Thoughts on Psalm 107, #3; Who are these folks?

 We meet four groups of people in Psalm 107. They are all part of the “redeemed,” spoken of in the psalm’s introduction. I wrote about the word redeemed and the concept of redemption in my first post on Psalm 107. I encourage you to read that, if you didn’t, or if you have forgotten. The way the word is used in Psalm 107 is:

Here is a person in a really bad situation and the Lord saves, delivers, restores him. It is good news that follows bad news. This is clearly seen in the four groups of people the Psalmist speaks of in this psalm of redemption.

There are the wilderness wanderers:

⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region; They did not find a way to an inhabited city. ⁵
They were hungry and thirsty; Their soul fainted within them. ⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses. ⁷ He led them also by a straight way, To go to an inhabited city. ⁸ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! ⁹ For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.

Just who are these homeless folks? Where and when did they wander? What event brought about their deliverance?

I don’t know.

There are the rebellious prisoners:

¹⁰ There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners in misery and chains, ¹¹ Because they had rebelled against the words of God And spurned the counsel of the Most High. ¹² Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was none to help. ¹³ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. ¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death And broke their bands apart. ¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! ¹⁶ For He has shattered gates of bronze And cut bars of iron asunder.

Again, the same sorts of questions apply. Why? When? Where? Was a real prison involved, or is this metaphorical?

Again, I confess ignorance.

There are the afflicted fools:

¹⁷ Fools, because of their rebellious way, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. ¹⁸ Their soul abhorred all kinds of food, And they drew near to the gates of death. ¹⁹ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. ²⁰ He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. ²¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! ²² Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, And tell of His works with joyful singing.

I’ve met folks like this. It is likely that you have as well. The situation is common enough that the second half of verse 18 has become a saying that is often used, “At death’s door.” But, who specifically is the psalmist writing about? What, in particular, was their iniquity? How was their deliverance brought about?

By now you may be wondering why should I continue reading a post by someone who is so ignorant, nevertheless, at the risk of bidding you farewell, I confess, I don’t know.

Then there are the storm-tossed mariners:

²³ Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters; ²⁴ They have seen the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. ²⁵ For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, Which lifted up the waves of the sea. ²⁶ They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery. ²⁷ They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, And were at their wits’ end. ²⁸ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses. ²⁹ He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed. ³⁰ Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven. ³¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! ³² Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people, And praise Him at the seat of the elders.

This time I’ll confess my ignorance up-front. I don’t know where these sailors were going, and I don’t know their business. Was it a hurricane? Maybe, but I don’t know.

Dr. Williams, one of my teachers in Bible College use to talk about “planned ambiguity.” The way the good doctor used the term it was God who was saying something so that it was purposely unclear. Some of us have trouble with that. We want to nail everything down. If we can’t give a clear reason or explanation, we may make one up. We feel better that way.

The fact is, though, sometimes God speaks in ways that are somewhat ambiguous, and He speaks that way on purpose. I think we have a sterling example of this in Psalm 107. An anonymous poet writes an undated song, built around four troubled groups of people about whom we know almost nothing. Then, God puts it in His book. Why? So, we can find ourself there.

Whoever, whenever, however, each of us can identify with one or more of the groups in Psalm 107. Sometimes our situation is like that of the “prisoners” or the “fools.” There is a “because.” To quote the great Theologian Jimmy Buffet, “It’s my own (expletive deleted) fault.” On other occasions, we honestly may not know why a particular affliction has befallen us (and we do well to remember that we don’t always know why someone else is afflicted). No specific reason is given as to why the first group in the psalm is wandering in the wilderness, and I see no reason for putting guilt on sailors for doing what sailors do. In this world there is surd evil. Especially when we are in the midst of a surd-attack, we don’t know why it came, when it will end, or what lesson we are supposed to learn from it. About the best we can do is be like a duck in the rain—just let it rain.

Job, David in Psalm 37, Asaph in Psalm 73, Habakkuk, Jesus in John 16:33, Paul in Romans 8 & Ephesians 2:1-2, and John in 1 John 5:19 find this world to be an evil, hard, troubling place. Sometimes we know from whence a particular evil comes, on other occasions we honestly don’t have a clue.

Either way there is hope. There is a way out. Next time we’ll explore the “cry” of these troubled souls.