Psalms 107:26

26 The sailors aboard ship rose toward the sky. They plunged into the depths. Their courage melted in [the face of] disaster.

Psalms 107:26 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 107:26

They mount up to the heaven
The waves which are lifted up by the stormy wind, and the ships which are upon them, and the men in them.

They go down again to the depths:
one while they seem to reach the skies, and presently they are down, as it were, in the bottom of the sea, and are threatened to be buried in the midst of it; distress at sea is described in much the same language by Virgil and Ovid ^F13.

Their soul is melted because of trouble;
because of the danger of being cast away; so it was with Jonah's mariner's, and with the disciples in the storm; sea roaring, and men's hearts failing for fear, are joined together in ( Luke 21:25 Luke 21:26 )

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 "Tollimur in coelum", Virgil. Aeneid 3. prope finem. "Coelumque aequare videtur pontus". Ovid. Metamorph. l. 12. Fab. 10.

Psalms 107:26 In-Context

24 have seen what the LORD can do, the miracles he performed in the depths of the sea.

25 He spoke, and a storm began to blow, and it made the waves rise high.

26 The sailors aboard ship rose toward the sky. They plunged into the depths. Their courage melted in [the face of] disaster.

27 They reeled and staggered like drunks, and all their skills as sailors became useless.

28 In their distress they cried out to the LORD. He led them from their troubles.