Heed These Things
Psalm 107:1–43
Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord. Psalm 107:43 (NIV)

I suggest four uses of the doctrine Psalm 107 teaches, that even for the righteous God sends sorrow as well as joy, hardship as well as material blessing—yet is not arbitrary.

1. Reverence for God. Since God’s ways are not our ways and his ultimate purposes in life are usually beyond our finding out, we must revere him and be humble.

2. Looking for things that are eternal. Looking beyond the seen to the unseen and eternal is faith. Although there are ups and downs in this life, the end of all things for God’s people is not down but up.

3. Calling sinners to repentance. Although the ways of God in this life are not always within our understanding, nevertheless we do discern some important patterns, and one of them is that arrogance, strife, self-love, greed, and other forms of wickedness are generally punished, while virtue is frequently rewarded.

4. Thanksgiving. Believers should thank God for being what he is and acting as he does—and not only when things are going our way or we have it easy. Alexander Duff was an eloquent pastor and missionary pioneer, the first sent to India by the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. On October 14, 1829, he and his wife set out for the Indian subcontinent on a ship called the Lady Holland, and four months later, at midnight on the 13th of February 1830, the ship ran aground while attempting to navigate the Cape of Good Hope. The pounding surf soon destroyed the ship, washing everything it held away, but miraculously all the passengers and crew made it safely to land.

Nothing remained of their belongings, but as one sailor walked along the shore looking for food and fuel, he came upon two books, a Bible and the Scottish Psalm Book. He found the name of Alexander Duff in both of them, so he brought them to the missionary. Duff had been transporting eight hundred books to India, where he hoped to (and later did) establish a college, but of those eight hundred books only these two remained. In spite of this loss, Duff at once opened the Bible to Psalm 107 and read it to the other survivors, concluding with the words: “Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord” (NIV).

Can you do that? What matters most in life is not the number or severity of the perils from which we are delivered, but whether we are actually in the hands of that greatly loving God. If we are in his hands, we can “heed these things,” “consider the great love of the Lord,” and then praise him as Psalm 107 does.

Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865

Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.