David Guzik :: Study Guide for Psalm 107

Learning from God’s Deliverance to Returning Captives

This remarkable psalm praises God’s deliverance in four wonderful pictures. Derek Kidner titled this psalm “God to the Rescue.” The four pictures show that everyone’s story is different, and yet everyone’s story is the same.

“Consider the successive vignettes of this psalm. Love broods over the weary caravan that faints in the desert; visits the prison-house with its captives; watches by our beds of pain; notices each lurch of the tempest-driven vessel; brings the weary hosts from the wilderness into the fruitful soil.” (F.B. Meyer)

A. Dedication of the song.

1. (Psalm 107:1) Dedicated in gratitude to God.

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

a. Oh, give thanks to the LORD: With the word Oh, the exhortation is stated as an exclamation. The singer of the psalm passionately pleads with his readers to give thanks to God, and for good reason. This thanks is directed to God because He is good. His goodness will be revealed throughout the rest of this psalm.

b. For His mercy endures forever: In the psalms as a whole, this phrase has almost a liturgical quality to it. It is used more than 30 times and is an appreciative declaration of God’s people, praising the great lovingkindness –covenant love — of God.

i. “The word endureth has been properly supplied by the translators, but yet it somewhat restricts the sense, which will be better seen if we read it, ‘for his mercy for ever.’ That mercy had no beginning, and shall never know an end.” (Spurgeon)

2. (Psalm 107:2-3) Dedicated in light of the gathering and return of God’s people.

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.

a. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so: Specifically, the psalmist invited the people of God — those redeemed by His enduring mercy — to declare that they are redeemed. It would be ungrateful and wrong to be silent about so great a work. The psalmist will describe four distinct aspects of God’s redemption rescue — to the lost, to the guilty, to the sick, and to the storm-tossed. These redeemed of the LORD should say so.

i. “Moses has given us in the law a clear and full idea of what we are to understand by the word goel, here rendered ‘redeemed.’ If any person was either sold for a slave, or carried away for a captive, then his kinsman, who was nearest to him in blood, had the right and equity of redemption.” (Romaine, cited in Spurgeon)

b. Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy: We might be redeemed from the world, the flesh, the devil, or countless other snares. Here, the psalmist has in mind redemption from the hand of the enemy, probably connected with the exile of God’s people.

c. And gathered out of the lands: This would be a fitting statement in the mouth of Daniel, Ezra, or Nehemiah, who had occasion to thank God for gathering a remnant of God’s people from their lands of captivity.

i. From the south: “Hebrew, from the sea.” (Poole)

B. God’s goodness seen in His deliverance to returning captives.

1. (Psalm 107:4-9) Deliverance for those lost in the wilderness.

They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
And He led them forth by the right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

a. They wandered in the wilderness: When God gathered His people (verses 2-3), they had to come to the Promised Land from every direction. Some came from the wilderness, and they wandered the desolate desert.

i. Wandered: “Their passage through the wilderness was not a journeying, such as when men pass on in a road to some inhabited place; but a wandering up and down away from all path and road, and so in an endless maze of desolation.” (Hammond, cited in Spurgeon)

ii. “They were lost in the worst possible place, even as the sinner is who is lost in sin; they wandered up and down in vain searches and researches as a sinner does when he is awakened and sees his lost estate; but it ended in nothing.” (Spurgeon)

b. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them: In the trouble of the wilderness, the redeemed cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and God answered (He delivered them out of their distresses).

c. He led them forth by the right way: Better than modern navigation systems, God led His redeemed to just the right place, to a city for a dwelling place.

i. “His deliverance is full of surprises, as he supplies all the needs of his people. He straightens the way; leads them into the city; and provides for their shelter, food, and drink.” (VanGemeren)

d. Oh, that men would give thanks: God’s goodness to those returning through the wilderness should give everyone reason to thank Him, for His wonderful works to the children of men. We should be able to thank God for more than just His work in our personal lives, but also for what He does for others.

e. He satisfies the longing soul: The psalm spoke of those hungry and thirsty in the wilderness, but there is also a longing in the soul of man. God’s literal guidance and deliverance for His redeemed in the wilderness becomes a picture of how He delivers the lost, thirsty, and hungry soul, and fills it with goodness.

i. It seems that Mary, the mother of Jesus, quoted verse 9 (and fills the hungry soul with goodness) in her song: He has filled the hungry with good things (Luke 1:53). This is one of many scriptural quotations and allusions found in Mary’s song recorded in Luke 1:46-55, showing that she was a woman who knew and loved God’s word.

2. (Psalm 107:10-16) Deliverance for the captives.

Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Bound in affliction and irons—
Because they rebelled against the words of God,
And despised the counsel of the Most High,
Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was none to help.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their chains in pieces.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He has broken the gates of bronze,
And cut the bars of iron in two.

a. Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons: When God gathered His people (verses 2-3), they had to come to the Promised Land from every direction. Some came from prisons and chains.

i. In affliction and irons: “With afflicting or grievous irons. Or, in the cords of affliction, as they are called, Job 36:8, and particularly in iron fetters.” (Poole)

b. Because they rebelled against the words of God: The psalmist understood that some were imprisoned because they had rebelled against God. This should not be understood to mean that the psalmist believed every one of God’s imprisoned people were there because they despised the counsel of the Most High, but at least in a general sense it was true.

i. The Apostle Paul later referred to himself as the prisoner of the Lord (Ephesians 4:1). These people were also prisoners of the Lord, but in a very different sense.

ii. “He delivered them into the hands of their enemies, and, as they would not be under subjection to GOD, he delivered them into slavery to wicked men.... God had forsaken them because they had forsaken him.” (Clarke)

c. They fell down, and there was none to help: Their imprisonment was difficult, with forced labor and hardship.

i. “In eastern prisons men are frequently made to labour like beasts of the field. As they have no liberty, so they have no rest. This soon subdues the stoutest heart, and makes the proud boaster sing another tune.” (Spurgeon)

d. They cried out to the LORD in their trouble: In their chains and hardship, God’s imprisoned people begged Him for help, and He answered. He saved them out of their distresses and broke their chains in pieces. This was pure grace and mercy from God; these prisoners were under God’s own discipline. Yet when they cried out to Him, He mercifully answered.

i. “This is comfort to the greatest sinners; if they can but find a praying heart, God will find a pitying heart, and rebels shall be received with all sweetness, if at length they return, though brought in by the cross.” (Trapp)

e. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness: The refrain is repeated (previously in verse 8). Seeing the gracious power of God in action should move men to give thanks. God has cut the bars of iron in two so that His people could return as He gathered them.

i. “The Lord breaks the strongest gates and bars when the time comes to set free his prisoners: and spiritually the Lord Jesus has broken the most powerful of spiritual bonds and made us free indeed. Brass and iron are [quickly consumed] before the flame of Jesus’ love. The gates of hell shall not prevail against us, neither shall the bars of the grave detain us.” (Spurgeon)

3. (Psalm 107:17-22) Deliverance for those sick and near death.

Fools, because of their transgression,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
Their soul abhorred all manner of food,
And they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And declare His works with rejoicing.

a. Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted: When God gathered His people (verses 2-3), they had to come to the Promised Land from every direction. Some came from sickness and affliction, and God rescued and redeemed them — even though their trouble could be traced to their foolishness, transgression, and iniquity.

i. Were afflicted: “The verb as well as its supporting phrases points to their trouble as self-inflicted. In such a context, verse 18 could well call to mind in modern times the drug-addict, but only as one example of man’s perennial determination to get hurt.” (Kidner)

ii. “Sin is at the bottom of all sorrow, but some sorrows are the immediate result of wickedness; men by a course of transgression afflict themselves and are fools for their pains.” (Spurgeon)

b. They drew near to the gates of death: The psalmist described those who were very sick and near death. They had no appetite (their soul abhorred all manner of food) and wasted away.

i. “Their ‘affliction’ is a sickness to death, when food and pleasure are no longer relevant. They ‘loathe’ their ‘food,’ as they feel that death is nearby.” (VanGemeren)

ii. By spiritual analogy, when a sick soul has no appetite for the milk or meat of God’s word, it shows that spiritual death is near.

iii. “We may pray about our bodily pains and weaknesses, and we may look for answers too. When we have no appetite for meat we may have an appetite for prayer.” (Spurgeon)

c. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble: This phrase is again repeated (before in verses 6 and 13). Even when God’s people are in trouble because of their own wrongdoing, God answers when they cry out unto Him.

d. He sent His word and healed them: They were healed by the power of God’s word, reminding us of the many times Jesus healed people simply by speaking a word. These sick and afflicted ones were delivered from their destructions by the powerful word of God.

i. “When George Wishart arrived at Dundee, where the plague was raging [1545], he caused intimation to be made that he would preach; and for that purpose chose his station upon the head of the East-gate, the infected persons standing without, and those that were whole within. His text was Psalm 107:20, ‘He sent his word, and healed them,’ etc., wherein he treated of the profit and comfort of God’s word, the punishment that comes by contempt of it, the readiness of God’s mercy to such as truly turn to him, and the happiness of those whom God takes from this misery, etc. By which sermon he so raised up the hearts of those that heard him, that they regarded not death, but judged them more happy that should then depart, rather than such as should remain behind, considering that they knew not whether they should have such a comforter with them.” (Samuel Clarke, cited in Spurgeon)

ii. “All that God has to do, in order to save us, is to send us his word. He has done that by sending his dear Son, who is the incarnate Word. He sends us the word in the shape of the Holy Scriptures; he sends us the word in the preaching of his servants; but what we want most of all is to have that word sent home by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Spurgeon)

e. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness: Once again the psalmist encourages all men to give thanks to God for His deliverance.

4. (Psalm 107:23-32) Deliverance for those on dangerous seas.

Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,
They see the works of the LORD,
And His wonders in the deep.
For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths;
Their soul melts because of trouble.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And are at their wits’ end.
Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.
He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.
Then they are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,
And praise Him in the company of the elders.

a. Those who go down to the sea in ships: When God gathered His people (verses 2-3), they had to come to the Promised Land from every direction. Some came over the sea in ships.

b. They see the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep: On the seas, the returning captives see the greatness of God. They also see the great storms that raise the waves of the sea as high as the heavens, and plunge down again to the depths. It is not surprising that the soul of the unfortunate traveler on the stormy sea melts because of trouble.

i. “I have been at sea in the storm, and in the circumstances I describe; and, having cried to the Lord in my trouble, I am spared to describe the storm, and recount the tale of his mercy. None but either a man inspired by God, who, in describing, will show things as they are, or one who has been actually in these circumstances, can tell you with what propriety the psalmist speaks, or utter the thousandth part of the dangers and fearful apprehensions of those concerned in a tempest at sea, where all the winds of heaven seem collected to urge an already crazy vessel among the most tremendous rocks upon a lee shore! God save the reader from such circumstances!” (Clarke)

ii. Stagger like a drunken man: “The violent motion of the vessel prevents their keeping their legs, and their fears drive them out of all power to use their brains, and therefore they look like intoxicated men.” (Spurgeon)

iii. Are at their wits’ end: “All their skills at navigation are ineffective so that they become desperate (‘at their wit’s end,’ literally, ‘all their wisdom was swallowed up’).” (VanGemeren)

iv. Writing in the 17^th century, Trapp described these works and wonders: “…in sea monsters, as whales and whirlpools, and sudden change of weather, and the like, not a few; ebbs and flows, pearls, islands, etc. These are just wonders, and may fully convince the most stubborn atheist that is.”

c. They cry out to the LORD in their trouble: Once again, the psalmist described how God’s people cry out to the LORD, and He brings them out of their distress.

i. “We cannot help reflecting, that there is a ship in which we are all embarked; there is a troubled sea on which we all sail; there are storms by which we are all frequently overtaken; and there is a haven which we all desire to behold and enter.” (Horne)

d. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still: God does what only God can do — calm the stormy sea by His command. This reminds us again of what Jesus did to calm the stormy Sea of Galilee by His own word and will.

i. Wild as it is, the sea obeys God’s command. Trapp observed that if we “…will not be pacified when the Lord saith unto us, ‘Be still’; every drop of water in the sea will be a witness of our monstrous rebellion and disobedience.”

e. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness: For the fourth and final time, the psalmist encourages all men to give thanks to God for His deliverance. This time God’s people are encouraged to exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, praising Him among the people of God.

i. In the company of the elders:“Let them not be ashamed nor afraid to speak of God’s wonderful works and praises before the greatest of men.” (Poole)

C. God’s goodness seen in His transformations.

1. (Psalm 107:33-38) God’s work in transforming the earth.

He turns rivers into a wilderness,
And the watersprings into dry ground;
A fruitful land into barrenness,
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
He turns a wilderness into pools of water,
And dry land into watersprings.
There He makes the hungry dwell,
That they may establish a city for a dwelling place,
And sow fields and plant vineyards,
That they may yield a fruitful harvest.
He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly;
And He does not let their cattle decrease.

a. He turns rivers into a wilderness: The God who has authority over the stormy seas can also transform creation itself. The transformation can be from good to bad (a fruitful land into barrenness) if the goal is the judgment of the wicked.

i. “The plain of Jordan, which, before the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, was well watered everywhere, ‘like the garden of Jehovah,’ Genesis 13:10, hath, since that overthrow, been a land of salt and sulphur, and perpetual sterility.” (Horne)

ii. Charles Spurgeon wrote in the 19^th century, before Israel was gathered again as a nation in their land: “This has been done in many instances, and notably in the case of the Psalmist’s own country, which was once the glory of all lands and is now almost a desert.” (Spurgeon)

b. He turns a wilderness into pools of water: God’s power to transform can also be used to transform from bad to good. Dry land can be turned into watersprings, into places of fruitfulness and civilization.

i. “The hymn of praise ascribes to the Lord the power to change things. His authority is limitless…. He can reverse the condition of anything and therefore the way of life of everybody!” (VanGemeren)

c. He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly: The psalmist relied upon God not only for the gathering of God’s people from the captivity, but for His blessing and good transformation of the land when they returned to it. It had to be God’s blessing continually.

i. “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…. He blesses and multiplies a people.” (Morgan)

2. (Psalm 107:39-42) God’s work in transforming those oppressed and afflicted.

When they are diminished and brought low
Through oppression, affliction and sorrow,
He pours contempt on princes,
And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;
Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction,
And makes their families like a flock.
The righteous see it and rejoice,
And all iniquity stops its mouth.

a. He pours contempt on princes: In the same way that God can turn a river into a dry wilderness, He can take the princes of this world and bring them low, causing them to wander in the wilderness. This is especially true of those rulers who subject God’s people under oppression, affliction, and sorrow.

b. Yet He sets the poor on high: In the same way that God can turn a wilderness into pools of water, He can also lift up the poor, setting them up far from affliction and making their families like a flock.

i. “The final section reflects in a distant, settled way on God’s sovereign workings by which his people are sometimes lifted up and sometimes brought low.” (Boice)

c. The righteous see it and rejoice: God’s righteous ones are happy that He knows how to bring low the proud and oppressive, and that He knows how to lift up the poor and afflicted. When the judgments of God operate this way, people notice and all iniquity stops its mouth.

i. All iniquity stops its mouth: As it says in Job 5:16, injustice shuts her mouth. It will be a wonderful day when iniquity and injustice are silent.

3. (Psalm 107:43) Conclusion: wisdom and understanding.

Whoever is wise will observe these things,
And they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

a. Whoever is wise will observe these things: The psalmist invited us to look at the way God works in the world, both in responding to those who cry out to Him and in His ability to bring low and raise high. Wisdom tells us to take notice.

i. “It is himself that the reader is to recognize in the fourfold picture of plight and salvation, and it is the steadfastness of God that he is now to praise with new insight.” (Kidner)

ii. “It is a great song of the mercy of God. Let its message be heeded, then shall we cry unto God in our distress, and finding deliverance through His goodness, we shall give Him thanks and praise Him.” (Morgan)

iii. “The conclusion to this psalm transforms the hymn of thanksgiving and praise to a wisdom psalm. The righteous will become wise by studying the acts of the Lord in the affairs of man.” (VanGemeren)

b. And they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD: We understand the hesed (lovingkindness, loyal love, covenant love) of God by the statements and promises of His word. But we also understand it by how He acts among men and in history — if we have the wisdom to see it. With this wisdom, we will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

i. And they will understand: “‘All things work together for good to them that love God’; and the more they love Him, the more clearly will they see, and the more happily will they feel, that so it is. How can a man contemplate the painful riddle of the world, and keep his sanity, without that faith? He who has it for his faith will have it for his experience.” (Maclaren)

© 2020 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik — ewm@enduringword.com

Updated: August 2022