All at Sea (Psalm 107:23-32)

I suppose the men who did the most dangerous of tasks in the ancient world were seamen. They may have been the astronauts of their day, the risktakers, the ones who were prepared to hazard their lives. After all, they had no idea that one day it would be possible to fly to different places. Nor would they have known that huge container ships would be built that would carry in one ship on one voyage what those ancient ships would carry in fifty years (of course, their boats would not survive that long). Still, they would be regarded as very skilful, the best that there was. And very brave. People would admire them.

The preamble for thinking about providence (vv. 23-24)

In verses 23 and 24, there is an unusual similarity which also turns out to be a contrast. Two kinds of businesses are described. First, there is the business of the sailors on the ship; second, there are the deeds of the Lord. Things are happening that can be interpreted at two levels. The sailors are busy doing what they should do, and the Lord is active doing what he can do. And is that reality not the way that we should consider providence?

Concerning every creature in the world and its relation to God, it does what it does, and the Lord does what he does and changes their perspective. Is that not the message that is given in the last few chapters of Job when he is taken on a tour of creation by God? Every creature is under his providence in one way or another. In the example in the psalm, while the sailors were acting as sailors and perhaps doing it very well, they were compelled to see the works of the Lord. We need to hold to that preamble in order to make sense of life.

The problem of providence (vv. 25-27)

Providence, as we know, can continue for a while with no obvious problems, at least from our perspective. But often in life something happens and disturbs all our goals and intentions. That is what happened to the sailors. Initially the voyage was calm, because if it was otherwise, they would not have set out on it. Yet a storm came on the journey, and it grew increasingly worse, and eventually they found themselves out of their depth, in real danger for their lives. The degree of their danger is described in verses 25-27. They were in the grip of a storm that threatened to bring their lives to an end.

Those men were engaged in an activity that was beneficial to others. If they were carrying cargo, it would be useful for those living at the ship’s destination. What kinds of products would be on board? There could be spices, metals, and fabrics, even food such as wheat and other crops. Tradesmen living in the destination were dependent on the ship arriving, otherwise they would not have the raw material to use in their small workplaces. The inhabitants would need the food supplies that were on board. The arrival of the ship would be greeted with delight. But now it looked as if their aims would be prevented, and they would never see their destination. It all seemed such a waste.

Is that not the problem we have with providence? Often, it seems to hinder that which is good and beneficial. Life is intertwined and people need one another in order to have an effective society. They have plans that will being benefits. Life will become more prosperous. Then suddenly, and sometimes persistently, things work against them. Life now seems to be heading for catastrophe, and despite their best efforts, nothing seems to get better.

The purpose of providence

As we look at the circumstances these sailors were in before the crisis came, what would we identify as their outlook? They gave no thought to God, although they were seeing his wonders. In the sea, they saw all manner of life. Maybe they saw whales or dolphins. Shoals of fish would be observed. The sea had its currents that drove the ship along, but they paid no heed to where the currents came from. They were in their Creator’s world, but they were not acknowledging their Creator. The question comes to us, should he do something about it? Another question comes, what if he does nothing about it?

In this instance, the Lord sent a storm, a fierce storm. Eventually, it had an effect, which was that the sailors prayed to God for deliverance. They cried to him in their distress, and he heard their cry and caused the storm to cease. Instead of the threatening danger, there was tremendous calm. They could continue their sail and eventually they reached their destination. They berthed with the same cargo, but the cargo arrived with different men on the boat. While they still looked the same, they were now changed characters. The storm which had threatened them had become a means of giving them new perspectives on life. It had shown them the existence of God, and it had shown them the folly of not recognising his existence when his common grace surrounded them.

Why do some troubles come? Is one reason not this, that God is causing people to pay attention to him? They live without acknowledging his kindness. They go to the supermarket and do not see his hand of provision. They watch a sunrise and do not see his artistic beauty. They enjoy what life brings along, but do not observe the source. And if life continued like that, would they ever acknowledge his existence? Probably not, with most, although sometimes people see his footsteps and realise his gracious presence.

In this case, the sailors were brought to pray to the Lord. When we think about that, was it harder to man the sails or to pray to God? Which was more successful in coming through the storm – their attempts at preserving the ship or their prayer to the Lord? Of course, there was nothing wrong with them attempting to preserve the ship. But they got nowhere until they prayed.

When they called on God, what would they have prayed for? They would have appealed for him to show mercy to them in the storm, for him to show his power over the storm, for him to create peaceful surroundings, for him to preserve them and the ship so that they would reach harbour. And that is what happened. The simple but earnest prayer of desperate people in a situation of danger was heard by the Lord who worked to get their attention.

The recognition of providence

It is important to recognise that an answer to prayer for deliverance is not guaranteed. The decision to answer prayer is not in the hands of the petitioner, but it is in the hands of God. He may choose to give what is requested, or he may choose to answer it in another way. For example, when the apostle Paul was in a boat during a storm, all the lives on board were saved, but the boat and its cargo were lost. God was gracious in saving their lives, but he also had plans for Paul and his friends to remain in Malta for a while, which could not have happened if the boat had survived. If it had, it would have sailed on to Rome with Paul as a prisoner.

In verses 31 and 32, the psalmist exhorts the rescued sailors to thank the Lord for this amazing expression of his covenant love. This exhortation indicates that the sailors became believers in the Lord as a result of their experience of his mercy. So they are urged to confess in a public manner what had happened to them and the place for them to do so was in the location where his people gathered in an official manner (elders). They are duty bound to tell that the Lord had been gracious to them. It would have been wrong for them to keep it to themselves. The application to us is obvious.

Lessons from other storms

We can say that the storm in Psalm 107 brought sailors to know the Lord. But converted people went through literal storms as well. Most people are familiar with the story of Jonah and the storm that he caused to happen. Why did it occur? Because he was disobedient to the call of God. Why was he disobedient? Because his notions about God were disturbed. At the time of the incident, he did not recognise the personal nature of the sovereignty of God over his life, nor did he recognise the desire of God to forgive great sinners. Jonah would have admitted in theory that God could do as he wanted, but Jonah was not willing to admit in practice that God could do what he wanted with Jonah. Because of his disobedience, he found himself in a storm arranged by God, and the storm did not cease until he had confessed his wrong attitude. So we see in this incident how the Lord used a storm to correct his ideas about God.

Then there is the incident involving the disciples of Jesus taking him across the sea (Mark 4:35-41). They were in the process of discovering who Jesus and by now they recognised that he was a profound Teacher. But they needed to learn more, and what better than a storm? In that incident there is the contrast between Jesus’ calmness (he is asleep) and their panic. And there is the contrast between his ability and their inability. He calmed the sea with a couple of words. What would we have said if we had seen that astonishing wonder? Sometimes we focus on their words of puzzlement as to the real identity of Jesus and forget his challenging comment to them: ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ Is he not saying that by now they should have learned to trust him? He had told them that they would cross over, but they had not listened. But they discovered in the storm that Jesus was a much greater person than they had realised?

When they crossed the sea, what did Jesus do? According to Matthew, he went and spoke to two deranged people (perhaps a husband and wife) and brought peace into their troubled souls. Imagine the disciples thinking about this. They would say Jesus dealt with two kinds of storms and in them we saw his gracious power. He brought peace to the environment, and he brought peace to the two. Mark and Luke focus on one of the pair and tell us that Jesus commanded that individual to go and preach in the area, which he did. What would the disciples say about that storm? Surely, Jesus can change any person and make him or her an effective witness.

The picture in these section

This incident described in the psalm has often been used to describe the journey of life. People find themselves in distress and call upon the name of the Lord. He hears their cry and delivers them from their trouble. Then he becomes like a pilot and guides the ship on which they travel into the harbour. They are glad to reach the haven. We can apply those details to ourselves and just ask ourselves two or three questions. First, we all have had times of trouble, but have we asked the Lord to save us from their consequences caused by sin? Second, are we pleased that the Lord is the pilot of our ship, and that he is taking us across the sea of life? There are other storms ahead and only he can take us through them safely. Third, are we looking forward to the haven?

As we close, here is a brief reminder about the message from storms:

• They are part of divine providence – they are not signs that God has lost control of affairs.
• They are sent to get our attention, and they can happen suddenly.
• They can teach us about our faith and how strong it is – our faith will be tested.
• They can highlight our failure to know the Saviour, but they also can teach us about the Saviour, as the disciples discovered.
• Storms can expand our faith, as we discover more of his power.
• Storms should make us long for the haven.