There seems to be a rhythm here, a cyclical pattern of
thanking God for His goodness, man sinning and being humbled, God redeeming.
Interestingly, the pattern begins with acknowledging His goodness. One would
think that normally this would come after He saves His wayward people from
disaster, but it doesn’t. It should impress upon the heart that the cycle
starts with His goodness – He is good throughout, not because He simply hears
our plight and restores us, but because He sees our sin and our need and will
bring us low, to a place of humility in order to show us our need. Whoever
went looking for help unless they knew they needed it?
Verses 14 & 16 He
brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and burst their bonds
apart…for he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.
No matter the difficulty, no matter the series of events
that bring us to where we feel trapped, bound or imprisoned, He is enough –
strong enough, patient enough, loving enough – enough – to bring us out of prison and bondage.
When we are waiting for release, we must call out to Him and
He will deliver us - maybe not the way or in the timing we would like, but deliverance will come. We must remember who He is and praise Him. When we can look
back at what He has rescued us from, we can acknowledge His kindnesses – not
only for rescuing us, but also for bringing us to the place where we can call
upon Him. He is good!
