Psa 107:8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107 paints to us four pictures depicting the fragile relationship of men and God. Each picture tells a story. Each story follows this order:

1. The Affliction.
2. The Cry.
3. The Lovingkindness.
4. The Praise.

 The four stories are:

1. Israel in the Wilderness (v.4-9)
2. Israel in Babylon Captivity (v.10-16)
3. Israel in Sin (v.17-22)
4. Israel at Sea (sea of troubles) (v.23-32)

The point of this psalm is found in this statement which is echoed four times after each story: “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” (v.8, 15, 21, 31). It appears every time after this statement: “Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses” (v.6, 13, 19, 28).

The children of Israel ought to praise God because of His lovingkindness towards them. Time and time again, they failed God and God sent afflictions on them. Each time, they cried to God, and each time God delivered them from their distress.

In this world, the only ones who will do the same for us are our parents. Friends may help us once or twice but they will give up on us when they see that we are incorrigible. But our parents will never give up on us. We can be sure that no matter how many times we may fail them, they will come to our rescue when we are in trouble.

God is better than our parents. Our parents will love and forgive us because we are their children. However, they may not do the same for others. In contrast, God loves all men. God loves even the sinners. The Son of God did not die for us because we are lovable or righteous; He died when we were sinners: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “Sinners” include murderers, thieves, liars, etc; Christ died for them.

What was the Psalmist’s intention for telling those stories? “The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth” (v.42).

The wise will see the lovingkindness of God and rejoice. They will see how unworthy they have been to deserve such love and are thankful for it. They will come to Him and acknowledge Him as their God and worship Him: “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6a).

But the wicked will be dumb. What else can they say when they appear before the judgment seat of God? They were recipients of those goodness when they were alive. They will be brought to shame. They will have nothing to say against their own condemnation (John 3:18).

The Psalmist ends the psalm with the observation that the “wise will pay attention to these things” and begin to understand God’s immense lovingkindness (v. 43). They will praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!

What about us? When we reflect on the events that happened in our lives, we must truly thank God for delivering us each time we were in trouble. We will agree with the Psalmist and sing along with him: “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (v.1).