“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. 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. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.” Psalm 107:10-16
Enslaved in Sin
As we conclude our series on understanding how God loves us, we arrive at the profound theme of liberation. These verses from Psalm 107:10-11 set the stage for this chapter in our exploration. They poignantly describe the slavery of our sin – a consequence of our rebellion against God.
Consider an illustration that exemplifies this reality: I was speaking with my wife recently when she shared a story from her early teenage years. She had wanted to paint her room purple, despite her parents’ objections. They eventually gave in to her insistence, painted her room purple, and told her she had to live with it. When one of her sisters moved away for college, she changed rooms as soon as she could to get away from the purple! This story mirrors one of the sad consequences of our sin. We choose sin, and then we must live with its consequences–we become enslaved to a life of rebellion against God.
The apostle Paul, in Titus 3:3, aptly describes our state outside of salvation in Christ. He portrays us as “foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” Sin is not just something we occasionally do; it’s something that takes hold of us. We become slaves to sin.
Set Free by God’s Love
However, the good news is found in Psalm 107:14-16: “He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” This is the sovereign love of God in action – God, in His love, sets us free!
We ought to always cling to a remembrance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, which stand as proof that we are liberated from the penalty of our sin. Freedom from guilt and the need to atone for our sins is a priceless gift which only comes by faith in Jesus. However, there’s another facet to our freedom – we are also set free from the dominion of sin. God doesn’t just save us; He transforms us, renewing our minds, wills, and giving us new hearts. This Psalm powerfully describes the way God breaks the bonds of sin by the power of His love.
Embracing True Freedom
In His sovereign love, God changes us so that we are no longer slaves to sin. The curse of sin is broken, and we are now free to obey God’s Word. Romans 6:13-14 emphasizes this point: “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” If slavery was the curse of living under rebellion against God’s Word, then freedom is the blessing of living under obedience to God’s Word.
Imagine having to live your life with a ball and chain locked to your ankle. It hinders you, causes problems in your relationships, and becomes a source of frustration. But then, one day, someone finds the key to unlock it, and you are set free. You would never consider going back to that ball and chain, would you?
Similarly, in 1 Peter 1:14, the Apostle Peter urges us not to revert to our former passions: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.” Now that we are liberated from our former darkness and the bondage of sin, it’s time to live in the freedom of Christ. We present ourselves to God for the sake of righteousness. We walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, conforming our lives to God’s Word, for that is where true life is found.
How Has God Loved Us?
So if someone were to ask us how God loves us, thinking back through our journey in Psalm 107, we would respond that He loves us by choosing to love us, by redeeming us and bringing us back into a relationship with Him, and by setting us free from the dominion of sin. He accomplished all of this by sending His Son for us, and He applied this redemption to us by making us alive together with Christ – even when we were dead in our sins. The sovereign love of God has not only saved us but has also transformed our destiny.
Coming to the End of Ourselves
In Psalm 107, we witness a recurring theme: those who, starving and wandering, eventually come to the end of themselves. They cry out to the Lord in their distress, and He delivers them. Verse 6 says, “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.”
If you find yourself at the end of yourself, broken and desperate, cry out to the Lord. When we reach the end of ourselves, we discover the eternal love of God – a love that rescues, redeems, satisfies, and sets us free. This is how God has loved us, and His love endures forever.
