Psalms 107:29

Psa 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

Ver. 29. He maketh the storm a calm] "He," that is, God Almighty, whose the sea is, and he made it, Psa 95:5; not the Pagans Neptune, or the papagans’ St Nicholas.

So that the waves thereof are still] If, therefore, the voluptuous humours in our body (which is but as a cup made of the husk of an acorn in respect to the sea) will not be pacified when the Lord saith unto us, "Be still"; every drop of water in the sea will be a witness of our monstrous rebellion and disobedience.

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.

29. (Psa 107:29) He stills the storm, to a calm, and silent are their waves. This is an amplification of the last phrase in Psa 107:28, and shews how it is that he brings them forth. The first verb strictly means he makes it stand, but in a sense directly opposite to that of a synonymous though different verb in Psa 107:25. Calm, literally silence, stillness. Their waves, the waves from which they suffer, by which they are buffeted. Compare his waves, in Psa 107:25.

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

Verse 29. He maketh the storm a calm] He causes the storm to stand dumb, and hushes the waves. See the original, where sense and sound emphatically meet: -

גליהם ויחשו לדממה סארה יקם galleyhem vaiyecheshu lidemamah searah yakem

He shall cause the whirlwind to stand dumb, and he shall hush their billows.

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

29. He maketh the storm a calm A profane author, in narrating the history of such an event, would have said, that the winds were hushed, and the raging billows were calmed; but the Spirit of God, by this change of the storm into a calm, places the providence of God as presiding over all; thereby meaning, that it was not by human agency that this violent commotion of the sea and wind, which threatened to subvert the frame of the world, was so suddenly stilled. When, therefore, the sea is agitated, and boils up in terrific fury, as if wave were contending with wave, whence is it that instantly it is calm and peaceful, but that God restrains the raging of the billows, the contention of which was so awful, and makes the bosom of the deep as smooth as a mirror? Having spoken of their great terror, he proceeds next to mention their joy, so that their ingratitude may appear the more striking, if they forget their remarkable deliverance. For they are not in want of a monitor, having been abundantly instructed by the storm itself, and by the calm which ensued, that their lives were in the hand and under the protection of God. Moreover, he informs them that this is a species of gratitude which deserves not only to be acknowledged privately, or to be mentioned in the family, but that it should be praised and magnified in all places, even in the great assemblies. He makes specific mention of the elders, intimating that the more wisdom and experience a person has, the more capable is he of listening to, and being a witness of, these praises.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people,.... Of the people of God, who are gathered out of the world into a church state; and who gather themselves together to attend the worship and service of God in some one place; and here the Lord should be praised, and his name exalted, by those who have received favours from him; see Psa 111:1, the Targum explains it,

"in the congregation of the people of the house of Israel.''

And praise him in the assembly of the elders; or, "in the seat", or "chair of the elders (s)": not of the Scribes and Pharisees, and elders of the people, that sat in Moses's chair; but rather of the four and twenty elders, who are said to have four and twenty seats round the throne, where they worship and praise God; and which are emblems of Gospel churches; the members of which, for their grace, gravity, and prudence, are called elders; and over which elders in office preside, and who rule well, and labour in the word and doctrine; see Rev 4:4. The Targum renders it,

"the sanhedrim of the wise men.''

(s) "in cathedra", Pagninus, Montanus.

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

He maketh the storm a calm - God does this, and God only can do it. The fact, therefore, that Jesus did it Mat 8:26, proves that he was divine. There can be no more striking proof of divine power than the ability to calm the raging waves of the ocean by a word. This is literally, “He places the tempest to silence.”

So that the waves thereof are still - Are lulled. The ocean ceases to be agitated, and the surface becomes smooth. Nothing is more still than the ocean in a calm. Not a breath of air seems to stir; not a ripple agitates the surface of the sea; the sails of the vessel hang loose, and even the vessel seems to be perfectly at rest: “As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean.” So God can calm down the tempest of the soul. He can make the mind which was heaving and tossed, like the ocean, with anguish on account of guilt, and which trembled in view of the coming judgment, as calm as the ocean is when in its state of perfect repose. God can do “this,” and none “but” God can do it; and as Jesus thus stills the agitation of the guilty soul, as he did the waves of the sea, “this” proves also that he is divine.

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

Ver. 29. He maketh the storm a calm. He reveals his power in the sudden and marvellous transformations which occur at his bidding. He commanded the storm and now he ordains a calm: God is in all natural phenomena, and we do well to recognise his working.

So that the waves thereof are still. They bow in silence at his feet. Where huge billows leaped aloft there is scarce a ripple to be seen. When God makes peace it is peace indeed, the peace of God which passeth all understanding. He can in an instant change the condition of a man's mind, so that it shall seem an absolute miracle to him that he has passed so suddenly from hurricane to calm. O that the Lord would thus work in the reader, should his heart be storm beaten with outward troubles or inward fears. Lord, say the word and peace will come at once.

Ver. 29. He maketh the storm a calm, etc. The image is this. Mankind before they are redeemed are like a ship in a stormy sea, agitated with passions, tossed up and down with cares, and so blown about with various temptations, that they are never at rest. This is their calmest state in the smiling day of smooth prosperity: but afflictions will come, the afflictions of sin and Satan, and the world will raise a violent storm, which all the wit and strength of man cannot escape. He will soon be swallowed up of the devouring waves: unless that same God who created the sea speak to it, "Peace, be still." We are all in the same situation the apostles were, when they were alone in the evening in the midst of the sea, and the wind and the waves were contrary; against which they toiled rowing in vain, until Christ came to them walking upon the sea, and commanded the winds to cease and the waves to be still. Upon which there was a great calm; for they knew his voice, who had spoken them into being, and they obeyed. His word is almighty to compose and still the raging war of the most furious elements. And he is as almighty in the spiritual world, as he is in the natural. Into whatever soul he enters, he commands all the jarring passions to be still, and there is indeed a blessed calm. O may the Almighty Saviour speak thus unto you all, that you may sail on a smooth unruffled sea, until you arrive safe at the desired haven of eternal rest! William Romaine.

Ver. 29. If the sailor can do nothing so wise and oftentimes indeed can do nothing else than trust in the Lord, so is it with us in the storms of life. Like the mariner, we must use lawful means for our protection; but what are means without the divine blessing? William S. Plumer.

Psalms 107:30*

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

He maketh the storm a calm; i.e. he causes the wind to drop, and to be succeeded by a "great calm". (comp. Mat_8:26) Such sudden changes do sometimes occur, not only in inland seas, but on the Mediterranean. (see Jon_1:15) So that the waves thereof are still; literally, the waves of them; i.e. of the great waters (see ver. 23).

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