The Right Way in Retrospect
From Psalm 107 – 1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
3 And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And He led them forth by the right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
"Sudden change," reflects Dr. Matthew Clark quoting John Calvin in Clark's sermon "Responding to the Storm" "precedes only from the hidden providence of God."
Perhaps this high vantage point is what allows the Psalmist as historian to recall Israel's journey with such distinct adjectives maintaining productive tension within a few verses of each other. Looking BACK on the formative national experience in Exodus and Numbers, the Psalmist's verdict is that the way was right. The GPS in the NIV even calls it straight. What is distressing in that?
He, and the Holy Spirit Who inspires him recognize the value in cool, retrospective reflection. They both also recognize that the experience on the journey is different. It can be distressing. It feels like wondering when we haven't arrived yet. The cries are real, and personal, and painful. The elements which buffet us without a city, or at least without a city of our cozy, complete narrative remind us of our vulnerability in exceedingly uncomfortable ways.
Perhaps the rightness or straightness the Psalmist now perceives is not solely the product of changed human perspective. Perhaps he and some of his countrymen have found that true continuity is in God Himself. Spurgeon certainly anchors his hope here in Morning and Evening, declaring "Past deliverances are strong pleas for present assistance. What the Lord has done He will do again, for He changes not."
This we can declare, then, when signposts are scarce. God changes not, and we cannot count His thoughts toward us. His arm is still long enough and strong enough to deliver us from whatever our latest crisis or perceived crisis is. We may not see the fullness of the physical provision we are confident He has for us, but along the way He feels are hungry souls with His goodness.
For His mercy endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
3 And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And He led them forth by the right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
"Sudden change," reflects Dr. Matthew Clark quoting John Calvin in Clark's sermon "Responding to the Storm" "precedes only from the hidden providence of God."
Perhaps this high vantage point is what allows the Psalmist as historian to recall Israel's journey with such distinct adjectives maintaining productive tension within a few verses of each other. Looking BACK on the formative national experience in Exodus and Numbers, the Psalmist's verdict is that the way was right. The GPS in the NIV even calls it straight. What is distressing in that?
He, and the Holy Spirit Who inspires him recognize the value in cool, retrospective reflection. They both also recognize that the experience on the journey is different. It can be distressing. It feels like wondering when we haven't arrived yet. The cries are real, and personal, and painful. The elements which buffet us without a city, or at least without a city of our cozy, complete narrative remind us of our vulnerability in exceedingly uncomfortable ways.
Perhaps the rightness or straightness the Psalmist now perceives is not solely the product of changed human perspective. Perhaps he and some of his countrymen have found that true continuity is in God Himself. Spurgeon certainly anchors his hope here in Morning and Evening, declaring "Past deliverances are strong pleas for present assistance. What the Lord has done He will do again, for He changes not."
This we can declare, then, when signposts are scarce. God changes not, and we cannot count His thoughts toward us. His arm is still long enough and strong enough to deliver us from whatever our latest crisis or perceived crisis is. We may not see the fullness of the physical provision we are confident He has for us, but along the way He feels are hungry souls with His goodness.
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