Our text is divided into several vignettes all built around the theme of
giving thanks to God. This morning we are going to look at two of these. My
goal in this is to help you in your giving thanks to your God. I realize
that every day is to be a day to give thanks. And I also realize that
Scripture doesn’t call us to set aside one day each year to focus on this.
And yet, it seems good to take advantage of this cultural tradition. It
seems good to set aside some family time to give thanks in the midst of
celebration. I’d like to help you do that thoughtfully. And, maybe, in the
process, we can redeem the tradition. It seems to me that this is a day of
celebration that is worth redeeming.
Now to our text. All the vignettes follow the same pattern: calamity, crying
out, deliverance, and the call to give thanks. You can see this in our first
vignette.
‘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. 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. Let them
thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the
children of men! For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the
bars of iron.’ [Vs. 10-16]
First, there is the calamity. Listen to the description: they ‘sat in
darkness and in the shadow of death’. As you hear that you should be
picturing a gloomy dungeon with the smell of death. It fits. These were
‘prisoners in affliction and in irons’. Now, we take this literally. It is a
very apt description of Israel in the exile which is what the Psalm is
about. And yet, it is not limited to a literal understanding. It provides
for us a very striking image of someone brought very low, someone afflicted
by the events of life, struggling emotionally, feeling trapped. This picture
applies to many. Now, you need to notice the cause of this calamity. ‘… they
had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most
High.’ The cause of the calamity is their sin. They had rejected their God
by rejecting His words. So, the vignette is about God’s discipline of some
of His errant people. God ‘bowed their hearts down’ and there were ‘none to
help’. Do you feel the emotions of the situation? God is disciplining and in
so doing He brings these people into hardship and almost to despair. That is
the calamity that the people face.
What’s next in the pattern? After calamity comes crying out. And so we read,
‘Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble…’ Please note what it doesn’t
say. It doesn’t say that they prayed, sought God, asked for help or the
like. Rather, it says, ‘…they cried to the Lord…’ There is a measure of
intensity here. The emotions are very much involved. And that makes perfect
sense. The situation is hard! The intensity of the response is fitting. In
addition, please notice that this crying out includes repentance. It has to.
Without repentance there can be no deliverance. And repentance is not just
some calm, intellectual exchange. The deeper the sense of sin, the greater
the emotional intensity. This is what grieving for sin is about. You become
aware of the situation – finally – and you respond with repentance by crying
out to God. But how is it that you’ve become aware of your sin? Is this some
psychological mystery? Absolutely not! You become aware of what is going on
because of the work of the Spirit. He has given you eyes to see and ears to
hear. Only then can you become aware of the reality of the situation.
Requesting a greater measure of these gifts of the Spirit – eyes to see and
ears to hear – should be a regular part of your daily prayers.
We have seen the calamity. The crying out has occurred. And now there is
deliverance. ‘…he delivered them from their distress…’ God responds to
repentance. But notice the striking language. He ‘burst their bonds apart’.
‘He shatters the doors of bronze…’ Just as there is intensity in our crying
out to our God there is intensity in His response. Our God is not some
bland, blasé and eternally calm deity. No. He bursts restraints apart and
shatters barriers! He is a passionate God. He acts decisively and
dynamically. Don’t we see this sort of thing in Jesus’ life?
Now, to the second vignette.
‘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. 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. Let them thank the Lord
for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men! Let
them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the
assembly of the elders.’ [Vs. 23-32]
Again, calamity, crying out, deliverance and a call to thanksgiving. What is
the calamity here? What is the problem? The problem is life. Here are some
men who are minding their own business. They are fishermen or sea merchants
or the like. The problem isn’t that they’ve committed some sin. The problem
is a storm. And what a storm! ‘They mounted up to heaven; they went down to
the depths.’ And it was so bad that ‘their courage melted away’ and they
‘were at their wits’ end’. Again, this is intended to be taken literally –
but also as an image of those times when you find yourself at your wits’ end
and without courage. This is an image of those times when you are simply
overwhelmed. Here, just think about some of the people who suffered through
the hurricanes and found their homes, their jobs, their communities simply
gone. What a situation to find yourself in! Where do you start? But the
Psalm applies even when the problems of life aren’t quite so severe. There
are also those times when it gets to be a bit much. So, what do you do? What
does the Psalm say? Remember the pattern. Calamity is followed by crying out
to God. And that is what those storm-tossed sailors did – along with many
other saints down the centuries who’ve never been to sea. And what was the
result? ‘He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.’
Our God always hears the cry of His faithful and acts for their good.
After each vignette there is the same refrain. ‘Let them thank the Lord for
his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to the children of men!’ This is
the persistent call to give thanks. And it is not a bare call. It is a call
with reasons. We are to give thanks ‘for his steadfast love’. God has bound
Himself to us by covenant and in that covenant He has promised to love us.
And so, the refrain is simply a reminder. ‘Look! Our God has, again, kept
His promise. We are such a loved people. Let us give thanks to our faithful
God.’ Then there is a second reason offered in the refrain. We give thanks
‘for His wonderful works to the children of men!’ Words are fascinating.
They carry such power. And yet, sometimes they lose their punch. ‘Wonderful’
is a word like that. Today, it means something just a little bit stronger
than ‘how nice’. What the word really describes is something that is full of
wonder, something that evokes awe and even fear at times. The refrain calls
us to give thanks because of the amazing, awesome things that our God has
done. Like what? He listens to your cry. He responds to sinners and not with
some petty ‘I warned you about that’, but with grace and forgiveness. And He
responds in no uncertain terms. Our God responds by bursting bonds and
shattering prison doors. He still storms and hushes clamorous seas. God
hears your cry and brings you to that most-desired haven. That’s amazing!
But that’s the Gospel, isn’t it? And if the Gospel ever becomes hum-drum,
then you’ve got a major problem.
You have much to be thankful for. That pattern of calamity, crying out to
God and deliverance has repeated itself in your life too many times to
count. So, on Thursday – and every day – you need to remember: Your God has
kept His promise to love you. And that amazing love calls you to give thanks
to Him. Finish the pattern: calamity, crying out to God, deliverance, and
the giving of thanks. It’s good to be grateful that you enjoy a measure of
health, wealth and happiness. But these are not the wonderful works of God
that the Psalmist points us to. In addition to being grateful for those
things, include the kinds of things we see in the Psalm. And one day you
will find yourself sailing into that desired haven where there will be no
more calamity, no more need to cry out to God (except in rapturous joy!) no
more deliverances since that work will have been completed but an eternity
to say ‘Thank You’.
