Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1709
November 23, 2025
Psalm 107.1-32 Click here for audio worship.
Dr. Ed Pettus
(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)
“Thank the Lord”
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.
Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
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A Gratitude Attitude
Psalm 107 is a Psalm of thanksgiving. It is also a Psalm of testimony from various sources who were delivered from some type of distress and then redeemed or saved from that distress. The Psalm begins with the call to give thanks, Oh give thanks to the Lord. It then tells us why we should give thanks, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Give thanks for God’s goodness and His love. God’s goodness and love is expressed all through this Psalm in the many ways He redeems His people from trouble. The Bible encourages us to practice gratitude every day – to develop an attitude of gratitude. In essence we should thank God daily, moment by moment, giving thanks for big and small, good and even bad. We are taught that even our suffering is a cause for thanks because it will lead us to hope and to growth in faith.
Thanksgiving is an act of self-abandonment, that is, to give thanks is to realize that we do not rely on ourselves. Giving thanks is a confessional act that demonstrates reliance upon another, namely God. Giving thanks is also a confessional acknowledgment that we are committed God. To give thanks is to make a commitment. We are committed to God because we rely on God for our life. Christians thank God because we know that God is the source of life and blessings and even the smallest of things that we might sometimes take for granted. Those who rely only on themselves never need to give thanks.
The second verse of Psalm 107 invites the redeemed to give testimony to what God has done for them. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. When I was involved in summer camps with Young Life, a ministry to teenagers, we would have a time on the last night at camp to have what we called a “say so”. It was a time for the teens to give testimony to their time learning about Jesus Christ and accepting Him as Lord and Savior. If you now know Jesus, say so! That is a testimony for all of us to give in our lives, in action and speech.
The Psalm then moves into four case studies of people who “say so”, who thank the Lord for their redemption. Before we examine those groups, let’s consider what happens when we fail to give thanks.
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Gratitude Forgotten
One of the consistent problems for Israel was their failure to give thanks to God. They would often fall into a period of amnesia, forgetting what God had done for them. God warned them not to forget as in Deuteronomy 8.11-17, “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’
Over and over again Israel is reminded not to forget. When Israel forgot, they did not give thanks. It is not just that forgetful mentally, but they often began to replace their thoughts and their actions with what they claimed to have done instead of what God had actually done. Second thing they would do is to not keep commandment which also led them to forget to give thanks.
Psalm 106 includes a prayer of confession about forgetting what God had done,
Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness. Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
There are many in our nation who would be wise to make this same confession, and there would be wisdom in the entire nation offering God such a prayer. Wouldn’t it be a miracle if Congress were to call for a day of prayer and confession and paraphrasing Psalm 106 for our setting?
One of the great dangers for people of God is forgetting to give thanks. When we forget His love, His works, and His presence, we forget to give thanks for His love and work and presence and it leads to disobedience, apathy, and rebellion.
It is not limited to the Old Testament. Romans reveals what may happen if we fail to thank God.
Romans 1.21-25, For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
Paul is referring to Old Testament events, but he writes to give warning to the New Testament church and to us. Any who know the Lord and yet do not honor or thank God, they are given over to their own lusts. It is an indictment against those who do not honor God and do not honor the truth of His Word. It is, in my thoughts these days, an indictment against those in the church who are compromising the truth by conforming the church to the world rather than seeking to transform the world with the truth. When we fail to thank God, when we fail to hold fast to Truth, we endanger ourselves and we might be left to our own devises. Forgotten commandments and a forgotten God lead to no praise and no thanksgiving. No praise and no gratitude leads to all kinds of problems that we bring upon ourselves - disobedience, idolatry, heresy, and error.
Let us never forget to offer thanks to God! Thanksgiving is praise. Thanksgiving is worship of God. Thanksgiving demonstrates trust in God. Giving thanks reveals dependence and devotion to God.
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Thank the Lord
Let’s look more closely at Psalm 107 and the testimonies of gratitude.
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Testimony #1
Psalm 107:4-9
In each of these cases, we find a people identified, a problem, a cry to God, God's redemption, and thanksgiving. Every stanza will carry this pattern. Starting in verse 4,
People identified: Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;
The problem: hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
The prayer: then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
God's redemption: He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.
Thank the Lord: Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of
man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
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Testimony #2
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Psalm 107:10-16
People identified: Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,
The problem: for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.
The prayer: Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
God's redemption: He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.
Thank the Lord: Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of
man! For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.
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Testimony #3
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Psalm 107:17-22
People identified: Some were fools through their sinful ways,
The problem: and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
The prayer: Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
God's redemption: He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.
Thank the Lord: Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of
man! And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
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Testimony #4
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Psalm 107:23-32
People identified: Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;
The problem: they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and
raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven;
they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled
and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end.
The prayer: Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
God's redemption: He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad
that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
Thank the Lord: Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of
man! Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly
of the elders.
In every instance, God saves, delivers, or brings them out of their distress. That is, God redeems them all! Let the redeemed say so! Let them give thanks – for God has acted. The final verse in this last case, 107:32, gives us the picture of a congregation at worship, "Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders." This Psalm was probably used at thanksgiving services just as we have gathered to give thanks.
But notice that each verse that encourages thanksgiving (vs. 8, 15, 21, 31) gives thanks for one thing – God’s steadfast love. It does not matter in those specific verses what the redemption was from, whether hunger, hard labor, distress, or storms, the thanks is for steadfast love. It is out of God’s love that He redeems and provides and blesses and delivers. It is out of love that God saves and helps and restores and leads. We give thanks because God loves us and everything that we have and have gone through is given in that love.
God has made himself known through life and blessing and we respond with thanksgiving and praise. We could write our own testimonies of thanks. Some families do this on Thanksgiving Day when they go around the table to name something for which they are thankful. Imagine taking Psalm 107 testimonies and using it as a pattern to give thanks to God for something.
Everyone has a “say so”, a testimony of how God has acted in their life. We all have a reason and reasons to thank the Lord. As believers we can see many reasons, but at the core of our being we know that Jesus is the main reason we may give thanks. We were dead in sin, and Jesus delivered us from sinful darkness. So we thank the Lord. He has brought us into the light, so we thank the Lord. Jesus has shed His blood so that we might be cleansed of all unrighteousness. Jesus humbled Himself in His birth at the beginning and on the cross near the end so that we could know God’s reconciling love. Consider writing your “say so”, your thanksgiving to God. Identify yourself, identify the problem, remember the prayer, give testimony to God’s redemption, and thank the Lord. It will be your personal Psalm of thanks to God. Give a shot and give thanks! Amen.
