Psalms 107:25

Psa 107:25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

Ver. 25. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, &c.] Of this Seneca, though a heathen, could say, Inter caetera providentiae divinae opera hoc quoque dignum est admiratione, &c., Among other works of the Divine providence this is admirable, that the winds lie upon the sea for the furtherance of navigation, &c.

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.

25. (Psa 107:25) And he said—and there arose a stormy wind, and it lifted up his waves. He now parenthetically specifies some of the divine works which he had just mentioned in the general. The form of expression at the beginning, as in all like cases, involves an allusion to the history of the creation, where each creative act is preceded by God's saying, let it be. So here the full sense is, and God said (let a stormy wind arise) and a stormy wind arose. See above, on Psa 33:9. Arose, literally stood, stood up, as in Psa 106:30. A stormy wind, literally a wind of storm or tempest. Instead of his waves we may read its waves, and refer the pronoun to the remoter antecedent (sea) in Psa 107:23. Deep, in Psa 107:24, is of a different gender. It is equally correct, however, and more natural, to refer it to Jehovah, as the maker of the sea and the ruler of its waves. Compare the expression thy waves and thy billows in Psa 42:8. See also Isa 51:15, Jer 31:35.

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

107:25-29 The same God who speaks and brings about the sailors’ distress can also calm the storm with just a word (cp. Jon 1:4; Matt 8:26).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 25. For he commandeth] And what less than the command of God can raise up such winds as seem to heave old Ocean from his bed?

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

(25) He commandeth.—Literally, He speaks. The Almighty fiat, as in Genesis 1.

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

25. For he commandeth &c.] For he spake, and raised &c. Cp. Psa_105:31; Psa_105:34; Gen_1:3 &c. The P.B.V., For at his word the stormy wind ariseth follows the LXX (Vulg.) and Jer. in presuming a different vocalisation of the Heb. consonants, which may possibly be right.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble,.... As in a storm seafaring persons are used to do; so did Jonah's mariners, though Heathens, everyone cried to his god. With the Romans (o) tempests were reckoned deities, and had temples erected, and sacrifices offered to them; but these persons were such as knew and owned the true Jehovah, and called upon him in their distress: so did the apostles of Christ.

And he bringeth them out of their distresses; by stilling the winds and the waves, causing them to proceed on their voyage with pleasure, and landing them safe on shore, as follows.

(o) Cicero, de Nat. Deor. l. 3. c. 20. Virgil. Aeneid. l. 5. v. 772. Horat. Epod. Ode 10. v. 23, 24. Ovid. Fast. 6. v. 193.

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

For he commandeth - Hebrew, “he says;” that is, He speaks the word, and it is done. The mere expression of his will raises up the storm, and throws the sea into commotion.

And raiseth the stormy wind - Margin, as in Hebrew, “Maketh to stand.” The “stormy wind” is literally, the wind of the tempest.

Which lifteth up the waves thereof - The waves of the ocean. The wind seems to take them up, and lift them on high.

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

The winds and storms come not by chance, but by the disposition of Divine Providence.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 25. For he commandeth: his word is enough for anything, he has but to will it and the tempest rages.

And raiseth the stormy wiled. It seemed to he asleep before, but it knows its Master's bidding, and is up at once in all its fury.

Which lifteth up the waves thereof. The glassy surface of the sea is broken, and myriads of white heads appear and rage and toss themselves to and fro as the wind blows upon them. Whereas they were lying down in quiet before, the waves rise in their might and leap towards the sky as soon as the howling of the wind awakens them.

Thus it needs but a word from God and the soul is in troubled waters, tossed to and fro with a thousand afflictions. Doubts, fears, terrors, anxieties lift their heads like so many angry waves, when once the Lord allows the storm winds to beat upon us.

Ver. 25-31.

Think, O my soul, devoutly think,

How, with affrighted eyes

Thou saw'st the wide extended deep

In all its horrors rise!

Confusion dwelt in every face,

And fear in every heart;

When waves on waves, and gulfs on gulfs,

Overcame the pilot's art.

Yet then from all my griefs, O Lord,

Thy mercy set me free,

Whilst in the confidence of prayer

My soul took hold on thee.

For though in dreadful whirls we hung

High on the broken wave,

I knew thou wert not slow to hear,

Nor impotent to save.

The storm was laid, the winds retired,

Obedient to thy will;

The sea that roared at thy command,

At thy command was still.

In midst of dangers, fears, and death,

Thy goodness I will adore,

And praise thee for thy mercies past;

And humbly hope for more.

My life, if thou preservest my life,

Thy sacrifice shall be;

And death, if death must be my doom,

Shall join my soul to thee. Joseph Addison.

Psalms 107:26*

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

25. He commandeth—No allusion to second causes, laws, or forces of nature, but all phenomena are referred directly to God, who saves by sea as well as by land. Psa_65:5. The descriptions which follow to Psa_107:30 require no comment. The object of these various citations of human distress and divine deliverance is, to show that Israel’s redemption from bondage stands out as a wonder of divine grace, equal to the greatest known to human experience; and that no exigence of human affairs is beyond the reach of divine help if men will seek God, obey his directions, and render him due praise.

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

For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind. (comp. Psa_147:15, 18 Jon_1:4) The operations of nature are constantly spoken of in Scripture as God"s direct doing. Which lifteth up the waves thereof ; or, "the waves that are his". (compare, in Psa_147:17, Psa_147:18, "his ice, his cold, his wind

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

he commanded and aroused the windstorm that stirs up the seas

"he commanded the wind and caused it become a great windstorm that stirred up the sea"

windstorm

a strong wind, like the wind that accompanies a strong rain storm

that stirs up the seas

Here David describes the winds causing the waves to become high as if the wind was an object fiercely stirring something. AT: "that caused the waves of the sea to become very high" (See: Metaphor)

They reached up to the sky; they went down to the depths

This describes the ships rising and falling with the waves. The extremes of rising to the sky and falling to the depths are an exaggeration to express how horrible the windstorm was and how large the waves were. AT: "their ships would rise very high on the waves and then they would fall very low between the waves" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)

Their lives melted away in distress

This idiom describes the sailors' great fear. AT: "The men were terrified and greatly distressed" (See: Idiom)

were at their wits' end

The phrase "at their wit's end" means that they did not know what to do. AT: "and they did not know what to do" or "they had no idea what to do" (See: Idiom)

translationWords

command

heaven

drunk

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