Psaume 107:12

12 Il avait humilié leur cœur par la souffrance; ils succombaient loin de tout secours.

Psaume 107:12 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 107:12

Therefore he brought down their heart with labour
Humbled them under his mighty hand; brought down their haughty spirits and proud stomachs by one afflictive providence or another; by which the Lord humbles men, as he did the Israelites in the wilderness, and hides pride from them: or with trouble of mind, under a conviction of sin; when pride, which is the cause of rebellion against God, and of contempt of his counsel, is brought down, and the haughtiness of man laid low; and when men, humbled under a sense of sin, are made willing to submit to Christ and his righteousness, to God's way of saving sinners by him, to the law of God, and to the Gospel of Christ.

They fell down;
they threw themselves prostrate at his feet for mercy; their heart and strength failed them, as the word signifies, and is used in ( Psalms 31:10 ) , terrified with a sense of divine wrath, they could not stand before the Lord, nor brave it out against him.

And there was none to help;
they could not help themselves, nor was there any creature that could. There is salvation in no other than in Christ; when he saw there was none to help him in that work, his own arm brought salvation to him; and when sinners see there is help in no other, they apply to him, as follows.

Psaume 107:12 In-Context

10 Ceux qui habitaient les ténèbres et l'ombre de la mort, retenus dans l'affliction et dans les fers,
11 Pour avoir été rebelles aux paroles de Dieu, et avoir méprisé le conseil du Très-Haut;
12 Il avait humilié leur cœur par la souffrance; ils succombaient loin de tout secours.
13 Alors ils ont crié à l'Éternel dans leur détresse; et il les a délivrés de leurs angoisses.
14 Il les a tirés des ténèbres et de l'ombre de la mort; il a rompu leurs liens.
The Ostervald translation is in the public domain.