Psalms Chapter 107
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed by the LORD say so, whom he has 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 to live in.
5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried to the LORD 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 to live in.
8 Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good.
10 Some 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 condemned the counsel of the Most High.
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour. They fell down, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke away their chains.
15 Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
16 For he has broken the gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron.
17 Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities.
18 Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, he saves them out of their distresses.
20 He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves.
21 Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
22 Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds with singing.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters;
24 These see the LORD's deeds, and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves.
26 They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts away because of trouble.
27 They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
28 Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress.
29 He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still.
30 Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven.
31 Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds for 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 turns rivers into a desert, water springs into a thirsty ground,
34 and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs.
36 There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in,
37 sow fields, plant vineyards, and reap the fruits of increase.
38 He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly. He doesn't allow their livestock to decrease.
39 Again, they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
40 He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
41 Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like a flock.
42 The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths.
43 Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the loving kindnesses of the LORD.
Footnotes
- Verse 1 (LORD)
- When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, "LORD" or "GOD" is the translation of God's Proper Name.
- Verse 11 (God)
- The Hebrew word rendered "God" is Elohim.
Version: World English Bible
- About World English Bible (WEB)
- WEB Glossary
- WEB Web Site (source documents)
- Bible on one web page
- Download WEB (for MS Word)
Audio
To Listen to this Chapter
The mp3 Audio File should start to play in a new Tab. Then return to this Tab to follow the text whilst listening.
Psalms Chapter 107 Guide
We now begin the fifth and last book of the Psalter. In this book the music is richest and fullest. It begins in this psalm on the fundamental notes, and rises through major and minor, by the way of the songs of ascents, to the final measures of perfect praise contained in the doxology.
The first thirty-two verses contain a wonderful story of redemption, using that word in its sense of deliverance from positions and circumstances of peril. In a prologue the theme of the songs is stated. A people redeemed and gathered by Jehovah is called upon to declare the fact.
Then follows four strophes in which the redemption is illustrated in four ways. Each of these ends with the same appeal for praise, varied by description suitable to the previous illustration. The first illustration is that of homelessness. The second is that of bondage. The third is that of affliction. The last is that of a storm. The homeless, Jehovah led to a city of habitation; the enslaved, He led into liberty; the afflicted, He healed; the storm-tossed, He led to calm and a haven. All through, the connection between sorrow and sin is clearly seen.
The method of Jehovah is described as that of dealing with sin in order to the healing of sorrow. Such deliverances demand worship, and the song is a psalm of praise interspersed with sighings after more perfect praise.
At verse Psalms 107:33 the psalm changes its tone, and becomes meditative. With the facts of Divine deliverances still in mind, the underlying principles of Divine activity are stated. Things which appear contradictory are seen as evidences of consistency. Jehovah turns fruitful places into a wilderness; He turns the wilderness into a fruitful place. His activities are destructive and constructive. He blesses and multiplies a people. Again they are abased and afflicted. He is the Author of good as prosperity, and evil as adversity. He dethrones the high, and exalts the lowly. Everything results from the attitude of men with whom He deals. Upright men are made to rejoice. Men of iniquity are silenced.
The concluding words draw attention to the importance of understanding these matters. The wise will give heed to them. The mercies of Jehovah are to be considered. This means much more than they are to be remembered. The Authorised “understand,” and the Revised “consider” are both partial interpretations of the Hebrew word. It very literally means to distinguish. That is to say, God’s “mercies” or “lovingkindnesses” are to be considered in their method and meaning, that they may be understood and not misinterpreted. They are not capricious, but proceed ever in harmony with fixed principles.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Psalms Chapter 107 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- 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.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.