Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So
My children love a good story. Whether it’s a fictional tale about forest creatures or events from their grandparent’s life, they always beg for more. This love for story doesn’t expire with age. How many billions of dollars go into the movie industry so adults can sit and watch a story unfold before their eyes? In recent years, the power of personal story has gained further traction thanks to technology. Celebrities are applauded for telling their brave stories of personal victories online and previously unknown individuals rise to viral stardom by sharing stories of encouragement, humor, or sometimes even selfishness.
Amidst the many personal narratives that show up on screens each day, the church is tasked with our own orders regarding stories. Though our stories may not necessarily need to reach hundreds, Psalm 107 urges the redeemed to proclaim their rescue accounts (Ps. 107:2). The chapter highlights four key situations from which the Lord has rescued his people. They include the wilderness, prison, rebellion, and dangerous storms.
When carefully examined, these stanzas give the church a beautiful blueprint of which stories we are meant to tell.
Stories of Biblical History
Of course the greatest story we could tell as Christians is the story of God’s redemption. And this story we know does not begin in Matthew, but in Genesis. It’s easy to see why the Israelites would sing this Psalm during sacrifices as they reminded themselves of the redemption God had already shown for his people.
Many did wander in desert wastes and found themselves hungry and thirsty (Ps. 107:4–5), for the Israelites cried out to the Lord in the wilderness and received water from the rock and manna from the heavens (Ex. 16–17). This stanza brings to mind images of Elijah, exhausted and hungry in the wastelands, only to be fed by ravens (1 Kings 17). One might also think of Hagar and Ishmael who found themselves destitute in the desert, prepared to die, until the Lord revived and replenished them (Gen. 21).
The history of God’s people continues throughout the rest of the Psalm, as we are reminded of the Israelites being set free from captivity of the Egyptians and later from invading nations. The Judges and Kings are then spoken of, portrayed as those who were “fools through their sinful ways,” often drawing near to death through sickness like Hezekiah, Naaman, or Nebuchadnezzar, only to turn and cry out to the Lord in their trouble (Ps. 107:19) and find deliverance (2 Kings 5, 20; Dan. 4).
This chapter beckons us to tell the story of redemption throughout all of biblical history because all of the Scriptures point ahead to Christ’s death and resurrection. God’s faithful deliverance is displayed throughout the pages of the Bible, and we are to tell all of these beautiful stories.
Stories of the Church
Though the stanzas of Psalm 107 are limited in number, the stories of God’s deliverance did not end when the canon was closed. God’s spoken, inspired Word is complete (Heb. 1:1), but the work he does in our lives continues. He’s still redeeming and building his church (Matt. 16:18).
“God’s spoken, inspired Word is complete, but the work he does in our lives continues. He’s still redeeming and building his church.”
Surely the situations described in this psalm are the reality of the church throughout her entire history—saints have been and will continue to be carried into deliverance from the wilderness, imprisonment, and their own foolishness. In the church of God we have varying examples of God’s goodness and steadfast love in all kinds of circumstances; we need to tell and hear these stories too.
Psalm 107:20, for example, speaks of those who have been “delivered . . . from their destruction.” St. Augustine left a life of rebellion and licentiousness that was ruining himself before the Lord similarly delivered him from his own destruction, and it is good for us to hear his story. John Newton faced a terrible storm that brought him face to face with his need for mercy from the Lord. More recently, we can read of Mez McConnell, who lived in the wastelands of abuse and neglect followed by violence and imprisonment, to eventually find his longing soul satisfied with Christ (Ps. 107:20). We know many stories of prisoners who have found true freedom in Christ or men and women who have been brought low by the difficulties of life only to find the Lord as their true deliverer.
The beauty of the body allows us to hear the stories of the Lord’s deliverance in a thousand different ways. He continues to show his steadfast, covenantal love toward his people as he pulls them out of darkness and into his glorious light. We need the stories of the whole church—the historical church, the present-day church, and especially the stories of our local church congregation.
The Story of Ourselves
Psalm 107 also reflects a more pointed story of ourselves. Perhaps you don’t have an interesting testimony of conversion. Maybe, like me, you’ve found yourself feeling anxious to share your own testimony because it never seemed compelling to proclaim you grew up in a Christian home. Yet this couldn’t be further from the truth. The stories written within Psalm 107 have much to tell us about our own story of redemption.
Before Christ saved us, we were in the wilderness. We filled our mouths with sand while our bodies yearned for the living water we didn’t know existed. Though on the outside we looked free, we were truly in irons that held us captive since Adam (Jn. 8:34). We were fools following after sin, even though it led to the grave (Rom. 6:23). The storms of life destroyed our courage and melted our hearts.
“The beauty of the body allows us to hear the stories of the Lord’s deliverance in a thousand different ways. God continues to pull us out of darkness and into his glorious light.”
But God redeemed us. He gave us the true bread of life and taught us to hunger and thirst after his righteousness. And we were blessed (Matt. 5:26). God broke our chains and led us into freedom, no longer slaves to death and sin, but now slaves to Christ—free to love, serve, and have hope (Rom. 6:18–22). We were delivered from our own destruction and raised to new life in Christ (Col. 3:1–3).
Christian, this is your story. No matter how boring you think your conversion was, in reality you were a despicable rebel, who was delivered—a prisoner set free and a wanderer who was nourished all because of the steadfast love of the Lord. Let the redeemed tell our story.
Attend to These Things
This beautiful Psalm ends with a simple directive. “Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things” (Ps. 107:43). What do the wise do? We soak in these stories. We are present with them. We share them. We remind ourselves of the Lord’s great deeds. For the point of these stories is not the greatness of our change but the glory of the one who did the changing. We are to “thank the Lord for his steadfast love,” “tell of his deeds in songs of joy,” and “praise him in the assembly” (Ps. 107:8, 22, 32).
We do this in our own Bible study and in our conversations with our brothers and sisters. We speak of him in the gathered assembly, and we speak of him over text messages and phone calls. Keep telling the stories, don’t grow weary of them. It is wise to do so, for it brings us to greater fear and glory in the God who wrote our redemption (Prov. 9:10). Keep telling of his glorious deeds throughout the Scriptures and of the two thousand years of history that proclaim him afterward. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so” (Ps. 107:2).
Brianna Lambert is a wife and mom to three, making their home in the cornfields of Indiana. She loves using writing to work out the truths God is teaching her each day. She is a staff writer with GCD and has contributed to various online publications, such as Morning by Morning and Fathom magazine. You can find more of her writing paired with her husband’s photography at lookingtotheharvest.com.