Psalm 107
? If you were driving somewhere and you got lost - or at least weren’t sure where you were, would you
• stop and ask someone for directions
• keep driving in hopes that you find your destination
• phone someone for directions
• panic!
This is a Psalm about giving thanks. There are some Psalms, like 118 and 136 that have the same second half of a line in every verse: Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures for ever. Let Israel say: “His love endures for ever.” Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures for ever.” Let those who fear the LORD say: “His love endures for ever.” —- Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures for ever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures for ever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures for ever.
But here in Psalm 107 we see a similar refrain - not in every verse, but in key sections:
Ps. 105 is on Israel’s exodus from Egypt and in 106 on God’s longsuffering care of His people. This psalm focuses on the Lord’s redemption of the nation from captivity in Babylon. While the circumstances described in the psalm could be experienced by almost anyone, they especially apply to what Israel had to endure while in captivity.
The book of Psalms is broken up into five sections called “books” - this Psalm is the first psalm in the fifth book.
After an introductory invocation (vv. 1–3), the psalmist enumerates cases where the Lord delivered all kinds of people in need (vv. 4–32) and concludes with praise of our Redeemer-God. The hymn encourages the godly to observe wisely how great God’s love is for his creation and especially for his own people.
The psalmist begins by urging us to give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and mercy (lovingkindness) [HESED], and he closes by exhorting us to be wise and learn from the mistakes of other people. The people described in this psalm needed God’s help, either because of their own folly or because of circumstances beyond their control, and they called on the Lord and He delivered them.
Whatever the nature of one’s “trouble,” the Lord is able to “redeem”, and those whom he delivers are “the redeemed”. But it is equally clear from the experiences of the redeemed that not all who have been delivered from trouble are redeemed in the soteriological sense. Therefore the psalmist calls on everyone who has experienced an act of God’s “redemption” to be wise by confessing that he is good, loving, and faithful!
Five specific situations are described for us. The stress of Psalm 106 was on man’s unresponsive—even defiant—spirit and God’s judgment on sin, whereas the emphasis in Psalm 107 lies on God’s goodness in spite of man’s sin. These circumstances are divided into two: suffering due to man’s limitations (those lost in the desert or on the sea) and suffering due to man’s sin (prisoners and sick).
I – WE WERE LOST AND WASTED BUT THE LORD GAVE US DIRECTION
1 When You Lose Your Way (vv. 4–9)
The desert is a place to cross through, not to aimlessly wander in. There is no city for protection, and one’s supplies of food and water may readily be depleted (vv. 4–5). Life loses its meaning as one experiences purposelessness.
God hears the prayer of people in “trouble” (v. 6; cf. vv. 13, 19). His deliverance is full of surprises, as he supplies all the needs of his people. He straightens the way; leads them into the city; and provides for their shelter, food, and drink. This God is the object of the thanksgiving hymn, because he manifests his “unfailing love” (ḥeseḏ) in his “wonderful deeds” His mercy is not limited to the covenant people, because the Creator-God is kind to “men”. Since he is so gracious to all peoples, how much more to his own covenant children!
When we lose our way, God satisfies us and provides just what we need. And for that we give Him thanks.
II – WE WERE CAPTIVES SINNERS BUT THE LORD GAVE US DELIVERANCE
1 When You Lose Your Freedom (vv. 10–16)
These people were in prison (vv. 10, 14, 17) because they had rebelled against the Lord, a good description of the Jewish people exiled in Babylon (2 Chron. 36:15–23). They violated their covenant with the Lord, and He had to discipline them (Lev. 26:33; Deut. 28:47–48). Suffering also comes in the form of captivity. The language of “darkness,” “gloom,” and “iron chains” (lit., “iron”) connotes despair, deprivation of rights, and judgment of God. Yet the Lord who heard the cry of those in distress (v. 6) cannot forget the lament of his own people (v. 13). He delivered them too regardless of their rebellious spirit. He delivered them from every adverse condition, symbolized here by “darkness … deepest gloom … chains.… gates of bronze … bars of iron”. For this the “redeemed” may give thanks.
This section is similar to the story of the book of judges - several cycles where the people turn away from God, and God allows oppressors to come. But when the people cry out to God, God is faithful to provide deliverance.
When we lose our freedom, God is able to set us free - no matter how confined we are. And for that we give Him thanks.
III – WE WERE SPIRITUALLY SICK AND DYING BUT THE LORD GAVE US RESTORATION
3. When You Lose Your Health (vv. 17–22)
This is another description of God’s judgment on all who are “rebellious” against him. They are “fools”, because they go astray in their love of wrong. Their “affliction” is a sickness to death, when food and pleasure are no longer relevant. They “loathe” their “food,” as they feel that death is nearby (v. 18). Death is metaphorically described as “the gates of death”.
What the people deserved they did not get. The Lord “saved” them too when they cried to him in their “distress”. The “word” against which they rebelled and which had condemned and cursed them became the word of promise, comfort, and restoration.
The picture here is that even for stubborn rebellious sinners, God is faithful to provide deliverance when sinners will call out to Him.
Thanksgiving was not an empty platitude but consisted of a concrete expression of loyalty to the Lord by the giving of “thank offerings” (v. 22), a kind of communal offering, accompanied by “songs of joy.” Thankfulness takes action.
IV – WE WERE HOPELESS AND PERISHING BUT THE LORD GAVE US SALVATION
4. When You Lose Your Hope (vv. 23–32)
Being away from home and living as captives in Babylon was to the exiles like being on a boat in a terrible storm (see Isa. 54:11). The Jews were not a seafaring people like the Phoenicians, but Solomon did carry on a lucrative trading business (1 Kings 9:26–27). In the previous two pictures (vv. 10–22), the people were in trouble because they sinned against the Lord, but these sailors didn’t cause the storm that almost drowned them.
They had seen in the ocean the “works of the Lord.” Whenever we pause to consider God’s creation we are always overwhelmed with what a masterful creator He is!
The crew had used every device they knew to save the ship, but to no avail, so they called on the Lord for His help. Not only did He still the storm, but He guided them to the right port.
The merchants who cross the seas (v. 23) in search of fortune witness the marvels (“works … wonderful deeds,” v. 24) of God’s creation at sea (cf. 104:24–26) as well as his ability to calm a storm on “the mighty waters” (v. 23; cf. 65:7; 77:19). The Lord’s power is so great that he easily stirs up a storm (vv. 25–27; cf. Jonah 1:4) and can calm it (vv. 29–30).
As they are being tossed about on board, they hold on to something solid, like “drunken men” who stagger and try to find some stability (v. 27; cf. Isa 19:3). All their skills at navigation are ineffective so that they become desperate (“at their wit’s end,” lit., “all their wisdom was swallowed up”; cf. 55:9).
The sailors too prayed in their distress (v. 28; cf. v. 6), and the Lord responded to their prayer. He silenced the sea (v. 29; cf. Jonah 1:15; Matt 8:26), brought the seamen safely to their destination (“their desired haven,” v. 30), and made them “glad” when they saw “the works of the Lord” (v. 24).
The liturgical refrain (v. 31; cf. v. 8) is further developed into liturgical participation. The merchants must publicly declare what God has done in communal worship (“in the assembly of the people”) and in places of leadership (“in the counsel of the elders,” v. 32).
When we are truly thankful, we declare our thanks publicly.
5. When You Lose Your Home (vv. 33–43)
The approach changes and the focus of attention is not on the people in trouble but on the Lord. He can turn the garden into a desert and the desert into a garden. God can judge the land because of the wickedness of the people who live there, and He can also heal the land and bless it because of the faith and obedience of the people.
The Lord can also transform the wilderness into a well-populated area. The “desert” (v. 35) was so because of aridity and not always because of poor soil. It was “thirsty ground” (v. 33) that, when supplied by the abundance of the Lord’s “pools of water” and “flowing springs” (v. 35; cf. Isa 35:7; 41:18; 43:19–20; 44:3), blossomed into fields of harvest. Where there is water and good land, people may come, find protection in cities, cultivate the fields, plant vineyards, and benefit from God’s good land (vv. 36–37; cf. vv. 4–5).
And what should we learn from these five pictures that depict God’s power and mercy in action? The people whom the Lord has blessed with fields, home, and family (vv. 35–38) are not dependable. In their prosperity they may exalt themselves. But in time God’s judgment will find them out. The people may suffer from “oppression, calamity, and sorrow”.
The righteous will become wise by studying the acts of the Lord in the affairs of man. Even in adversity, he learns to know his God better and to trust that he will make all things well. To be wise and heed the Word of God (v. 43; Hos. 14:9). Yes, God shows His love and mercy to the disobedient who repent and call on His name, but our Father would rather share that love with obedient children who would enjoy it more.
