Thursday, September 15, 2016

Psalms 107:6, 13, 19, 28, 43 -- On Seeing the Theme and Breaking the Cycle

"Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
. . .
Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
. . .
Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
. . .
Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
. . .
Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord."
Psalms 107:6, 13, 19, 28, 43


This chapter has a theme going on, which is much clearer here, with the similar verses pulled out of context.  These are the verses about God saving people in varied distress, and there are other verses that are trying to get to see how thankful we should be to the Lord, and how we should praise him.  I also included the last verse for the final lesson about paying attention and understanding how good God is.

This theme not only reflects the struggles of the Israelites, but I think also the struggles in our lives as a society, as families, and as individuals.  In the Book of Mormon, too, we read about the Pride cycle, where we are righteous, which leads to blessings, which leads to us taking it for granted and getting prideful, which leads to sin, which leads to loss of blessings and bad consequences, which leads to humility, which leads to repentance, which leads to righteousness, which leads to blessings again, and around and around in the same circle.  When things are good, we tend to forget God and mess it up, and when things are bad, we finally turn to God and get back on track.  No wonder we have troubles, eh?

Today, let's try to remember that God is always there for us to deliver us out of our troubles.  Let's cry unto him for deliverance, and then let's think about crying unto him all the time, working on humility all the time, praising him all the time, and gaining the wisdom that the last verse talks about.  Let's break the cycle. As we trust and praise the Lord now, maybe we won't have to put up with the reminders of trouble and distress.

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