Text: Psalm 107:20 (ESV) — “He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.”
I. The Desperate Condition Needing Healing
- Psalm 107:17-18 (ESV): “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.”
- Key Hebrew Word: “evilim” (אֱוִילִים) – fools through rebellion or moral perversity.
- Observations:
- Sickness or affliction was often self-inflicted through sin.
- Represents physical, emotional, and spiritual deterioration.
II. The Word That Brought Healing
- Psalm 107:20a (ESV): “He sent out his word…”
- Hebrew Phrase: “Shalach devaro” (שָׁלַח דְּבָרוֹ)
- Shalach – to dispatch or stretch out with power.
- Davar – decree, command, or speech.
- Insight:
- God’s Word is not just communication; it’s a spiritual force of healing and authority.
- Foreshadowing of Christ, the Living Word (John 1:1,14).
III. The Healing Provided
- Psalm 107:20b (ESV): “…and healed them…”
- Hebrew: vayyirpa’em (וַיִרְפָאֵם) – from rapha, meaning to cure, restore, or make whole.
- Types of Healing:
- Physical healing
- Emotional stability
- Spiritual restoration
- Relational renewal
- Isaiah 53:5 (ESV): “…with his wounds we are healed.”
IV. Life After Restoration
- Psalm 107:20c (ESV): “…and delivered them from their destruction.”
- Hebrew: mishchit (מִשְׁחִית) – pit, grave, corruption.
- Delivered: yemaleit (יְמלֵּט) – to escape, be rescued.
- Evidence of restoration:
- Psalm 107:22 (ESV): “Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!”
- New gratitude, new worship, new testimony.
V. Contemporary Application
- No condition is too desperate. God responds to repentance.
- The Word is still active. Scripture and Christ both carry restorative power.
- Healing is holistic. God heals mind, body, spirit, and relationships.
- Restoration leads to proclamation. The restored worship and witness.
Conclusion:
- Psalm 107:20 reveals the power of God’s Word, the depth of His healing, and the promise of a new life beyond the destruction we once faced.