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Then

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• Psalm 107, and we're going to read the first eight verses. Psalm 107, verses 1 through 8. The title of the message is "Then"—T-H-E-N—then. You'll understand a little bit later. Notice, if you would, verse 1 of Psalm 107: "Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way."

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• "They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men." Of course, all of the Psalms are absolutely wonderful. And I think, in my opinion, we need to read the Psalms over and over. On top of our regular daily Bible reading, I think it's just absolutely astounding the truth that we can find in the Psalms. Now, of course, the Psalms are unlike the Proverbs. Proverbs are short, pithy sayings that just simply reveal a truth without a lot of additional verbiage. For instance, when you look at Proverbs 15 and verse 1, the Bible says, "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." So if you answer anger with anger, then matters very quickly deteriorate and worsen.

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• So the proverb instructs us how not to get in heated arguments.

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• In other words, we answer with a soft answer. A soft answer is that which turns away the wrath, but then if we answer with anger, then of course we're just simply making matters worse. So the proverb, in just one simple sentence then, instructs us the way to avoid heated arguments. The way to avoid volatile confrontations is simply answer softly, control your spirit, do not retaliate, and these are the best steps, then, to avoid having problems.

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• Now, the Psalms, on the other hand, give usually a detailed illustration or a detailed problem, and then they present solutions to that problem. They also reveal a great deal concerning the nature and the tendencies of men. Psalm 107 is one of those kinds of psalms. In one sense of the word, Psalm 107 reveals our stupidity, our apathy, and our wickedness. It also demonstrates very clearly the tendency of man to put his trust in his own arm, in his own flesh, and also the tendency of man to follow his own will and his own way. It shows also what happens to us when we bottom out from following our own way and simply doing our own thing. This psalm also, in one sense of the word, it will discourage us, and in another sense of the word it will encourage us as well. If you were to look at the two preceding psalms, Psalm 105 and Psalm 106, you would find that these two Psalms also speak of God's wisdom, power, and goodness, and His dealings with His people.

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• And, of course, those two Psalms point out His providential deliverances, not only of His people, but also, interestingly, even of, oftentimes, the unsaved. Let me mention something to you and emphasize it as well. Not only is God the God of the saints, He is also the God of the heathen, even though they do not acknowledge Him. He is not just simply King of the church. He's King of kings and Lord of lords. He is King of nations, and He is also King of the world. And when you stop and think about God being the God even of the heathen, you have to remember that He causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike. He sends the sunshine on the just and unjust alike. And He sustains, He preserves, He protects even the heathen, even though they will not acknowledge it. They breathe His air, they eat His food, they live on His blessings even though they deny Him. Many times God will bless the heathen so that they may be a blessing and benefit to His people.

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• Let me show you. I want you to hold Psalm 107, but if you will look in your Bibles to Isaiah 45, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. In Isaiah 45 we read about King Cyrus. Now the interesting thing about Cyrus is that he was king of Persia, and God used Cyrus to conquer Babylon. And it was Cyrus then who gave the order, who gave the decree that the Judahites could return to Judah and Jerusalem, and they could rebuild the temple.

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• And later on, of course, Nehemiah came and he rebuilt the wall surrounding there. But I want you to notice what God said about Cyrus. So Isaiah 45 and verse 1, "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus." Note that God calls Cyrus his anointed. Then he says this, "Whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him." So God is going to use him to conquer other nations.

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• "And I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut," that is, the gates into Babylon. God says in verse 2, "I will go before thee," talking to Cyrus, "and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron." Babylon is not going to succeed. Babylon is not going to keep them out. He said in verse 3, "Cyrus, and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by name, am the God of Israel." So God named Cyrus. Now watch this. Why is God going to hold his hand? Why is God going to give him all these blessings, let him conquer all these nations? Here's why. Look in verse 4. "For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me."

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• "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me." So God said, "I've done all this for Cyrus, although he was a heathen and a pagan, he did not know me, but I used him for the benefit of my people. I blessed him for my people's sake."

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• Now, when you go back to Psalm 107, Psalm 107 is indeed a treasure in and of itself. It reveals truths to us that are plain, and I'm going to also say, uncomfortable. As I said earlier, it is a psalm that will discourage us in one sense of the word, and it will encourage us in another sense of the word. It demonstrates the calamities and the distresses that fall upon man, and it also demonstrates why at times those calamities and those distresses become so desperate. Now, Psalm 107 also demonstrates and teaches us the need and the necessity for praising the Lord and thanking Him for every blessing that He gives us. There is a verse in Psalm 50 and verse 23. It's a verse that everyone should memorize.

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• It goes like this, "Whosoever offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of the Lord." Now let me just mention something about the salvation of the Lord. We tend to think of salvation in a spiritual sense, and every time we hear the word. But the word refers to many different types of salvation. You can have a salvation from a financial problem, salvation from a health problem, salvation from a marital problem. Even the Apostle Paul in the book of Philippians when he was asking prayer he said, "this shall turn to my salvation." Well you remember Paul was locked up in prison at that time. His salvation was basically a release from prison is what he's talking about. So the Bible said, "whosoever offereth praise, then glorifieth me." So we need to learn to praise him. And God said he will order our salvation from multitudinous things if we order our conversation aright.

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• Now, if you look back in Psalm 107, I want you to look at the first three verses to begin with. The psalmist says, "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south." The very first sentence in this psalm commands us to give thanks unto the Lord. "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord." And then he gives us two good reasons as to why we should give thanks. Number one, "for he is good." And number two, "for his mercy endureth forever." But look at the second psalm, the second verse in this psalm. "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy." Now, if you will tie that back with the first verse, "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for he is good."

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• Then he says, "let the redeemed of the Lord say so." When I first started preaching 57 years ago, we were members of a Baptist church in South Georgia, and we used to have what were called say-so meetings. "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed out of the hand of the enemy." In other words, it was just a time for personal testimonies. And if God had blessed you in some way or God delivered you in some particular way, usually there'd be 15, 20, sometimes 30 minutes for people just to stand up and say, "Let me share with you what the Lord has done for me this week or what He's done in my life." There was always an encouragement to hear what God was doing in the lives of other people.

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• It also encouraged us because it meant that if He delivered them, He can deliver us in the same manner as well. But we just simply called them say-so meetings. Look, if you would, at verse 3. He said, "...and gathered them out of the lands from the east and from the west and from the north and from the south." Well, the truth of the matter is, He gathers together His outcasts, and you will find many times that His people have been cast out from societies and from families as well. Let me just read to you Isaiah 56 and verse 8. Listen carefully. "The Lord God, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith, Yet I will gather others to Him beside those that are gathered unto Him." So He gathers together the outcast of Israel. And so obviously and clearly He is the God who does great things.

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• Now, Psalm 107 is a psalm that is very easily divided. I'm going to show you very quickly at least one right now, one a little bit later. But there are four verses in this psalm that are identical. When I say four verses, actually there are two truths that are repeated four times each. I'm going to give you one of them right now. So if you look in your Bibles at verse 8, Psalm 107 verse 8, the scripture says, "O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men." Now skip down to verse 15. "O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men." Now verse 21, "O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men." Now verse 31, "O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men." So obviously we have this same verse repeated four times.

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• Now that means this, you can divide this psalm very easily based upon that one verse that is repeated four times. For instance, let me give you an illustration and the division. In verses 2 through 9, if you take time to read those, and we will come back and look at them, but in verses 2 through 9, he speaks of banishment, dispersion, distress, being lost and hungry, and in such desperation, in verse 7, they cry unto him, and then verses 8 and 9, He

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• delivers them, and of course comes with that great truth, "O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men." And then secondly, in verses 10 through 16, He speaks of captivity, imprisonment, sin, rebellion, and near-death situations. And of course in verse 13, they cry unto Him, and then in verses 14 through 16, he delivers them. For instance, again, then in verse 15 he would say, "Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men." The third section runs from verses 17 through 22. It deals with sickness, diseases, and near-death experiences. Again, in distress and desperation they cried to Him in verse 19 and then verses 20 through 22 speaks about the deliverance. Of course verse 21 you have that same truth repeated. The fourth section deals with dangers and distresses at sea. And of course it's talking about a storm at sea. Now of course the illustration given here could also be expanded to any storm.

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• It does not necessarily have to be at sea. It could be a hurricane. It could be a tornado. The principle is the same. But the section runs from verses 23 through 32. In verse 28, they cry unto Him. And then in verses 29 through 32, they deliver Him, or He delivers them. So the answer to the distress is to cry to the Lord, and in His grace and mercy He delivers them.

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• Now this psalm is filled with applications as well as a conclusion to the four specific sections. God is sovereign. Here is a truth that is really taught in this psalm. God in His sovereignty will not only deliver the disobedient and the sinful into judgment, but He will also deliver the disobedient and the sinful from judgment as long as they repent and call unto Him. Now let me emphasize one other thing, and that is this, the specific perils that are mentioned in this psalm do not negate other perils that are not mentioned in this psalm. God is the sovereign God of deliverance, and all of these perils that are mentioned here are just illustrations. There are many more perils in which men fall into. Now, in order to understand this psalm, I want to show you the blessing that is mentioned in verses 42 and 43.

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• So if you look to the end of the psalm at verse 42, he says, "the righteous shall see it." What is the "it"? It is the deliverances that are mentioned, especially the last deliverance, etc. He says, "...the righteous shall see it and rejoice, and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord." Now, let's just stop just for a moment and see if we can grasp the significance of these last two verses in Psalm 107. First of all, He is telling us that if we understand this Psalm, if we really grasp the significance of it, it will cause us to rejoice. We will understand that God is the Deliverer.

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• He is the Sovereign, does not matter about the situation, does not matter about the circumstance, He is quite able of delivering us. Now let me tell you something that I think would be an encouragement to you, and that would be this. To go through the book of Psalms, to read through the book of Psalms and underline every time the word deliverance or deliver is used. Let me give you just a couple of illustrations.

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• For instance, Psalm 32 and verse 7, David said, "thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance." And then, of course, in Psalm 37 and verse 40, "shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him." And then of course Psalm 39 and verse 8, David said, "deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish." And then he said in Psalm 14 verse 13, "be pleased O Lord to deliver me: O Lord make haste to help me." So this is why verse 42 says "the righteous shall see it and rejoice." Every time God delivers us we should be rejoicing in Him and His deliverance. Now look what else he said in verse 42. This is very significant. "The righteous shall see it and rejoice, and all iniquity shall stop her mouth."

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• Well what in the world does that mean? Well it means this: usually it is the wicked who are taunting, mocking, and ridiculing the people of God when they are in distress and desperate situations. They will say such things as, "Where is your God?" "Well, if God really loved you, why are you going through what you're going through at this particular point?" "Well, why does He not save you? You say that you're His."

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• "Why does He not deliver you?" And so what the Bible is saying is when God does deliver, it shuts their mouth. You know, in the book of Lamentations chapter 3 and verse 46, and you have to remember that Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations. He saw the destruction of Jerusalem and he wrote and said this, "all our enemies have opened their mouths against us." They were mocking, they were ridiculing. Bible says in the book of Titus chapter 1 and verse 11 talking about wicked men "whose mouths must be stopped." Hmm. So God has a way of shutting the mouths of the wicked. And one way He has of shutting the mouths of the wicked is by delivering His people. So first of all, verse 42 tells us if we understand this psalm, if we grasp this psalm then we're going to be rejoicing and we're going to understand how God is going to shut the mouths of His enemies. Secondly, if you look in verse 43, He says, "Whoso is wise and will observe these things."

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• "Whoso is wise and will observe these things." What things? That is His deliverances. In other words, it is wisdom to observe the many facets of God's deliverances. Observations and knowledge of God's multitudinous deliveries gives hope and encouragement in our troubles. If he delivered Clay, he will deliver Steve. If he delivered Steve, he'll deliver me. If he delivered me, he'll deliver Leah. In other words, there is encouragement in observing the deliverances of God.

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• And then here's the third truth. Look at it in verse 43. "Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord." So if you really want to comprehend God's loving kindness, we must understand his deliverances. His loving kindness, of course, includes his mercy, his goodness and his faithfulness.

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• Now, I think without my saying so that you've already ascertained that one of the main thrusts of Psalm 107 is to make us more thankful, more grateful, more appreciative of all of God's grace and mercy to us. Four times in this psalm the Word of God says, "Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men." So here are some questions. How can you praise Him for His goodness if you do not recognize His goodness? How can you praise Him for His works if you do not observe, study, and meditate upon His works? How in the world can you praise Him for His works if you have no pleasure in them?

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• What do I mean by that? Look in Psalm 111 and verse 2, just a few psalms over. Psalm 111 and verse 2, the Bible says, "the works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein." So if you have no pleasure in the works of God, if you have no pleasure in His providential deliverances, if you have no pleasure in His redemption, if you have no pleasure in His salvation, you're certainly not going to be praising Him for all of those things because you're not going to seek them out. You're not going to grasp them and you're not going to understand them. Let me tell you another truth that's in this psalm that I said earlier, this psalm also will put us in our place. This psalm reveals the fact that most Christians are takers.

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• Now what I mean by that is this, we take, take, take, take and take from God our Father and return very little praise, thankfulness, appreciation, or gratefulness. Let me show you how this works out. I tell everybody that we're kind of like King Hezekiah in one sense of the word. If you will hold Psalm 107, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 32. 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, chapter 32, and let's begin reading there with verse 24. You'll remember that during the lifetime of Hezekiah, Babylon attacked and sought to destroy Judah and Jerusalem. At that particular time Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, "set your house in order for you shall die and not live." And Hezekiah turned himself to the wall and wept, the Bible said, and he prayed and asked the Lord how in the world that he could order his people if indeed he was going to die.

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• And so obviously, clearly then, God heard his prayer, and God gave him 15 additional years. He told him, "I've added 15 years to your life."

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• Now I want you to notice his response of Hezekiah to this grace and this mercy. Look, if you would, 2 Chronicles 32 beginning there in verse 24, "In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the Lord, and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign." You remember the degrees on the sundial went back. "But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him."

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• "For his heart was lifted up, therefore was there wrath upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem." Did you hear that? God spared Hezekiah. God spared Judah and Jerusalem. But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done to him. In other words, he did not really truly thank the Lord. He did not really truly humble himself because when the ambassadors from Babylon came, guess what? He showed them everything in his palace. Isaiah said, "everything you showed them is going to go to Babylon."

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• Yeah, that's the way it goes. So Hezekiah took but he did not render unto the Lord the benefit that was due unto him.

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• Now let me show you another one. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 17. Luke 17, because this is a clear illustration of the fact that we are takers. We do not give God the glory that's due unto His name. In Luke chapter 17 beginning there with verse 12, "And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off."

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• "And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go, shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed?"

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• "But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." Note if you would, only one out of the ten returned to give him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. Assuming now that the other nine were Israelites, they totally ignored him. Failed to honor him. Failed to praise him. Failed to thank him. In other words, they were takers. They were willing to take everything that God gave them, but not willing to offer him honor and glory and praise. In that sense of the word, we indeed are takers. We ignore and we fail to praise and honor the Lord for all the benefits that he's given to us. Here's an interesting truth.

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• You will find it first in Psalm 29 in verse 2. The Bible says, "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Give unto the Lord the glory that is due unto his name. And then he says basically the same thing in Psalm 96 in verse 8. "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name."

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• "Bring an offering and come into his courts." I do not suppose that any of us could actually give God all of the glory that's due in His name, because we're sinners. But the truth of the matter is, we could probably do a whole lot better than we do. If you will turn in your Bibles to Psalm 116, I'll show you David's attitude. Look at it in Psalm 116, beginning there with—in fact, before we get to verse 12, I want you to look at verse 3. Let me show you the situation that David was in. Psalm 116, verse 3, he said, "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell got hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow."

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• "Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful." So God heard his prayer.

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• Now skip down to verse 12. Look at the question that he asked. "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?" In other words, the Lord has blessed me, now let me render something back to Him. He's rendered to me, let me render to Him. Here's what he says, "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all of his people." In other words, I will tell all of what God has done for me, how God has delivered me, I'm going to give Him the praise and the honor and the glory.

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• So let me just emphasize this. You may not have put two and two together, but here it is. It is a sin not to give God the glory that is due under His name. It's a sin not to praise God for His multitudinous benefits. It's a sin not to be grateful and thankful and appreciative of everything that God has done for us.

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• Now, let me tell you this. Do you know why we are not more appreciative and thankful and grateful than we are? Here's the answer. Because in one sense of the word, we either think that God owes us or we just assume that God is just going to bless us.

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• Now, Alice and I just celebrated 59 years of marriage. I'm thankful for every year. Actually, I guess it's 118 years we've been married, 59 for her and 59 for me. But you know, that is longer than a lot of people have lived. Stop and think about that. And I was jokingly told her I was going to keep her for another 50 years at least, you know. But you know, God doesn't promise us another year. He doesn't. In fact, we assume that we're going to live next week, but we may not. We assume that we're going to wake up in the morning, but we may not. We assume that we're going to have plenty to eat, but we may not. We assume that we're going to be in good health, but we may not be.

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• And here's where we should be. You'll find this in Genesis 32 and verse 10, where Jacob is coming back and he's about to face Esau, and he says this as he's wrestling with the Lord, he said, "I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies, and of all the truth that thou hast shewed unto me." When we really grasp this one fact, God does not owe us anything, it will make us appreciative of whatever God does give us. As long as we assume that God owes us and we deserve something, we're never going to praise Him. We're never going to thank Him. We're never ever going to be appreciative.

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• Now, the Apostle Paul wrote Philippians 4 and verse 6. Let me quote it for you. And then I'm going to summarize it for you. Paul wrote, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." So first of all, be careful for nothing. That is, be anxious for nothing. Don't be bent out of shape over anything is what he's saying. So be careful for nothing. The second one is be prayerful about everything. That's what he said, "in every thing." And the third one is be thankful for anything, he said, "with thanksgiving." So we should be careful for nothing, prayerful about everything and thankful for anything.

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• Now, since you're in the Psalms, look if you would at Psalm 92. Psalm 92, the first two verses. Look at what he says. "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: to shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night."

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• Now stop and think about this. Look at it. "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord." Now watch verse 2. "To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night." Do you realize the least, the very least that we could do is every morning thank Him for His lovingkindness, for allowing us to live through the night, and every night before we go to sleep, thank him for his faithfulness and keeping us alive during the day. That's what he's talking about, showing forth his loving kindness every morning and his faithfulness every night. When you stop and think that God doesn't owe us another night or another day, it would tend to make us thankful for every minute that he gives us. You've heard me quote this passage many times, and it's a passage that I quote every day. By the way, I quote Psalm 92 in verse 2 every day as well. But I always quote Lamentations 3, verses 22 and 23.

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• "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Great is thy faithfulness. Without his faithfulness, we are in trouble, that is for sure.

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• Now, this psalm then, so far, Psalm 107, is designed to make us grateful and thankful and to praise the Lord. Now, here's the thing. You said, "Pastor, you told me the title of this message is 'Then.' But you haven't even mentioned that word. What has the title got to do with the message?" Well, let me remind you of something. I told you earlier that there were two verses in this Psalm that are repeated four times. We have looked at the first one where God says, "O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men." Now, I want to give you the second one. I want you to look in verse 6. Psalm 107 verse 6. Here it is. "Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses." Now verse 13. "Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses." Verse 19. "Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses."

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• Now verse 28. "Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses." So four times we are told, "Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men." And four times we're told, "Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble and he saved them out of their distresses." Each time they cried and He delivered them, then the verse that followed would be, "O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men."

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• Now, here is what I want you to observe. I want you to observe the position and the condition of the people before they cried. Okay? So, let's go back. Psalm 107 beginning in verse 4, "they wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way." They were lost, they were alone, "they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord." Did you see that? Wandering, lost, no help, hungry, thirsty, fainting. "Then they cried." Look at verse 10. Here's the second one.

  #52 | 39:55 to 40:55 | cleaned

• "...such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; because they rebelled against the word of the Lord, and contemned the counsel of the most High: therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses." So here are people in affliction, sitting in the shadow of death, reaping what they had sown because of their stubbornness and their rebellion. "Then they cried." Hmm.

  #53 | 40:56 to 41:33 | cleaned

• Look, if you would, verses 17 and 18, he says, "fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death." And then verse 19, "then they cry." So here in this passage, they're afflicted because of their sins, they're unable to eat, and they're near the gates of death. "Then they cried." And then if you look at verse 25, "For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof."

  #54 | 41:34 to 42:10 | cleaned

• So we have the sailors in a boat. They mount up to the heavens. They go down to the depths. Their soul is melted because of trouble. They lost control. They're being rammed back and forth by waves and the wind. They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man. They're at their wits' end. They don't know what to do. They have no place to turn. "Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses."

  #55 | 42:10 to 42:39 | cleaned

• Now, after I've shown you that, I have to make an observation. Nothing has changed. People have not changed. We do not cry to the Lord until we get in a state of absolute desperation. We ignore God's Word, we ignore God's warnings, we ignore God's signs, we ignore danger that is before our eyes. We close our eyes to all evidence that is surrounding us. And we understand in one sense of the word that we're under judgment, and yet more judgment is on the way.

  #56 | 42:41 to 43:18 | cleaned

• So here's a good question. Why do we not listen? Why do we not pray? Why do we not open our eyes? Why do we not deliberate before we get into trouble?

  #57 | 43:19 to 43:31 | cleaned

• Now, I don't know if you noticed this in this psalm or not, but no prayers are mentioned until they are in a state of desperation. Wow. They would not seek help from above as long as they thought there was help below. They would not cry out to God as long as they thought their own arm could save them. They would not humble themselves and seek Him as long as they thought they could do it themselves. But when God brought them down and all their hopes were dead, then they cried.

  #58 | 43:32 to 44:15 | cleaned

• How wicked it is to trust in the flesh. How wicked it is to seek Him or to not seek Him before trouble arises. Why do we wait until we are at our wits' end? Why do we wait until we're almost at the point of desperation and destruction? Why do we wait to cry unto Him who is in reality the only one who can deliver us and the only one who can help us? Why do we wait?

  #59 | 44:18 to 44:45 | cleaned

• Why are we like these people? Now, let me show you. Here's a good illustration. Look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 8. We're like not only Hezekiah and like those nine lepers, we're also like disciples. Watch this, Matthew chapter 8, you know the story, they are in the boat, they're in the ship, there's a storm, our Lord's asleep in the hinder part of the ship. Watch verse 24, Matthew 8 verse 24, "And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and woke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish." Really?

  #60 | 44:46 to 45:35 | cleaned

• Did they not see the clouds? Did they not see the storm coming? Did they not see the rain? Did they not hear the wind? Why did they wait until the ship was filled with water before they went and said, "Lord, save us"? Wow. We're just like that. Let me ask you a question, several questions. Can you not see what is happening in our country? Can you not see how our republic is being destroyed? Can you not see how organized famine is on its way?

  #61 | 45:37 to 46:20 | cleaned

• When our government is paying farmers two and a half times what they would make by planting a crop not to plant a crop, when truckers cannot cross from Canada into the United States without being vaccinated and Americans cannot, truckers cannot cross from the United States into Canada without being vaccinated. One article said there was up to 32,000 truckers are going to be out of a job. Go to your grocery store. Alice went yesterday.

  #62 | 46:22 to 47:00 | cleaned

• Many of the items were missing in our local Wally World. The shelves are bare. I'm just asking, can you not see what is happening? Can you not see the design of the vaccine mandates, the lockdowns, the virus camps, the legislative regulations? Can you not see that pure, unadulterated communism is being forced upon us and forced upon us? And can you not see that none of our politicians give a flying flip about the Bible, the Constitution, our rights, our lives, our freedoms? They don't care.

  #63 | 47:02 to 47:39 | cleaned

• The only thing they're interested in is money, power, and control. So our question is, why do we wait until then? Why do we wait until our backs are up against the wall and we're hungry and starving? Why do we wait until soldiers are knocking at our door before we cry unto the Lord? I want you to look in your Bibles to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18. Here's a passage you're totally familiar with, but watch it. Luke chapter 18, beginning there in verse 1.

  #64 | 47:42 to 48:32 | cleaned

• "And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint." Not just when you get into trouble. I've mentioned before, Daniel prayed when he was cast into the den of lions. And the Lord sent an angel and shut the mouths of the lions. But the reason Daniel prayed effectively while he was in the den of lions is he was used to praying before he got into the den of lions. So he says, "men ought always to pray, and not to faint." Now watch this.

  #65 | 48:32 to 49:06 | cleaned

• "Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me." Now I want you to know something about this judge.

  #66 | 49:07 to 49:34 | cleaned

• He could care less about justice. He could care less about righteousness. He did not even care about that widow woman. The only thing he was concerned about was himself. He says, "I don't fear God and I have no regard for man, but I'm going to give this widow woman what she wants just to get her off my back, because she's going to wear me down if I don't do it."

  #67 | 49:35 to 49:59 | cleaned

• He was not interested in anything right. I want you to look at the application. Verse six, "And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith." Did you hear that? Now, do you think our heavenly Father's like that unjust judge? He is indeed the judge of all the earth, but he's not like that. "And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" That is this kind of faith that cries unto God day and night to remedy and rectify the wrongs on this earth. The problem that we have is we don't cry day and night. We're not in the habit of praying and praising and thanking the Lord. We're in the habit of waiting till we get into desperate situations, and then we pray. God has promised to hear us speedily if we called upon Him.

  #68 | 50:00 to 51:13 | cleaned

• Now let me try to tie this together with some applications. I hope you understand according to Psalm 107, we need a praying heart. We need a thankful heart. We need a heart that's going to acknowledge all of God's blessings. We need a heart that's going to praise and honor Him, who is the giver of every good gift and every perfect gift. James 1:17 tells us, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

  #69 | 51:14 to 51:53 | cleaned

• So let me ask you a question. I want you to think about this. Just stop and think of all the multitudinous blessings that God has given you. David said in Psalm 103, "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. And forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things." He said don't forget those. Bless the Lord. Now, let me ask you a question.

  #70 | 51:53 to 52:26 | cleaned

• How many of you would have a child or a grandchild? And you want to do something special for that child or that grandchild. And so you went out and bought a rather expensive present. And you gave it to your child or your grandchild, and he opens it and he says, "Oh, I've never wanted anything like that. I'm not interested in that." And he just throws it down and walks off. How many of you would believe that you could rush right out and buy him another present?

  #71 | 52:26 to 53:00 | cleaned

• You know what you would do? "You ungrateful, unthankful, unappreciative little imp. I'm not going to buy you anything else." You wouldn't run out and spend money on someone who is ungrateful, unthankful and unappreciative. You wouldn't do it. And look at the times that God has blessed us immensely in innumerable ways, and we fail to acknowledge it. If God gave us what we deserved, we'd all be dead.

  #72 | 53:04 to 53:35 | cleaned

• So this is what Psalm 107 is about. We're takers. We take, take, take from God and fail to give Him honor and worship and praise and glory. Here's the second truth about Psalm 107. You must see the amazing wonderful and glorious grace of God in this Psalm. You go back and read Psalm 107. Many of these people condemned the Word of God, in so doing they were condemning God. They sinned against Him. They rebelled against Him.

  #73 | 53:39 to 54:19 | cleaned

• They were in desperate straits. They were facing death. And guess what? Then they cried, and what did God do in His grace and mercy? He delivered them. They didn't deserve it. They certainly didn't earn it. But God graciously delivered them. You know what Jeremiah said? In Jeremiah chapter 14, verse 7, listen to what he said, "O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy great name's sake: for our backslidings are many, and we have sinned against thee." The words, "Lord, deliver us. Not because we deserve it. Lord, we don't. But deliver us for Thy great name's sake." God has mercy upon us, not only for His name's sake, but because of His covenant in the Lord Jesus Christ. He gives us grace and mercy through Jesus Christ.

  #74 | 54:20 to 55:21 | cleaned

• I believe the whole impetus of Luke 18 is this. If we cry unto Him, surely, everyone in this room reads, you know there is a cabal that's intent on destroying this country and destroying the world and bringing it under absolute demonic control. You know that as well as I do. All you have to do is read. So my question is, why in the world would we wait to cry to God to deliver us? He said in Luke 18, if we cry day and night, He will hear us speedily.

  #75 | 55:23 to 56:07 | cleaned

• Our enslavement will be our own fault. We're already in desperate straits, and we don't even recognize it. Inflation is killing us. I just read the other day, for each—and I'm going to use the word dollar, it's actually a Federal Reserve note—but for each Federal Reserve note that you had in 1913, you need now 29 to equal the value of that one. Isn't that amazing? I'm just simply saying, we are already being destroyed and we know it not.

  #76 | 56:13 to 56:58 | cleaned

• We're asleep at the wheel and we're running off the road and we should not wait until we're turned upside down in the ditch to start praying and start calling upon God. Don't wait until then. I'd much rather head off problems by consistent and constant prayer and praise. Let's see. I believe it's twice in the book of Proverbs that the book of Proverbs says this, "the prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished." Yeah, the prudent man foreseeth.

  #77 | 56:58 to 57:43 | cleaned

• He looks ahead, he sees. He doesn't get into the situation then. He's prepared and he's ready. We need a praying heart and a praising heart and a grateful heart and a thankful heart. We need to learn to praise the Lord daily, hourly. Whenever God brings it to our mind, offer him praise. For he said, "whosoever offereth praise glorifieth me." Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day.

  #78 | 57:44 to 58:27 | cleaned

• We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth, dear Lord. And Father, we do ask for a praying heart, for a praising heart. We pray, Lord, that our hearts will be prepared to worship Thee and honor Thee. I pray, Father, You would help us to foresee the evil and hide ourselves. And help us, Lord, to seek Thee before we get in such a desperate situation. Call us, Lord, to repentance. Quicken us, O Lord, and we shall call upon thy name. Turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned.

  #79 | 58:27 to 59:06 | cleaned

• It is only your grace and your mercy that will save us. Give us, Lord, an obedient heart and a holy heart. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

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• so

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T20:58:03Z