A Gift of Grace
A Sermon on Psalm 107:33-43
Originally preached Feb. 20, 1955
Scripture
33He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
34A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
35He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
36And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, …
Sermon Description
What does it mean that salvation is all of grace? Despite the centrality of grace to the Bible, many Christians do not have a good understanding of what it means that God is gracious. In this sermon on Psalm 107:33–43 titled “A Gift of Grace,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches that God gives grace freely so that sinners can be saved. Salvation is a gift of grace; a free gift of God apart from any human merit or works. The work of salvation is a unique act of God wherein God sends His Son into the world to die for sinners. Salvation is accomplished in Christ and given as a free gift to all who repent and believe in Jesus. This sermon shows first and foremost that it is the message that one’s merit and works can never make one right with God. All human striving for salvation is wholly done away with on the cross of Calvary when Jesus died for sinners. This sermon calls all to forsake sin and to believe in God.
Sermon Breakdown
- The most important thing in life is our relationship with God.
- We should know the truth about God.
- God is righteous, just, holy, great, mighty, all-powerful, and the eternal judge.
- God saves us through Jesus Christ. We should understand God's salvation.
- God's salvation reverses our natural ideas. It is surprising and incredible.
- God's salvation demands nothing from us. We are in a state of barrenness and poverty.
- God's salvation depends entirely on what God has done through Jesus Christ.
- Jesus died on the cross to accomplish our salvation. He said "It is finished."
- We can receive salvation as a free gift by believing in what Jesus did.
- Martin Luther came to understand salvation is by faith alone, not by works.
- We should praise God for his salvation and tell others about it.
Sermon Q&A
What Are the Key Characteristics of God's Salvation According to MLJ's Sermon on Psalm 107?
Based on Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon on Psalm 107:33-43, here are answers to important questions about God's salvation:
How does God's salvation reverse our natural way of thinking according to Lloyd-Jones?
According to Lloyd-Jones, God's salvation completely reverses our natural human thinking. He states, "The gospel of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ reverses all our human, our natural ideas. It turns them literally upside down. There's nothing else in the world like it." Unlike other philosophies or religions, Christianity isn't just another teaching or moral system—it is utterly unique, transforming barren wilderness into water springs and dry ground into fruitfulness.
What does MLJ say God demands from us for salvation?
Lloyd-Jones emphatically states that God's salvation "demands nothing of us at all" except recognition of our need. As he explains: "He doesn't demand of us goodness. He doesn't demand of us morality. He doesn't demand of us works." The only condition is acknowledging our spiritual poverty: "All the fitness he requireth is to feel your need of him." This contradicts our natural assumption that we must do something to earn salvation.
How does Lloyd-Jones contrast human effort with God's work in salvation?
Lloyd-Jones demonstrates that salvation depends "entirely and only on what God does" rather than human effort. He points to the psalm's language: "He turneth," "He maketh," "He blesseth," "He setteth" - showing it is God's action throughout. As MLJ says, "The essence of salvation is this what God has done in Christ." Our human wisdom and efforts cannot find God, but God has initiated reconciliation through Christ's work on the cross.
Why are many people not praising God according to this sermon?
According to Lloyd-Jones, people don't praise God because they don't understand His salvation. He states: "If you're not doing that, you are not as you were meant to be, you are not as you ought to be. And he says, the only explanation of it is in some shape or form ignorance." When people truly understand God's gracious salvation, their natural response is praise and thanksgiving, as demonstrated by Martin Luther who "began to sing" when he discovered justification by faith.
What happens when someone truly understands God's salvation according to MLJ?
When someone truly understands God's salvation, Lloyd-Jones says they begin to rejoice and praise God. He uses Martin Luther as an example: "The moment he saw this, he began to sing... He began to rejoice." Understanding that salvation is complete in Christ's finished work on the cross leads to freedom from endless striving and self-improvement, replacing it with gratitude and joy in what God has already accomplished.
Old Testament
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.