Psalm 107:17-32 chanted in the Sarum Use by Sarah James

Themes: A thanksgiving of the people for deliverance from difficulties and dangers; their state compared to a journey through a frightful wilderness, to confinement in a dreary dungeon, to a dangerous malady, to a tempest at sea. The Psalmist calls on men to praise God for the merciful dispensations of his providence, in giving rain and fruitful seasons, after affliction by drought and famine, for supporting the poor in affliction and bringing down the oppressors. The use which the righteous should make of these providences and the advantage to be derived from a due consideration of God's merciful providence. This psalm has no title, either in the Hebrew, or any of the versions; the word "Hallelujah," which is prefixed to some of the latter, is no title, but was most probably borrowed from the conclusion of the preceding psalm. The author is unknown; but it was probably like Psalms 105 and 106, made and sung at the dedication of the second temple. The three psalms seem to be on the same subject. In them the author has comprised the marvellous acts of the Lord towards his people; the transgressions of this people against God; the captivities and miseries they endured in consequence; and finally God's merciful kindness to them in their restoration from captivity, and re-establishment in their own land. (From the Adam Clarke Commentary, 1831)

In Christianity: Many Christians understand Psalm 107 to foreshadow an event recorded in the New Testament. A famous account of the life of Christ from chapter four of Mark's Gospel follows the fifth section of Psalm 107, which describes the plight and eventual rescue of those on the sea. In Mark's biography of Jesus, while he and his disciples are on Lake Galilee in a boat, a storm swells. Jesus calms the storm by saying, “Peace! Be still!” (Mark 4:39). In the same way, Psalm 107 describes the Israelites at sea when a storm arises. The waves “mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths”, (v. 26) and the Lord then “makes still” (v. 29) the storm. The language of both passages is similar, supporting the mirrored imagery and situation that the stories share. The divine being who calms the storm is also the same according to the Christian tradition: the Lord, whether Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. This psalm is beloved of mariners due to its reference to ships and the sea (v. 23). (Wikipedia)

Nine hundred years ago, the Cathedral of Salisbury, England developed a unique form of chant and liturgy known as the “Use of Salisbury,” or “Sarum Use.” Differences from the Roman rite are both melodic (more florid in the Sarum) and textual (Elizabethan English rather than Latin). The best repository of Sarum Use tones is the St. Dunstan's Plainsong Psalter, from which Sarah has sung this psalm. Additional resources on Sarum Use plainsong at https://canticasacra.org.

“Ships on a Rough Sea,” an oil on canvas by Johannes Christiaan Schotel (1787-1838) is made available at Wikimedia Commons in the public domain.