Psalms 107: trouble, cry, deliverance, praise, repeat: part 5
December 28, 2017
Welcome to part 5 of Psalms 107!
Psalms 107
13 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
15 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
Verse 13
In verse 13, it says that God had saved them out of their distresses [plural].
Although distress is on the lower end of the intensity scale, the fact that the Israelites were surrounded by multiple distresses multiple times multiplies their effect.
Not a good place to be.
The 7 types of spiritual attacks against us
David was in the same place, so he went to the Lord in prayer as well.
Psalms 25:17
The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.
God delivered the Israelites from multiple distresses on 4 separate occasions.
Psalms 107
6 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
13 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
19 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Isaiah 45:22
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Nobody else can deliver us like God can.
No wonder the Israelites praised God 4 times!
Psalms 107
8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
15 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
21 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
31 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Verses 7 & 14
Psalms 107:14
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
Look at the perfect order of God’s deliverance!
Psalms 107
7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
- First, God’s light leads them in the right way,
- Out of the darkness,
- Breaks their bondage
- Heals them with his word,
- Delivered them from their destructions,
- Gives them peace, safety and gladness, the opposite of multiple distresses.
Are you confused about which way to go in life?
Which way do you want to go in life? God’s way is best!
Compare man’s ways…
Genesis 6:12
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
Proverbs 14:12
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
with God’s ways!
Proverbs 10:17
He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.
Proverbs 10:29
The way of the Lord is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
Isaiah 55:9
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 35 [amplified bible]
7 And the burning sand (mirage) will become a pool [of water] And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, where they lay resting, grass becomes reeds and rushes.
8 A highway will be there, and a roadway; And it will be called the Holy Way. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for those who walk on the way [the redeemed]; And fools will not wander on it.
9 No lion will be there, nor will any predatory animal come up on it; They will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there.
10 And the ransomed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with shouts of jubilation, And everlasting joy will be upon their heads; They will find joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
In verse 9, the real emphasis isn’t talking about physical lions and tigers and bears, [oh my!] but rather spiritual lions and tigers and bears.
Jesus Christ is called the lion out of Judah and the devil is referred to as a lion who devours you in the bible.
Revelation 5:5
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
I Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
However, many times throughout the bible, animals are also used figuratively to represent various kinds or categories of devil spirits.
Lions, for example, would be in the animalistic and vicious category.
These are the devil spirits that incite people to commit such crimes as murder, rape, and torture.
This is where psychology missed the boat because it basically says that behavior is solely caused by things in the 5-senses realm, but that is only 1/2 the story.
The truth is that human behavior is more influenced by spiritual sources than anything else.
Even the famous French existential philosopher Jean-paul Sartre [1905 – 1980] essentially admits this by saying that to reflect on one’s own experience puts one immediately into a condition of anguish, for one is asked to give an account of [and ultimately, an account for] something elusive and unexplainable.
The “elusive and unexplainable” is the spiritual realm which consists of the word and will of God, which is the bible, and the devil’s will, which is everything that contradicts God’s word.
Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Ultimately, everybody is either knowingly or unknowingly carrying out the will of the one true God or the God of this world, the devil.
The Pharisees and Sadducees, deceived and deceptive religious leaders in the first century, tried to murder Jesus and the apostle Paul several different times [the will of Satan], but the Lord protected them from their enemies.
John 16
1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
Idolatry always brings devil spirits in like a magnet.
Revelation 18:2
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
There are 2 Babylons: the physical city that was in the middle east that had the Euphrates river running through the middle of it and the other represents the spiritual realm of the devil.
Modern-day Babylon in Iraq, about 50 miles south of Baghdad. It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world from c. 1770 to 1670 BC, and again between c. 612 and 320 BC.
There are no devil spirits on God’s true way of holiness.
The Lord’s way is spiritually clean.
Yoda version: the way of the Lord, clean is…
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus Christ is the true and living way.
God’s pure light leads us out of darkness!
I John 1:5
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Acts 26:18
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Colossians 1:13
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
God breaks the bands of bondage!
This means that we have been delivered from the bondage of the world.
Deuteronomy 6:12
Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Romans 8:15
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
One of the many types of devil spirits are bondage spirits, which, as the name implies, puts people into various forms of bondage.
In other words, they are afraid to live for God.
Acts 21:20
And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
Religious legalism often drives people into bondage, mentally and spiritually enslaving them.
Hebrews 2
14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Bondage often leads to fear, which we can cast out of our hearts, homes, and lives with the love of God.
Galatians 2:4
And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
Galatians 4 [amplified bible]
9 Now, however, since you have come to know [the true] God [through personal experience], or rather to be known by God, how is it that you are turning back again to the weak and worthless elemental principles [of religions and philosophies], to which you want to be enslaved all over again?
10 [For example,] you observe [particular] days and months and seasons and years.
11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored [to the point of exhaustion] over you in vain.
12 Believers, I beg of you, become as I am [free from the bondage of Jewish ritualism and ordinances], for I have become as you are [a Gentile]. You did me no wrong [when I first came to you; do not do it now].
Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Verse 15
Psalms 107:15
Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
There are only 9 verses in the bible that contain both words “wonderful” and “works”.
Psalm 40:5
Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
4 of them [44%] are in Psalms 107, more than any other place in the bible.
Remember that Psalms 107-150 is the 5th and final section of Psalms which has God’s word as the main subject, so in context, God’s word is the Lord’s greatest work ever.
Psalms 138:2
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Acts 2:11
Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
Speaking in tongues is just one of the many wonderful works of God.
Praising God is a sign that we are thankful to him for what he has done for us.
As a matter of fact, being thankful can actually improve your comprehension!
The 136th psalm starts and ends with thankfulness.
Psalms 136
1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Verse 16
Psalms 107:16
For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder
Gates of brass
The phrase “gates of brass” [kjv] is only used twice in the entire bible: psalms 107:16 and Isaiah 45.
Isaiah 45
1 Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron
However, the Hebrew word for brass actually refers to bronze. This Hebrew word is used 10 times in the bible, all in the old testament.
What do history, metallurgy, and nutrition have in common?
There are 3 different metals known as the red metals:
- Copper
- Brass [copper + zinc]
- Bronze [copper + tin and other materials]
Copper Ore
Copper is one of the few metals that occur in nature in directly usable metallic form [native metals] as opposed to needing extraction from an ore. This led to very early human use.
An alloy is a metal made by combining two or more metallic elements, especially to give greater strength or resistance to corrosion, so brass and bronze are alloys.
Bronze is harder than copper [and even pure iron!], easier to melt and pour into molds and is far more resistant to corrosion.
It was used in making weapons, statues, and ornaments.
It’s interesting that in both Psalms 107:16 and Isaiah 45:2, brass [bronze] is mentioned first, then iron second.
This is historically accurate since the bronze age occurred before the iron age because extracting iron from iron ore is much more complex and expensive than just using copper directly.
Furthermore, if only 2% to as low as 0.002% carbon is combined with iron, they make steel, which is a metal alloy that has different characteristics than iron.
From a nutritional point of view, copper and iron are essential minerals.
Without copper in the diet, iron cannot even be absorbed, so copper is a prerequisite for iron absorption and that is why its listed before iron.
Thus, from historical, metallurgical and nutritional viewpoints, the order of the words bronze [which is almost all copper] and iron in Psalms 107:16 are perfect.
Since history, metals and nutrition are either mentioned or related to this verse, this is what they all have in common.
The gates of Babylon
Gates of bronze could easily be a description of the gates holding the prisoners in a prison, but could also be a figurative description of the gates that were around the city of Babylon, since the Israelites were held captive in the city of Babylon as well.
Ancient biblical cities had a protective wall around them and metal gates would guard the entrances.
Herodotus, the first great Greek historian, said to be the father of history, said the walls of Babylon were 50 meters thick and 100 meters high with tunnels inside that could carry horses and chariots!
Although it has been said that there were 100 gates guarding Babylon, with 25 on each side, archeologists so far have only found 8.
Nevertheless, these gates were made of bronze and often were covered with large plates of iron, making them virtually impenetrable.
Thus when God broke these gates, the Israelites were finally freed from their bondage as prophesied in the old testament, 70 years after they were captured.
“The Walls of Babylon and the Temple of Bel (Or Babel)”, by 19th-century illustrator William Simpson— influenced by early archaeological investigations.
