1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures
forever.
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.
...
...
43 Let those who are
wise give heed to these things,
and consider the steadfast love of
the Lord.
Psalm 107 is a communal
thanksgiving hymn. Some scholars suggest that worshippers recited it before the
sacrifice at the festival of thanksgiving. This psalm reflects similar themes
as that of II Isaiah, primarily Chapters 40-55 of Isaiah. The refrain shows a
strong international theme. The psalm shows a liturgical and responsorial
character.
Psalm 107:1-3 are an
introduction to the whole Psalm. It calls those the Lord has redeemed from
their distressing circumstances to give thankful praise to God and to speak up
about what God has done for them. 1 O
give thanks to the Lord, for he is
good. Here is the basis of Jewish piety in its summons to praise the Lord
in prayer.[1]
For his steadfast love (hesed) endures
forever. Steadfast love is the most significant thematic word in Psalm 107. In its combination with the goodness of the Lord, we have a
phrase used often in the Old Testament. We see it in Psalms
100:5; 106:1; 118:1-4, 29; 136 (all); Jeremiah 33:11; I Chronicles 16:34; II
Chronicles 5:13; Ezra 3:11. Further, Psalm 23:6 combines the goodness and mercy
of the Lord, words we find here as well. Steadfast love signifies the
persistent protective loyalty of the Lord to the people with whom the Lord has
established a covenant. The Lord acts faithfully in keeping promises. The Lord
shows mercy, loving-kindness, and steadfast
love that endure forever. The
Lord will show such loyal love, even when the people do not show such loyalty
to the Lord. It shows its importance in the Psalm as it begins and ends with
the word. The steadfast love of the
Lord reveals the character of the Lord. We see the word in verses 8, 15, 21,
and 31. The Lord works actively for our well-being. Thus, the Psalm opens with
offering good reasons to offer thanks to the Lord. 2 Let the redeemed (ga’al) of the Lord say so, those
he redeemed (ga’al) from trouble. Kinsfolk had the obligation and privilege of rescuing their
kin from precarious circumstances. We see this in Leviticus 25:23-55 and the
little book of Ruth. The Lord took redemption of the covenant people seriously.
For example, the Lord will redeem them “with an outstretched arm” in Exodus
6:6-7. The Lord has redeemed them and called them by name, so they belong to
the Lord in Isaiah 43:1-7. The Lord has redeemed Jacob “from hands too strong”
for him in Jeremiah 31:11. The introduction ends that redemption means the Lord
will gather them from the lands, east,
and west, north, and south. This suggestion of a widespread diaspora would
suggest that the Psalm has a date of after 587 BC. The theme is common. Out of
compassion, the Lord will restore their fortunes, gathering them from among the
peoples to whom the Lord has scattered them (Deuteronomy 30:1-5). They pray for
the Lord to gather them “from among the nations” (Psalm 106:47-48). The Lord
will gather the people “from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12). The
Lord will bring the people from north and south (Isaiah 43:5-7). The Lord will
gather them “from all the nations and all the places where” where the Lord has
driven them (Jeremiah 29:10:14). The Lord is going “to bring them from the land
of the north” and “gather them from the farthest parts of the earth” (Jeremiah
31:8). The Lord will gather them from the lands to which they have scattered
(Ezekiel 11:14-20). Thus, the Lord has taken responsibility for redeeming the
people from their trouble, gathering them in and bringing them home from all
points of the compass. The Lord 3
gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the
north and from the south [the Gulf of Aqabah]. This seems to suggest a
widespread diaspora. Therefore, it would seem to be written after 587 BC.
The rest of the
psalm is a series of vignettes that are accounts of redemption. Each of these
redemption stories has the same fourfold structure:
1) a description of the nature of the
distress;
2) a prayer of desperation;
3) an account of the deliverance; and
4) an expression of thanks.
Each of these mini-liturgies of redemption
includes two identical refrains. The first is, "Then they cried to the
Lord in their trouble and he saved them from their distress." A few verses
later, an expression of gratitude follows, "Let them thank the Lord for his
steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind." It is a two-step
dance of redemption: the people cry out in anguish, then -- after the Lord
rescues them -- they voice their thanksgiving for deliverance.
What follows are
five sections which identify the "redeemed."
In Psalm 107:4-9, the redeemed are those who were coming home. In
verses 4-7, we find a description of a group of wanderers who are lost in the
desert, but who also find their way out of the desert. They move from the
distress of a deserted wasteland to settled and inhabited land that will
satisfy their deepest hunger and thirst. 4 Some wandered in desert (midbar)
wastes (yasham). These two words describe the desolate places, where they wandered
lost. "Desert" often describes the wilderness where the Israelites were wandering for decades after
they left Egypt before coming to the Promised Land.
"Wastes" describes a situation of being in bone-dry desolate places
such as around the Sinai Desert, etc. They were 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 (yashab, settled place). The Lord has met and
continues to meet their desperate needs, by leading them directly to an
inhabited town, as well as by satisfying their deepest hungers and thirsts with
the good things for which they most eagerly have been yearning. 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. The description of life
as need and desire corresponds to the teleological description of living
creatures in Aristotelian philosophy. A point of contact with the Christian
Aristotelianism of Aquinas is that God alone can satisfy the desire for life
that constitutes the life of the soul. From the biblical standpoint, to desire
God is of the very nature of creaturely life.[2]
The psalm
concludes in verse 43 with the same theme with which it opened. 43 Let those who are wise give
heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love (hesed is plural) of the Lord.
The plural form indicates that the character of the Lord repeatedly
demonstrates steadfast love. They must remember these divine acts. These verses
also emphasize the educational aspect of saving history.
All of this
raises the question is whether our story of suffering is also a redemptive
story. In his Journal, Søren Kierkegaard observed that the fact that God creates out of nothing
is wonderful. What is still more wonderful is that the Lord makes saints out of
sinners.[3]
We sing about such redemption. A song that early affected me profoundly was the
following:
Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
But he made something beautiful of my life
If there ever were dreams
That were lofty and noble
They were my dreams at the start
And hope for life's best were the hopes
That I harbor down deep in my heart
But my dreams turned to ashes
And my castles all crumbled, my fortune turned to loss
So I wrapped it all in the rags of life
And laid it at the cross.[4]
From the rousing
gospel song "Diamonds," recorded by Hawk Nelson, I share these words.
However, the song is joyful and well worth hearing as well.
Here and now I'm in the fire, in above my head,
Being held under the pressure, don't know what will be left.
But it's here in the ashes,
I'm finding treasure.
He's making diamonds,
Making diamonds,
He's making diamonds out of dust.
He is refining,
And in his timing,
He's making diamonds out of us.
[1]
Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume
1, 432.
[2]
Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume
2, 185.
[3]Søren
Kierkegaard, The Soul of Kierkegaard: Selections from His Journals (Courier,
2012), 59.
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