1 O give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy is unchanging for ever.
2 Let those whose cause the Lord has taken up say so, his people whom he has taken out of the hands of their haters;
3 Making them come together out of all the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4 They were wandering in the waste places; they saw no way to a resting-place.
5 Their souls became feeble for need of food and drink.
6 Then they sent up their cry to the Lord in their sorrow, and he gave them salvation out of all their troubles;
7 Guiding them in the right way, so that they might come into the town of their resting-place.
8 Let men give praise to the Lord for his mercy, and for the wonders which he does for the children of men!
9 He gives its desire to the unresting soul, so that it is full of good things.
10 Those who were in the dark, in the black night, in chains of sorrow and iron;
11 Because they went against the words of God, and gave no thought to the laws of the Most High:
12 So that he made their hearts weighted down with grief; they were falling, and had no helper.
13 Then they sent up their cry to the Lord in their sorrow, and he gave them salvation out of all their troubles.
14 He took them out of the dark and the black night, and all their chains were broken.
15 Let men give praise to the Lord for his mercy, and for the wonders which he does for the children of men!
16 The doors of brass are broken by his arm, and the bands of iron are cut in two.
17 Foolish men, because of their sins, and because of their wrongdoing, are troubled;
18 They are disgusted by all food, and they come near to the doors of death.
19 Then they send up their cry to the Lord in their sorrow, and he gives them salvation out of all their troubles.
20 He sent his word and made them well, and kept them safe from the underworld.
21 Let men give praise to the Lord for his mercy, and for the wonders which he does for the children of men!
22 Let them make offerings of praise, giving news of his works with cries of joy.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in the great waters;
24 They see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.
25 For at his word comes up the storm-wind, lifting high the waves.
26 The sailors go up to heaven, and down into the deep; their souls are wasted because of their trouble.
27 They are turned here and there, rolling like a man who is full of wine; and all their wisdom comes to nothing.
28 Then they send up their cry to the Lord in their sorrow, and he gives them salvation out of all their troubles.
29 He makes the storm into a calm, so that the waves are at peace.
30 Then they are glad, because the sea is quiet, and he takes them to the harbour of their desire.
31 Let men give praise to the Lord for his mercy, and for the wonders which he does for the children of men!
32 Let them give glory to him in the meeting of the people, and praise among the chiefs.
33 He makes rivers into waste places, and springs of water into a dry land;
34 He makes a fertile country into a salt waste, because of the sins of those who are living there.
35 He makes a waste land into a place of water, and a dry land into water-springs.
36 And there he gives the poor a resting-place, so that they may make themselves a town;
37 And put seed in the fields and make vine-gardens, to give them fruit.
38 He gives them his blessing so that they are increased greatly, and their cattle do not become less.
39 And when they are made low, and crushed by trouble and sorrow,
40 He puts an end to the pride of kings, and sends them wandering in the waste lands where there is no way.
41 But he puts the poor man on high from his troubles, and gives him families like a flock.
42 The upright see it and are glad: the mouth of the sinner is stopped.
43 Let the wise give thought to these things, and see the mercies of the Lord.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 107
Commentary on Psalms 107 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 107
Ps 107:1-43. Although the general theme of this Psalm may have been suggested by God's special favor to the Israelites in their restoration from captivity, it must be regarded as an instructive celebration of God's praise for His merciful providence to all men in their various emergencies. Of these several are given—captivity and bondage, wanderings by land and sea, and famine; some as evidences of God's displeasure, and all the deliverances as evidence of His goodness and mercy to them who humbly seek Him.
1, 2. This call for thankful praise is the burden or chorus (compare Ps 107:8, 15, &c.).
2. redeemed of the Lord—(compare Isa 35:9, 10).
say—that is, that His mercy, &c.
hand of—or, "power of enemy."
3. gathered—alluding to the dispersion of captives throughout the Babylonian empire.
from the south—literally, "the sea," or, Red Sea (Ps 114:3), which was on the south.
4-7. A graphic picture is given of the sufferings of those who from distant lands returned to Jerusalem; or,
city of habitation—may mean the land of Palestine.
5. fainted—was overwhelmed (Ps 61:3; 77:3).
8, 9. To the chorus is added, as a reason for praise, an example of the extreme distress from which they had been delivered—extreme hunger, the severest privation of a journey in the desert.
10-16. Their sufferings were for their rebellion against (Ps 105:28) the words, or purposes, or promises, of God for their benefit. When humbled they cry to God, who delivers them from bondage, described as a dark dungeon with doors and bars of metal, in which they are bound in iron—that is, chains and fetters.
shadow of death—darkness with danger (Ps 23:4).
16. broken—literally, "shivered" (Isa 45:2).
17-22. Whether the same or not, this exigency illustrates that dispensation of God according to which sin brings its own punishment.
are afflicted—literally, "afflict themselves," that is, bring on disease, denoted by loathing of food, and drawing
18. near unto—literally, "even to"
gates—or, "domains" (Ps 9:13).
20. sent his word—that is, put forth His power.
their destructions—that is, that which threatened them. To the chorus is added the mode of giving thanks, by a sacrifice and joyful singing (Ps 50:14).
23-32. Here are set forth the perils of seafaring, futility of man's, and efficiency of God's, help.
go … sea—alluding to the elevation of the land at the coast.
24. These see … deep—illustrated both by the storm He raises and the calm He makes with a word (Ps 33:9).
25. waves thereof—literally, "His waves" (God's, Ps 42:7).
27. are … end—literally, "all their wisdom swallows up itself," destroys itself by vain and contradictory devices, such as despair induces.
29-32. He maketh … calm—or, "to stand to stillness," or "in quiet." Instead of acts of temple-worship, those of the synagogue are here described, where the people with the
assembly—or session of elders, convened for reading, singing, prayer, and teaching.
33-41. He turneth rivers into a wilderness, &c.—God's providence is illustriously displayed in His influence on two great elements of human prosperity, the earth's productiveness and the powers of government. He punishes the wicked by destroying the sources of fertility, or, in mercy, gives fruitfulness to deserts, which become the homes of a busy and successful agricultural population. By a permitted misrule and tyranny, this scene of prosperity is changed to one of adversity. He rules rulers, setting up one and putting down another.
40. wander … wilderness—reduced to misery (Job 12:24).
42, 43. In this providential government, good men will rejoice, and the cavils of the wicked will be stopped (Job 5:16; Isa 52:15), and all who take right views will appreciate God's unfailing mercy and unbounded love.