1071 'Give ye thanks to Jehovah, For good, for to the age 'is' His kindness:' 2 Let the redeemed of Jehovah say, Whom He redeemed from the hand of an adversary. 3 And from the lands hath gathered them, From east and from west, From north, and from the sea. 4 They wandered in a wilderness, in a desert by the way, A city of habitation they have not found. 5 Hungry—yea—thirsty, Their soul in them becometh feeble, 6 And they cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distress He delivereth them, 7 And causeth them to tread in a right way, To go unto a city of habitation. 8 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men. 9 For He hath satisfied a longing soul, And a hungry soul hath filled 'with' goodness.
10 Inhabitants of dark places and death-shade, Prisoners of affliction and of iron, 11 Because they changed the saying of God, And the counsel of the Most High despised. 12 And He humbleth with labour their heart, They have been feeble, and there is no helper. 13 And they cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distresses He saveth them. 14 He bringeth them out from the dark place, And death-shade, And their bands He draweth away. 15 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men. 16 For He hath broken doors of brass, And bars of iron He hath cut.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 107:1-16
Commentary on Psalm 107:1-9
(Read Psalm 107:1-9)
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.
Commentary on Psalm 107:10-16
(Read Psalm 107:10-16)
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.