The big picture
The redeemed are called to speak about God's lasting goodness. The psalm gives several scenes: lost travellers, prisoners, sick people, and sailors caught in a storm. Each group cries in distress and receives help. The view then widens to dry land made fruitful and strong rulers brought low. The closing appeal asks for wise attention to these reversals, so that different lives can be understood within the same divine kindness.
In this chapter
- Lost Travellers Find a Place to Live Psalms 107:1-9
The people rescued and gathered from many lands are called to thank the Lord for enduring mercy.
- The Prison Gates Are Broken Psalms 107:10-16
Another group sits in darkness under heavy bonds because they rejected God's words and counsel.
- The Sick Receive Healing and a Voice Psalms 107:17-22
Foolish conduct and wrongdoing lead another group into affliction.
- The Storm Gives Way to Harbour Psalms 107:23-32
Sailors working on deep water see the Lord's wonders.
- Dry Ground Becomes a Home Psalms 107:33-38
God can turn rivers and fertile land dry because of the inhabitants' wickedness.
- The Lowly Rise and Wisdom Takes Notice Psalms 107:39-43
The psalm acknowledges another downward turn through oppression, sorrow, and affliction.
Central truth
Across hunger, captivity, illness, storm, and changing fortunes, the Lord hears cries and gives the rescued reason to tell his goodness.
Scripture beside the summary
Psalms · King James Version · 43Psalms 107:1-9
Lost Travellers Find a Place to Live
The people rescued and gathered from many lands are called to thank the Lord for enduring mercy. One group wanders through a lonely wilderness without a city to inhabit. Hunger and thirst weaken them until they cry to God. He rescues them and leads by a right path to a settled home. The refrain asks that people praise his goodness and works for human beings. The reason is concrete: longing and hunger are answered. The rescue gives direction and dwelling, not only a brief pause in distress.
In everyday life
A lost hillwalking pair reach a staffed trail shelter after hours without water. The warden gives them drinks, marks a safe route to the village, and calls ahead for a room. Help meets both the immediate weakness and the need for a destination. They begin the next stage with a clear path. The psalm attributes guidance and settlement to God.
Notice
Psalms 107:7 The right path leads to a city where people can live. The answer extends beyond escaping the wilderness to receiving a sustainable place of belonging.
Psalms 107:1-9
King James Version1O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
3And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
4They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
5Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
8Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
Psalms 107:10-16
The Prison Gates Are Broken
Another group sits in darkness under heavy bonds because they rejected God's words and counsel. Hard labour humbles them until they fall without a helper. They cry to the Lord, and he rescues them from the dark place, breaking their chains. The call to thank him returns, now naming metal gates and iron bars shattered. Their earlier rebellion is stated clearly, yet it does not make mercy impossible. The change from bonds to freedom gives this group its own concrete account to bring into the shared praise.
In everyday life
A prison-release volunteer meets a man at the gate after his sentence ends. He admits the choices that brought him there, then accepts help with transport and the first safe night's lodging. His wrongdoing has not erased the need to begin again. The opened gate is only the start of that freedom. The psalm pictures God breaking captivity's barriers.
Notice
Psalms 107:14 Darkness is answered by release and broken bonds. The prayer's response changes the captive condition itself, rather than offering only inward comfort within it.
Psalms 107:10-16
King James Version10Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
11Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
12Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
13Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
15Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
Psalms 107:17-22
The Sick Receive Healing and a Voice
Foolish conduct and wrongdoing lead another group into affliction. Food becomes repulsive, and death comes near. Their cry is answered when God sends his word, heals, and rescues from destruction. Again the refrain calls for thanks, now with offerings of gratitude and joyful telling of his works. The account describes these particular sufferers' illness in relation to sin; it does not supply a diagnosis for every sick person. Its focus is the mercy that reaches them and turns approaching silence into a voice of praise.
In everyday life
The recovering patient sits at a table for the first meal he can finish after a dangerous crisis linked with reckless choices. A friend listens as he names the help that kept him alive. Admission of the cause and thanks for care share the same conversation. He begins writing a letter of gratitude. The psalm credits God's word with healing.
Notice
Psalms 107:20 Healing comes through the word God sends. Rescue is credited to God's action, giving the later telling of his works a clear source.
Psalms 107:17-22
King James Version17Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
18Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
19Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
20He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
21Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
22And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
Psalms 107:23-32
The Storm Gives Way to Harbour
Sailors working on deep water see the Lord's wonders. At his command a storm lifts and drops the ship, leaving them staggering and without a plan. They cry in trouble, and God stills the waves. Gladness follows the quiet, and he brings them to the harbour they wanted. The refrain again asks for thanks, this time extending it into the gathered people and elders. Their skill has met its limit, and the rescue is to become a public account rather than a private memory kept on board.
In everyday life
A ship's cook braces beside the galley door while the trained crew struggles through a storm. When the vessel finally reaches calm water, he carries hot drinks to the bridge and hears the tired voices settle. At the harbour he tells waiting relatives about the help received. The psalm attributes the storm and its stilling directly to God.
Notice
Psalms 107:27 The sailors reach the end of their skill and judgement. Experience no longer supplies a workable next step. The cry is not limited to people new to the sea.
Psalms 107:23-32
King James Version23They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
24These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
25For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
27They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
28Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
30Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
32Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
Psalms 107:33-38
Dry Ground Becomes a Home
God can turn rivers and fertile land dry because of the inhabitants' wickedness. He can also make a wilderness rich with pools and springs. Hungry people then settle, build a town, sow fields, and plant vineyards. Blessing lets households and herds grow. These changes widen the earlier rescue scenes into a view of the land itself. Flourishing is not treated as an independent possession that cannot change. The same divine rule can judge misuse and provide a place where needy people work and receive the fruit of that work.
In everyday life
A land-restoration worker opens a new irrigation channel on ground abandoned for years. Families arrive with tools, plant rows, and prepare homes beside the water. The work depends on a changed supply that their own effort cannot replace in dry soil. She watches the first seedlings emerge. The psalm gives God authority over both barrenness and renewal.
Notice
Psalms 107:37 The settled people sow and plant. Divine provision makes their work possible; the blessing does not picture a life with no human labour or care.
Psalms 107:33-38
King James Version33He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
34A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
35He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
36And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
37And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
38He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
Psalms 107:39-43
The Lowly Rise and Wisdom Takes Notice
The psalm acknowledges another downward turn through oppression, sorrow, and affliction. God brings contempt on princes and leaves them wandering without a path, while lifting poor people into safety and growing families. The righteous see and rejoice, and wrongdoing loses its boastful voice. The final question concerns wisdom: those who attend to these things will understand the Lord's loving care. The chapter asks for a long, careful view of these changes. One moment of wealth or loss does not give the whole meaning of a life.
In everyday life
A town records officer compares old lists of wealthy owners with recent records of families rehoused after hardship. Some prominent names have vanished, while people once without an address now have settled homes. She keeps both sets of papers when preparing the local account. A single year's rank did not tell the whole future. The psalm asks observers to recognise God's kindness.
Notice
Psalms 107:43 Wisdom is linked with observing the accounts already given. The closing invitation seeks careful attention to mercy across different circumstances, rather than a quick slogan about success.
Psalms 107:39-43
King James Version39Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
40He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
41Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
42The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
43Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Psalms 107:1 begins with “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Where the chapter turns
Psalms 107:19 forms a natural hinge: “Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.”
The final note
Psalms 107:43 leaves the reader with “Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, works, goodness, praise, soul, trouble help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- contemned
- Despised or rejected as not worth listening to.
- haven
- A sheltered harbour or safe place for a ship.
- minished
- Reduced in number, strength, or prosperity.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
