The Longing of Your Weary Soul

Introduction

We’re back in Psalm 107, continuing a series on the hesed of God—his steadfast love. We’re picking up where we left off last time, starting in verse 4. We will start at the beginning of the psalm, and read through verse 9.

Read the Text

Psalm 107:1–9 ESV

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble 3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. 4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; 5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. 6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. 8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we give thanks to you this morning, for your steadfast love endures forever. You have redeemed us from trouble, and satisfied our souls with exactly what they have been longing for. This very moment, our souls are seated with you, right next to your Son. We ask that you would meet us here, this morning, by your Spirit, and take our breath away with the reality of your lovingkindness. Knowing we are in your hands, we pray this in Jesus faithful name, Amen.

State Theses

I once thought that long and intricate mission statements were the best kind. I felt that the more detailed and wordy a main point or mission statement is, the better it became.

I have since changed my mind on that. We live in an age of information overload, and I think what we’re looking for now, more than ever before, is a sure and simple word.

For this reason, I have sought to boil down the focus of this series to, really, one sentence.

The sentence is this: “The love of God is what moves a person.”

It’s a simple statement—nine words. But what it means would take all the paper in the world to write down.

“To write the love of God, would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.”

This is the main point of the series, but each sermon examines how this looks in a particular way. It’s structured like this because that’s how Psalm 107 is structured.

The first three verses explain that it is the steadfast love of the LORD that redeems and gathers us in. The following 40 verses then explain this wondrous reality in different ways.

Last time we were here, the point was that “God’s love gathers.”

Today, it’s that “God’s love satisfies.”

CTA: The Search for Satisfaction

Life is a search for satisfaction. We wake up in the morning, and there are already a dozen things that need to be satisfied. I don’t think anyone wakes up and thinks to themself, “Wow, I am completely and utterly satisfied.” At the very least, you need to use the bathroom.

As crass and silly as that comment is, and I can’t believe it’s serving a useful function in a sermon, but it is a plain and boring reminder of what this life is. A constant series of needs.

Because of this, we rightly conclude that this life is often fundamentally dissatisfied. There’s always something else to do. There’s always a problem, an imbalance in life, a tragedy; some sin or serious issue that pokes holes in the water jug.

We are on a search for satisfaction. Everything we do is seeking something for some reason. Incompleteness, and a hunger for something more, defines life in this broken world.

Without God, none of this makes sense, or even matters.

For the atheist, we’re bags of meat on a space rock shooting randomly until a black hole swallows us whole. There is no meaning, only blind, pitiless indifference.

Every unbeliever has exchanged the truth of the God who is for the gods who aren’t.

Romans 1:18–19 ESV

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

Romans 1:21 ESV

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

We see that, at the very core of humanity’s rejection of God, is a dissatisfaction with what he’s done. “They did not honor him as God or give thanks to him.”

Paul goes on to explain that God gives humanity over to their desires..

Romans 1:25 ESV

25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

We say, “I don’t want you, I want my other gods. They’re taking better care of me.” In his perfect justice, he often says, “As you wish.” Here lies the rotten source of all idolatry.

But no idol can truly satisfy. Nothing in this world—money, reputation, comfort, retirement, or family—will satisfy the longings of your weary soul other than God, for we were made in his image.

In a previous sermon, I referred to these attempts to satisfy our souls apart from God as throwing things into a void of infinite size, left by an infinite God who once dwelt there.

This problem of dissatisfaction that leads to idolatry influences our entire earthly life.

As I prepared this message, I realized this is something that keeps popping up in my sermons.

When I preached on the parable of the pearl of great value, I said our lives are painting a picture. If we are in Christ, that picture will look like him.

When I preached on Psalm 73, I used Augustine’s imagery of building either the “City of God” or the “City of Man.” If we in Christ, we can still waste our lives building the City of Man, instead of the City of God.

Today, the new spin is that we spend our lives seeking satisfaction in something. There is no middle ground. There is no “non-satisfaction.”

Parable of the Billboard Top 100

I asked AI to tell me which songs for each decade, going back to the 60s, were the most popular/listened to.

2010s: “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, which describes a man betraying a woman, resulting in regret and anger.

2000s: “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey, which describes a regretful break-up.

1990s: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, which describes the emptiness of fame.

1980s: “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, which describes what are supposedly false allegations.

1970s: “Imagine” by John Lennon, which blames the world’s problems on God.

The 1960s, however, is fascinating. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones, which describes every area of life being empty, the chorus being, “I can’t get no satisfaction.”

It is striking to see that at the top of the charts for the last 60 years, there are songs about emptiness… songs of dissatisfaction.

Introduce the Text

In today’s text, we will see how the love of God is what satisfies a person.

Before we jump in, I want to draw your attention once more to the structure of this psalm.

It’s almost like a song; the chorus is at the beginning, and it’s repeated multiple times throughout it. Verse 1 opens the text, and is then repeated in 8, 15, 21, 31, and 43.

The song begins and ends with the steadfast love of God, and everything in between recalls the steadfast love of God, in different ways.

Verses 4 through 9 are what we’ll call the “first remembrance.” There are four of them, and this is the first.

Each of these four remembrances have basically the same structure: we’re in trouble, we cry out to God, he responds, and then we glorify him.

Body

Verse 4

Psalm 107:4 ESV

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

When this psalm was written, the Israelites would’ve seen this as referring to their own history, most likely the Babylonian exile.

But they also would have understood the larger point being made. God has led us out of the proverbial desert many times. The psalmist was communicating more than just one event in history. He was pointing to God’s continuous rescuing love.

We also can’t miss this: the imagery of wandering in the desert and looking for a city is steeped with biblical meaning.

Excursus on Biblical Theology

There’s an image that’s made the rounds on the evangelical internet circles.

This is a visualization of over 63,000 cross references in the Bible.

It’s breathtaking to see how interconnected God’s word is. We shouldn’t be surprised, really.

I remember at the beginning of my life as a Christian being extremely intimidated by the Bible. I had this sense that, as I was reading, I was only picking up small sound bites of a fuller conversation. There were things I didn’t understand, like “What’s the problem with mixing fabrics?” Or, “What on earth do all these things in Revelation mean?”

If you’ve ever felt the same way, I want to hook you on something called “biblical theology.”

Biblical theology isn’t talking about theology that is biblical vs. unbiblical; it’s a term that describes what a person does when they trace particular things all throughout the Bible.

Where else does the idea of “mixing” show up in Scripture?

Do the things in Revelation show up elsewhere in Scripture?

Let me demonstrate how it works.

Think of the first few verses of the Bible. Genesis 1:1–3 “1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”

He spoke. Grab that idea.

Now ask, “How else does God’s speaking show up in the Bible?”

There’s the Bible itself, which is God-breathed. As we plumb the depths of Scripture, our souls are fed and given life. God continues to create in us by his spoken word.

But wait, there’s more.

What are the first words of John? Where did he start his biography of Jesus?

John 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:3 ESV

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Now bring back what you grabbed in Genesis 1.

When were all things made? In the beginning.

And how were all things made? By God speaking, through Jesus the Word.

These aren’t random coincidences; this is God saying something to us.

When the author of Hebrews began their letter, he started at the same place.

God spoke by the prophets, but…

He now speaks by his Son, through whom he created the world

And his Son upholds the universe by the word of his power

Is Jesus this big in your mind?

With these biblical-theological eyes in our heads, look again at Jesus ministry.

He spoke and the Centurion’s slave was healed.

He spoke and he calmed the sea.

He spoke and Lazarus rose from the dead.

It’s sobering to see God’s direct and deliberate storytelling in time and space.

When we approach the Bible and allow it to speak for and interpret itself—all of itself—we then begin to see that bigger picture.

A Biblical Theology of Deserts and Christ

So let’s apply this biblical-theological lens to Verse 4 and ask the question, “How else has God talked about wandering and deserts?”

When Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden, they were driven into a world that had been corrupted by sin and death. This is a kind of desert, certainly a spiritual one.

When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, God then led them into the desert on a journey to the Promised Land.

Isaiah and Ezekiel both repeatedly use the desert as an image of spiritual death.

Isaiah prophesied that streams would break forth in that desert, and Ezekiel that its dry bones would come to new life.

The Lord Jesus, right after he was baptized, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

This is where the reversal of Adam and Moses’ failures and the fulfillment of Isaiah and Ezekiel’s prophecies began. The Gospel is the streams of water breaking forth in the desert, and it is Christ who raises skeletons from their graves.

Do you see how God has been weaving all of human history into a tapestry that points to his beloved Son?

The phrase “The Old Testament points to Jesus” is not just a nice saying—it’s literally true. The Old Testament actually points to Jesus, all throughout.

I can’t help but think of Jesus, even with this first verse we’re looking at.

Yes, Israel wandered actual deserts and God delivered them.

But without Jesus, we’re wandering a far more terrible place—the wasteland of spiritual death, with no city in sight.

We need rescue. What greater city is there than the Father’s house, and who can take us there?

John 14:2–3 ESV

2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Hallelujah, Lord Jesus, thank you.

Verses 5 & 6

Psalm 107:5–6 ESV

5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. 6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

The Israelites wandered an actual wilderness looking for an actual promised land.

When that desert become too uncomfortable for them, they grumbled.

They grew dissatisfied. Why would God deliver us from Egypt, only to bring us here? We’re tired, hungry, thirsty, and losing hope… and it’s God’s fault.

We are in this verse.

Of Skeletons and Saints

Before Christ saves us, though our physical bodies can eat and drink, we are spiritually dead.

Even after Christ saves us, we wander into the wilderness of sin and become dissatisfied, hungry, and thirsty grumblers.

In both scenarios, unbelief is the problem.

Being born in sin means we have no relationship with God other than our condemnation under the Law. We are incapable of believing, just like a skeleton is incapable of eating.

But for the one who has believed, this relationship with sin is fundamentally different. Instead of being a bone-dry skeleton, we are like someone who refuses to eat bread.

For the believer, who has been given new life, we now not only have the stomach but also the appetite for righteousness. We desire obedience and good works.

My Soul Thirsts For God

This also means that when the believer sins willfully, they are eating something foul. They are nourishing themselves on waste. Sin is like a mirage in the desert, promising satisfaction—but sends us only further into the desert.

Like the Israelites in the wilderness, Christ will call us into the desert.

Never for a moment mistreating us, he will call us to suffer in this life.

This suffering is meant to drive away all the comforts we have gathered for ourselves. To knock the waste we’ve been eating out of our hands. To make the mirages go away.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”...

It drives away all the things that have been satisfying us instead of him.

And sometimes, he is calling us to deal with our sin.

We’ve been feasting on trash, and God will not allow it to utterly destroy us.

Sin makes us sick, and that's a blessed thing. This is the Spirit of God at work in our lives, convicting us, driving us to Christ.

Psalm 51:1–3 ESV

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Psalm 42:1–2 ESV

1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

Psalm 42:5 ESV

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation

In the midst of personal sin, David wrote, “Have mercy on me, O God.”

In the midst of despair, the psalmist wrote, “Hope in God.”

Invincible Forgiveness

This makes the continuous preaching of the Gospel necessary.

We have to be shaken away with the truth that Christ bore the punishment of sin on our behalf.

He wandered the desert, and perished outside the city for us. He obeyed where we didn’t, and took our disobedience—as if it was his.

“His robes for mine: such anguish none can know. Christ, God’s beloved, condemned as though his foe. He, as though I, accursed and left alone; I, as though He, embraced and welcomed home!”

He satisfied the demands of God in the Law.

This was to ensure that the feast of the Gospel would never be taken away from us.

Because Christ set the table perfectly, no amount of sin in your life could disturb even one fork. Christ’s forgiveness is an invincible forgiveness.

If we leave this forgiveness out on the counter for months, it does not mold.

If we pour this cleansing blood out on the ground, it is not corrupted. It’s been spilled there before.

Only an invincible forgiveness like this, made possible by his broken body and shed blood, can truly satisfy.

God’s Unchanging Love

It is in the midst of trouble (especially the trouble we've made for ourselves) that we are most inclined to call out to God, and in his patient grace—his steadfast love—he answers.

This is the hesed of God at work.

When you are hungry and thirsty because you’ve refused to come to the God who satisfies, Christ says to you this day:

Matthew 11:28–29 (ESV)

28 Come to me… and I will give you rest. 29 … and you will find rest for your souls.

The worst lie to believe in the desert we have wandered into is that God's love for us has, then, diminished.

God's love is not dependent on what we do.

Christ’s blood is far more potent than your worst, hidden sins.

This truth satisfies, and it leads us out of the desert.

Verse 7

Psalm 107:7 ESV

7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.

Christ The Way Out Of The Desert

God leads his people not by a crooked and winding path, but by a straight way. A sure way.

It was God himself who led them, and he is personally involved in the leading and rescuing of his people.

How is he personally involved? Jesus, the Godman, said…

John 14:6 (ESV)

6 … “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Christ is the way out of the desert. He is the true path, and the giver of eternal life.

God led the Israelites home, and Christ will come and lead all his chosen ones home when he comes again.

Conclusion

So how shall we then live?

How can we be satisfied in God?

What do I need to do with this?

Verse 8

Psalm 107:8 ESV

8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

Thankfulness and Praise

Thankfulness is a shield against the enemy.

The powers of darkness want to steal your joy and satisfaction in God.

They want you to give God complaints instead of thanks.

They want you to blame God for the world we broke.

They want this because it means you’re setting down your shield, and that makes you vulnerable—an easy target.

Thankfulness is a shield, and praise is a spear.

The most lethal army in the ancient world was the Roman legion. Almost nothing could counter the range of the spear and the defense of a shield.

The most lethal army in the whole world is Christ’s church, armed with thankfulness and praise. The gates of hades cannot defend against it.

In the Old Testament, an army was surrounding Jerusalem and all seemed lost. King Jehoshaphat prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said, “Stand firm and hold your position… the battle is not yours but God’s.”

2 Chronicles 20:21 ESV

21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

At the very front of your war against the world, flesh, and the devil, must be thankfulness and praise.

If God is for us, who can stand against us? Praise.

If he didn’t spare his own Son, how will he not also, with him, freely give us all things? Thankfulness.

Verse 9

Psalm 107:9 ESV

9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Mirages in the Desert

Christ satisfies the longing of your weary soul, and he is working all things for your good.

Not only this, but he has filled you with good things now.

If you’re struggling with your marriage, or your singleness, go to Christ and remember that nothing in this world can snatch you out of his hand, and no one can love you more than he does. Don’t refuse to bring your requests to him, day in and day out; don’t let temporary disappointments steal your satisfaction in him. You have good things, now.

Perhaps you’re in the thick of it with personal sin, where the cycle is just raging over and over. You’ve cried out to God, you’ve asked him to deliver you, but nothing has happened.

Realize that it’s mirages in the desert you are chasing. Somewhere in the cycle there is a deception that is mastering you. A lie that you are believing.

“God doesn’t actually love me.”

Wrong, his steadfast love endures forever, especially now.

“Prayer doesn’t actually work.”

What are you praying for? Have you confessed your sins? Well, that one worked—it works every time.

Are you satisfied with God’s forgiveness? What more do you require?

“I can do it on my own.”

No you can’t! You need grace. You need grace every day. If it depended on you, the monsters of your own sin would have dragged you into the desert long ago.

But as it is, Christ has called you by name. He loved you on the cross. His grace is for you, and for you now.

Grace satisfies; grace moves us.

If you’re stuck in place, it’s because you’re looking at something else. You’re attempting to be satisfied in something else.

You’re looking for your own obedience to come about by your own strength.

You’re looking for that spouse to come around.

You’re keeping the back door open to sin as a backup plan to Christ.

Your soul is fainting because it is not drawing from its source.

He made you. He redeemed you. Whether you can see it or not, he is leading you out of the desert.

A Christ Vision

What’s that first, obedient step out of the desert?

Is it praying three hours a day, tithing more, or throwing away your phone?

They may help once you’re moving, but it won’t get you going.

So what will move me?!

Look, now, to Jesus.

See his sorrow and love flow mingled down the cross.

Watch him die your death, even while your sin forged his nails.

Look inside his empty tomb, which is now your empty tomb.

Hear him say, “Behold I am with you, even until the end of the age.”

Tremble at the thought of what that age’s end will sound like; for trumpets to blast across the planet.

Behold the sword that proceeds from his mouth as he comes in power to wage war.

Rejoice that you are not his enemy—hallelujah, the relief—you are not the one he has come to slay, but to save. On that terrible day, billions will perish—but you won’t.

Think of what it will be like see him face to face. What will it be like for the most terrifying and beautiful thing you have ever seen to look at you with nothing but steadfast love?

Look at this Jesus, and never look away. Be satisfied in him, and nothing else.

Only he can satisfy your longing soul, and lead you out of the desert.