Let The Redeemed Of The Lord Say So Series

Introduction

How would you like to travel on a small ship for 66 days with about 130 other people and all their belongings?

The Pilgrims did that in 1620 on a ship called Mayflower.

Mayflower set sail from England in July 1620 but had to turn back twice because its sister ship, Speedwell, leaked.

After deciding to leave the leaky Speedwell behind, the Mayflower finally got underway on its journey to the New World on September 6, 1620.

Sixty-six days later, on November 11, 1620, Mayflower arrived at Cape Cod.

In the 1600s, the ocean was full of dangers.

Ships could be attacked by pirates or damaged by storms. Passengers could get sick, die, or fall overboard.

Pirates did not take over the Mayflower, but a storm severely damaged it. Many people were seasick, but only one person died on their way to America.

The psalm we are going to study today is Psalm 107.

This psalm is often called “The Pilgrims’ Psalm.” Perhaps more than any other portion of the Bible, it describes the various perils the Pilgrims experienced before, during, and after their courageous voyage to America.

Governor William Bradford explicitly referred to Psalm 107 in his well-known summary of their achievement:

May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: “Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness; but they cried unto the Lord, and he heard their voice and looked on their adversity,.… “Let them therefore praise the Lord, because he is good: and his mercies endure forever.” “Yes, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, shew how he hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord his loving kindness and his wonderful works before the sons of men” (James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 107–150: An Expositional Commentary [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005], 864).

Likely, Psalm 107 was often on the minds of the Pilgrims.

Psalm 107 is a psalm of thanksgiving by God’s people after their Babylonian captivity. The psalm thanks God for his deliverance from various perils.

That is why the Pilgrims loved Psalm 107. Like their ancient brothers and sisters, they also experienced God’s deliverance from various perils.

Scripture

Let’s read Psalm 107:1-43:

1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever!

2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,

whom he has 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 a city to dwell in;

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

till they reached a city to dwell in.

8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

9 For he satisfies the longing soul,

and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,

prisoners in affliction and in irons,

11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,

and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;

they fell down, with none to help.

13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,

and burst their bonds apart.

15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

16 For he shatters the doors of bronze

and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,

and because of their iniquities suffered 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 delivered them from their distress.

20 He sent out his word and healed them,

and delivered them from their destruction.

21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,

and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

23 Some went down to the sea in ships,

doing business on the great waters;

24 they saw the deeds of the LORD,

his wondrous works in the deep.