ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Psalms 107

Psalm Ps. 107. With this psalm the members of the community call one another to give thanks for God’s enduring “steadfast love.” He has shown this to the people as a whole but also to individual members. The distinctive feature of this psalm is its four accounts of people in distress (“some,” vv. 4, 10, 17, 23), whom God rescued. Because the psalm concerns gratitude for Judah’s return from exile (v. 3), it is likely that these four accounts describe the activities of the Judahites in their exile. After the initial invitation to “give thanks to the Lord” (v. 1), the psalm describes how each of the four groups cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them. The psalm calls on them to thank the Lord.

Ps. 107:1–3 The opening section states the purpose of the psalm (the call to give thanks to the Lord) and the theme (his steadfast love endures forever). The specific occasion is that God has redeemed his people and gathered them in from the lands (that is, from exile; see 106:47).

Ps. 107:4–9 This is the first group of those who were banished from the land as a result of the exile. Some of the exiles wandered in desert wastes, such as the Sinai Desert (see 106:14; Deut. 32:10). finding no way to a city to dwell in. Their proper home was the Promised Land, but God had sent them away. When they cried to the Lord, God delivered them, bringing them to a city to dwell in.

Ps. 107:10–16 The next group of exiles sat in darkness and in the shadow of death. These people suffered as captives (prisoners) and forced laborers (hard labor, v. 12) because they had rebelled against the words of God. But even though they rejected God’s covenant by their rebellion, God still heard and rescued them (v. 14; see v. 10).

Ps. 107:17–22 Some of the exiles were fools through their sinful ways. Their own folly, which resulted from their turning away from God, brought on their affliction. Nevertheless God heard and relieved them when they cried to the Lord in their trouble. Healed them is not merely physical but includes their return to the Promised Land.

Ps. 107:23–32 The fourth group consisted of sailors caught in a storm. If these were exiles, they were sailing in the service of a foreign king. As the storm increased in its fury, they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and God made the storm be still. These people have returned to the Promised Land, where they can extol God in the congregation.

Ps. 107:33–42 God displayed his righteousness by restoring Judah after the exile.

Ps. 107:43 The final verse invites whoever is wise (that is, those who desire to live in a godly way) to attend to these things. They are to pay attention to the many ways in which God has displayed his steadfast love. Knowing God’s love will increase one’s wisdom.