The Unfailing Love of God
Opening Prayer
O that I would continually praise You, Lord, for Your chesed, Your covenant faithfulness and lovingkindness.
Read Psalm 107
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.
17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18 They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.
23 Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
24 They saw the works of the Lord,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
33 He turned rivers into a desert,
flowing springs into thirsty ground,
34 and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
35 He turned the desert into pools of water
and the parched ground into flowing springs;
36 there he brought the hungry to live,
and they founded a city where they could settle.
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a fruitful harvest;
38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
and he did not let their herds diminish.
39 Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled
by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
40 he who pours contempt on nobles
made them wander in a trackless waste.
41 But he lifted the needy out of their affliction
and increased their families like flocks.
42 The upright see and rejoice,
but all the wicked shut their mouths.
43 Let the one who is wise heed these things
and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“Fill thou my life, O Lord my God, in every part with praise, that my whole being may proclaim thy being and thy ways” (Horatius Bonar, 1808–1889).
This is a psalm of God’s love and faithfulness in the most dire and seemingly hopeless circumstances. With image mounting upon image, the psalmist graphically depicts the anguish and distress that despairing people down through the ages have always felt,
especially when they know that their agony may be self-inflicted. They are lost, hungry, thirsty and imprisoned. They are at their wits’ end. They sit in the deepest gloom, close to the gates of death, life itself ebbing away. Yet, all this dark despair is punctuated by four glorious refrains of the faithfulness of God, in verses 8, 15, 21 and 31. Indeed it is likely that this was originally two psalms, the first ending at verse 31.
The key word in each refrain is that wonderful Hebrew word chesed, here translated as God’s “unfailing love.” This is the supreme attribute of God, standing eternally above and beyond all of God’s other attributes of justice, knowledge and power. It flows through the Scriptures, leaving Bible translators like me feeling inadequate to find words to communicate its profound meaning. English translators through the centuries have struggled to express its depths. No single English Bible translates chesed the same way, even within its own pages. Words like faithfulness, goodness, steadfastness, lovingkindness, mercy, constancy and unfailing love have all been used but nowhere do they quite suffice.
The power of this psalm lies in its universality. We may not have experienced all of these feelings, but in the narratives of our lives we have all felt some of them. We have all felt lost, lonely or trapped. We know what it is to find life directionless, threatening or painful. When, at the end, all the stanzas of our life can be written, may they be punctuated by refrains of gratitude to God for his immeasurable grace towards us.
Apply
Consider verse 17. The Hebrew word translated “afflicted” could legitimately be translated “afflicted themselves.” How many times have we been the architect of our own misfortune?
Closing prayer
We thank You, O God, for all that You are. May every stanza of our lives culminate in thankfulness for Your unfailing love.
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