I’ve had a good time going through the Wisdom books at most one chapter per day. I hope you have too. We’re now entering the last phase. We interspersed the five books of the Psalms with Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon, and now we’re on the last lap: Psalms, Book Five. (Or Book V, depending on your version!)

Book 5 opens with a bang: Psalm 107, the psalm of deliverance:

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, And gathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south. (Psalm 107.1 – 3, NKJV)

And the text follows with a variety of things to be delivered from:

They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them. (Psalm 107.4, 5, NKJV)

…

Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons— Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High, Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. (Psalm 107.10 – 12, NKJV)

…

Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, And they drew near to the gates of death. (Psalm 107.17, 18, NKJV)

…

Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, They see the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end. (Psalm 107.23 – 27, NKJV)

Four situations all ending in despair and all followed by the same response:

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses. (Psalm 107.6, 13, 19, 28, NKJV)

They prayed! And God delivered. Each vignette is followed by the specifics of their deliverance and ends with this challenge:

Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! (Psalm 107.8, 15, 21, 31, NKJV)

Take a few minutes and read the whole psalm, which ends with:

Whoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD. (Psalm 107.43, NKJV)