Slices
Prepare
‘Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’ (Job 2:10). Think of a time you faced adversity. Did you share Job’s outlook? How did the Lord meet you in your trouble?
Bible passage
Psalm 107
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story –
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labour;
they stumbled, and there was 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, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.
17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18 They loathed all food
and drew near 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;
he rescued them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
22 Let them sacrifice thank-offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.
23 Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
24 They saw the works of the Lord,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
33 He turned rivers into a desert,
flowing springs into thirsty ground,
34 and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
35 He turned the desert into pools of water
and the parched ground into flowing springs;
36 there he brought the hungry to live,
and they founded a city where they could settle.
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a fruitful harvest;
38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
and he did not let their herds diminish.
39 Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled
by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
40 he who pours contempt on nobles
made them wander in a trackless waste.
41 But he lifted the needy out of their affliction
and increased their families like flocks.
42 The upright see and rejoice,
but all the wicked shut their mouths.
43 Let the one who is wise heed these things
and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.
Explore
Psalm 107 is a song of redemption stories. Four of the stanzas present case studies of people in dire need of rescue. Whether it is the suffering of the rootless and refugee (vs 4,5), the God-inflicted or self-inflicted suffering of those who rebel against God (vs 10–12,17,18,33,34) or those caught up in natural disasters (vs 23–27), discomfort and suffering can wake us up to our need for God. God, in his wisdom, may use adversity for our good (v 39).
As CS Lewis wrote, pain can be God’s ‘megaphone to rouse a deaf world’.* Look at the pivotal central verse in each stanza (vs 6,13,19,28). Although God is poised to intervene, he does not force his rescue on the unwilling. The moment someone cries out to him, his rescue is immediate and complete: he leads the refugee straight to a new city (v 7); he cuts through the hardest of chains (v 14). He is not only swift to rescue us from danger, disaster, darkness and death, he has a plan to bless us. He longs for us to be free (v 14), whole (v 20) and safe (vs 30,36).
*CS Lewis, The Problem of Pain, 1940
Respond
Depending on your circumstances, today may be a day for crying out to the Lord, or a day of giving thanks to him for his unfailing love.
Deeper Bible study
Whatever life is like for you and your family at the moment, pause to give thanks to God whose ‘love endures for ever’.1
The psalmist leads the congregation in a celebration of their history: these things have happened – disasters, hunger, thirst, illness, exile, imprisonment, rebellion, dangers and trouble (vs 4–32); and God blessed them, rescued them and continues to love them (vs 33–42). Some have thought that this psalm must refer to post-exilic Israel, with its references to gathering (vs 2,3), rescue from captivity (vs 10–16) and the settlement of the land. As we read, however, the stories of multiple individuals come to mind from across the vast landscape of God’s people and their experience – and its images bring echoes of our own lives and those we know who also live in God’s story. Whatever its precise time, the congregation sang its words from the perspective of knowing their history and celebrating God’s redemption. Notice that, at times, these people have got into trouble because of their own foolishness and rebellion; at other times, they suffered because of others’ actions or natural events. Yet, whatever the cause, God intervened to save his people when ‘they cried to the Lord in their trouble’ (vs 13,19,28), because of his ‘unfailing love’ (v 8). The focus changes in verses 33–42. Away from our suffering, the perspective moves to God’s intervention and his transformative actions of judgement and blessing – from desert to harvest, from oppression to rejoicing: ‘He turned the desert into pools of water’ (see v 35); ‘He blessed them’ (see v 38); ‘He lifted the needy’ (see v 41).
Throughout the psalm, the rhythm of the repeated lines (‘they cried out’; ‘he saved them’; ‘give thanks’) gives us a rhythm for our own lives and worship. We are invited to join in the rejoicing with God’s people today. Together, let us ponder anew ‘the loving deeds of the Lord’ (v 43).
‘Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story’ (v 2). Who will you tell? Whose story will you learn from and rejoice? How will you ‘heed’ wisdom (v 43)?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ecclesiastes 8,9; 1 Timothy 1
Pray for Scripture Union
Praise God for the partnership between SU and the Diocese of Durham and the fruit that has come out of that partnership, including the event in Durham Cathedral. (This week's prayers relate to this story.)
