Psalms107
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1 Oh give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so, Whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
3 And gathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.
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 He led them also by a straight way, That they might go to a city of habitation.
8 Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness, And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, And the hungry soul he filleth with good.
10 Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Being bound in affliction and iron,
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, And contemned the counsel of the Most High:
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, 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 brake their bonds in sunder.
15 Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness, And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, And cut the bars of iron in sunder.
17 Fools because of their 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 Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness, And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
22 And let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare his works with singing.
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 commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, Which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26 They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths: Their soul melteth away because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And 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, So that the waves thereof are still.
30 Then are they glad because they are quiet; So he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31 Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness, And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, And praise him in the seat of the elders.
33 He turneth rivers into a wilderness, And watersprings into a thirsty ground;
34 A fruitful land into a salt desert, For the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
35 He turneth a wilderness into a pool of water, And a dry land into watersprings.
36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, That they may prepare a city of habitation,
37 And sow fields, and plant vineyards, And get them fruits of increase.
38 He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; And he suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
39 Again, they are diminished and bowed down Through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
40 He poureth contempt upon princes, And causeth them to wander in the waste, where there is no way.
41 Yet setteth he the needy on high from affliction, And maketh him families like a flock.
42 The upright shall see it, and be glad; And all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
43 Whoso is wise will give heed to these things; And they will consider the lovingkindnesses of Jehovah.
Study
Psalms 107Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Psalms 107. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: 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).
vv1-9
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.
vv10-16
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.
vv17-22
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.
Key Words
יָדָה: physically, to throw (a stone, an arrow) at or away; especially to revere or worship (with extended hands); intensively, to bemoan (by wringing the hands)
טוֹב: good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (well)
חֵסֵד: kindness; by implication (towards God) piety; rarely (by opposition) reproof, or (subject.) beauty
עוֹלָם: properly, concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; generally, time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practically) eternity; frequentatively, adverbial (especially with prepositional prefix) always
גָּאַל: to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative's property, marry his widow, etc.)
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
קָבַץ: to grasp, i.e. collect
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
מִזְרָח: sunrise, i.e. the east
מַעֲרָב: the west (as a region of the evening sun)
Cross References
Psalms 107Identical introductory liturgical call to praise God for His everlasting mercy and goodness.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Isaianic language of the 'redeemed of the Lord' returning along the holy highway.
Supported by JFB
Prophetic parallel of breaking the gates of brass and cutting the bars of iron.
Supported by JFB
Jesus calming the physical storm mirrors Yahweh's authority over the sea shown here.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The Zechariah benediction echoes sitting in darkness and the shadow of death.
Supported by JFB
Urges sacrificing the sacrifices of thanksgiving, matching the psalm's liturgical instructions.
Supported by JFB
Direct verbal parallel regarding God making leaders wander in a pathless wilderness.
Supported by JFB
Concludes with the same wisdom formula: the wise observing and understanding Yahweh's ways.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Mary's Magnificat echoes God satisfying the longing and filling the hungry with good.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Saviour's light dawning on those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Matches the description of a sick man abhorring food and drawing near to death.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Sovereign reversal raising the needy from affliction and multiplying families like a flock.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Hannah's song parallel of setting the poor on high and raising the needy.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Theological fulfillment where all iniquity stops her mouth before the righteous judgment.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Miraculous transformation of dry wilderness rock into standing water and water springs.
Supported by Matthew Poole