In Psalm 107 we have been given a four-fold picture of plight and salvation. Facing serious trouble, we cry out to God and He faithfully delivers. He gives homes for the homeless (v 1-9), freedom for the captives (v 10-16), healing for the sick (v 17-22), and safety for the storm-tossed (v 23-32). How can we not “thank the LORD for His steadfast love” and “His wondrous works”? Every stanza of this thanksgiving psalm has been a case study in the saving love of God. Some were in trouble because of their own guilt or foolishness. Others faced hardship that was totally beyond their control or responsibility. But despite the radically different situations, God heard each cry and provided exactly what was needed. This shows us that our salvation is not earned; it is entirely a gift of God’s grace. We cannot achieve it, but we can receive it. Praise God, whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be saved! But having saved us, God does not spare us from the trials that are common to all people. As the psalm moves toward its conclusion, it describes drought and crop failure (v 33-34). This is followed by refreshing rains and fruitful harvests (v 35-38). Then numbers are “diminished” and people “brought low” through “oppression, evil, and sorrow,” before they are raised up “out of affliction” to multiply and rejoice in God’s blessing again! (v 39-42). Life has its ups and downs, successes and failures, joys and heartaches. But all of this is in God’s wise, loving, sovereign hand. So regardless of our situation, we can choose to praise God for His steadfast love, as the psalmist does—and as the Pilgrims did when they arrived in America back in the late fall of 1620, thankful that God had allowed them to “establish a city to live in” (v 36). Dispossessed of their homes in England, they left their temporary homes in Holland for a perilous three-month crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. When they reached the shores of Massachusetts Bay at what came to be called Plymouth Colony, they had a home of their own at last. They suffered terribly during that first desperate winter, but they constructed rustic shelters for themselves and thus established the first permanent English settlement in North America. In the spring, the few healthy men planted crops, and the sick recovered. A bountiful harvest was gathered in the fall. But those good times didn’t last. Crops failed, sickness returned, and new fears arose. This is life for Christian pilgrims like you and me. “Whoever is wise” will take it to heart, always thankful for “the steadfast love of the LORD” (v 43). For further meditation: