Psalms 107:26

26 They rose up to the heavens. Then they went down deep into the ocean. In that kind of danger the people's boldness melted away.

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 )


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 They saw the works of the Lord. They saw the miracles he did on the ocean.
25 He spoke and stirred up a storm. It lifted the waves high.
26 They rose up to the heavens. Then they went down deep into the ocean. In that kind of danger the people's boldness melted away.
27 They were unsteady like those who get drunk. They didn't know what to do.
28 Then they cried out to the LORD because of their problems. And he brought them out of their troubles.
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