10 Those who were in the dark, in the black night, in chains of sorrow and iron;
To give light to those in dark places, and in the shade of death, so that our feet may be guided into the way of peace.
The people who were in the dark saw a great light, and to those in the land of the shade of death did the dawn come up.
Now after a long time the king of Egypt came to his end: and the children of Israel were crying in their grief under the weight of their work, and their cry for help came to the ears of God. And at the sound of their weeping the agreement which God had made with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob came to his mind.
So the Lord sent against them the captains of the army of Assyria, who made Manasseh a prisoner and took him away in chains to Babylon.
Let the dark and the black night take it for themselves; let it be covered with a cloud; let the dark shades of day send fear on it.
His feet were fixed in chains; his neck was put in iron bands;
The people who went in the dark have seen a great light, and for those who were living in the land of the deepest night, the light is shining.
He has kept me in dark places, like those who have been long dead. He has put a wall round me, so that I am not able to go out; he has made great the weight of my chain.
Do not be glad because of my sorrow, O my hater: after my fall I will be lifted up; when I am seated in the dark, the Lord will be a light to me.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 107
Commentary on Psalms 107 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 107
The psalmist, having in the two foregoing psalms celebrated the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, in his dealings with his church in particular, here observes some of the instances of his providential care of the children of men in general, especially in their distresses; for he is not only King of saints, but King of nations, not only the God of Israel, but the God of the whole earth, and a common Father to all mankind. Though this may especially refer to Israelites in their personal capacity, yet there were those who pertained not to the commonwealth of Israel and yet were worshippers of the true God; and even those who worshipped images had some knowledge of a supreme "Numen,' to whom, when they were in earnest, they looked above all their false gods. And of these, when they prayed in their distresses, God took a particular care,
When we are in any of these or the like distresses it will be comfortable to sing this psalm, with application; but, if we be not, others are, and have been, of whose deliverances it becomes us to give God the glory, for we are members one of another.
Psa 107:1-9
Here is,
Psa 107:10-16
We are to take notice of the goodness of God towards prisoners and captives. Observe,
Psa 107:17-22
Bodily sickness is another of the calamities of this life which gives us an opportunity of experiencing the goodness of God in recovering us, and of that the psalmist speaks in these verses, where we may observe,
Psa 107:23-32
The psalmist here calls upon those to give glory to God who are delivered from dangers at sea. Though the Israelites dealt not much in merchandise, yet their neighbours the Tyrians and Zidonians did, and for them perhaps this part of the psalm was especially calculated.
Psa 107:33-43
The psalmist, having given God the glory of the providential reliefs granted to persons in distress, here gives him the glory of the revolutions of providence, and the surprising changes it sometimes makes in the affairs of the children of men.