THE DIVINE INTERCESSION

Psalm 107: 1-22

A PRESBYTERIAN PSALTER - by Pastor Max A Forsythe

Our psalm for both today and next week is the first in the fifth book of the psalter. The theme of this psalm is the redemption of those who by many paths and through many trials find their way home to the promised land through the leading of God's Holy Spirit. Certainly the specific experience of Israel here rehearsed concerns the gathering bands of exiles come home to Jerusalem. These, as they share the hazards of their long and dangerous journeys explain and give new meaning to the Lord's process of redemption.

Notice that our psalm opens not only with a call to give thanks, but also an invitation for those who are redeemed to testify about their personal experience! There follows what appears to be in our modern translations a litany of separate travails and travels. However, two commentators, believe that these summaries are different ways of looking at the same reality of redemption. In support this view we have only to consider the historic uses and meaning of the Hebrew word for "redeemed". In the Mosaic law there were several applications of redemption.

First there was the opportunity for the nearest kinsman of a prisoner of war or person sold into slavery to pay the ransom or price for freedom. We have only to remember from history the demanded ransoms of the Middle Ages for knights and kings captured in war. In addition, from the earliest times, people who could not pay their debts were often forced into temporary or permanent slavery. Whenever a certain number of years came around or the sale price was paid, freedom could once again be granted. The relative who sometimes paid the price of redemption was called the redeemer when he paid down the price for his relation.

Also in the law of Moses was a provision that if a person was found murdered, then the nearest blood relative was to prosecute the murderer and to bring him to justice. The one who thus avenged the murder was also called by the same name: redeemer. In the similar spiritual manner is the role of our own Great Redeemer Jesus Christ. Sin in its way has made people captured, enslaved and murdered millions. However, our Almighty God, having come in the flesh of Christ, did by his obedience, suffering and death pay the price of our individual redemption. By His grace we are no longer the servants of sin. Even death itself has been overcome and the great murderer Satan will be brought to justice. And so we see in this understanding of redemption, the role of Christ who loved us as His own. We are rescued and brought into the family of God. In each of these scenes we may understand the role of Christ as the Way, the bread and water of life and the Giver of rest. In him each lonely wanderer finds a city to dwell in forever and ever. We may certainly call this the 107th, the Redeemer's Psalm. And for that redemption we are to offer sincere thanks. This call, this invitation is for all of the Redeemed. All of those who are gathered from the east, west, north and south. As we look at the first three scenes of redemption today, let us consider how our personal experience reflects these realities of redemption.

Scene one is to be found in verses four through nine. Here those in need of redemption are described in terms of wanderers. They are lost in a desperate wilderness with no city of refuge. And there is no proper spiritual food to sustain them. This is very much like a calf problem I once wrestled with. The brand of calf milk that I had used for over ten years was suddenly unavailable locally. I had always paid a premium for that specific brand. The high price was for the content of real milk protein. Unfortunately I had to accept another inferior brand at half the price. It was not a bargain and I soon had to give medicine to the little baby. The calf got sick enough that I even called the vet. And there is another problem. Because of the general decline in livestock owners, my regular vet had to join a combined practice. That office did not open until the banks open. When you call in early in the morning you get the home number of whoever is on call that day. And so another vet was dispatched. He ran up the bill by giving all of the calves vitamin shots and left a mild medication instead of the life saving medicine my old vet would have chosen. We watched as the life of our hungry and thirsty little calf ebbed away. The boys gave extra love and care by hand feeding grain and extra feedings. We ran out of one medicine and searched three towns to pick up another batch. We even had to borrow medicine from grandpa. Whenever one of us went into the barn we heard a pathetic little moo as we attempted to rescue the life of our fond pet. Finally the calf got back on his feet and the proper food arrived by UPS!

Just as that little calf called forth all of our best efforts, so too may we be assured that God Himself hears us cry for the real spiritual food in the midst of a Mid-Western desert. Even as we have cried out for the real food that will keep us from perishing, so will the Lord provide the nourishment we need and bring us into His own city. In the words of the psalmist let us give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. He indeed satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Scene two is found in verses ten through sixteen. Here those in need of redemption are described in terms of captives in chains. This is not a prison that meets the standards for American places of confinement. There is no legal library, no exercise yard, no entertainment center and no spiritual or intellectual instruction. The psalmist describes the grim scene in graphic terms. There is darkness and deepest gloom. The movement of the prisoner is further limited by iron chains. In a way this condition is almost the opposite of the first scene. The wanderer was confused by the immensity of the wilderness and lost in the wilds. The prisoner is here constricted by the smallness of his cell and the limitation in his movements. But there is a reason for this confinement in verse eleven. "they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High." And so they were sentenced to hard labor. They stumbled exhausted under the load but found no one to help. Finally in verse thirteen they, like those lost in the wilderness, cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

I am reminded of the experiences of one of my former students who loved to drive fast on the highways. He ignored the red and blue lights which warned him. He refused to pull over and tried to outrun the defenders of the law. After numerous arrests the judge finally got his attention by putting him in jail for six days. Three days for each speeding offense in the same week! He finally learned an essential traffic lesson. In the same way we would often outrun the spiritual messengers of our God and King. The counsel of the Almighty we too would ignore. But we know what happens, don't we! We are constrained, we are forced in upon ourselves and find that left to our own some, these poor bodies may make the tiniest of prisons. When we have called upon the Lord, the promise of verses thirteen through fifteen are kept. The chains of our ego are broken, and the prison doors are opened to the wide world of the Kingdom outside.

Scene three for today is to be found in verses seventeen to twenty-two. There is certainly sickness to be found in these verses. But the sickness is a special kind. The opening words ought to be translated: "Fools, through their sinful ways have suffered affliction because of their iniquities." Well may we appreciate the scene here described in our newly stoned age! But even as drugs may hasten destruction, so may other favorite sins cause an early death. Alcohol and nicotine, and other favorite vices of high or low living may certainly restrict health in later years. Aids victims certainly come to mind here along with all of the other sufferers from social diseases which people must purposely go out of their way to catch. In verse eighteen we can see the fool at the end of his rope. Food is ignored and slowly the body deteriorates towards eventual death. But again, for the third time, we see the promise and hope of the redemption given through Jesus Christ. "Then they cried to the Lord ... and he saved them from their distress."

And look there in verse twenty how God accomplishes redemption. "He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave." Which scene best describes your redemption? Were you ever lost in the wideness of our modern pagan wilderness? Were you imprisoned for your rebellion against God's will? Were you foolish in risking your life? Well, you are here today in the presence of our Lord God Almighty. Give Him thanks for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds. Here you may well know that your are His and He is yours. Let us give Him the heartfelt worship of hearts redeemed by the Divine Intercession. Amen.

	Resources Used:
Kidner, Derek.	Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms.
Spurgeon, C.H.	The Treasury of David.
The Holy Bible, New International Version. International Bible Society (1973, 1978, 1984)
Psm 107a	02 Februay 92 & 25 October 97

Reformation for Today ------ A Presbyterian Psalter