Before today begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections from the seasons of Lent and Easter, including my morning reflections drawing on the Psalms.
In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:
1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;
2, reading the psalm or psalms;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.
Psalm 107:
Psalm 107 is the first psalm in Book 5 (Psalms 107-150), the closing book in the Hebrew psalter. This is one of the longer psalms, and has 43 verses. It is sometimes known by its Latin name Confitemini Domino. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, this psalm is counted as Psalm 106.
Psalms 106 and Psalm 107 are closely connected together, and the division of the fourth and fifth books does not correspond to any difference of source or character, as is the case in the other books.
Psalm 107 is a song of thanksgiving to God, who has been merciful to his people and gathered all who were lost. It is beloved of mariners because of its reference to ships and to the sea (verse 23).
Although the exact timing of the writing of Psalm 107 is uncertain, it may have been written at a time of increased union among the people during the reign of King David (1010-970 BCE).
This is considered one of Israel’s historical psalms, along with Psalm 106 and many of the royal psalms, among others. The overall outline of the historical psalms is to tell a story of a God who accomplishes ‘wonderful works’ (verse 8), although the Israelites, his chosen people, have proved faithless.
In the psalmist’s assessment, acts of infidelity often seem to correspond to an eventual awe-inspiring work of mercy from the Lord. The psalm also includes several specific themes that emphasise the general tone of praise and thanksgiving for God.
Psalm 107 displays an overall regularity. The line lengths are different, but the size of the original sectional divisions is pleasingly even. The theme of the psalm moves forward from section to section.
Psalm 107 is divided into 43 verses and is one of the longer psalms in the Bible. In the Masoretic Hebrew text, there are seven inverted nuns (׆). The words ‘Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind’ appear as a refrain in verses 8, 15, 21 and 31.
It may be divided into seven sections, each section having a related but distinct theme:
1, verses 1-3: this is a general introduction, in which the Lord is said to gather ‘the redeemed … from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south’ verses 2, 3).
Following this, the next four sections address individuals who ‘wandered in desert wastes’ (verse 4), ‘sat in darkness and in gloom’ (verse 10), ‘were sick through their sinful ways’ (verse 17), and ‘went down to the sea in ships’ (verse 23). Each of these locational descriptors corresponds to a cardinal direction mentioned in verse 3.
2, verses 4-9: the desert wastes in verse 4 seem to indicate a ‘great, eastern desert’ that might be beat down upon by the sun, which rises in the east.
3, verses 10-16: in the opposing, western direction, where the sun sets, the people are said to sit ‘in darkness and in gloom’ (verse 10). The correlation depicted in this section between darkness and helplessness – apart from the aid of the Lord – harkens back to the earlier descriptions of Abraham (see Genesis 15: 12).
4, verses 17-22: throughout early Hebrew history, north was thought to be the direction most associated with evil and iniquity, thus adding emphasis to the direction of north’s correspondence to the fourth stanza, beginning with ‘some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction’ (verse 17).
5, verses 23-3: in the orientation of the region that Israel occupied at the time of Psalm 107, to the south lay the sea, directly paralleling the beginning of the fifth section, ‘some went down to the sea in ships’ (verse 23).
6, verses 33-38: Psalm 107 is, above all, a hymn commemorating the power of God. Despite the transgressions of the people, the Lord forgives them. The psalm elaborates on this theme, going on to say that the Lord ‘turns a desert into pools of water … and there he lets the hungry dwell’ He ‘turns a desert into pools of water … and there he lets the hungry live’ (verses 35, 36). This description of miracles worked by God reinforces the imagery of ‘wonderful works’ mentioned earlier in the psalm (see verse 8).
7, verses 39-43: God’s works are mentioned in many psalms; what makes Psalm 107 unusual is its depiction of God’s works as explication for the people. The psalm is a hymn of thanksgiving, making God’s works known to all humanity, so that all may join in the praise of God.
Psalm 107 (NRSVA):
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
7 he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
9 For he satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 Their hearts were bowed down with hard labour;
they fell down, with no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;
14 he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and broke their bonds asunder.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze,
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17 Some were sick through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;
20 he sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from destruction.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
22 And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.
23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;
29 he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry live,
and they establish a town to live in;
37 they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their cattle decrease.
39 When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up the needy out of distress,
and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad;
and all wickedness stops its mouth.
43 Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
Today’s Prayer:
The theme in this week’s prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘The Time to Act is Now!’ This theme was introduced on Sunday by Linet Musasa, of the Anglican Council of Zimbabwe.
The USPG Prayer Diary this morning (Friday 10 June 2022) invites us to pray:
We pray for governments and international organisations to take urgent action on climate change.
Yesterday’s reflection
Continued tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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