What does it mean to be redeemed?

When you study the roots of the word you will find phrases like “buy back,” “win back,” and “to free from captivity by payment of ransom.” This last definition gets to the heart of the matter in a theological sense. Your very soul was freed when Jesus paid a ransom for it on the cross. YOU are one of the redeemed.

In our Psalm today, we receive instructions on what the redeemed should do. This is a terrific reminder in this season of Lent when we are trying to be more disciplined in spiritual matters. How do you measure up?

Here is what the psalmist suggests:

Give thanks to the Lord,

Say that his faithful love lasts forever,

Cry out to the Lord in your distress,

Offer thanksgiving sacrifices,

Declare what God has done,

Sing songs of joy!

Psalm 107 (Common English Bible)

“Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
        because his faithful love lasts forever!”
² That’s what those who are redeemed by the Lord say,
    the ones God redeemed from the power of their enemies,
³     the ones God gathered from various countries,
    from east and west, north and south.

Some of the redeemed were fools because of their sinful ways.
    They suffered because of their wickedness.
¹⁸ They had absolutely no appetite for food;
    they had arrived at death’s gates.
¹⁹ So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
    and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
²⁰ God gave the order and healed them;
    he rescued them from their pit.
²¹ Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
    and his wondrous works for all people.
²² Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices
    and declare what God has done in songs of joy!

This psalm was written during the time when God redeemed the nation of Israel from captivity in Babylon. They had cried out and were heard. They suffered because of their wickedness and were delivered. They were sick to death and were healed of their desperate circumstances. God redeemed his people.

Our challenge today is to choose one of the things that the redeemed do, and go out and do it. Can you offer a thanksgiving sacrifice by paying for someone’s order in the line behind you? Can you call or text a friend and remind them of God’s faithful love? Perhaps you might sing a song of joy to the Lord today as you take a walk or spend extra time in prayer offering nothing but thanks.

We are the redeemed. We are his people. We are bought and paid for by the shed blood of the atonement. Give thanks!

Let all the redeemed say so.