to the Promised Land. Book 5 will also feature several Davidic Psalms (108-110; 122; 124; 131; 133; 138-145). This return to Psalms of David is not so much a look back to David himself, but a forward orientation for a greater and final Son of David. Psalm 107 begins and concludes with an emphasis upon the steadfast love of the LORD (107:1-3; 42-43), and in between there are two sections which trace the LORD’s redemptive acts rooted in His steadfast love (107:4-32; 33-41).

Psalm 107 opens with a call to praise: “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (107:1). Psalm 103 called for the LORD to be blessed for all the ways He blesses His people; Psalm 104 called for the LORD to be blessed because He will renew the world; Psalm 105 called for the LORD to be gratefully praised because He keeps His Word; Psalm 106 called for the LORD to be praised because He is good and acts in steadfast love toward His people; now Psalm 107 starts with the same call. Psalm 106 described the goodness and steadfast love of the LORD with an emphasis on how He pardons and restores His people; Psalm 107 describes the LORD’s goodness and steadfast love with an emphasis on how He redeems and gathers His people: “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south” (107:2-3). The language of redeem is the language of the Exodus in describing Israel’s release from Egyptian captivity (See Exodus 15:13), and the language of the prophets as they promised release for the redeemed from Babylonian captivity (See Isaiah 62:12). Psalm 107 is highlighting that the LORD’s redeeming work will result in a regathering from all over the world. Wherever His people are—in whatever level of trouble and distress—the LORD will gather them once again to Himself. Thus, the opening call of Psalm 107 is for those who have experienced the LORD’s redeeming and regathering work to offer grateful praise to the LORD.

Through four cameos (106:4-32), the Psalmist illustrates the nature of the LORD’s redeeming and gathering work and the praise that should result. There is a patterned cadence to these four brief portraits as they each describe: (1) the desperate need of the human condition; (2) the dramatic nature of the LORD’s rescue; and (3) the deliberate notion of praise in response to how the LORD intervened. The first cameo describes the empty wandering of the human condition: “Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them” (107:4-5). The imagery is that of being lost in a hostile environment. The LORD’s rescue is needed because of the human inability to either know or want to know how to escape the “desert wastes” of life. Such an existence leaves humanity in a profound state of a weakened soul. Whether it was the Israelite wanderings in the wilderness or the lingering exile in Babylon, there was no human way out. But the LORD redeems and gathers through prayer: “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” (107:6-7). Only the LORD can rescue the one wandering aimlessly and put him on “a straight way.” Notice the rescuing work is from something and to something: “a city to dwell in.” Just as verse 6 becomes a refrain for each of the cameos (107:13,19,28), so will verse 8 (107:15,21,31): “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” (107:8-9). When the fainting soul is satisfied, it becomes a soul that expresses grateful praise, for it knows who did the filling.

The second cameo describes the dark affliction of the human condition: “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. So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help” (107:10-12). The imagery is that of a dark dungeon. The LORD’s rescue is needed because it was the LORD whose judicial verdict was the just response to rebellion. The LORD who brings low and imprisons, is the One who can bring out and release: “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart” (107:13-14). Until man is redeemed by the LORD through prayer, man is not simply lost, he is in bondage. When he finds himself truly free, man freely offers grateful praise, for he knows who freed him: “Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron” (107:15-16).

The third cameo describes the foolish state of the human condition: “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” (107:17-18). The imagery is that of culpable moral stupidity that drives poor choices leading to death. The LORD’s rescue is needed because only through the healing power of God’s Word can wisdom be imparted: “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction” (107:19-20). Only through prayer can a self-destructive fool be rescued from himself. And only as life and wisdom is imparted, does it seem prudent and helpful to look to One greater and sing His praises: “Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!” (107:21-22).

The fourth cameo describes the dangerous terror in a fallen world: “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. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end” (107:23-27). The imagery is that of being in the midst of a dangerous storm that leaves man in a desperate plight unsure what to do. The LORD’s rescue is needed—for only the LORD can still the storm and ensure a safe passage: “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven” (107:28-30). Only through prayer does the LORD display His power over all things and provide the navigational aid to safely get them home. And to the one who has experienced such protection and direction, he will be quick to publicly extol the One who has delivered him: “Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.” (107:31-32).

The Psalmist transitions from the four cameos that illustrate the nature of the LORD’s redeeming and gathering work to describing four movements that underscore the power of God to judge and to save. Can the LORD really accomplish all that has been claimed He can do in the preceding cameos? Without a doubt He can! The LORD can curse: “He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants” (107:33-34). The whole world—all that the LORD made—was good, for He blessed all that He made. But in the aftermath of Adam’s sin, the whole world was cursed. Because of the LORD’s blessing, Israel dwelled in the Promised Land with peace and prosperity. But because of their sin, the LORD cursed the Land as the Babylonians burned down the Temple and destroyed it. The same LORD who has the power to curse, also has the power to bless: “He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in; they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish” (107:35-38). The Psalmist is stating that blessing what was formerly cursed—that is reversing the curse and reestablishing blessing is not only possible with the LORD, it is promised by the LORD. To the Israelites in captivity, the Psalmist offers a sure Word of hope: “When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow, he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks” (107:39-41). The LORD who ordains His people to be brought low, is the same LORD who raises His people up and blesses them. When the LORD does these things, His people will rejoice in the steadfast love of the LORD, while the wicked will have nothing to say: “The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth. Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD” (107:42-43).

As we reflect on Psalm 107, we can consider the redeeming and gathering work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Psalm 107 accentuates the rescuing work of the LORD: “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south” (107:2-3). The rescuing work of the LORD is from something and to something. The LORD redeems His people from their cursed state and its accompanying enslavement while at the same time gathering them to Himself, which is a state of blessing. This rescuing work of redeeming and gathering describes much about what the Lord Jesus does. The Apostle Paul notes that the Lord Jesus rescues His people through a work of redemption: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (See Ephesians 1:7). The idea of redemption, pertains to rescuing the one who is in bondage, through the payment of a ransom or redemptive price. Jesus through the shedding of His blood—His death—is Himself, the price He paid to release His people. But Jesus does not simply redeem, He gathers. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself described how he will gather His people to Himself—a people from every corner of the world—who would come to Him and dwell in His Kingdom: “And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God” (See Luke 13:29). The Apostle Paul combines the redeeming and gathering work of Jesus: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (See Colossians 1:13-14). As the Lord Jesus redeems and gathers, His people proclaim: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (See 1 Peter 2:9-10). In other words: “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so!”

That’s all for Embrace the Word for Monday, August 24, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Wednesday, August 26, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 108.