"Attend to these things" - a meditation on psalm 107 via its literary structure
Catching sight of literary structure in Scripture is one of my favorite things. It not only provides depth of meaning, it also brings me a new appreciation for the way God spoke consistently through individual writers. No matter the writer’s personal voice (St. John does not sound like St. Paul or the prophet Ezekiel, for example), the literary structure connects their writings with other inspired authors who came before and after, making the Bible a cohesive whole of 66 individual parts.
The Psalms are a wonderful place to see these literary structures in miniature. We don’t have to struggle to hold the structure of a psalm in mind as we might through a longer, more expansive book, like Judges or Job or the Gospels or Romans. The Psalms, as poetry, and as poetry meant for corporate singing (and corporate hearing), are similar to myths or fairy tales in structure - clear, sharp patterns that have a minimal amount of verses in which the structure can be built up and hold meaning, which makes the structure clearer to catch.
In the last year, my favorite scripture to read has been Psalm 107, and largely because it is so beautifully structured. Verses 1-3 are a microcosm of the whole Psalm. These three verses are expanded in each of the four vignettes in verses 4-32. Each vignette connects loosely with each of the directions mentioned in verse 3, as I hope to show. After the vignettes, verses 33-41 are a declaration of the sovereignty and goodness of God in not only delivering people from dangers, but also delivering the land from evil, which connects with the theme in verses 4-32 and echoes the first three framing verses again. The final verse is an echo both of the refrain of the psalm found in the first three verses and of the very first line, bringing us back to where we began, but also above where we began, making this psalm more of a spiral up than a two-dimensional circle. A sort of holy round, thematically speaking.
A Psalm for the Whole World to Sing
In addition to the beautiful structure of this Psalm, another reason I return to it so often is that it is a psalm for the whole world. In a collection of songs for His people to sing, God in His mercy gives the foreigner songs too, and reminds His people that He is not only God of Israel but God of the whole world. Matthew Henry commenting on this psalm writes:
“The psalmist…here observes some of the instances of his providential care of the children of men in general, especially in their distresses; for he is not only King of saints, but King of nations, not only the God of Israel, but the God of the whole earth, and a common Father to all mankind. Though this may especially refer to Israelites in their personal capacity, yet there were those who pertained not to the commonwealth of Israel and yet were worshippers of the true God; and even those who worshipped images had some knowledge of a supreme “Numen,” to whom, when they were in earnest, they looked above all their false gods. And of these, when they prayed in their distresses, God took a particular care…” (emphasis mine)
The psalmist portrays people in desperate need in all kinds of different situations, what Matthew Henry calls, “the most common calamities of human life.” He portrays, too, God’s consistent, persistent attention to those in need along with his ready deliverance. And His attention is not only on those among His chosen people who are in need, but every person everywhere. He is ever ready to intercede for any who call on Him. It’s clear from this psalm that not only can He save but that He delights to save. Our God is a prayer-hearing God, and when people turn to Him in earnest belief and in desperate need, in any place or time, He hears and answers.
A Psalm for All Times and Seasons
The stories of deliverance portrayed in the psalm are not all one-and-done stories of “once delivered, always delivered, and never needing more deliverance.” Even after the deliverance of our souls from the power of sin and death portrayed in the first two vignettes, we live in constant dependence on God’s continued deliverance in the circumstances of life. “He ever lives to make intercession” because we live in constant need of intercession. We will never not need Him to come to our aid.
What follows is a meditation on Psalm 107. Hopefully this encourages you to spend time with this Psalm yourself. It is well worth it.
The Frame and Refrain, verses 1-3
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
Verses 1-3 set the refrain and frame for Psalm 107. Verse 1, “Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” is repeated like a chorus throughout. It is the entire theme (as in, a musical theme) of the piece. Verses 2 and 3 are the why of the psalm, the reason for singing the refrain, and this is the part that will be fleshed out in the body of the song.
This psalm caught my attention when I was reading it in the NASB. A note next to the word “south” said the word is “in the Hebrew, literally, sea.” I thought this was fascinating. I knew that in the ancient world, the image of the sea was connected with the idea of primeval chaos and I wondered if this could be happening in this verse. Some scholars think that the word “sea” is a scribal error since the Hebrew words for sea and for south are very similar, but I think the structure of the psalm shows that “sea” is intentional.
The bulk of the Psalm is a series of four vignettes and each story seems to correspond loosely to the directions here mentioned. I say loosely because every literary image, even scriptural ones, have a dependence on their context for meaning. The first direction listed is east, which is associated with the positive image of the rising sun but it is also the direction Adam and Eve headed after being exiled from Eden. The first vignette is describing those who “wander in waste places.”
The next direction is West, and West was the location of the blessed lands in some ancient cultures. But in Israel it is often connected with darkness and chaos. However, the movement through the tabernacle of Israel from the eastern entrance toward the Holy Place was a westward movement, so that the idea of west also connects with reconciliation and restored unity with God, a sort of return to Eden. Abram also journeyed west in obedience to God. But the sun sets in the west, connecting it with the idea of darkness and night, and west lies the sea, which connected it with primeval chaos. Do you see how context matters? In the second vignette, those who are delivered are rebels locked in irons, sitting in darkness.
The north is next, and in scripture North is often connected with disaster, as the pagan kings sent in judgement of Israel came from the north. But it is also connected with the idea of the permanent and eternal. In Isaiah 14, North is where the seat of God’s throne is, and Job 37:22 says that “Out of the north he comes in golden splendor; God comes in awesome majesty.” The third vignette describes the fool, those who sin themselves into misery with no way out, who are suffering because of their iniquities, similar to the description of Lucifer in Isaiah 14 when he attempts to wrest the throne from God.
The fourth direction is “the sea” (normally translated south) and the setting of the fourth vignette is on the sea. The sea, as I said, is usually connected with the ancient understanding of chaos; not merely messiness or disorganization but a primeval malevolent force that strives to unmake what is made. The sea is the home of leviathan and the sea-dragon of pagan myth, whom God in Scripture declares He rules and/or slays, depending on the context. In the fourth vignette, the chaos and unruliness of the sea is what is emphasized, as well as God’s ability to deliver from it and not only deliver from it but to bring it to heel in obedience to Him.
Wanderers and Exiles, verse 4-9
Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
“In either hand the hast’ning Angel caught
Our lingering parents, and to the eastern gate
Led them direct…
The world was all before them, where to choose
Their place of rest, and Providence their guide.
They hand in hand, with wande’ring steps and slow,
Through Eden took their solitary way.”
Paradise Lost XIIThis vignette sketches the basic human condition. We are born exiles and are condemned to wander. The desert wastes and wilderness is our natural inheritance. When we are born, we inherit the search for a place to rest in the midst of a hostile environment. We long for a city that we did not build, that we have never seen, and that we would never find if God Himself did not meet us and by His Providence lead us there “by a straight way.” These are people longing for a home.
In Scripture and in ancient times, the city is a place of community and safety. Walls and gates keep out dangers. The king lives there. The law is seated there. The lands around the city walls are for crops and livestock. Heaven is described as the city of God because the city was the heart of the kingdom. I’m teaching Beowulf right now and something I try to impress on my students is that the hall Herot is not just a fun place for the Danish warriors to meet friends, hangout, and drink, though it was all that; it is the heart and soul of the Danish nation. It is a taste of heaven, so to speak. It is “where everybody knows your name.” It is home. We all need a home.
But God hears the cry of the lonely wanderer. He wants to deliver them from their exile and distress. He wants to bring them into His community. Those who hunger and thirst, He satisfies. He fills the lonely heart with good things and delights to do so.
Prisoners and Rebels, verses 10-16
Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.
The first vignette showed us the lost and wandering person, a picture of the basic human condition. Here, too, is another picture that applies to every single person: the rebel and prisoner. We are all guilty of rebellion against God in some form or other, and to rebel against the king in small ways is still to rebel. I don’t know anyone that would deny having spurned the Word of God at some point in their life. If we disobey or argue with the counsel of the Most High, if we think we know better than Him, if we ignore what He says we are guilty of this. If we live a life of peace and good deeds with our backs turned to God, we are guilty of this. This is a picture of the soul who has not given up its rebellion, whose back is still turned on Almighty God.
So God responds by “bowing down their hearts with hard labor.” Here we see the severity and kindness of God; He intentionally brings them to their breaking point. He brings them low that He might raise them up. He locks them in irons so that they would see their inner captivity, their slavery to self. Modern man loves to think that he is free when he can do whatever he wants, but in reality the one who cannot say no to self is the one who is truly and completely enslaved. And God wants to give that person freedom.
We then see the kindness that is the fruit of God’s severe love; He frees them dramatically and completely. The ones who had spurned Him and rebelled against Him now cry out for His help and He is there to give it to them. He not only releases them from captivity; He “bursts their bonds apart” and “shatters the doors of bronze” and “cuts in two the bars of iron.” It is a thorough deliverance, violent in its intensity.
Bronze and iron are often connected in Scripture with the idea of judgement, and here God is saving them from the judgement of His own Law, the just consequences of their chosen actions. Again, He delights to save.
The Sin-Sick Fools, verses 17-22
Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man! And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
On this vignette, Spurgeon writes,
What a cure for the soul is sickness of body often made to be by the Lord’s grace!
In the previous story, God intrudes with his severe mercy into the lives of active rebels. He doesn’t force their deliverance but He brings them to the breaking point and they surrender. Here, as in the first vignette, God’s action toward the sufferer is only beneficent. It is even more striking when you consider that this third group is suffering because of their own actions; it is “because of their iniquities [that they] suffered affliction.” They are experiencing the natural consequences of chosen, intentional actions.
This is the group I am personally least inclined to show mercy, which is yet another reason I am thankful God is not like me. These are the addicts, lost in the labyrinth of their own fleshly desires; they are their own monsters, consuming themselves mechanically and mercilessly. They cannot find a way out. They need a Deliverer.
How does God deliver them? “He sends out his word,” echoing the creative act of Genesis. No less than the almighty creating power of God is extended on their behalf. He heals them and delivers them from the destruction that they brought upon themselves. Let all my self-righteousness be cast in the dust. If it weren’t for the grace of God, there go I.
Speaking about verse 20, Spurgeon writes,
“He sent his word and healed them.” Man is not healed by medicine alone, but by the word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God is man restored from going down to the grave. A word will do it, a word has done it thousands of times. “And delivered them from their destructions.” They escape though dangers had surrounded them, dangers many and deadly. The word of the Lord has a great delivering power; he has but to speak and the armies of death flee in an instant. Sin-sick souls should remember the power of the Word, and be much in hearing it and meditating upon it.
Spiritually considered, these verses describe a sin-sick soul: foolish but yet aroused to a sense of guilt, it refuses comfort from any and every quarter, and a lethargy of despair utterly paralyses it. To its own apprehension nothing remains but utter destruction in many forms: the gates of death stand open before it, and it is, in its own apprehension, hurried in that direction. Then is the soul driven to cry in the bitterness of its grief unto the Lord, and Christ, the eternal Word, comes with healing power in the direst extremity, saving to the uttermost.
“And he saveth them out of their distresses.” Prayer is as effectual on a sick bed as in the wilderness or in prison; it may be tried in all places and circumstances with certain result. We may pray about our bodily pains and weaknesses, and we may look for answers too. When we have no appetite for meat we may have an appetite for prayer. He who cannot feed on the word of God may yet turn to God himself and find mercy. (emphasis mine)
God desires and delights to save even those who do not want to be saved or lack all ability to even hope for salvation. This is encouraging if you love someone locked in addiction or self-destructive behavior. Pray that they would be brought to this point of surrender where God can meet them and deliver them. Like Spurgeon says, “We may pray…and we may look for answers too.”
The Successful, verses 23-32
Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
Here we have the portrait of the successful man (or woman), conducting their business and doing well. God arrests their attention with the physical storm and their obvious lack of control over their lives and affairs. Humans of all times and eras have been practical, interested in making profits and deals. Often the successful man is completely uninterested in anything that does not directly relate to his ledger. His singleness of focus is how he became successful, after all. In this vignette, God gets his attention by showing “his wondrous works in the deep,” i.e., the storm. God commands the storm to come and toss the little man of business about like a ball. Their courage melts, they reel and stagger, and they are brought to end of their successful selves. They cry out to God and He delivers them, and not only delivers them but brings them to where they wanted to go.
There is so much of the New Testament in this psalm, and in this section particularly. We are instantly reminded of another One who calmed storms and seas. I especially enjoy the line, “They were glad that the waters were quiet.” After a thundering, pounding storm, the sound of quiet, docile water meekly lapping the sides of the boat would be a beautiful sound. It reminds me of the disciples whispering to each other, “Who is this that even the winds and seas obey Him?” I wonder if they thought of this psalm.
In both this story and the last, the ones delivered are told to thank the Lord and also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and extol Him publicly, neither of which are commanded in the first two vignettes. I think this is because these are the kinds of deliverances we experience throughout our lives. The first and second seem to me like positional deliverances. The wanderer is brought to a home. The prisoner is released from captivity. These are one and done. But the third and fourth stories are things that can happen even after we are brought into the community of God, and they can happen more than once. When we are delivered from storms within and without, we ought to go further in our praise. We ought to tell what God has done for us again and again. The people of God need to hear these stories of deliverance as much as those delivered need to tell them.
The Providence of God in Mercy and Judgement, verses 33-41
He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in; they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish. When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow, he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.
This section always surprises me with how it begins by describing the way God destroys a land. After four stories of deliverance, I am ready to hear about the cosmic deliverance as imaged in God turning waste places into fruitful land. But the Psalmist subverts that expectation. Instead, He reminds us that the desert is as much a result of God’s ordaining providence as any watered field. But there is no arbitrariness in God. After we have had 4 examples of the pattern of God bringing low to raise up, He turns the deserts dry to cleanse them of the evil of their inhabitants. In a very real way, by drying them out and chasing off the people who are committing abominations on the land, God is cleansing and delivering the land, too. His deliverance does not extend to us alone. All of creation groans and cries out to be released from the curse it bears because of us. He will deliver the earth, too.
And in this image, we have a sort of controlled unmaking. The fourth vignette took place on the sea which I said was connected with the ancient idea of chaos as a primeval force of unmaking. Here, immediately following the story of God’s control over the raging storm, we have another image of God’s control over the desert, which, like the sea, is an image of chaos. The wilderness is unmade land, unruled and unruly, uninhabited and uninhabitable. Here, though, we see that God is in control. He is the one that does the unmaking and then recreates it. “He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.” The dead lands become living waters. The desert becomes the location of fruitful fields and a city, where God’s people dwell.
Notice, too, the reversal of the princes. In the first vignette, the wandering one is delivered. In this section, the prince (and this can refer to earthly or spiritual powers) who abuses God’s people is made a wanderer, while God raises up those in need and cares for them as a good shepherd cares for his sheep.
The End is the Beginning - a Corona; verses 42-43
The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth. Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
The result of all this is that the upright are glad and wickedness, like the chaotic sea, is silent. He stills the blustering waters and the blustering rulers. And just like the men were glad when the sea was quieted, the upright rejoice when wickedness is silenced.
The last verse brings us right back to the beginning and echoes the heart of each of the four stories of deliverance: verse one, “Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!” and verse 43, “Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.” Like a spiral, the Psalm ends where it began but with a view from above. Structurally, this make this Psalm similar to a corona. In literature, a corona is
“a sequence of sonnets, usually addressed to one person, and/or concerned with a single theme. Each of the sonnets explores one aspect of the theme, and is linked to the preceding and succeeding sonnets by repeating the final line of the preceding sonnet as its first line. The first line of the first sonnet is repeated as the final line of the final sonnet, thereby bringing the sequence to a close.” (Wikipedia)
I think you see this same kind of structure in the psalm. The center of each vignette is an echo of the first line of the psalm and each story builds on the other. The section following the vignettes, which recount God cleansing, delivering, and renewing the land, echoes the second and third verses of the psalm which say that God’s deliverance happens anywhere and everywhere. The last two verses bring us back up to the first 3 verses, and we are ready to sing the psalm again, this time with the knowledge of the whole psalm in mind.
Psalm 107 is a psalm for the whole world, both those who dwell in it and the world itself. Matthew Henry comments, “It is of great use to us, in religion, to be fully assured of God’s goodness, to be experimentally acquainted and duly affected with it, that his lovingkindness may be before our eyes, Ps. 26:3. A proper means prescribed for attaining this end…is a due observance of God’s providence. We must lay up these things, mind them, and keep them in mind.”
Or, as the Psalmist says, “Attend to these things…” How can we not, when we have just finished a psalm that illustrates and celebrates how closely and tenderly the God of Heaven attends to us? He lays up our concerns and sorrows, He minds them and us, He keeps them and us in His mind. We have every reason to “consider the steadfast love of the Lord” in our lives.
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