The Wise, Otherwise and the Hopelessly Lost and At Sea

Give Praise to the Lord

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever!

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 107:1.

Why should a person praise God? The answer should be obvious by now: Because of “all his benefits.

James Montgomery Boice

Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;

English Standard Version (Psalm 107)

The Wanderers are the hopelessly lost.

They cannot find their way back home.

Psalm 107:10 ESV

10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,

Samson the mighty sat in chains because of his sins.

Psalm 107:17 ESV

17 Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;

Psalm 107:23–24 ESV

23 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; 24 they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.

Storms on the ocean, a description.

Storms in life. when we have lost control.

When it’s over is when the ship stops maneuvering in the storm and let themselves go.

Martin Luther and the attacks by the enemy.

There is a peace that cometh after sorrow,

Of hope surrendered, not of hope fulfilled. A peace that looketh not upon tomorrow, But calmly on a tempest stilled. A peace that lives not now in joy’s excesses, Nor in the happy life of love secure; But in the unerring strength the heart possesses, Of conflicts won while learning to endure. A peace there is, in sacrifice secluded, A life subdued from will and passion free ‘Tis not the peace that over Eden brooded, But that which triumphed in Gethsemane.

When we are in the storm and have lost all control. We simply have to cry to God.

Psalm 107:28–29 ESV

28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

The Psalm finishes with a recitation of God’s power and help. Verses 33-40.

This is why we should praise the Lord this evening. Because of the wonderful things he has done.

Daniel 9:1–2 ESV

1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

Daniel 9:3 ESV

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

Daniel 9:4 ESV

4 I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

Daniel 9:5 ESV

5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.

Daniel 9:6 ESV

6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

Daniel 9:7 ESV

7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you.