The Pattern of Rescue

Psalm 107 has no title and names no author. It opens Book Five of the Psalms with a call to thanks: Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so, those he gathered from the east and the west, the north and the south. Then come four portraits of people in deep trouble.

The wanderers were hungry and thirsty in the desert. The prisoners sat in darkness and the shadow of death because they rebelled against God's words. The sick were afflicted because of their iniquities and loathed all food. The sailors mounted up to the sky and went down to the depths until they were at their wits' end. Some troubles came from their own sin, and others did not, but every group had the same answer.

Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he delivered them. He led, freed, healed, and calmed. He sends his word, and heals them. He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still, and brings sailors to their desired haven. In the New Testament, Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea became calm (Mark 4:39), and his disciples wondered who he was. The psalm ends: Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things.