4 sections
v 1-3 – A call to worship God for his continual and never ending love to his people
- Lovingkindness – a steadfast and unmoving love
v 4-32 – prudent response to the lord’s salvation
- 4-9 – A reminder of God’s direct actions in the lives of the Israelites in delivering them from both the threat of enemies and from hunger and need.
- 10-16 – God’s actions with those who rebel against him
- 10-12 – Those who are in struggle and under judgement from God because of their rebellion against Him are being humbled through this judgement of God for the purpose of their repentance, not merely to punish them for their wrongdoing.
- 13-14 – When those under God’s judgement come to themselves and repent, God is quick to come and deliver them from their struggles. God does not abandon his children, despite his judgement on them. All these things are done for a reason, and that reason is that they turn from their evil ways and come back to him.
- 15-16 – Praise is the correct response to God when he delivers his people from their suffering.
- 17-22 – God’s actions with those who are foolish toward him
- 17- God afflicts with judgement those who are rebellious due to their foolishness and flagrant sin against God.
- 18 – The affliction they endured included an inability to eat due to sickness, and he bought them to the gates of death.
- 19-20 – When they repent of their sin God restores them to health.
- 21-22 -Praise is the correct response to God when he delivers his people from their suffering.
- 23-32 – God’s actions with those who place themselves in precarious situations for work or due to necessity.
- 23-24 – These people know that they need to physically be there for this job but they are given the ability to know God more through his works among them.
- 25-27 – God brings his storms upon them, and causing them all sorts of distress. All of this is to bring them to their God who will take care of them and their needs.
- 28-30 -These mariners call out to God for deliverance, depending on God to meet their needs – to protect them and help them recover from their struggles.
- 31-32 – Praise, once again, is the correct response to God when he delivers his people from their suffering.
- God may bring all sorts of testing upon his people, but it is always for the purpose of their continued reliance on God and that they would trust in him in all cases. In our direct suffering from our own actions, in sickness, or in our daily struggles – God is always our deliverance and we should always take time to trust in God and to thank him for his continued care for us and our souls.
v 33-42 – As Creator God, our Lord can do whatever he wants with his creation. We are merely stewards of these things in our midst, but he is their true owner. As a result, God can use all of these things to his own purposes at any time. God can afflict us, or bring blessing – test us, or give us rest. All of these things we endure come at the hand of God for his purposes, not our own. God hears our prayers and understands our response to his actions upon us, but all of this is done specifically to craft us into the people he needs to glorify himself and to extend his kingdom to the world. Just as a potter will use all manner of tools and force to transform a lump of clay into a beautiful vessel – perfectly fit for use for the job it is meant to perform, so God will craft our lives, our interactions, our struggles, and our successes so that we are perfectly suited to the tasks that he requires us to perform. Some tasks take a lifetime to perform. Others are performed one or twice before God takes out his tools and uses them on us again, reshaping us for another purpose so we can help others along their path, and so that the end result is always that God be glorified. We exist only at the whim of God and to bring him glory in all that we do. God is most glorified in us, when we make ourselves fully available to him – willing clay in the hands of our master potter.
v 43 – God loves and cares for us, and it is our right and responsibility to serve him completely. Let us praise our king for his love for us, and look and understand when we see the judgement of God on those whom we love. Let us pray for their repentance and deliverance from their King. Praise be to God for all that he does, and I hope that all people learn to trust in God as their creator, ruler, and king.