BOOK V. (CVII-CL.)

PSALM 107.

Probably written just after the return from Captivity; perhaps for the Feast of Tabernacles mentioned in Ezra 3:1, 4; (comp. vv. 37, 38 of psalm).

A Redemption Hymn. Thanksgiving for God's succour of the afflicted.

CHRIST OUR SAVIOUR AND Deliverer in Adversity. The bringing home of exiles, and the ingathering of the nations. VV. 1-3.

2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy. "The redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away " Is. 51:11. Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" Rev. 5:9.

3 "He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth" Is. 11:12. "Fear not: for I have redeemed thee. Fear not :

for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth" Is. 43:1, 5, 6. "I will be found of you saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive" Jer. 29:14. 66 Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand on high, and look about toward the east, and behold thy children gathered from the west unto the east by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the remembrance of God" Baruch 5:5. "They shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God" S. Lu. 13:29. "He shali send his angels, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" S. Mat. 24:31.

Deliverance from wanderings and famine. vv. 4−9.

4 Lit. They wandered in the desert, in a waste of a way; they found not a city of habitation. Verses 7, 40.

5 Verses

9, 36.

6 Verses 13, 19, 28. "When the poor and needy seek

water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them" Is. 41:17. "They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them" Is. 49:10. "As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day" Ezek. 34:12. "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted" S. Mat. 5:4.

122:3

78:4 98:1

105: 1,2

7 He led them forth by the right way that they might go to the city where they dwelt.

8 O that men would therefore 145:5-7 praise the LORD for his goodness : and declare the wonders that he

34:10

doeth for the children of men! 25:12 9 For he satisfieth the empty 63:6 soul and filleth the hungry soul 103:5 with goodness.

145:16

145:14

9:13

79:12

10 Such as sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: being fast bound in misery and iron;

II Because they rebelled against the words of the Lord : and lightly regarded the counsel of the Most Highest:

12 He also brought down their heart through heaviness: they fell down, and there was none to help them.

13 So when they cried unto the LORD in their trouble: he delivered them out of their distress.

14 For he brought them out of 58:6,20 darkness, and out of the shadow 146:7 of death: and brake their bonds in sunder.

15 O that men would therefore praise the LORD for his goodness: and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men!

16 For he hath broken the

9 Empty, K. J. longing. 10-16 "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, suggests the picture of a bondman ground down with heavy toil, and pining in almost hopeless captivity."-Thrupp. 11 Lord, K. J. God. Lightly regarded; K. J. contemned. 12 Fell down; lit. stumbled. 13 Delivered, K. J. saved.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more;. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes Rev. 7:16, 17.

7 That they might go to a city of habitation. Verses 4, 36. "I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land" Ezek. 34:13: "God shall lead Israel with joy in the light of his glory with the mercy and righteousness that cometh from him" Baruch 5:9. "He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

They desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city" Heb. 11:10, 16.

8 Lit. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his lovingkindness, and his wonders to the children of men. Verses 15, 21, 22, 31.

9 Verses 5, 36. "I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD" Ezek. 34:14, 15. "He hath filled the hungry with good things" S. Lu. 1:53. "Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" S. Jo. 6:35.

Deliverance from prison. vv. 10-16.

10 Verses 14, 16.

13 Verse 6.

14 Verses 10, 16. "To open the

I

blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them" Is. 42:7, 16. "When I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me" Mic. 7:8. "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction" Hos. 13:14. "To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" S. Lu. 1:79. "When Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. Ought not this woman, whom Satan hath bound be loosed from this bond?" S. Lu. 13:12, 16. angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth" Acts 5:19. "Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands Acts 12:6, 7. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed" Acts 16:26.

15 Verse 8.

"The

16 The same expressions are found in Is. 45:2. Verses

10,14.

30:2 30:3

41:3,4 103:3

gates of brass and smitten the bars of iron in sunder.

17 Foolish men are plagued for their offence: and because of their wickedness.

18 Their soul abhorred all manner of meat and they were even hard at death's door.

19 So when they cried unto the LORD in their trouble: he delivered them out of their distress.

20 He sent his word, and healed and they were saved from

them

147:3 their destruction.

49:15

56:13 21 O that men would therefore

103:4

105:20 praise the LORD for his goodness: and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men!

9:11 26:7

22 That they would offer unto 50:14 him the sacrifice of thanksgiving: 73:27 and tell out his works with glad

116:15

104:26

147:18

ness !

23 They that go down to the sea in ships and occupy their business in great waters;

24 These men see the works of the LORD and his wonders in the deep.

:

25 For at his word the stormy wind ariseth which

the waves thereof.

lifteth up

26 They are carried up to the heaven, and down again to the. deep their soul melteth away because of the trouble.

27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man: and are at their wit's end.

28 So when they cry unto the

Deliverance from sickness. VV. 17-22.

17 Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.

18 See Job 33:18-22.

19 Verse 6.

20 "I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick" Ezek. 34:16. "The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour" S. Mat. 8:8, 13.

21 Verse 8.

22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. Verse 8.

Deliverance from perils by sea. vv. 23-32.

23 "They that sail on the sea tell of the danger thereof; and when we hear it with our ears, we marvel thereat" Ecclus. 43:24.

25 Lit. He spake, and raised up a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves thereof.

26 Lit. They went up to heaven, they went down to the depths, their soul melted because of trouble.

27 Lit. They reeled to and fro, and staggered like a drunken man, and all their wisdom swallowed itself up (i. e. all their skill came to nought).

28 Lit. So when they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, he brought them out of their distress. Verse 6.

17-22 "The third picture is connected with the mention of the north, the land into which the Israelites had been actually led captive. The gross idolatry for which that captivity was the punishment; the danger of being cut off from God's people; their sudden restoration by the edict of Cyrus, are represented under the image of a man, who has brought upon himself a dangerous and well-merited sickness, but who is healed as in an instant by the power of the word of the Lord."-Thrupp. 20 Destruction, lit. pits, i. e. of suffering into which they had sunk. 23 "Occupy" is equivalent here to 'follow', as 'to follow a trade'. 23-32 "Israel appears under the image of a ship's crew, beset by a fearful tempest, but rescued by the rapid subsiding of the wind, and brought safe to shore. In each of the four pictures stress is laid not merely on the fulness but on the suddenness of the deliverance. The restoration of Israel to their own land might well be deemed sudden, considering how little, a few years or