Psalms 107:26-36

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;

Psalms 107:26-36 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.''