God Provides Blessings

Psalm 107:33-43

God Brings You into Spiritual Blessing

Intro: Happy Father’s Day to all all the fathers and my dad, step dad, and my father in-law.

But we have come to the last section of Psalm 107. The people have been called to Give thanks to God for his love, grace and mercy to His people. To communicate the woes , we heard four different stories that, at the very least are echoes of Biblical History. This is the last two verses of the song or hymn. And this part of the psalm is a reminder of What God has done for His people.

Read Verses:

Main Point: Even through the Tough times, God guides you and bring you Spiritual Blessings

I. God Will Bless You with Provisions (33-36)

The last section of the Psalm “proclaims God can provide the people with all of their needs” and punishes the evil (33-34) while rewarding the just (35-36). Although some commentators think that the last section was added at a later date. The description in the hymn praise God for his bounty and the links to the preceding verses demonstrates the coherence of the entire psalm.

As the psalmist is giving a conclusion to the song or a final verse to the stories, he calls the ISrarelites back to God’s sovereignty. There are times in Israel’s History that God closed the skies and there was no rain.

In the time of Elijiah In 1 kings chapters 17-18, God has Elijah declare a drought. I Kings 17 1-4 says: “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!”

2 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 4 You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”

5 So he proceeded to do what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 6 The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he would drink from the wadi. 7 After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

In verses 33-36, the Psalmist mirrors or paraphrases Isaiah 41:18-20

The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none;

their tongues are parched with thirst.

I will answer them.

I am the Lord, the God of Israel. I will not abandon them.

18 I will open rivers on the barren heights,

and springs in the middle of the plains.

I will turn the desert into a pool

and dry land into springs.

19 I will plant cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees

in the wilderness.

I will put juniper, elm, and cypress trees together

in the desert.

20 so that all may see and know,

consider and understand,

that the hand of the Lord has done this,

the Holy One of Israel has created it.

The London baptist confession of 1689 says in chapter 5 paragraph 5 . The perfectly wise, righteous, and gracious God often allows his own children for a time to experience a variety of temptations and the sinfulness of their own He hearts. He does this to chastise them for their former sins or to make them aware of the hidden strength of the corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts so that they may be humbled. He also does this to lead them to a closer and more constant dependence on him to sustain them, to make them more cautious about all future circumstances that may lead to sin, and for other just and holy purposes. So whatever happens to any of his elect happens by his appointment, for his glory, and for their good.

And So when God decides to turn the land into a desert or into pools, God sovereignly chooses to do so for a reason. He is either providing for his people where there is otherwise nothing there or he is chastening His people. He uses famines and droughts to correct his people.

In the time of Abraham, We see that God provided for Abraham and his family. He gave him two types of provisions: Physical and Spiritual

Physical

Abraham was fairly well off already, but as Genesis Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 It came about when he [j]came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a [k]beautiful woman; 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that [l]I may live on account of you.” 14 It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians [m]saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and [n]gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.The time spent in Egypt netted Abraham

Spiritual

God not only provides for your physical needs but your spiritual needs as well.

God gave Abraham the faith to take Isaac to the mountain.Because Abraham says we will be back because he knows God will provide the ram for the sacrifice. God provides for our Spiritual needs and growth as well.

God also provided the ultimate sacrifice in Christ. Our most important spiritual need is reconciliation with God. Jesus gave many physical blessings by healing the sick and lame, feeding thousands, and bringing people back from the dead.

But he provided much more in ways of our Spiritual needs.

Philippians 4:19 ESV--And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Romans 8:32 ESV He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

II. God Will Bless You with Rewards (37-40)

They sow fields and plant vineyards

that yield a fruitful harvest.

38 He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;

he does not let their livestock decrease.

39 When they are diminished and are humbled

by cruel oppression and sorrow,

40 he pours contempt on nobles

and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

The story of Joseph is a good one to illustrate the wicked and faithful.

First Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery so they would kill him, which landed him in a position of leadership in Potiphar house.Then Potiphar wife falsely accused him and got Him sent to prison. But He was faithful and made his way into the second most powerful position in Egypt.

This position allowed him to save His family and subsequently His people.

All of this was made possible because Joseph was faithful to God. Genesis 50:15 “When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father charged before he died, saying, 17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, “Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. 21 So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

By the end of Genesis and the beginning of exodus over four hundred years the Hebrew population had grown so big that the Pharaoh did not know what to do with them all. God provided them a place to grow into a large enough population so they could leave Egypt. Even in slavery and forced labor, God was making a way for them.

Purtian John Flavel says “All providences are overruled and ordered for good, according to that blessed promise (Rom. 8:28); not only things that are good in themselves, as ordinances, graces, duties and mercies, but things that are evil in themselves, as temptations, afflictions, and even sins and corruptions, shall turn in the issue to their advantage and benefit…out of the worst of evils God can work good to His people. —JOHN FLAVEL1”

We spoke about it on Easter. Good Friday. The term Tolkein used was Eucatastrophe. Christ’s death was meant to harm and humiliate Jesus butGod meant his death for our good to bring us the called to himself. It is the sheep being called by the shepherd.

III. God Will Bless the Wise (41-43)

The Psalm closes with the verse “Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.” The wise do not need to learn from the experience of pain but learn from the teachings of others. In the stories the psalmist said “the ones who were fools suffered for their sinful way” (v 17), The good news is that the people learned from their sin and turned to God and cried out for help. What the psalmist is saying is that “wise people utilize their suffering as a religious opportunity for introspection and repentance, whereas fools do not.” Sometimes suffering is self-induced and to lessen those times, we should be wise and “attend to these things” of God and His instructions. But there are things like the sea, that are out of our control no matter how skilled we are. In all cases, we know that God is in control of all things. And in all these things we give thanks to the One who made us and delivered us or brought us out of the situation because of His hesed.

Application:

1 God is the giver of Justice

There will be justice at the End . But now we have justice provided through Jesus Christ One author explains it like this: “In putting forth Jesus as our propitiation, the Lord vindicated His righteousness, ensuring that He remains just even as He becomes the Justifier of those who believe in Christ Jesus (v. 26). God provides what sinners need to be righteous in His sight without compromising His justice. When we are accounted righteous in Christ, justice is still done, but we do not feel the punishment our sin deserves. Instead, Jesus suffered it in our place.

2. We should not be shocked when the world does worldly things.

Man’s idea of justice is fleeting and changes with the wind.and if there is no true north, then their is no constant then people drift on the sea where the current or their heart would take them. And we may suffer for the injustice that the imperfect man enact or enforces, But when we suffer it helps us long for heaven and that we are not long for this world.

3. Through suffering we learn about God

The Puritans clarified that God’s chastening of believers springs not from “vindictive justice” but from “fatherly mercy.” When God brings adversity into our lives as discipline for sin, He does this not to satisfy His justice but as a “rebuke and caution, to bring us to mourn for sin committed, and to beware of the like.”

The “grand reason” all things work together for the good of the saints is “the near and dear interest which God has in His people.” Here Thomas Watson referred to God’s covenant promise to His people, “They shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Jer. 32:38). “By virtue of this compact,” Watson wrote, “all things do, and must, work for good to them…. This word, ‘Thy God,’ is the sweetest word in the Bible, it implies the best relations: and it is impossible there should be these relations between God and His people, and everything not work for their good.”12 These relations, in Watson’s exposition, include the relationship of a physician, a father and a husband. We see Gods never failing Love toward His people. Which includes You. and that is indeed good news to hear in tough times. Sometimes all we need to hear form our parents is that they love us and as parents we have to tell our children that we indeed love them unconditionally.

And God still extends a common grace to all people as well. Matthew 5:45 He makes the sun rise on the evil as well as the good.

4. We can give people blessing by giving the Gospel

In the gospel we have hope and benefits. William Perkins says The fifth gain or benefit is that all the miseries and calamities of this life cease to be curses, and are made blessings, being turned to the good of them who are to be saved by Christ [Rom. 8:28].

Why is the good news hopeful and full of hope? Thomas Watson says The “grand reason” all things work together for the good of the saints is “the near and dear interest which God has in His people.” Here Watson referred to God’s covenant promise to His people, “They shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Jer. 32:38). “By virtue of this compact,” Watson wrote, “all things do, and must, work for good to them…. This word, ‘Thy God,’ is the sweetest word in the Bible, it implies the best relations: and it is impossible there should be these relations between God and His people, and everything not work for their good.”12 These relations, in Watson’s exposition, include the relationship of a physician

Conclusion

The conclusion ties all four vignettes together and demonstrates that no matter which situation you find yourself in, God is in command and he will provided for your needs. There is an overarching truth that comes out of each story. The people were foolish and got themselves into their troubles or distress. And God was the only one that could save them.

God blesses us, even in our suffering and he brings us out of it because he loves us. He loves you. What has turned out for Good in your life? For this church, even through the first few months when it seemed like the end was near and people would just find another church, God brought us or kept us together and so far things have turned out pretty well. I believe we have a ways to go but if we are faithful we will God will provide for this church, he will reward this church and he will bless us in our wisdom when we do His will by making disciples.