Psalms 107:14

Psa 107:14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

Ver. 14. He brought them out of darkness] He sent his mandamus {a}, as Psa 44:4, and that did the deed, as Act 5:19; Act 12:7.

{a} Originally applied generically to a number of ancient writs, letters missive, or mandates, issued by the sovereign, directing the performance of certain acts.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_107:14-16

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death.

Song for the free, and hope for the bound

The deliverance here intended is one which is brought to us by redemption, and comes by the way of the great sacrifice upon Calvary.

I. Who are these favoured men?

1. Guilty men (verse 11). Hear this, ye sinful ones, and take heart! God has wrought great wonders for a people whom it seemed impossible for Him to notice. If they came into prison through rebellion, you would expect Him to leave them there. Yet rebels are set free by an act of immeasurable grace. The Redeemer has received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also.

2. Doomed men (verse 10). It is your condemned condition which needs free mercy; and, behold, the Lord meets your need in His boundless grace!

3. Bound men (verse 10). You long to be delivered, but you are unable to cut the cords which hold you. Jesus Christ has come on purpose that He might proclaim the opening of the prisons to them that are bound.

4. Weary men (verse 12). Come unto Me, etc.

5. Downcast men (verse 12). The Lord Jesus delights to lift up those that lie at His feet.

6. Helpless men. What a word that is--None to help! The proverb says, God helps those that help themselves. There is a sort of truth in it; but I venture to cover it with a far greater truth: God helps those that cannot help themselves. When there is none to help thee, then God will help thee.

7. They did at last take to praying (verse 13). There is that about prayer which makes it a token for good, a pledge of blessings on the road, a door of hope in dark hours. Where is the man that cries? Where is the man that prays? That is the man of whom it shall be said, and of others like him, The Lord brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, etc.

II. How has this deliverance been wrought?

1. By the Lord Himself. There is no salvation worth the having which has not the hand of the Godhead in it. None but the Trinity can deliver a captive soul from the chains of sin, and death, and hell.

2. Next, the Lord did it alone He hath broken the gates of brass. Nobody else was there to aid in liberating the prisoner. When our Lord Jesus trod the winepress, He was alone. When the Spirit of God came to work in us eternal life, He wrought alone.

3. By the Lords own goodness. He gives the alms of His grace only to the undeserving.

4. Most completely--light, life, and liberty.

5. Everlastingly. O child of God, you were once shut up as with gates of brass, and bars of iron, and the devil thinks that one of these days he will get you behind those gates again! But he never will, for the Lord hath broken the gates of brass. The means of our captivity are no longer available.

III. What is to be done about this?

1. If the Lord has set any of you free--record it. Say, The Lord hath done great things for us.

2. When you have recorded it, then praise God with all your heart, every one of you, every day. When you have praised God yourselves, then entreat others to join with you. The oratorio of Gods praise needs a full choir. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. (Psa 107:14) He brings them out from darkness and deathshade, and their bonds he severs. The terms used in describing the deliverance are studiously made to correspond with the account of the captivity in ver. 10. It is more remarkable, though possibly fortuitous, that the words of the second clause are the same which David puts into the mouth of the revolted nations, Psa 2:3. The English word severs is here used instead of breaks, in order to represent the more uncommon and poetical term used in Hebrew.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 14. He brought then out of darkness]

1. Gave them again peace and prosperity.

2. Repealed the sentence of death.

3. "Unbound the poor prisoners."

4. Broke their iron bonds in sunder.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(14) Break their bands in sunder.—See Psa_2:3.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For he hath broken the gates of brass,.... The prison doors made of brass, as sometimes of iron, for the security of the prisoners; see Act 12:10. And cut the bars of iron in sunder; with which they were barred and secured. Hyperbolical phrases these, as Kimchi, expressing how exceeding strong the prison doors were, and the impossibility of an escape out of them, unless the Lord had delivered them; but when he works, none can let; all obstructions are easily removed by him; which is the sense of the words, see Isa 45:2. Vitringa, on Rev 12:2, interprets this of the subjection of the Roman emperors to the faith and obedience of Christ.

, interprets this of the subjection of the Roman emperors to the faith and obedience of Christ.

Psalms 107:17

psa 107:17

psa 107:17

psa 107:17Fools, because of their transgression,.... Or, "because of the way" (h) "of it"; their sinful course of life; for it is not for a single transgression they are afflicted, but for a continued series of sinning, which is a transgression of the law of God. By "fools" are meant not idiots, men devoid of common sense and natural understanding, but immoral persons; such who have no understanding of divine and spiritual things; are destitute of the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom; without the true knowledge of God himself; place their happiness in sensual enjoyments; seek only the gratification of their lust; scoff at religion, make a mock at sin, and have no concern about a future state, and the welfare of their immortal souls.

And because of their iniquities, are afflicted; or "afflict themselves", or "find themselves afflicted" (i); rather "bring affliction on themselves" (k). Not that these are the only persons that are afflicted; for many truly wise, good, and gracious persons, have a large share of afflictions; though not in a way of punishment for sin, or in wrath and hot displeasure, but in a way of fatherly chastisement, and in love: nor are fools for the most part afflicted, nor so much as others; they are not in trouble and plagued as other men; which has been a stumbling to good men: however, sometimes they are afflicted in this life, and in a way of punishment for sin; and very often are but the more hardened by it; though to some it is an ordinance for good; they are awakened by it to a sense of sin, and acknowledgment of it, and to seek for pardoning grace and mercy. This is the "third" instance of persons in distress calling on the Lord, and finding relief (l), and being under obligation to praise him.

(h) "propter viam", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator. (i) "sese adflictos sentiebant", Michaelis. (k) So Tigurine version. (l) "Flectitur iratus voce rogante Deus", Ovid. de Arte Amandi, l. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death - From their captivity; from calamity which seemed to be as gloomy as the shadow of death.

And brake their bands in sunder - Delivered them from their bondage, as if the bands of a prisoner or captive were suddenly broken.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 14. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death. The Lord in providence fetches out prisoners from their cells and bids them breathe the sweet fresh air again, and then he takes off their fetters, and gives liberty to their aching limbs. So also he frees men from care and trouble, and especially from the misery and slavery of sin. This he does with his own hand, for in the experience of all the saints it is certified that there is no jail delivery unless by the Judge himself.

And brake their bands in sunder. Set them free by force, so liberating them that they could not be chained again, for he had broken the manacles to pieces. The Lord's deliverances are of the most complete and triumphant kind, he neither leaves the soul in darkness nor in bonds, nor does he permit the powers of evil again to enthral the liberated captive. What he does is done for ever. Glory be to his name.

Ver. 14. God gives light, life, liberty.

Psalms 107:15*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. Darkness—Compare Isa_42:7, and Psa_107:10, above.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He brought them out of dark ness and the shadow of death. Wherein they sat (ver. 10). And brake their bands in sunder. Freed them from their fetters (ver. 10), whatever they were.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He brought them

"Yahweh brought those in prison"

darkness and gloom

Both "darkness" and "gloom" have basically the same meaning and are used to emphasize how dark the prison was. See how you translated this in Psalms 107:10. AT: "complete darkness" (See: Doublet)

Oh that people would praise Yahweh for his covenant faithfulness

Here the word "Oh" is used to convey a strong desire for people to praise Yahweh. The abstract noun "faithfulness" can be translated with an adjective. See how you translated this in Psalms 107:8. AT: "Let people praise Yahweh because he is faithful to his covenant" or "People should praise Yahweh because he is faithful to his covenant" (See: Exclamations and Abstract Nouns)

For he

"because he"

For he has broken the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron

Both of these phrases describe Yahweh freeing his people from prison and are used to emphasize that Yahweh truly freed them. AT: "He freed his people from prison" (See: Parallelism and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

darkness

bind

covenant faithfulness

amazed

gate

bronze

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.