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Psalm 107:1-43

Our scripture reading today will be incorporated into the sermon.

Psummer of Psalms: Psalm 107

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, Independence Day, and it's a good occasion to remember that our own heritage as Presbyterians is intertwined in that of our nation. Twelve of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence were Presbyterians, and one (John Witherspoon) was a Presbyterian pastor--the only pastor to sign the document. In fact, Rev. Witherspoon was so vocal and influential in the debate leading up to the American revolution, that when word came to the Prime Minister of England (Horace Walpole) that the colonies were rebelling, he remarked that "Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson!" In our own history books, we refer to our struggle for independence as the "American Revolution," but in contemporary English sources at the time, it was occasionally referred to as the "Presbyterian Rebellion in the Colonies."

So when you fire up your grills tomorrow afternoon to celebrate, give thanks to God for our nation, four our independence, and also for the brave Presbyterians--then and now--whose courage and conviction inspires us.

Today's Psalm, the 107th Psalm, has an important independence day connection: It has been used in recent years as part of the liturgy for Israel's Independence Day in Jewish prayer books. There are, in my opinion, some striking similarities between

1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town;
5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress;
7 he led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
9 For he satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness and in gloom, prisoners in misery and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor; they fell down, with 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 and gloom, and broke their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17 Some were sick through their sinful ways and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to 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 and delivered them from destruction.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
22 And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.

23 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their calamity;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out from their distress;
29 he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their cattle decrease.

39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes,
41 but he raises up the needy out of distress and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness stops its mouth.
43 Let those who are wise pay attention to these things and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

• Book V - final section in the book of psalms
• Scottish immigrant and bagpipes joke