He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. Psalm 107:29
During Scottish missionary Alexander Duff’s first voyage to India in 1830, he was shipwrecked in a storm off the coast of South Africa. He and his fellow passengers made it to a small, desolate island; and a short time later, one of the crew found a copy of a Bible belonging to Duff washed ashore on the beach. When the book dried, Duff read Psalm 107 to his fellow survivors, and they took courage. Finally, after a rescue and yet another shipwreck, Duff arrived in India.
Psalm 107 lists some of the ways God delivered the Israelites. Duff and his shipmates no doubt identified with and took comfort in the words: “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven” (vv. 29–30). And, like the Israelites, they too “[gave] thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind” (v. 31).
We see a parallel to Psalm 107:28–30 in the New Testament (Matthew 8:23–27; Mark 4:35–41). Jesus and His disciples were in a boat at sea when a violent storm began. His disciples cried out in fear, and Jesus—God in flesh—calmed the sea. We too can take courage! Our powerful God and Savior hears and responds to our cries and comforts us in the midst of our storms.
Read: Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32 (NIV)
Psalm 107:1–3 (NIV)
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
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.[a]
Psalm 107:23–32 (NIV)
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[a] 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.
INSIGHT
- When have you cried out to God in a “storm”?
- What was the result?
The Hebrew word yâm, translated “sea” in Psalm 107:23, occurs nearly four hundred times in the Old Testament. The root word from which yâm is derived means “to roar.” As is the case in Psalm 107:23, on many occasions the word is used of bodies of water—seas, rivers, lakes, etc. Biblical uses of the word sea, however, also aptly picture chaos—roaring, troublesome, untamed waters (see Psalm 46:2–3). Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia comments: “To the land-loving Hebrews the sea was a dangerous and stormy place, and it furnished an apt simile for the troubled restless soul of the sinner (Isaiah 57:20) and for the rebellious, seething nations of the world (Daniel 7:2; Matthew 13:47; Revelation 13:1).” With such an understanding, some Bible scholars interpret the phrase “there was no longer any sea” in Revelation 21:1 to mean the absence of “restless godlessness.”
PRAYER
Thank You, God, for not leaving me to face the storms on my own. I need You! In Jesus name, I pray and believe. Amen!!
Read: Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: Psalms 107–109; 1 Corinthians 4
