Psalm 107 - The Redeemed Have a Story to Tell

I'm going to invite you this morning to Psalm 107, where we're going to be together today. Psalm 107, and I want you to know this psalm has 43 verses. I'm not going to be able to dive into the details of every one of the verses and what they mean for us, but I do want you to have a broader understanding of what this Psalm is and why we should appreciate it as God's people.

One of the things that I find that is most endearing about this Psalm is that this psalm is a psalm that really transcends every circumstance of life. One of the things we've talked about in the uniqueness of the book of Psalms, we often say together is, out of the 66 books of the Bible, 65 of them are primarily seen as God's response to you, God sharing with us who he is. This particular book of the Bible is unique among all the others in that it's man's response back to God. It's helping us understand how to worship the Lord in light of who he is. And really, there's a psalm for about every season of life that you might go through. There's Psalms that you could gravitate to that remind us how to walk with the Lord in circumstances that we might be facing.

But one of the things that makes Psalm 107 unique is that it's not primarily focused on just a specific season of life. It's a psalm that we should reflect upon in every season of life, as it teaches us how to root our identity in who Christ is and what it means to move forward in our lives. In light of that, this psalm really should become a bedrock psalm to all of our life.

When you read through certain Psalms, you'll find that there are certain scriptures of the Bible, certain Psalms of the Bible that will resonate with your soul because of seasons of life that you're going through, and they're wonderful to have. And when you go back to that season of life, or you encounter someone else going through that season of life, there are certain passages that we should embed in the core of our being, so that we can share that with others, and we can remind ourselves of verses of Scripture in light of who God is. Psalm 107 is one of those where it's not just a Psalm that's important for a specific season, but it's a psalm that we should find our hearts resonating with in every season of life.

One of the things that's interesting about this particular psalm, though it relates to every season of life, is that Psalm 107 has often been referred to as the Pilgrim Psalm. And I literally mean the pilgrims we often think about here in America, the reason we celebrate Thanksgiving. It's this specific psalm that the pilgrims gravitated to in their plight in life, as they were forced out of England because of persecution. They ran to Holland and eventually from Holland they came to the United States, and they found their identity in what this Psalm communicated, so much so that William Bradford, the governor at Plymouth, when they landed in 1620, as he wrote his book about that landing, he went back and reflected on their lives. And he quoted directly from this Psalm. He said the pilgrims were ready to perish in this wilderness. For they cried to the Lord. And the Lord heard their cry and looked on their adversity. And then he quotes the psalm. It says, let them therefore praise the Lord, because he is good, and his mercies endure forever. Yet let them which have been redeemed of the Lord show how he has delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no place to dwell in, both hungry and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord his loving kindness and his wonderful works before the sons of men. He's quoting directly from this Psalm and how they rooted themselves in this particular season of life.

But more than just a psalm of the pilgrims, for at least the last couple of centuries, if you're from America and familiar with the story, this psalm is also known as the Psalm of the Jewish plight. Meaning when you read through the book of Psalms, I told you there's 150 chapters in the Psalms, and we see it as one big book. But the Jewish people understood it as five distinct books within the one bigger book. Among these five distinct books, Psalm chapter one all the way to chapter 41 was book one, Psalm chapter 42 to 72 was book two, Psalm chapter 73 to 89 was book three, chapter 90 to 106 is book four, and chapter 107 to 150 is book five. So we're looking at Psalm 107, which is the last book of the five books found in the book of Psalms.

And as you look at these five distinct books, the way they play themselves out is the first couple of books remind themselves of the promises that they have in the Lord, as their identity is rooted in him. But yet the middle books remind us that as they rebelled against the Lord, they were taken into captivity. And then we get to the end of the book of Psalms, they're looking forward to the redemption, the restored story in the Lord, the way that God pursued them, though they were in rebellion and found themselves in captivity, and God brought them liberty, he brought them back to this place of freedom.

And so Psalm 107 is very much reflective of that. In fact, Psalm 107 is also a part of a trilogy. Meaning when you look at Psalm 105, 106, 107, it's telling that redemptive story. It's saying in Psalm 105 how the children of Israel were promised to belong to the Lord. From the time of Abraham, they were brought into that promised land. And so you see that expressed throughout Psalm 105. And then in 106, you see them rebelling as they're in the promised land, and they're taken into captivity. And then Psalm 107 is God bringing that deliverance.

And for us, the story of the children of Israel becomes a tangible expression of everything that God would redeem through us in a spiritual sense. Meaning when you look at the life of the children of Israel, you see physically reflected what God would ultimately do for us spiritually. What I mean by it is if you were to open up the gospel of Matthew, one of the most popular sections of the Gospel of Matthew is the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter five, where Jesus gives us that grand message as his inauguration, as he's presented to the world as the Messiah and King coming to deliver. He gives really his inauguration speech to us. What is it like to belong to him, who came for our deliverance? And up until that point, those first four chapters of the book of Matthew, the writer lays out for us the story of Jesus lived out, but he lives out his story in such a way that he's walking literally the path of the children of Israel. And even though the children of Israel walked a path, they did so disobediently. But in the first four chapters of the book of Matthew, you see Jesus walking this path obediently.

Meaning as Jesus was born in the promised land, so Abraham was taken to this place. But the children of Israel were taken to Egypt and were enslaved. And Jesus had to run for his life to Egypt to escape the hand of Herod from the place of death. But then he's brought back from Egypt, and as the children of Israel were carried through the wilderness, they wandered for 40 years. And Jesus, in the beginning of Matthew, wanders through the wilderness and faces temptation for 40 days and 40 nights to reflect the 40 years of the children of Israel. And just as the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River, Jesus comes to the Jordan River and is baptized. And you see Jesus as that true Israelite, the only one who fulfilled what the Father declared he should do. And because of that he becomes our redemption. He becomes our path of freedom.

And for you and for me, it's important to see how this story correlates to our lives. Because when you see from the very beginning of the book of Genesis, you find that God created you for relationship. And in that relationship you were called to rest in him. It's why, as you read the creation story, it tells you first day God creates and there's morning and evening. Second day God creates and there's morning and evening. Third day goes on. Fourth day, morning and evening. Fifth day, morning and evening. Sixth day, morning and evening. Then God gets to the seventh day. He creates, and it tells us that God rests, but it never tells us there's an end to that rest. There's never a morning and evening. And so the idea in Scripture that's painted for us is that we're intended to belong to the Lord, that we were never called to leave that day of rest.

And you see throughout the history of the children of Israel that they were called to have a day called the Sabbath, Saturday, in which they were to rest in the Lord, reflective of their relationship. They were called to belong to a relationship they abandoned because of their own rebellion. And so from the book of Genesis, you see this rebellion in mankind, that we asserted ourselves as if we are God, that we sit on the throne of our lives, and we declared right from wrong, and we abandoned our relationship with the Lord.

But God didn't leave us there. He pursued us with his own life. And rather now than acknowledging Saturday as a Sabbath, we typically gather on a Sunday because that was the day of Jesus's resurrection, showing that God didn't leave us there, that he pursued us with his life so that we could have freedom in him, that he called us to that place of rest. And Sunday is a wonderful day for God's people to gather. I look at this as our really our anthem day, where we celebrate what we have in Christ. This is the cry of our soul, what we have in Jesus. So Sunday is an important day for us.

But more than just Sunday, when Jesus said to us in Matthew chapter 11, he gave this proclamation to a religious world that was worn out by their religion. He said to them, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Our rest is not about a day. Our rest is not about a place. Our rest is about a person.

And when you look at this specific psalm, Psalm 107, which I'm leaving myself not very much time to dive into, so I got to jump into this. But the first three verses give you an introduction. And then verse four to verse 32 give us this body where it reminds us of four points of how we should celebrate this. And finally, verse 33 to 43, he gives us this conclusion.

But I want you to see in this introduction what he's saying to us. It's the theme of everything I just said. He says, oh, give thanks to the Lord. This is your call, that we would give thanks from the being of our soul. And he tells you why. For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. He says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble, and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, and from the north and from the south.

So this is a call to give thanks. And he's telling us the reason we should do this is because of the redeemed. He's saying it's the redeemed of the Lord that should be lifting their voices to proclaim this. Some translations say in verse two, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Some translations say, let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim this. This is the anthem cry of your soul. It's your voice that should be lifted for this purpose. And he's using this psalm as if to say, remember, because we often have this tendency of forgetting. But he's saying, recall this at the depth of who you are, because this is core to your being. This is the foundation of your life. This is the guidepost for everything that you pursue. This defines you.

And he uses this word redemption. Which leads me with a couple of questions we should ask ourselves. What does that mean? And am I that person? Am I one of those redeemed? Because you see in verse three that he's gathering these people from everywhere, from the east and the west and the north and the south, everywhere, everyone. They're coming together under this title of redemption, which leads them to give thanks. So what does this idea of redeem mean? And do I belong to this? Because if I belong, this should be the cry of my life.

And when you understand what redemption means, the word is literally defined as rescue, or to buy someone. It's a word that would be used to purchase someone from the slave market. And it's exactly the picture that Scripture paints for your life and mine. Meaning we had found ourselves a prisoner of another. Our souls were held captive by sin and death. But God doesn't leave us there. He pursues us that we could find freedom in him and rest for our souls. And we understand the significance of what that is when we are reminded of it. It leads to the depth of our life to cry out from our being the richness that we possess in him.

And so in Psalm 107 today, the title of your message is this: the redeemed have a story to tell. And we think about what is that song of our soul that we are called to sing. And we're just going to look at four points of what that's about.

Let me give you number one, because I need to quickly start diving further into this text. Number one is this: we have a home for the wanderer. We have a home for the wanderer.

When you read in verse four, it says, some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way, till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man. For he satisfies the longing of the soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

When you read this particular section, you find very quickly why the pilgrims would have been attracted to such a passage. Being kicked out of England because of persecution, to go to Holland and America, they were certainly wanderers. They were pilgrims. But even more than that, when you read this passage, you can also reflect on what it was like to be the children of Israel during this time period. They are reminded of how they were taken into captivity because of the Babylonians. They were ripped from their places of protection, their cities that held them and gave them security. And they were moved and they were exposed. And now they longed for that place of peace, that place of being connected, that place of being protected.

During this specific time period, it's important to remember that if difficult things happen, if someone came against you, there was no police officer to call. The protection of the people was determined by the city in which they dwelt, and the walls that stood around them, and their family members that came to their aid. And now, suddenly being ripped from the protection of the city and being dragged off as a foreigner to another land and being left to the open countryside, they were open to whatever the wild animals would bring or the marauders that would visit.

And what furthermore is interesting about this particular passage is the reason this was produced was not because of something necessarily someone else did, but because of their own destructive path and choosing a life contrary to the Lord. God had warned them over and over again. Don't forsake me. Trouble is coming. But yet the children of Israel continued to abandon the Lord, and in so doing they lost their home.

But one of the things I think is important to see is that where their satisfaction is coming from is not just simply in a city in itself. The satisfaction comes from something greater, that longing deep within their soul, that they are recognizing that what they yearn for is home. But home is something much deeper than just being present in a place. It's where you're called to ultimately belong.

We don't have to be taught what it means to appreciate the idea or the sense of home. We gravitate to even videos on social media that remind us of the significance of it. For example, sometimes there's a popular video where a soldier goes off to battle and when he returns from the battlefield, rather than just simply walk through his home, sometimes there might be some greater plan made where there might be an assembly of children at a school, and they call one of the students forward. And as they're calling the student forward, out from behind the stage or somewhere hidden, one of their parents appears who had returned from battle. And all of a sudden you get that endearing moment that home is more than just about a place. It's the sense of belonging. It's this yearning for peace deep within you that things aren't as they should be. But we long for that.

Even within the animal kingdom, there's the homing pigeon. Studies have been done that they can take that pigeon hundreds of miles, if not thousands of miles, and it's been proven that some of them can still find their way home. There is this longing ingrained within them for home.

Ecclesiastes chapter three, verse 11, the Bible says for all of us God has written eternity in your hearts. Meaning you may find a piece or a part of peace, a sense of satisfaction in a homely sense here in this world. But it's also important to recognize that the things of this world pass away. And you were made for more. And your ultimate sense of home is not so much about a specific place, but in a greater picture, that place where you were ultimately designed to belong, which is the Lord.

And even if the distance between you and God is because of your sin, this passage reminds us that God still pursues us in his grace. God does not give up on you. That's what this redemption that he's telling us about is revealing to us. We're made to belong. And there is this God who has not forgotten you. He has forgiven you. He has given everything that you could belong to him. Jesus offers peace. The redeemed have a story to tell. A home for the wanderer.

Number two, our story looks like this: it's freedom for the prisoner. Remember the home for the wanderer. Number two, remember the freedom for the prisoner. And he goes on and reminds us in verse ten, some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons. For they had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor. They fell down with none to help them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.

He's reminding us in this passage that the cause of their troubles was produced by their own rebellion. But even in that rebellion, God does not forget them, but rather God forgives them. You see, their rebellion is ultimately against the Lord, even though the Lord had warned them. And in so doing they find themselves in chains. But it's God who delivers them by breaking free those chains that they may walk in the joy of knowing him.

The prisoner is set free. Because you think of the significance of what it means to rebel against God and your own relationship with the Lord. There are a lot of things that we can go through in life and a lot of excuses that we can give as to why we might not follow God. But can I tell you, your greatest adversity in following the Lord is not what happens beyond you, but the war that wrestles within you. It's our own brokenness in our hearts.

The Bible reminds us in Ephesians chapter two, verse one, for you were dead in your trespasses and sins. And the Bible says our position before the Lord is in a state of being dead, meaning there's nothing that you can do to resurrect your own life before God. There's nothing that you can do to impress God with who you are. But then it goes on and tells us in First Peter, chapter one, verse 23, that you were raised to life by an imperishable seed, the word of God. And it's that word that gives you life. And you find in John chapter one, verses 1 to 14, that Jesus ultimately is that word. And that word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we had the opportunity to see his glory. And it tells us that he gave to us grace upon grace.

It's critical to understand that while Ephesians chapter two, verse one tells us we were dead in our trespasses and sins, that verse eight and nine then goes on and says, for by grace you are saved through faith, not of yourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. We often joke about that in talking about the boasting, that if you arrogantly think that it's you that earns the right to come before God, then the rest of us have to spend eternity listening to you talk about how great you are, and none of us want that. But if you understand what Ephesians two, eight and nine are saying, it's not because of you, but by the grace of God. So the boasting doesn't belong to you, but rather to him. And we spend eternity seeing the greatness of who he is, how he didn't give up on us, how he pursued us with his life. And he gives us not only freedom, but new identity in him.

And so this particular passage is recognizing the significance of that for you and for me. In fact, there is a theological word that we like to use to define this. It's the word, if you want to fill in the blank there, it's the word justification. And it means you've been freed from sin's penalty. It's saying to you, Jesus became as you are, so that you can become as he is. He took on your sin so that you could take on his righteousness. The word justification is a legal term and it literally means declared righteous. It's as if you go into a courtroom knowing that you're guilty. But before the judge slams the gavel to say, take him away forever, he slams that gavel and says, forgiven. You've been made justified. You've been declared righteous in him.

Nelson Mandela is somewhat of a complicated figure in history, but in the 1960s, he fought for the desegregation that was taking place in South Africa. Segregation was still existing. He led a peaceful movement to try to end it. But eventually it was outlawed that they could no longer have a peaceful movement to end segregation. And so he started to lead a band of individuals that started to attack vital places. He never harmed another human being, but they would go into infrastructure and started to lead revolts. And it ultimately ended with him in jail. And he became somewhat of a figure for the ending of segregation in South Africa. And he spent several decades in prison. And finally, in 1990, he was let free. And the question was, what kind of individual was going to walk out of those prison doors? And Nelson Mandela said this: as I walked out of the prison, I knew that I had to leave bitterness and hatred behind, because if I didn't, my prison would walk with me.

Guys, can I just tell you, when Jesus sets you free, he sets you free from everything. We come to him empty and we receive the full forgiveness of God because of what he's accomplished for us on the cross. We get to lay it down at his feet and step into this entirely new identity of which we walk into, because of the enrichment of Christ made known in our life.

The song of the redeemed is a song of a home for the wanderer. It's a psalm of freedom for the prisoner. And number three is this: it's a song of healing for the foolish. It's a song of healing for the foolish.

He goes on in verse 17, some were fools through their sinful ways and because of their iniquities suffered affliction. They loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy.

Here he is again, saying it was their own foolish sinfulness that brought them to this bondage, the children of Israel. And it's the same for us. Our sinfulness produces bondage of the soul, and we forget the richness that we have in Christ. And this call of this passage is to lay it down. And maybe we could ask of our own selves, just to do some soul searching this morning, and saying, what part of my life am I withholding from the Lord? What area of my life do I really think that God can't see? What area of my life do I think I could try to cover over by just trying to do some good deeds real quick? God sees it all. It's all bare to him. And whatever in our hearts is not fully surrendered to him, just to commit it to him. Whatever excuse we might make for our behavior, to realize I'm still accountable for what I do and the foolishness I walk in, to see that what ultimately heals me is the healing hand of God. His word alone sets me free. And what Jesus declared over me by his own life.

And it says the only response, finally in this Psalm, is starting to tell us, as he lays out these figures, how we should respond. And he says, let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving. He's saying, as God has laid down his life for you, the only logical response is that we would give ourselves in return to him. My God, my heart was made for you. And it's not until you have it fully that I'm truly wrapped up in all that you are, finding my identity in this. So God set me free. God, let me surrender my life to you because of what you've done for me. Let me lay it down and rejoice in thanksgiving because of who you are.

Maybe we could say it like this: sometimes as Christians, if we aren't careful, there are plenty of us that are willing to talk about the cross, but far fewer of us that are willing to take up the cross and follow him. The calling of the life of the believer is to lay down who we are for his glory, as he lay down who he is for ours.

There's a home for the wanderer. There's freedom for the prisoner. There's healing for the foolish. Number four, there's peace from the fearful. There is peace from the fearful.

Verse 23, some went down to the sea in ships doing business on the great waters. Can I just tell you, as we get ready to read these verses, maybe most of us might resonate with this section more than any other. And some of that is because when it comes to sinfulness, we don't always like to reflect in that way. Don't call me sinful. My mom thinks I'm something special. They might be sinful because they do bad things. But me? I'm great. Let me just tell you, there's a verse for that. Jesus says don't call out the splinter in your brother's eye when you've got a log in your own. It's good to be honest. But in this particular passage, what he's saying is sometimes we just get busy in the things of life and they distract us so much, and chasing after the dreams of this world, that we often turn from that and realize, man, I've gotten so far from God. The lure of the dreams of life can pull us from what we've ultimately been called to in him.

And verse 23 is saying, is that your soul right now? You've gotten so busy in the things of this world that you've given no time for God, and now your soul has been distracted, so many little gods that you've failed to see the worth of the one true God.

Some went down to the sea in ships doing business on the great waters. They saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to the heavens, and they went down to the depths. Their courage melted away in their evil plight. They reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end.

Can I just tell you, some of us look at that and we read this as a fearful moment. But can I tell you, if you're in that state right now, what else could God do to awaken your eyes to how much you need him? I mean, it becomes a response of God's mercy and grace to you that you would come to a place in life where you realize you're not as great as you thought you were. And the promises of this world aren't as tempting as you once saw, so that you could see something more, something greater, something far more wondrous and beautiful. And that is to be captivated by the splendor of who God is.

And so they're saying there came this moment where I got distracted, but then I was reminded just how small I am in this world, and that I needed something more. And the greatness of God being made known.

He goes on, verse 28, then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man. Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

They're saying it's this love in the midst of the brokenness of life that reminds us of the greatness of who God is. And we are thankful that even when we rebel against the Lord, even when we get lost in the temptations and the distractions of life, when our soul becomes overwhelmed in those moments, we can turn and see that there is a God who has not forsaken us. There is a God who has not given up on us, but rather we can turn to him and be forgiven, that he brings peace to my soul and he stills the waters of my life.

While the children of Israel are certainly seeing this as being physically taken out of captivity from Babylon, this passage reminds us that God desires to do this in your inner being, to bring this stillness to your life, that you could see the significance of who he is. And ultimately the fulfillment of all of these things is made known in Christ. Jesus is the one who gathers people from the nations, as it tells us in John chapter 11, verse 52. In John chapter ten, it tells us that he is the good Shepherd who takes the wandering sheep and he calls them home to him. He proclaims freedom to the captives, those who find themselves in prison, in Luke chapter four, verse 18. He is the ultimate word who heals us in John chapter one, verses 1 to 14. He is the one who calms the storm in Mark chapter four, verses 35 to 41. It's reminding us the song of the redeemed finds itself ultimately in everything that Christ is for you and for me.

And then he goes on in verse 33 to verse 42. I'm not going to be able to read all this, but I want you to see, if you take time this week to read this Psalm and reflect on it, what you're going to find is when we're proud, God brings us low. But when we're humble, God exalts us in him. That God speaks to the humble of heart. God's desire, more than anything, is for your heart to come before his presence. The greatest gift we give to the Lord is not something we do, but ourselves surrendered to him. And this psalm reflects on that.

And then this psalm ties itself together in one beautiful word. I gave you justification under point number two. Under point number three, your other word there is sanctification, that we're saved from the power of sin. And under point number four, the next word there is glorification. We're saved from the presence of sin. Ultimately this is made known in everything that Christ is for us.

But he ties this all together in one word. This word becomes a theme word for this entire Psalm. And more than that, it's a critical Hebrew word to know in all of the Old Testament. It's a word used some 250 times through the Old Testament. And it's a word that very much roots your identity in the Lord, and therefore a word that you should cling to. But here's what's interesting about this word: it's a difficult word to translate in English, because there's not one English word that truly captivates what this Hebrew word is. And that Hebrew word is the word hesed. Hesed in Hebrew is often translated in multiple different ways. In this particular verse, Psalm 107, verse 43, it says, whoever is wise, let him attend to these things. Let them consider the hesed, or the steadfast love, of the Lord. This word is peppered throughout this Psalm. It's in verse one, and it's characterized in each one of those points we made together. In all four of those points, it comes down to this idea, why do we want to sing this song? Well, it's because of hesed. It's understanding who you are in the Lord.

And sometimes when translators translate this word in English, they'll translate it as covenantal love. Sometimes they'll translate it as the kindness of God. Sometimes they'll translate it as the mercy of God. Sometimes they'll even loosely translate it as the amazing grace of God. Here in this passage, they translate it as the steadfast love of the Lord.

And look, when we use the word love in our culture, what's important to remember is it's a junk drawer word. It's something we could just use flippantly. But when it's used in the context of hesed, it's something more than just simply kindness. It's something more than just simply mercy or amazing grace. Maybe one of the best ways to define it is to give it a plurality of words to express it. It's the covenantal love of God that is faithfully unending, expressed to you in action. It's not just simply words God says, but it's the way God lives it out. It is an unending love.

And here's what's critical for you and I to consider: when we think about covenantal love, God allows us to experience that kind of relationship in this world in the terms of marriage, or maybe with a parent and a child. There's a covenantal love expressed there. In marriage, you're called to live a covenantal love, an unending, faithful love. But here's the reality of our love. It always has an end. The reason for that is, well, no matter how great you think your marriage might be, you as a human being have limitations to who you are because you get tired and sometimes you sleep and one day you'll die. Hesed love for us has an end. Even beyond that, we're not always faithful in covenant love. We sin against one another. We cause harm. We produce distrust. But for the Lord his hesed love, his faithful love, it never ends. No matter what you do. Because his faithful love is contingent upon who he is in his nature and character. God never grows tired. God never sleeps. God never abandons you. He will never fail you. He is always faithful. This is not just a love that we use in word. This is a love expressed in deed. No one has loved you like God has loved you.

Let me use this as a way to conclude. One of the ways I think hesed love has historically been seen or experienced was through Princess Alice in the late 1800s, in 1878. Princess Alice was a princess in the UK. She's pictured here with her husband Duke Louis and her six kids. And during 1878 her royal family came down with diphtheria and her children were struggling for life, and as a mother, she just wanted to care for them during this time period. But unfortunately, her youngest child, Mary, passed away from diphtheria. And as her children were fighting and struggling for their life, she waited to share this with the children because she didn't want them so distraught that they weren't able to overcome, because they were so overwhelmed by the death of their youngest sister.

Ernest, the young boy, was the first in the family to begin to recover. And so the mother shared with her son that they had lost their sister Mary to diphtheria, and her son Ernest began to break down and cry. And doing what a mother does in those moments, she just forsook herself and she gathered around her son and just held him tight, embracing him, kissing his forehead as he wept bitterly over the death of his sister. And in so doing, Princess Alice put her own life at risk. And just a few days later she contracted diphtheria and she passed away.

And her life becomes this example of hesed love, where at the forsaking of your own self, you put someone else's well-being above yours in order to love them in a moment of desperation. And this is exactly what's expressed in the love that God has for you. In fact, in Genesis chapter three, verse 17, this is that section of Scripture where Adam and Eve rebelled against God and God's pronouncing to them what is the curse of sin that will be upon them because of this. And he says, cursed is the ground because of you. In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you. And you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat the bread till you return to the ground. It's reminding us of the curse of sin because of our disobedience to God, and the curse of the thorns of the ground.

But then when we look at the life of Jesus as he's coming to the cross, we recognize at the end of his life he wears a crown, but it's not the typical crown you would expect of a king. Rather than wear the usual crown, the crown that's placed on the head of Jesus is the crown of thorns. And it's to demonstrate to us, while we are the ones that rebelled against God, and the curse of this world was placed upon us, Jesus put that curse upon his own head in his great love towards you, his unending, sacrificial, covenantal love. He abandoned his own well-being for your sake, so that the song of the redeemed could go forth forever. And this psalm becomes the song of our heart, seeing the redemption that we have in Christ alone. The core of our identity being who he is.