Psalms

Psalms 107

43 verses · Wisdom · Old Testament

1Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. 2Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary, 3And gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way. They found no city to live in. 5Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 6Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses, 7he led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in. 8Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
9For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good.
10Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron, 11because they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High. 12Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help. 13Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. 14He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke away their chains. 15Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
16For he has broken the gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron.
17Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities. 18Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death. 19Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, he saves them out of their distresses. 20He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves. 21Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
22Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds with singing.
23Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters; 24These see Yahweh’s deeds, and his wonders in the deep. 25For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves. 26They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts away because of trouble. 27They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 28Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress. 29He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still. 30Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven. 31Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds for the children of men!
32Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders.
33He turns rivers into a desert, water springs into a thirsty ground, 34and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it. 35He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs. 36There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in, 37sow fields, plant vineyards, and reap the fruits of increase. 38He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly. He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease. 39Again, they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow. 40He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste. 41Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like a flock. 42The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths. 43Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the loving kindnesses of Yahweh.

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What others are saying

3 commentators · 55 notes on this chapter

Matthew HenryEnglish Puritan / Nonconformist · 1708–17145

Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.

Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.

v. 1–9

Here is, I. A general call to all to give thanks to God, Psa 107:1. Let all that sing this psalm, or pray over it, set themselves herein to give thanks to the Lord; and those that have not any special matter for praise may furnish themselves with matter…

v. 10–16

We are to take notice of the goodness of God towards prisoners and captives. Observe, 1. A description of this affliction. Prisoners are said to sit in darkness (Psa 107:10), in dark dungeons, close prisons, which intimates that they are desolate and…

v. 17–22

Bodily sickness is another of the calamities of this life which gives us an opportunity of experiencing the goodness of God in recovering us, and of that the psalmist speaks in these verses, where we may observe, I. That we, by our sins, bring sickness upon…

John GillParticular Baptist / High Calvinist · 1746–176343

The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.

Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.

v. 1

O give thanks unto the Lord,.... As all men should do, at all times and for all things; the psalm begins as the former does, and gives the same reasons for thanksgiving. For he is good; and does good, and is the author of all good. For his mercy endureth for…

v. 2

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,.... That the Lord is good, and his mercy everlasting; since their redemption is a proof of his goodness, and an instance of his mercy; this is not to be understood of the Israelites redeemed from Egyptian bondage, or from…

v. 3

And gathered them out of the lands,.... This cannot have respect to the bringing of the children of Israel out of Egypt; for they were not then brought out of several countries, but from one land only: nor to the Babylonish captivity; for, though some might…

Keil & DelitzschGerman Lutheran, conservative-critical · 1861–18757

The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.

Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.

v. 1–3

The introit, with the call upon them to grateful praise, is addressed to the returned exiles. The Psalm carries the marks of its deutero-Isaianic character on the very front of it, viz.: "the redeemed of Jahve," taken from Isa 62:12, cf. Psa 63:4; Psa 35:9…

v. 4–9

It has actually come to pass, the first strophe tells us, that they wandered in a strange land through deserts and wastes, and seemed likely to have to succumb to death from hunger. According to Psa 107:40 and Isa 43:19, it appears that Psa 107:4 ought to be…

v. 10–16

Others suffered imprisonment and bonds; but through Him who had decreed this as punishment for them, they also again reached the light of freedom. Just as in the first strophe, here, too, as far as יודוּ in Psa 107:15, is all a compound subject; and in view…

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