Psalms 107

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

2 Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.

3 For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.

4 Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless.

5 Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.

6 “ LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.

7 He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.

8 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

9 For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery.

11 They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High.

12 That is why he broke them with hard labor; they fell, and no one was there to help them.

13 “ LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

14 He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains.

15 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

16 For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron.

17 Some were fools; they rebelled and suffered for their sins.

18 They couldn’t stand the thought of food, and they were knocking on death’s door.

19 “ LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

20 He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.

21 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.

23 Some went off to sea in ships, plying the trade routes of the world.

24 They, too, observed the LORD ’s power in action, his impressive works on the deepest seas.

25 He spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up the waves.

26 Their ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged again to the depths; the sailors cringed in terror.

27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end.

28 “ LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

29 He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.

30 What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!

31 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

32 Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.

33 He changes rivers into deserts, and springs of water into dry, thirsty land.

34 He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands, because of the wickedness of those who live there.

35 But he also turns deserts into pools of water, the dry land into springs of water.

36 He brings the hungry to settle there and to build their cities.

37 They sow their fields, plant their vineyards, and harvest their bumper crops.

38 How he blesses them! They raise large families there, and their herds of livestock increase.

39 When they decrease in number and become impoverished through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,

40 the LORD pours contempt on their princes, causing them to wander in trackless wastelands.

41 But he rescues the poor from trouble and increases their families like flocks of sheep.

42 The godly will see these things and be glad, while the wicked are struck silent.

43 Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the LORD .

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]. Hebrew and sea.

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.''