Warren Wiersbe in With the Word Bible Commentary divides this psalm into 5 sections, each showing something from Israel's history as a picture of God's mercy toward sinners.
All this follows verse one which gives us a sort of purpose for the psalm and that is to give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and His mercy. v. 2 gives this command, "has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! This psalm speaks out about 5 types of people who experienced God's mercy.
- Travelers. vv. 3-9 This includes exiles and wanderers in the wilderness, lost and homeless, without proper food or water. It would be a terrible thing to be homeless, but God sees them. "He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."
- Prisoners. vv. 10-16 God's love and forgiveness can reach even beyond prison doors and bars.
- Sufferers. vv. 17-22 Sometimes our sufferings are of our own making and sometimes not, but God is compassionate in either case. "Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them." v. 21
- Sailors. vv.23-32 Probably nothing on this earth is more awesome or more terrifying than a storm at sea. It must be quite a feeling of isolation and helplessness and terror to be out there with nowhere to go in a violent storm. As an answer to their cry for help, "He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!" vv. 29-30
- Farmers. vv. 33-43 Only God can send the rain or cause the cattle to multiply, and so we all depend on His goodness to us. We eat and are satisfied, but let us not forget to give thanks to God for this too, along with all His other blessings to us.
No comments:
Post a Comment