Psalms 107:1-6

The LORD Delivers Men from Manifold Troubles.

1

BOOK 5

1 Oh ¹ give thanks to the LORD, for ² He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2 Let ³the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has ⁴redeemed from the hand of the adversary

3 And ⁵gathered from the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.

4 They ⁶wandered in the wilderness in a desert region; They did not find a way to an inhabited ⁷city.

5 They were hungry and thirsty; Their ⁸soul fainted within them.

6 Then they ⁹cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses.

Psalms 107:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

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.''

Cross References

• 1. 1 Chronicles 16:34; Psalms 106:1; Psalms 118:1; Psalms 136:1; Jeremiah 33:11
• 2. 2 Chronicles 5:13; 2 Chronicles 7:3; Ezra 3:11; Psalms 100:5
• 3. Isaiah 35:9, 10; Isaiah 62:12; Isaiah 63:4
• 4. Psalms 78:42; Psalms 106:10
• 5. Deuteronomy 30:3; Nehemiah 1:9; Psalms 106:47; Isaiah 11:12; Isaiah 43:5; Isaiah 56:8; Ezekiel 11:17; Ezekiel 20:34
• 6. Numbers 14:33; Numbers 32:13; Deuteronomy 2:7; Deuteronomy 32:10; Joshua 5:6; Joshua 14:10
• 7. Psalms 107:7, 36
• 8. Psalms 77:3
• 9. Psalms 50:15; Psalms 107:13, 19, 28

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "sea"
• [b]. Lit "waste"
• [c]. Or "a habitable city;" lit "a city of habitation"
• [d]. Lit "also"