Psalms 107:10-43

10 ¹Some sat in darkness and in ²the shadow of death, prisoners in ³affliction and in irons,

11 for they ⁴had rebelled against the words of God, and ⁵spurned the counsel of the Most High.

12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, ⁶with none to help.

13 ⁷Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

14 He brought them out of ⁸darkness and the shadow of death, and ⁹burst their bonds apart.

15 ¹⁰Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

16 For he ¹¹shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17 Some were ¹²fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;

18 ¹³they loathed any kind of food, and they ¹⁴drew near to ¹⁵the gates of death.

19 ¹⁶Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

20 He ¹⁷sent out his word and ¹⁸healed them, and ¹⁹delivered them from their destruction.

21 ²⁰Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

22 And let them ²¹offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and ²²tell of his deeds in ²³songs of joy!

23 Some ²⁴went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;

24 they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep.

25 For he ²⁵commanded and ²⁶raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage ²⁷melted away in their evil plight;

27 they reeled and ²⁸staggered like drunken men and ²⁹were at their wits' end.^[a]

28 ³⁰Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

29 He ³¹made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

30 Then they were glad that the waters^[b] were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.

31 ³²Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

32 Let them ³³extol him in ³⁴the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33 He ³⁵turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,

34 ³⁶a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.

35 He ³⁷turns a desert into pools of water, ³⁸a parched land into springs of water.

36 And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish ³⁹a city to live in;

37 they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.

38 ⁴⁰By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow,

40 ⁴¹he pours contempt on princes and ⁴²makes them wander ⁴³in trackless wastes;

41 but ⁴⁴he raises up the needy out of affliction and ⁴⁵makes their families like flocks.

42 ⁴⁶The upright see it and are glad, and ⁴⁷all wickedness shuts its mouth.

43 ⁴⁸Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

Psalms 107:10-43 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. Luke 1:79; [Isaiah 42:7; Isaiah 49:9; Micah 7:8]
• 2. ver. 14; Job 10:21
• 3. [Job 36:8]
• 4. Ps. 106:7, 33, 43; See Psalms 78:40
• 5. Proverbs 1:30; Proverbs 5:12; Proverbs 15:5; [Deuteronomy 31:20; Luke 7:30]
• 6. See Psalms 22:11
• 7. ver. 6, 19, 28
• 8. See ver. 10
• 9. [Psalms 2:3]
• 10. ver. 8, 21, 31
• 11. Isaiah 45:2
• 12. Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 14:9
• 13. Job 33:20
• 14. Psalms 88:3; Job 33:22
• 15. See Job 38:17
• 16. ver. 6, 13, 28
• 17. Psalms 147:15, 18; [Matthew 8:8]
• 18. Psalms 30:2, 3; 2 Kings 20:5; Job 33:29, 30
• 19. Psalms 103:4
• 20. ver. 8, 15, 31
• 21. See Psalms 50:14
• 22. Psalms 9:11; See Psalms 118:17
• 23. Psalms 105:43
• 24. Isaiah 42:10
• 25. Psalms 105:31, 34
• 26. Psalms 148:8; Jonah 1:4
• 27. Psalms 119:28; See Psalms 22:14
• 28. Isaiah 24:20; Isaiah 29:9; See Job 12:25
• 29. Isaiah 19:3
• 30. ver. 6, 13, 19
• 31. See Psalms 65:7
• 32. ver. 8, 15, 21
• 33. See Psalms 99:5
• 34. Psalms 22:22, 25
• 35. Isaiah 50:2; [Isaiah 42:15]
• 36. [Genesis 13:10; Genesis 14:3; Deuteronomy 29:23]; See Genesis 19:24-28
• 37. Psalms 114:8; Isaiah 41:18; [Isaiah 35:6, 7; Isaiah 43:19, 20]
• 38. Job 38:26, 27
• 39. ver. 4, 7
• 40. Genesis 12:2; Genesis 17:20; Exodus 1:7
• 41. Job 12:21
• 42. Job 12:24
• 43. [Deuteronomy 32:10]
• 44. Psalms 113:7, 8; 1 Samuel 2:8
• 45. Job 21:11
• 46. See Job 22:19
• 47. See Psalms 63:11
• 48. [Psalms 64:9; Jeremiah 9:12; Hosea 14:9]

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew and all their wisdom was swallowed up
• [b]. Hebrew they