Psa 107:1-3 | TDavid | STEP | PSALM 107 OVERVIEW . SUBJECT, etc. This is a choice song for the redeemed of the Lord ( ). Although it celebrates providential deliverances, and therefore may be sung by any man whose life has been preserved in time of danger; yet under cover of this, it mainly magnifies the Lord for spiritual blessings, of which temporal favours are but types arid shadows. The theme is thanksgiving, and the motives for it. The construction of the psalm is highly poetical, and merely as a composition it would be hard to find its compeer among human productions. The bards of the Bible hold no second place among the sons of song. Division . The psalmist commences by dedicating his poem to the redeemed who have been gathered from captivity, ; he then likens their history to that of travellers lost in the desert, ; to that of prisoners in iron bondage, ; to that of sick men, ; and to that of mariners tossed with tempest, . In the closing verses the judgment of God on the rebellious, and the mercies of God to his own afflicted people are made the burden of the song, ; and then the psalm closes with a sort of summing up, in , which declares that those who study the works and ways of the Lord shall be sure to see and praise his goodness. EXPOSITION Verse 1 . O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good. It is all we can give him, and the least we can give; therefore let us diligently render to him our thanksgiving. The psalmist is in earnest in the exhortation, hence the use of the interjection "O", to intensity his words: let us be at all times thoroughly fervent in the praises of the Lord, both with our lips and with our lives, by thanksgiving and thanks living. JEHOVAH, for that is the name here used, is not to be worshipped with groans and cries, but with thanks, for he is good; and these thanks should be heartily rendered, for his is no common goodness: he is good by nature, and essence, and proven to be good in all the acts of his eternity. Compared with him there is none good, no, not one: but he is essentially, perpetually, superlatively, infinitely good. We are the perpetual partakers of his goodness, and therefore ought above all his creatures to magnify his name. Our praise should be increased by the fact that the divine goodness is not a transient thing, but in the attribute of mercy abides for ever the same, for his mercy endureth for ever. 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 forever." That mercy had no beginning, and shall never know an end. Our sin required that goodness should display itself to us in the form of mercy, and it has done so, and will do so evermore; let us not be slack in praising the goodness which thus adapts itself to our fallen nature. EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS Whole Psalm . Dr. Lowth, in his 20th prelection, remarks of this psalm: -- No doubt the composition of this psalm is admirable throughout; and the descriptive part of it adds at least its share of beauty to the whole; but what is but most to be admired is its conciseness, and withal the expressiveness of the diction, which strikes the imagination with inimitable elegance. The weary and bewildered traveller, the miserable captive in the hideous dungeon, the sick dying man, the seaman foundering in a storm, are described in so affecting manner, that they far exceed anything of the kind, though never so laboured. I may add that had such an Idyle appeared in Theocritus or Virgil or had it been found as a scene in any of the Greek tragedians, even in Aeschylus himself, it would probably have been produced as their master piece. --Adam Clarke. Whole Psalm . I do not believe that the special care of God over his own people is here rather indirectly than directly touched upon, and that therefore this Psalm is composed to illustrate the general care of God: Because the subjects of the various deliverances are called the redeemed of Jehovah, , which is the customary title of the people of God. Because among the instances given, there are those which are peculiar to the people of God, as in the return of the dispersed out of every part of the globe, a singular blessing, promised in the prophecies to the people of God, see Ps 106:47. The sick of are those who are spiritually sick even unto death, as is clear from the fact of their being healed by the word of God; which is not in the order of common providence. The imprisoned of are those who on account of the worship of God fall into the power of their enemies, you cannot well apply to any other than the people of God. If you understand the wicked, for others among the heathen cannot be said to be thrust into prison on account of the violation of the laws, then the liberation belongs not to them. Calling upon God, especially upon Jehovah, under name He was known only to his people, you cannot apply unless in a diluted and partial sense to those who are afflicted in the general cause of providence. He commands those who are delivered to celebrate the divine goodness in the congregation of the people and the assembly of the elders, , which is the mark of the true Church and her usual description. Lastly, instances of general providences are not wont to come under the name of dsx, grace, by which these deliverances are described, not do they require such great and such careful attention in their consideration, as here the sacred poet enjoins upon the pious and the wise: such things are easily observed, and are of every day occurrence. --Venema. Whole Psalm . The psalm divides itself into five parts; the four first, as it should seem, describing four divisions of the returning Israelites, and recounting the particular accidents that had befallen each party on their journey, and the particular mercies for which they ought to be thankful. The fifth part describes what befalls the collected nations, or a part of them, when they arrive at the land which was the object of their journey -- I think the first restoration or colonization before the general gathering. Whether the four divisions of travellers are supposed to come exactly from the four distinct quarters of the earth, perhaps is not quite certain. The first divisions are plainly described ( ), as coming across the desert, and meeting with all the disasters usual on that route. -- John Fry. Whole Psalm . Without insisting on an exclusive application of this psalm to Israel, there may be traced, I think, not indistinctly, the leading incidents of the nation's changeful experience in the descriptive language of the narrative part. In the story of the wilderness is briefly told, to the praise of the glory of his grace who satisfieth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. The strong discipline of national affliction which visited the rebellious house, until the turning again of their captivity, when the appointed term of Babylonish exile was accomplished, appears to form the historical groundwork of ; but in its prophetic intention this passage would demand a far wider interpretation. The resuscitation of Israel, both spiritually and politically, would alone adequately fulfil these words. The sufferings of the "foolish nation" when, filled with Jehovah's indignation they find a snare in that which should have fed them, and pine beneath the pressure of a more grievous famine than that of bread, until, in answer to their cry of sorrow, the word of saving health is sent them from above, seem to be indicated in the next division (Ps 107:17-20). The language of is in agreement with this. They who had daily gone about to establish their own righteousness are called on now to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and to declare his works with singing. Besides the obvious force and beauty of the following verses ( ) in their simple meaning and their general application, we have, I believe, a figure of Jacob's restless trouble when, like a vexed and frightened mariner, he wandered up and down the wide sea of nations without ease, a friendless pilgrim of the Lord's displeasure, until the long desired rest was gained at last, under the faithful guidance of him who seeks his people in the dark and cloudy day. Accordingly we find in the hortatory reminder of praise which follows ( ), a mention of the gathered people and their elders, who are now called on to celebrate, in the quiet resting places of Immanuel's land, his faithful goodness and his might, who had turned their long endured tempest of affliction to the calm sunshine of perpetual peace. --Arthur Pridham, in "Notes and Reflections on the Psalms", 1869. Verse 1 . O give thanks unto the LORD . Unto no duty are we more dull and untoward, than to the praise of God, and thanksgiving unto him; neither is there any duty whereunto there is more need that we should be stirred up, as this earnest exhortation doth import. -- David Dickson. Verse 1 . For he is good , etc. The first words of the psalm are abundant in thought concerning Jehovah. "For he is good." Is not this the Old Testament version of "God is love"? . And then, For his mercy endureth for ever. Is not this the gushing stream from the fountain of Love? -- the never failing stream, on whose banks the redeemed of the Lord walk, those whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy Hengstenberg, "hand of trouble", rc. Nor is the rich significance of these clauses diminished by our knowing that they were, from time to time, the burden of the altar song. When the ark came to its resting place ( ), they sang to the Lord -- "For he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever!" In Solomon's temple, the singers and players on instruments were making the resplendent walls of the newly risen temple resound with these very words, when the glory descended ( ); and these were the words that burst from the lips of the awe struck and delighted worshippers, who saw the fire descend on the altar ( ). And in Ezra's days ( ), again, as soon as the altar rose, they sang to the Lord -- "Because he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever." Our God is known to be "Love", by the side of the atoning sacrifice. Jeremiah ( ) too, shows how restored Israel shall exult in this name. --Andrew A. Bonar. Verse 1 . His mercy endureth for ever . St. Paul assures us, that the covenant of grace, which is the fountain of all mercy, was made before the foundation of the world, and this he repeats in several of his epistles. The Psalmist teaches the same doctrine, and frequently calls upon us to thank God, because his mercy is for ever and ever -- because his mercy is everlasting -- and in the text, because "his mercy endureth for ever;" the word "endureth" is inserted by the translators, for there is no verb in the original neither in strictness of speech could there be any; because there was no time when this mercy was not exercised, neither will there be any time when the exercise of it will fail. It was begun before all worlds, when the covenant of grace was made, and it will continue to the ages of eternity, after this world is destroyed. So that mercy was, and is, and will be, "for ever", and sinful miserable man may always find relief in this eternal mercy, whenever the sense of his misery disposes him to seek for it. And does not this motive loudly call upon us to "give thanks"? Because there is mercy with God -- mercy to pity the miserable -- and even to relieve them -- although they do not deserve it: for mercy is all free grace and unmerited love. Oh! How adorable, then, and gracious is this attribute! How sweet is it and full of consolation to the guilty. --William Romaine (1714-1795), in "A Practical Comment on the Hundred and Seventh Psalm." HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS Whole Psalm. This psalm is like the Interpreter's house in Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress." Pilgrim is told that he will there see excellent and profitable things. The same promise is given in the introduction to this psalm, where we have, The source of these excellent things -- the goodness and all enduring mercy of God; mercy not exhausted by the unworthiness of its objects. Their acknowledgment, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." Men will not own it, but the redeemed of the Lord will. It is the experience of such that is pictorially represented in this psalm. Let every one speak of God as he finds. Is he good when he takes away as well as when he gives "The redeemed of the Lord will say so." Is he merciful when he frowns as well as when he smiles? "The redeemed of the Lord say so." Does he make all things work together for good to them that love him? "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." Their end. Praise and thanksgiving: "Oh give", etc. For general mercies; For redemption; For spacial deliverances. --G.R. Verse 1-2 . The duty of praise is universal, the real presentation of it remains with the redeemed. Particular redemption should lead to specific praise, special testimony to truth and special faith in God: "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so."

Psalms 107:1-3

PSALM 107 OVERVIEW.

SUBJECT, etc. This is a choice song for the redeemed of the Lord (Psalms 107:2). Although it celebrates providential deliverances, and therefore may be sung by any man whose life has been preserved in time of danger; yet under cover of this, it mainly magnifies the Lord for spiritual blessings, of which temporal favours are but types arid shadows. The theme is thanksgiving, and the motives for it. The construction of the psalm is highly poetical, and merely as a composition it would be hard to find its compeer among human productions. The bards of the Bible hold no second place among the sons of song.

Division. The psalmist commences by dedicating his poem to the redeemed who have been gathered from captivity, Psalms 107:1-3; he then likens their history to that of travellers lost in the desert, Psalms 107:4-9; to that of prisoners in iron bondage, Psalms 107:10-16; to that of sick men, Psalms 107:17-22; and to that of mariners tossed with tempest, Psalms 107:23-32. In the closing verses the judgment of God on the rebellious, and the mercies of God to his own afflicted people are made the burden of the song, Psalms 107:33-42; and then the psalm closes with a sort of summing up, in Psalms 107:43, which declares that those who study the works and ways of the Lord shall be sure to see and praise his goodness.

EXPOSITION

Verse 1. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good. It is all we can give him, and the least we can give; therefore let us diligently render to him our thanksgiving. The psalmist is in earnest in the exhortation, hence the use of the interjection "O", to intensity his words: let us be at all times thoroughly fervent in the praises of the Lord, both with our lips and with our lives, by thanksgiving and thanks living. JEHOVAH, for that is the name here used, is not to be worshipped with groans and cries, but with thanks, for he is good; and these thanks should be heartily rendered, for his is no common goodness: he is good by nature, and essence, and proven to be good in all the acts of his eternity. Compared with him there is none good, no, not one: but he is essentially, perpetually, superlatively, infinitely good. We are the perpetual partakers of his goodness, and therefore ought above all his creatures to magnify his name. Our praise should be increased by the fact that the divine goodness is not a transient thing, but in the attribute of mercy abides for ever the same, for his mercy endureth for ever. 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 forever." That mercy had no beginning, and shall never know an end. Our sin required that goodness should display itself to us in the form of mercy, and it has done so, and will do so evermore; let us not be slack in praising the goodness which thus adapts itself to our fallen nature.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Whole Psalm. Dr. Lowth, in his 20th prelection, remarks of this psalm: -- No doubt the composition of this psalm is admirable throughout; and the descriptive part of it adds at least its share of beauty to the whole; but what is but most to be admired is its conciseness, and withal the expressiveness of the diction, which strikes the imagination with inimitable elegance. The weary and bewildered traveller, the miserable captive in the hideous dungeon, the sick dying man, the seaman foundering in a storm, are described in so affecting manner, that they far exceed anything of the kind, though never so laboured. I may add that had such an Idyle appeared in Theocritus or Virgil or had it been found as a scene in any of the Greek tragedians, even in Aeschylus himself, it would probably have been produced as their master piece. --Adam Clarke.

Whole Psalm. I do not believe that the special care of God over his own people is here rather indirectly than directly touched upon, and that therefore this Psalm is composed to illustrate the general care of God:

Whole Psalm. The psalm divides itself into five parts; the four first, as it should seem, describing four divisions of the returning Israelites, and recounting the particular accidents that had befallen each party on their journey, and the particular mercies for which they ought to be thankful. The fifth part describes what befalls the collected nations, or a part of them, when they arrive at the land which was the object of their journey -- I think the first restoration or colonization before the general gathering. Whether the four divisions of travellers are supposed to come exactly from the four distinct quarters of the earth, perhaps is not quite certain. The first divisions are plainly described (Psalms 107:4-5), as coming across the desert, and meeting with all the disasters usual on that route. -- John Fry.

Whole Psalm. Without insisting on an exclusive application of this psalm to Israel, there may be traced, I think, not indistinctly, the leading incidents of the nation's changeful experience in the descriptive language of the narrative part.

In Psalms 107:4-7 the story of the wilderness is briefly told, to the praise of the glory of his grace who satisfieth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. The strong discipline of national affliction which visited the rebellious house, until the turning again of their captivity, when the appointed term of Babylonish exile was accomplished, appears to form the historical groundwork of Psalms 107:10-16; but in its prophetic intention this passage would demand a far wider interpretation. The resuscitation of Israel, both spiritually and politically, would alone adequately fulfil these words.

The sufferings of the "foolish nation" when, filled with Jehovah's indignation they find a snare in that which should have fed them, and pine beneath the pressure of a more grievous famine than that of bread, until, in answer to their cry of sorrow, the word of saving health is sent them from above, seem to be indicated in the next division (Ps 107:17-20). The language of Psalms 107:22 is in agreement with this. They who had daily gone about to establish their own righteousness are called on now to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and to declare his works with singing.

Besides the obvious force and beauty of the following verses (Psalms 107:23-30) in their simple meaning and their general application, we have, I believe, a figure of Jacob's restless trouble when, like a vexed and frightened mariner, he wandered up and down the wide sea of nations without ease, a friendless pilgrim of the Lord's displeasure, until the long desired rest was gained at last, under the faithful guidance of him who seeks his people in the dark and cloudy day. Accordingly we find in the hortatory reminder of praise which follows (Psalms 107:32), a mention of the gathered people and their elders, who are now called on to celebrate, in the quiet resting places of Immanuel's land, his faithful goodness and his might, who had turned their long endured tempest of affliction to the calm sunshine of perpetual peace. --Arthur Pridham, in "Notes and Reflections on the Psalms", 1869.

Verse 1. O give thanks unto the LORD. Unto no duty are we more dull and untoward, than to the praise of God, and thanksgiving unto him; neither is there any duty whereunto there is more need that we should be stirred up, as this earnest exhortation doth import. -- David Dickson.

Verse 1. For he is good, etc. The first words of the psalm are abundant in thought concerning Jehovah. "For he is good." Is not this the Old Testament version of "God is love"? 1 John 4:8. And then, For his mercy endureth for ever. Is not this the gushing stream from the fountain of Love? -- the never failing stream, on whose banks the redeemed of the Lord walk, those whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy Hengstenberg, "hand of trouble", rc. Nor is the rich significance of these clauses diminished by our knowing that they were, from time to time, the burden of the altar song. When the ark came to its resting place (1 Chronicles 16:34), they sang to the Lord -- "For he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever!" In Solomon's temple, the singers and players on instruments were making the resplendent walls of the newly risen temple resound with these very words, when the glory descended (2 Chronicles 5:13); and these were the words that burst from the lips of the awe struck and delighted worshippers, who saw the fire descend on the altar (2 Chronicles 7:3). And in Ezra's days (Ezra 3:11), again, as soon as the altar rose, they sang to the Lord -- "Because he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever." Our God is known to be "Love", by the side of the atoning sacrifice. Jeremiah (Jeremiah 33:11) too, shows how restored Israel shall exult in this name. --Andrew A. Bonar.

Verse 1. His mercy endureth for ever. St. Paul assures us, that the covenant of grace, which is the fountain of all mercy, was made before the foundation of the world, and this he repeats in several of his epistles. The Psalmist teaches the same doctrine, and frequently calls upon us to thank God, because his mercy is for ever and ever -- because his mercy is everlasting -- and in the text, because "his mercy endureth for ever;" the word "endureth" is inserted by the translators, for there is no verb in the original neither in strictness of speech could there be any; because there was no time when this mercy was not exercised, neither will there be any time when the exercise of it will fail. It was begun before all worlds, when the covenant of grace was made, and it will continue to the ages of eternity, after this world is destroyed. So that mercy was, and is, and will be, "for ever", and sinful miserable man may always find relief in this eternal mercy, whenever the sense of his misery disposes him to seek for it. And does not this motive loudly call upon us to "give thanks"? Because there is mercy with God -- mercy to pity the miserable -- and even to relieve them -- although they do not deserve it: for mercy is all free grace and unmerited love. Oh! How adorable, then, and gracious is this attribute! How sweet is it and full of consolation to the guilty. --William Romaine (1714-1795), in "A Practical Comment on the Hundred and Seventh Psalm."

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Whole Psalm. This psalm is like the Interpreter's house in Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress." Pilgrim is told that he will there see excellent and profitable things. The same promise is given in the introduction to this psalm, where we have,

Verse 1-2. The duty of praise is universal, the real presentation of it remains with the redeemed. Particular redemption should lead to specific praise, special testimony to truth and special faith in God: "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so."

EXPOSITION

Verse 2. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so. Whatever others may think or say, the redeemed have overwhelming reasons for declaring the goodness of the Lord. Theirs is a peculiar redemption, and for it they ought to render peculiar praise. The Redeemer is so glorious, the ransom price so immense, and the redemption so complete, that they are under sevenfold obligations to give thanks unto the Lord, and to exhort others to do so. Let them not only feel so but say so; let them both sing and bid their fellows sing.

Whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy. Snatched by superior power away from fierce oppressions, they are bound above all men to adore the Lord, their Liberator. Theirs is a divine redemption, "he hath redeemed" them, and no one else has done it. His own unaided arm has wrought out their deliverance. Should not emancipated slaves be grateful to the hand which set them free? What gratitude can suffice for a deliverance from the power of sin, death, and hell? In heaven itself there is no sweeter hymn than that whose burden is, "Thou hast redeemed us unto God by thy blood."

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 2. Redeemed. Moses has given us in the law a clear and full idea of what we are to understand by the word gal, 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. But no other person was suffered to redeem. And such a kinsman was called "the redeemer", when he paid down the price for which his relation was sold to be a slave, or paid the ransom for which he was led captive. And there is another remarkable instance in the law, wherein it was provided, that in any case any person was found murdered, then the nearest to him in blood was to prosecute the murderer, and to bring him to justice, and this nearest relation thus avenging the murder is called by the same name, a redeemer. And how beautifully is the office of our great Redeemer represented under these three instances; he was to us such a Redeemer in spirituals, as these were in temrporals: for sin had brought all mankind into slavery and captivity, and had murdered us ... This most high God, who was also man, united in one Christ, came into the world to redeem us, and the same person being both God and man, must merit for us as God in what he did for us as man. Accordingly, by the merits of his obedience and sufferings, he paid the price our redemption, and we were no longer the servants of sin; and by his most precious blood shed upon the cross, by his death and resurrection, he overcame both death, and him who had the power of death, and by delivering us in this manner from slavery and captivity, he fulfilled the third part of the Redeemer's office: for Satan was the murderer from the beginning, who had given both body and soul a mortal wound of sin, which was certain death and eternal misery, and the Redeemer came to avenge the murder. He took our cause in hand, as being our nearest kinsman, and it cost him his own life to avenge ours. -- William Romaine.

Verse 2. From the hand of the enemy. From all their sins which war against their souls; from Satan their implacable adversary, who is stronger than they; from the law, which threatens and curses them with damnation and death; from death itself, the last enemy, and indeed from the hand of all their enemies, be they who they may. --John Gill.

EXPOSITION

Verse 3. And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. Gathering follows upon redeeming. The captives of old were restored to their own land from every quarter of the earth, and even from beyond the sea; for the word translated south is really the sea. No matter what divides, the Lord will gather his own into one body, and first on earth by "one Lord, one faith, and one baptism", and then in heaven by one common bliss they shall be known to be the one people of the One God. What a glorious Shepherd must, he be who thus collects the blood bought flock from the remotest regions, guides them through countless perils, and at last makes them to lie down in the green pastures of Paradise. Some have wandered one way and some another they have all left Immanuel's land and strayed as far as they could, and great are the grace and power by which they are all collected into one flock by the Lord Jesus. With one heart and voice let the redeemed praise the Lord who gathers them into one.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 3. And gathered. If anything can inspire us with gratitude, this motive should prevail, because we cannot but feel the force of it, as it reminds us of that misery from which we in particular were redeemed. The Gentiles had wandered from God, and were so lost and bewildered in the mazes of error and superstition, that nothing but the almighty love of our Lord Jesus could have gathered them together into one church. --William Romaine.

Verse 3. Gathered them. The Syriac gives as the title of this psalm: God collects the Jews out of captivity, and brings them back out of Babylon the only begotten Son of God also, Jesus Christ, collects the nations from the four corners of the world, by calling upon man to be baptized. --E.W. Hengstenberg.

Verse 3. From the west. The mention of the west leads the psalmist's thoughts to Egypt; and the remembrance of the bondage and labours of the ancestors of the Israelites in Egypt, coupled with the description in a previous psalm (Psalms 105:17) of the imprisonment of Joseph. --Joseph Francis Thrupp.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 3. The ingathering of the chosen.