Psa 107:32-43 “Praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men” – Part Four

Part One (Psa 107:1-8) “praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men“

Part Two (Psa 107:9-15) “praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men”

Part Three (Psa 107:16-21) “praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men”

Part Four (Psa 107:22-31) “praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men”

Part Five (Psa 107:32-43) “praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men”

Psa 107:32 Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
Psa 107:33 He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
Psa 107:34 A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
Psa 107:35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
Psa 107:36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
Psa 107:37 And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
Psa 107:38 He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
Psa 107:39 Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
Psa 107:40 He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
Psa 107:41 Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
Psa 107:42 The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
Psa 107:43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

Part one (Psa 107:1-8) speaks of the redeemed, or those who are being redeemed from the enemy against whom we wrestle in our heavens (Eph 6:12). It also speaks of how our lives are directed and guided by Christ “in the wilderness in a solitary way”, which is a shadow of how we all first come to hear the voice of the true shepherd telling us to ‘come out her my people’, “her” being the wilderness of sin, Babylon, within each of us that we ‘come out of’ in order to be redeemed from the earth (2Co 6:17, Rev 18:4, Joh 10:27-28, Rom 8:14-15).

Part two (Psa 107:9-15) Redemption from ‘the earth, earth, earth’ is not accomplished in a ten-second sinner’s prayer as many of the churches of Babylon teach. As we see in this section of Psalm 107, redemption is a very hard-fought process which God is working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Php 2:13), taking the old marred vessel and making it anew in the Potter’s hand, all according to the counsel of his will (Jer 18:4, Eph 1:11).

Part three (Psa 107:16-21) In order for any and all of humanity to be redeemed, the gates of brass within us must be broken and the bars of iron cut in sunder. The good news is that this imagery of overcoming the deceitful and desperately wicked heart of man (Jer 17:9) is something God has promised will happen through Christ (Mat 16:18, Rom 8:37).

Part four (Psa 107:22-31) By the time we get to this part of Psalm 107, not only is the Psalmist inspired to say these words in verse 31 for the fourth of five times in the Psalm” Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!“, but also there is a declaration stated earlier in verse 22 “And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing“. That spirit of sacrifice and thanksgiving is something God is forming and fashioning within His first fruits (Jas 1:18) who are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1Pe 2:9, Isa 43:21).

Part five (Psa 107:32-43) The last verse of this study concludes with the statement, “Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD”. This very reassuring statement is for those who have been given a hunger for righteousness (Mat 5:6) and spiritual eyes to see that all these storms, and the deliverance from them spoken of throughout Psalm 107, symbolize the work God is doing in the lives of His children (Php 1:29). The consequence of these storms in our life from which God raises and delivers us, reveals to us His mercy and goodness as well as the means by which all mankind will eventually be received of the Lord (Rom 11:32, Rom 2:4, Heb 12:6). Christ is our wisdom, and with Christ in us as our hope of glory (Col 1:27), we are assured that we can be more than conquerers through him who loved us and who is loving us and giving us the power through God’s holy spirit to endure until the end of our age, with a hope that is vibrant and alive (1Pe 2:5).

God is shedding His love abroad in our hearts so we can be reassured again and again and filled with hope in what He has promised He can accomplish through the body of Christ (Rom 5:5, Php 2:13, Php 4:13, Rom 8:24, Heb 11:27, Luk 21:19, Luk 17:21, Rom 5:10). We are called out of this world to “observe” and understand the “lovingkindness of the Lord”, and in time, all the world will be drawn to Christ as we are being drawn today (Joh 6:44, Oba 1:21) to “discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not” (Mal 3:18). That discerning spirit is what God is fashioning within each of us through the much tribulation which we are promised as we walk out the rest of our lives in His service as living sacrifices (Act 14:22, 2Ti 3:12, Rom 12:1).

Verses that remind us of the hope of our calling!

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 

Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 

Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. 

Heb 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 

Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls. 

Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. [the hope of our calling – Col 1:27]

False or true hope generated through repetition:

Below are two unlikely statements to have side by side, one from Adolf Hitler and the other by Jesus Christ. God’s message for us is very singular and consistent from Genesis to Revelation (2Co 11:3). The singleness or simplicity is found in the Christ-centric message which draws our attention to God’s words of life (Mat 4:4), that if we are blessed to continue they will set us free (Joh 8:31-32), whereas the negative way that Satan uses repetition and singleness is described by this quote from Hitler:

“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough it will be believed.” – Adoft Hitler

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Joh 8:31 Jesus told the people who had faith in him, “If you keep on obeying what I have said, you truly are my disciples. 
Joh 8:32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – Jesus Christ

In psychology, this process of repetition is called the ‘broken record technique’, and there is a positive and negative use of this way of delivering a message that is often found in advertising and many forms of popular culture. It is also a technique used in dealing with the stubborn heart of man to which God sends prophets with a consistent message throughout the ages that is completely rejected, as God knew it would be. This rejection of the prophets of old whom God sends is a shadow of what is in our hearts until we are dragged to Christ through a great earthquake, and a prophecy of how we will be rejected as Jesus Christ’s body (Mat 23:34, Mat 21:33-37, Act 9:4, Act 22:6-7).

Broken Record Technique Psychology

The term comes from vinyl records, the surface of which when scratched would lead the needle of a record player to loop over the same few seconds of the recording indefinitely. “As with a broken record, the key to this approach is repetition.

The gospel which is preached in the churches of Babylon today is filled with big repetitive lies (false doctrines) that have been repeated frequently enough that many people have come to accept them as gospel (to quote from Mike’s study: “Doctrines like the immortality of the soul and its sister doctrine of eternal torment in eternal literal flames of fire name just two of the two hundred million such false blasphemous doctrines of men”).

God is the one who has allowed that pattern to unfold throughout history to demonstrate His sovereignty over the light and darkness (Isa 45:7) as well as the need for grace and faith to be worked in the lives of those whom He has called to come out of that darkness by continuing in the truth (Col 1:23). Having those words of eternal life sanctified within us as we die daily and continue to faithfully “observe” and be convinced of the promises which God has given us is how we are washed by the word and cleansed of all our ways that need to be made straight in Christ (Rev 18:4, Joh 6:68, Rev 18:4, Rom 8:38, Eph 5:26, Mar 1:3).

The devil does not grow weary in his pursuit of wanting to undermine the faith of the saints through the harlotry of Babylon (Mat 24:24, Gal 1:6, 1Ti 6:12), and God has given us many examples of how there is none who can make war with the beast who receives power from the dragon (Rev 13:4) unless the Lord gives us victory over him (1Jn 4:4). What no one can discern in the churches of Babylon is that the victory which God is giving us over the darkness, over the harlot, over the beast, is being accomplished through the fiery trials (the Psalm 107 storms) that are needful and necessary to lose the grip of this world from our hearts and minds that belong to God (1Pe 4:12, Rom 12:1-2).

“Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD” are those who are brought to understand the beast that God has made us (Ecc 3:18), and how that it is only through much tribulation and an evil experience (Ecc 1:13) that we can enter into the narrow way of the kingdom of God (Mat 7:13). We give power to the devil’s lies (Joh 8:44) which teach over and over that grace is greasy and that a ten-second sinner’s prayer seals the deal, when we don’t acknowledge that the only thing which can seal the deal is the seven seals (Rev 15:8) that are comprised of seals and trumpets and vials all by which we must live throughout our lives ‘is was and will be’ if we are going to be able to enter into the temple of God in the fullness of the first resurrection one blessed day (Rev 20:6). In order for this statement to be fulfilled in our life: “on such the second death hath no power” (Rev 15:8), we must be judged in this life and through that judgment see the power of death destroyed within us through Christ (Heb 2:14, 1Co 3:17, 1Co 15:31).

We are exactly as righteous, or self-righteous, or wicked, at any given time as the Lord has determined us to be from the foundation of the world, and it will take great trials in the heavens of all of humanity to finally see that Adolf Hitler was no different than Joseph’s brothers and all of us who are guilty of all, and that they were used as pawns just as Judas was a pawn, fulfilling their book exactly as the Lord had predetermined it with as much light and darkness as He determined according to the counsel of His will which is working all things (Psa 139:16, Eph 1:11). When we can believe that the hardening and softening of all hearts is of the Lord (Pro 16:1, Pro 16:4), then we can see what great hope there is for all of humanity whom God has promised will be saved, each man in their order (1Co 15:22-23), each pawn coming to a weeping bitterly moment when they are granted through the goodness of God to come to see the marred vessel they were meant to be to the glory of God (Rom 2:4, Luk 7:47, Gen 45:4, Luk 15:17).

Who we are and how we are going to overcome through judgment: .

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 
Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 
Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 
Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 
Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months [Rev 11:2].
Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 
Rev 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear [“Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD“].
Rev 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Rev 17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 
Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world [Luk 10:20], when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. 
Rev 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom [“Whoso is wise“]. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 
Rev 17:10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 
Rev 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 
Rev 17:12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
Rev 17:13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 
Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 

Psa 107:32 Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

Where are the true worshipers going to worship God in spirit and truth, where will men “praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men”? It will be “in the congregation of the people” and “in the assembly of the elders“.

1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 

Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 
Joh 4:24 is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. 

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Psa 107:33 He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
Psa 107:34 A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

These two verses witness how God can give and take away (Job 1:21) and give increase or not give increase (1Co 3:6, Heb 6:3, Jas 4:15), revealing the severity and the goodness that He works in each of our lives (Rom 11:22) and the world around us (2Co 4:15, 2Ti 3:16). The end result of His complete control over the “watersprings” and the “rivers” which turn the fruitful land into barrenness is for the destruction of “the wickedness of them that dwell therein.” We are being shown that we can trust in our riches in the “fruitful land” and not realize we are wretched, miserable and poor until the Lord pours out his wrath upon us by withholding the rivers of life that come from Christ and the watersprings that our Father alone can manifest within us by moving us to ask for those living waters.

Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. 

Jas 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 
Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 
Jas 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 
Jas 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. 
Jas 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 
Jas 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. 

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 

Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Psa 107:35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
Psa 107:36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
Psa 107:37 And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.

These verses show the opposite effect of God’s sovereign control over all the coming and going of mankind, and this all hearkens back to (Jas 5:13-20) where Elijah, who is a type of the elect, prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and prayed earnestly again that it rain, and it did (Jas 5:16-18). Elijah was a type of the elect, and this example of prayer to withhold or to give rain is a shadow for the body of Christ, part of the “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2Ti 3:16) which describes through agrarian means how God is working in the lives of each of us (Isa 45:7, Job 1:21).

Whether God causes it to rain or withholds the rain, it is all positive to the new man (2Co 1:20) as the old man decreases and the new man is formed through the destruction of the old (Jer 18:4). So we are reminded that a seed must die in order to bring forth fruit (Joh 12:24) as it is put into the ground, and vineyards need to be planted (Tit 3:8), and in the end God “may yield fruits of increase”.

Jas 4:15   For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.  

Jas 4:16   But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.  

Jas 4:17   Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.  

Heb 13:15   By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.  

Ecc 11:6   In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.  

Psa 107:38 He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.

For God’s elect being “multiplied greatly” in the earth and having increase of “cattle” represents the abundant life to which God has called us by losing our life as we grow in a loving relationship with one another through Christ who blesses us and makes this possible.

Joh 13:34   A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  

 Joh 10:10   The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  

Mat 16:25   For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.  

Luk 12:15   And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.  

Mat 19:29   And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.  

Gal 4:27   For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.  

Psa 107:40 He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
Psa 107:41 Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.

Once again we have two opposing actions which represent the work that God is doing in our lives as we live by these words (Mat 4:4) which fulfill His purpose of forming the new creation within us (Mat 5:18, Mat 12:36).

God is the one who “causeth them to wander in the wilderness” where we experience all that the Israelites of old learned, “for [our] reproof, for [our] correction, for [our] instruction in righteousness” (2Ti 3:16, 1Pe 1:12).

Those haughty princes within us must be humbled, and God does this even as He establishes the fatherless and the widow within us who are protected from affliction and set on high^H7682 (Jas 1:27). He makes us, all our families together, “like a flock” and tells us “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” [high, lofty, be safe, set up (on high), be too strong] (Luk 12:32).

H7682 śâgab saw-gab’

A primitive root; to be (causatively make) lofty, especially inaccessible; by implication safe, strong; used literally and figuratively: – defend, exalt, be excellent, (be, set on) high, lofty, be safe, set up (on high), be too strong.

Psa 107:42 The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.

God is in the process of reassuring us that we are his little flock who are observing these things “the righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.” Through Christ we will be able to stop the mouth of iniquity within first, and then as kings and priests ruling under Christ we will be used to bring an end to “all iniquity” and “stop her mouth”. Once again James 5:13-20 show us how that will be accomplished in this parable written for our sakes upon whom the end of the ages is come (1Co 10:11, Col 1:9-14).

1Co 10:11   Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.  

Psa 107:43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

What we’ve been observing throughout this entire Psalm 107 study is “the lovingkindness of the LORD”, and these last few verses have strongly demonstrated opposing actions to help us see the severity and goodness of God that is also revealed in the type and shadow events of storms being raised that God uses to bring us to our wits’ end so that we would cry out and be brought to our safe haven in Christ.

The end result of all these trials in our heavens through which the Lord brings us is to bring us to this joyful position in our walk described in Col 1:9-14. We’ve seen clearly throughout this Psalm that the fruit that God is producing within us can only happen through judgment, through storms, through breaking the ground and planting the seed and learning to possess our souls patiently as we wait on the Lord to give the increase that He brings to His children.

Col 1:9   For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;  
Col 1:10   That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;  
Col 1:11   Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;  
Col 1:12   Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  
Col 1:13   Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  
Col 1:14   In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Luk 21:19   In your patience possess ye your souls.  

1Co 3:6   I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.