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March 8 - Psalm 107 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends. Yep, you guessed it.
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  It's shown here and it is a Friday and you've made it to the
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  end of the week. Well done, you.
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  I hope that the weekend ahead has filled with some promise in
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  our part of the world. It's even a long weekend to look
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  forward to, which is pretty spectacular.
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  But wherever you are and whatever you have got planned
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  for today and the days ahead, I'm glad that you have found
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  this moment to join me, to read Assam together.
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  And today we begin the final of the five books of Psalms,
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  reading some 107. This is a sum of praise as the
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  Psalmist looks back over Israel's long history and all
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  the times where Yahweh has saved them from all sorts of people
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  who are trying to oppress them. This is a very grateful psalmist
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  praising a very big and faithful God.
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  Not a bad way for us to end the week as we reflect on all the
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  times that God has been faithful to us.
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  Providing answers, providing friends, providing love,
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  providing forgiveness, providing an identity when we weren't
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  quite sure how we fit in. Yep, we have a very good God.
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  So this Friday, let us put down all those things that are
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  weighing us down or drawing us forward or casting us back.
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  And let us be here, present in this moment.
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  Holy Spirit, come they praise for you overflow from our heart,
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  from the tips of our toes all the way up to the hairs on our
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  head, as we sing and share this sum together in our hearts.
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  What more is there to do other than to share the same?
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  Psalm 107. Give thanks to the Lord, for he
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  is good. His faithful love endures
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  forever. Has the Lord redeemed you?
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  Then speak out. Tell others he has redeemed you
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  from your enemies. For he has gathered his exiles
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  from many lands from east and West, from North and South.
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  Some wondered in the wilderness, lost and homeless, hungry and
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  thirsty. There nearly died.
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  Lord Help, they cried in their trouble and he rescued them from
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  their distress. He led them straight to safety,
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  to a city where they could live. Let them praise the Lord for his
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  great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
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  For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good
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  things. Some sat in darkness and deepest
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  gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery.
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  They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the council of
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  the Most High. That is why he broke them with
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  hard labour. They fell, and no one was there
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  to help them. Lord, help.
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  They cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their
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  distress. He led them from the darkness
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  and deepest gloom. He snapped their chains.
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  Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful
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  things he has done for them. For he broke down their prison
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  gates of bronze. He cut apart their bars of iron.
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  Some were fools. They rebelled and suffered for
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  their sins. They couldn't stand the thought
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  of food, and they were knocking on death's door.
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  Lord help, they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from
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  their distress. He sent out His word and healed
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  them, snatching them from the door of death.
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  Let them praise the Lord for His great love and for the wonderful
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  things He has done for them. Let them offer sacrifices of
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  Thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.
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  Some went off to sea and ships, plying the trade routes of the
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  world. They too, observed the Lord's
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  power and action, his impressive works.
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  On the deepest seas he spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up
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  the waves. Their ships were tossed to the
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  heavens and plunged again to the depths.
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  The sailors cringed in terror. They reeled and staggered like
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  drunkards, and were at their wits.
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  End. Lord help, they cried in their
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  trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
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  He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.
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  What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them
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  safely into harbour. Let them praise the Lord for his
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  great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
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  Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and
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  before the leaders of the nation.
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  He changed his rivers into deserts and springs of water
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  into dry, thirsty land. He turns the fruitful land into
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  salty wastelands because of the wickedness of those who live
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  there. But he also turns deserts into
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  pools of water, the dry land into springs of water.
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  He brings the hungry to settle there and to build their cities.
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  They sow their fields, plant their vineyards and harvest
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  their bumper crops. How he blesses them.
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  They raised large families there, and their herds of
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  livestock increase when they decrease their number and become
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  impoverished through oppression, trouble and sorrow.
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  The Lord pours contempt on their princes, causing them to wander
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  in trackless wastelands, but he rescues the poor from trouble
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  and increases their families like flocks of sheep.
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  The godly will see these things and be glad, while the wicked
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  has struck silent. Those who are wise will take all
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  this to heart. They will see in our history the
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  faithful love of the Lord. You are a faithful God.
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  You are present when we find ourselves in the darkest
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  valleys, when we but our heads up against brick walls and find
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  there's no way out. There you are, with your arms
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  open wide. You know exactly what it's like,
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  Lord, to be at the bottom of the deepest, darkest valley.
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  That's where you placed yourself, so that you could be
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  there to welcome us and to love us.
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  And as this Psalmist writes again and again to deliver us,
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  to give us hope, to give us joy, even when we have no right to
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  feel joyful, you save us, and you remind us that you have won
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  the war and you hold us safely in the palm of your hand.
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  You are a mighty mighty God and we just fall before you in
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  worship and we pray all of this and the saving name of Jesus.
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  Ah man.