How good and loving of the Lord to redeem a people for Himself to the praise of His glorious grace. Believers experience His grace as He turns deserts into delightful waters and parched land into pools of water (v. 35). He pours out abundant blessings upon His people.

When was the last time you wandered in the desert wastes of addiction or anger, dissensions or divisions, enmity or envy, idolatry or impurity, sensuality or strife, finding no way to fulfill the hole in your heart, but desperately trying to anyway? When have you faced betrayal or blame, cancer or chronic pain, depression or disillusionment? When was the last occasion you felt burdened or burned out, fainthearted or fearful, homesick or hopeless, weary or worried, as you served the Lord in the places He has called you?

Thankfully, as we strive to eradicate sin, endure suffering, and engage in service, the Lord offers us grace to fix our eyes on Christ and satisfy our soul with His Word. When speaking of desert wastes, Psalm 107 is a faithful guide to lead us to delightful waters. It exhorts us to give thanks to the Lord for His steadfast love, as we continue to put off sin, be patient in suffering, and persevere in serving the King.

Desert Wastes

Psalm 107 portrays a people from every nation worshiping the Lord in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, that in him all the nations would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). It leads God’s people to give thanks for His goodness and steadfast love. Ultimately, this psalm anticipates Christ as the one who redeems sinners from trouble and enables the redeemed to sing a song of thankful praise. To teach the comprehensiveness of God’s love, the psalmist portrays four different pictures of our plight on this side of glory, and how the Lord displays His steadfast love in each of them.

First, the psalmist depicts our faintheartedness (vv. 4-9). Recall the times you have felt lost and alone. The days you hungered and thirsted for satisfaction, security, significance. Your heart cries in the midst of toil and trouble. The Lord is the one who delivers us from futility into a fruitful land. And when He does, our hearts should be filled with thanksgiving.

Read More