Psalms 107

1 Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever.

2 Let those redeemed by ADONAI say it, those he redeemed from the power of the foe.

3 He gathered them from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the sea.

4 They wandered in the desert, on paths through the wastes, without finding any inhabited city.

5 They were hungry and thirsty, their life was ebbing away.

6 In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and he rescued them from their distress.

7 He led them by a direct path to a city where they could live.

8 Let them give thanks to ADONAI for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!

9 For he has satisfied the hungry, filled the starving with good.

10 Some lived in darkness, in death-dark gloom, bound in misery and iron chains,

11 because they defied God's word, scorned the counsel of the Most High.

12 So he humbled their hearts by hard labor; when they stumbled, no one came to their aid.

13 In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and he rescued them from their distress.

14 He led them from darkness, from death-dark gloom, shattering their chains.

15 Let them give thanks to ADONAI for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!

16 For he shattered bronze doors and cut through iron bars.

17 There were foolish people who suffered affliction because of their crimes and sins;

18 they couldn't stand to eat anything; they were near the gates of death.

19 In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and he rescued them from their distress;

20 he sent his word and healed them, he delivered them from destruction.

21 Let them give thanks to ADONAI for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!

22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and proclaim his great deeds with songs of joy.

23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, plying their trade on the great ocean,

24 saw the works of ADONAI, his wonders in the deep.

25 For at his word the storm-wind arose, lifting up towering waves.

26 The sailors were raised up to the sky, then plunged into the depths. At the danger, their courage failed them,

27 they reeled and staggered like drunk men, and all their skill was swallowed up.

28 In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and he rescued them from their distress.

29 He silenced the storm and stilled its waves,

30 and they rejoiced as the sea grew calm. Then he brought them safely to their desired port.

31 Let them give thanks to ADONAI for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!

32 Let them extol him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the leaders' council.

33 He turns rivers into desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground,

34 productive land into salt flats, because the people living there are so wicked.

35 But he also turns desert into pools of water, dry land into flowing springs;

36 there he gives the hungry a home, and they build a city to live in;

37 there they sow fields and plant vineyards, which yield an abundant harvest.

38 He blesses them, their numbers grow, and he doesn't let their livestock decrease.

39 When their numbers fall, and they grow weak, because of oppression, disaster and sorrow,

40 he pours contempt on princes and leaves them to wander in trackless wastes.

41 But the needy he raises up from their distress and increases their families like sheep.

42 When the upright see this, they rejoice; while the wicked are reduced to silence.

43 Let whoever is wise observe these things and consider ADONAI's loving deeds.

Psalms 107 Commentary

Chapter 107

God's providential care of the children of men in distresses, in banishment, and dispersion. (1-9) In captivity. (10-16) In sickness. (17-22) Danger at sea.(23-32) God's hand is to be seen by his own people. (33-43)

Verses 1-9 In these verses there is reference to the deliverance from Egypt, and perhaps that from Babylon: but the circumstances of travellers in those countries are also noted. It is scarcely possible to conceive the horrors suffered by the hapless traveller, when crossing the trackless sands, exposed to the burning rays of the sum. The words describe their case whom the Lord has redeemed from the bondage of Satan; who pass through the world as a dangerous and dreary wilderness, often ready to faint through troubles, fears, and temptations. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, after God, and communion with him, shall be filled with the goodness of his house, both in grace and glory.

Verses 10-16 This description of prisoners and captives intimates that they are desolate and sorrowful. In the eastern prisons the captives were and are treated with much severity. Afflicting providences must be improved as humbling providences; and we lose the benefit, if our hearts are unhumbled and unbroken under them. This is a shadow of the sinner's deliverance from a far worse confinement. The awakened sinner discovers his guilt and misery. Having struggled in vain for deliverance, he finds there is no help for him but in the mercy and grace of God. His sin is forgiven by a merciful God, and his pardon is accompanied by deliverance from the power of sin and Satan, and by the sanctifying and comforting influences of God the Holy Spirit.

Verses 17-22 If we knew no sin, we should know no sickness. Sinners are fools. They hurt their bodily health by intemperance, and endanger their lives by indulging their appetites. This their way is their folly. The weakness of the body is the effect of sickness. It is by the power and mercy of God that we are recovered from sickness, and it is our duty to be thankful. All Christ's miraculous cures were emblems of his healing diseases of the soul. It is also to be applied to the spiritual cures which the Spirit of grace works. He sends his word, and heals souls; convinces, converts them, makes them holy, and all by the word. Even in common cases of recovery from sickness, God in his providence speaks, and it is done; by his word and Spirit the soul is restored to health and holiness.

Verses 23-32 Let those who go to sea, consider and adore the Lord. Mariners have their business upon the tempestuous ocean, and there witness deliverances of which others cannot form an idea. How seasonable it is at such a time to pray! This may remind us of the terrors and distress of conscience many experience, and of those deep scenes of trouble which many pass through, in their Christian course. Yet, in answer to their cries, the Lord turns their storm into a calm, and causes their trials to end in gladness.

Verses 33-43 What surprising changes are often made in the affairs of men! Let the present desolate state of Judea, and of other countries, explain this. If we look abroad in the world, we see many greatly increase, whose beginning was small. We see many who have thus suddenly risen, as suddenly brought to nothing. Worldly wealth is uncertain; often those who are filled with it, ere they are aware, lose it again. God has many ways of making men poor. The righteous shall rejoice. It shall fully convince all those who deny the Divine Providence. When sinners see how justly God takes away the gifts they have abused, they will not have a word to say. It is of great use to us to be fully assured of God's goodness, and duly affected with it. It is our wisdom to mind our duty, and to refer our comfort to him. A truly wise person will treasure in his heart this delightful psalm. From it, he will fully understand the weakness and wretchedness of man, and the power and loving-kindness of God, not for our merit, but for his mercy's sake.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 107

This psalm, from its style, and from its connection with the preceding psalms, seems to have been written by David. The two foregoing psalms respect the children of Israel; this is generally thought to concern all mankind, and its view to assert a general providence which attends all, in whatsoever condition and circumstance; and to encourage men in their distresses to cry unto the Lord. According to Kimchi, Aben Ezra, and others, four sorts of persons are mentioned, travellers through a wilderness, prisoners, sick persons, and such who use the seas; to which some add a fifth, husbandmen; these are instanced in, not to the exclusion of others, but from them it may be concluded that whatsoever state or condition persons may be in, they are known and taken notice of by the Lord, and are relieved by him when they call upon him. Some restrain the whole to the Israelites, as the Targum, R. Obadiah, Arama, and others, where they make any application; and others apply the psalm to New Testament times; and indeed, though the literal sense should be attended unto and preserved, yet it seems to be applicable to spiritual persons and things. The title of it in the Syriac version is pretty remarkable,

``it is said concerning Joab and Abiah the sons of Samuel, who recited the commandments of the Lord. God gathered the Jews out of captivity, and brought them out from Babylon. Also the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, gathered the Gentiles from the four corners of the world, by preaching to baptism.''