Focus: Why Not Praise God? (Pt.3)

Text: Ps.107:21

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

We have come to the third group - the hopeless sick men. In the first and second groups we have seen the clueless travelers and the helpless prisoners. Now we focus on the third group - the hopeless sick ones. Let us inquire as to why they are in this sick condition. 

The psalmist says that it is because they are "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." Their sins are sickening them and they are losing the appetite for food and for hope. They are suffering from self-inflicted diseases. Their sin is making them sick. 

Sin is an act of self-poisoning. It triggers negative emotions and corrupted mind or mental mess.

Man seems to be having a "perennial determination to get hurt," to use the words of Derek Kidner. And it is true what Spurgeon said, that "sin is at the bottom of all sorrow, but some sorrows are the immediate result of wickedness; men by a course of transgression afflict themselves and are fools for their pains."

The psalmist calls them "fools." The word 'fool' here refers not only the silly or stupid, but also the perverse. Man's foolishness is his biggest undoing. Look at all the atrocities that Saul of Tarsus committed against the church, yet when he received the light of God in his soul, he said, "I did it in ignorance." Look at the wickedness that the Jewish leader meted out to Christ, yet he prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Much of our sin is rooted in our ignorance and stems from it.

Our God is so good and gracious, for every time we summon the faith and courage to call upon Him, He comes to our rescue. The psalmist says that these hopeless sick ones "cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions." O the power of God-sent word! The word of God is not only energetic and creative, but also curative. It is for this reason that the psalmist is calling on all men to praise God. He says, "Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing."

Has God not been good and gracious to you? Has God not been faithful to you? What has God not done for you? He forgives your sins and heals your soul and body. He delivers you from trouble and restores your hope. His word is working in you and His blessings are showing all over you. By the Lord's mercy you have survived all that the enemy has thrown at you, and by the Lord's mercy you will keep surmounting all of life's challenges.

Praise the Lord! Worship His holy name! Magnify the majesty of the Lord and give Him the glory due His name! The Lord has done so much for you! So sing Him songs of praise, and be mindful of the fact that God inhabits the praises of His people.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter