Psalms 107

1 Give ye thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good; for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever.

2 Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the oppressor,

3 And gathered out of the countries, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the sea.

4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way, they found no city of habitation;

5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them:

6 Then they cried unto Jehovah in their trouble, [and] he delivered them out of their distresses,

7 And he led them forth by a right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

8 Let them give thanks unto Jehovah for his loving-kindness, and for his wondrous works to the children of men;

9 For he hath satisfied the longing soul and filled the hungry soul with good.

10 Such as inhabit darkness and the shadow of death, bound in affliction and iron,

11 Because they had rebelled against the words of God, and had despised the counsel of the Most High; ...

12 And he bowed down their heart with labour; they stumbled, and there was none to help:

13 Then they cried unto Jehovah in their trouble, [and] he saved them out of their distresses;

14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bands in sunder.

15 Let them give thanks unto Jehovah for his loving-kindness, and for his wondrous works to the children of men;

16 For he hath broken the gates of bronze, and cut asunder the bars of iron.

17 Fools, because of their way of transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted;

18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of food, and they draw near unto the gates of death:

19 Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble, [and] he saveth them out of their distresses;

20 He sendeth his word, and healeth them, and delivereth them from their destructions.

21 Let them give thanks unto Jehovah for his loving-kindness, and for his wondrous works to the children of men,

22 And let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works in joyful song.

23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters,

24 These see the works of Jehovah, and his wonders in the deep.

25 For he speaketh, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof:

26 They mount up to the heavens, they go down to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble;

27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and they are at their wits' end:

28 Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses;

29 He maketh the storm a calm, and the waves thereof are still:

30 And they rejoice because they are quiet; and he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

31 Let them give thanks unto Jehovah for his loving-kindness, and for his wondrous works to the children of men;

32 Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the session of the elders.

33 He maketh rivers into a wilderness, and water-springs into dry ground;

34 A fruitful land into a plain of salt, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

35 He maketh the wilderness into a pool of water, and the dry land into water-springs;

36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, and they establish a city of habitation;

37 And sow fields, and plant vineyards, which yield fruits of increase;

38 And he blesseth them, so that they are multiplied greatly; and he suffereth not their cattle to decrease.

39 And they are diminished and brought low, through oppression, adversity, and sorrow:

40 He poureth contempt upon nobles, and causeth them to wander in a pathless waste;

41 But he secureth the needy one on high from affliction, and maketh [him] families like flocks.

42 The upright shall see it, and rejoice; and all unrighteousness shall stop its mouth.

43 Whoso is wise, let him observe these things, and let them understand the loving-kindnesses of Jehovah.

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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'pain,' 'anguish.'
• [b]. Lit. 'pits,' and so 'pit-falls:' see Job 33.18,22; Lam. 4.20.
• [c]. Zavach, lit. 'sacrifice,' as Ps. 4.5; 27.6; 50.14,23, &c.
• [d]. See Lev. 7.12.
• [e]. Or 'with rejoicing.'
• [f]. Or 'Whoso is wise and observeth these things, even [they] shall.'
• [g]. Chesed, as in vers. 1,8,15,21,31.

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.''