Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 107:43
Whoso [is] wise, and will observe these [things], even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
43. Whoso is wise, let him observe these things,
And let them consider the lovingkindnesses of Jehovah.
Cp. Hos 14:9. In such examples as these the wise man will discern the methods of Jehovah’s providential dealings with men.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Whoso is wise – All who are truly wise. That is, all who have a proper understanding of things, or who are disposed to look at them aright.
And will observe these things – Will attentively consider them; will reason upon them correctly; will draw just conclusions from them; will allow them to produce their proper impression on the mind. The meaning is, that these things would not be understood at a glance, or by a hasty and cursory observation, but that all who would take time to study them would see in them such proofs of wisdom and goodness that they could not fail to come to the conclusion that God is worthy of confidence and love.
Even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord – They will perceive that God is a merciful Being; that he seeks the welfare of the universe; that he desires the good of all; that the whole system is so arranged as to be adapted to secure the greatest good in the universe. No one can study the works of God, or mark the events of his providence, without perceiving that there are innumerable arrangements which have no other end than to produce happiness; which can be explained only on the supposition that God is a benevolent Being; which would not exist under the government of a malevolent being. And, although there are things which seem to be arrangements to cause suffering, and although sin and misery have been allowed to come into the world, yet we are not in circumstances to enable us to show that, in some way, these may not be consistent with a desire to promote the happiness of the universe, or that there may not be some explanation, at prosent too high for us, which will show that the principle of benevolence is applicable to all the works of God. Meantime, where we can – as we can in numberless cases – see the proofs of benevolence, let us praise God; where we cannot, let us silently trust him, and believe that there will yet be some way in which we may see this as the angels now see it, and, like them, praise him for what now seems to us to be dark and incomprehensible. There is an eternity before us in which to study the works of God, and it would not be strange if in that eternity we may learn things about God which we cannot understand now, or if in that eternity things now to us as dark as midnight may be made clear as noonday. How many things incomprehensible to us in childhood, become clear in riper years!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 107:43
Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.
The benefit of a wise observance of providences
I. The wisdom of a devout attention to the ways of Providence.
1. They who are wise will observe those things–take notice of the hand of God in the various turns and methods of His providence.
2. A religious observation of providence is the way to improve in true wisdom. Who is wise? Even he will observe those things, and by observing those things he will become still wiser.
3. It requires much wisdom and prudence to make right observations on the ways of Providence, and to put a proper construction upon them.
(1) Let us fix in our minds a full and lively persuasion of the doctrine of providence: or be firmly assured of the reality and certainty of an overruling and governing power that reaches to all events.
(2) We must attend to Divine providences with diligence; observe them with a steady and accurate eye, and deposit them faithfully in our memories to be reviewed and applied hereafter.
(3) We must be cautious in our application of providences, and in our determinations concerning their immediate design.
(4) Let us patiently wait the events of providence before we judge.
(5) We should carefully compare one providence with another.
(6) We should carefully compare the book of providence with the Book of Scripture.
(7) If we would understand the providences of God let us obey the calls of them.
(8) Frequently pray for direction in this matter, and for that wisdom which is profitable to direct.
II. The great benefit and advantage of such a prudent and devout attention to the providences of God; particularly as it will open to us new discoveries of the Divine goodness. Even they shall understand, etc.
1. This may refer either to public and general, or to particular and private providences.
(1) It may refer to public and general providences. And then the meaning is, that by such a wise, discreet and careful attention to the ways of Providence in general, we shall soon come to be convinced that the whole earth is full of the goodness of the Lord; that His tender mercies are over all His works, etc.
(2) The words have a more immediate reference to private and particular providences.
2. It may be objected that there are a thousand things in the present state, both of the natural and moral world, which we can by no means reconcile with our ideas of infinite mercy and goodness. Now, to this I answer–
(1) The psalmist does not say, nor can any man presume to think, that there are inexplicable mysteries in the ways of Providence; or that there are not many things in the course of the Divine dispensations which we are not able at present to reconcile either with the goodness or wisdom of God.
(2) All that the text affirms is, that they who make the wisest and justest observations on providence, will make the plainest and largest discoveries of the lovingkindness of the Lord; and may discern traces of love in those events which to others appear tokens of anger. (J. Mason, M.A.)
The wise observation of providences urged
I. What it is to observe providences wisely.
1. It presupposes–
(1)That there is a providence. Is it unworthy of God to govern what He has created? As for the wisdom in the management of the world, they are fools who judge it folly before they see the end.
(2) The faith of this providence. We must believe the doctrine of providence, if we would be wise observers thereof.
(3) Providence has a language t.o the children of men.
(4) A disposition to understand the language and design of providence.
2. It imports–
(1) A watching for them till they come (Hab 2:1; Isa 26:8; Psa 130:1; Psa 130:5-6).
(2) A taking heed to them, and marking them when they come (Isa 25:9; Luk 19:44).
(3) A serious review of them, pondering and narrowly considering them. It is a mystery many times, looking at which our weak eyes will begin to dazzle. And that we may unravel the clue by a sanctified judgment (Psa 77:6), it will be needful to call in the help of prayer, with much humility, faith, and self-denial (Job 10:2), and of the Scripture (Psa 73:16).
(4) Laying them up, and keeping them in record (Luk 1:66). We should keep them as one would do a treasure, for the time to come. Then are they experiences, which will be notable provision for after-times.
(5) A practical observation of them (Mic 6:9).
II. The things about which we are wisely to make our observations.
1. Providences may be considered with respect to their objects, which are all the creatures and all their actions.
(1) Look into the invisible world, and trace providence there.
(2) Look to the visible world, and trace providence there (Joh 5:17).
2. We may consider providences with respect to their kinds (Psa 40:5). The wisdom of God is manifold wisdom, and produces works accordingly (Psa 104:24). And each of them is to be observed.
(1) Providences are either cross, or smiling and favourable. Both ought to be observed, and may be so profitably.
(2) There are great lines and small lines of providence..
(3) There are common and uncommon providences.
3. We may consider providences with respect to the time of their falling out.
(1) We should observe the past dispensations of providence (Psa 77:5). Towards others. Towards ourselves. Observe how God gave thee such and such education, ordered thy log in such and such a place in His earth, and in such sort as He has done, how He brought thee into such and such company, saved thee from such and such dangers, etc.
(2) We should observe the present dispensations of providence towards ourselves and others (Zec 6:1-2). It is a stream that still runs by us, like those rivers that bring down the golden ore (Psa 65:11). By day nor night it ceaseth not (Psa 19:2).
III. What we are to observe in providences.
1. The timing of providences, the great weight of a dispensation sometimes lies ill this very circumstance, that then it came, and neither sooner nor later. And O the admirable wisdom that appears in thus jointing of them! (Gen 24:45; Jdg 7:13).
2. The beginnings and dawnings of providences (Psa 130:6).
3. The progress of providence, endeavouring always to notice the several steps of it (Luk 2:19; Luk 2:51), and to follow the thread. For God ordinarily brings great works to pass by degrees, that so men that are weak may have the greater advantage for observation (Hos 6:3).
4. The turns of providence. The wheel of providence is a wheel within a wheel, and sometimes it runs upon the one side, and sometimes on the other. Observe the change of the sides. For providence to our view has many turnings and windings, and yet really it is going straight forward (Zec 14:7).
5. The end of providence (Jam 5:11; Job 42:10; Job 42:12).
6. The mixture of providence. There is never a mercy we get, but there is a cross in it; and never a cross, but there is a mercy in it. Observe the mixture of your mercies, to make you humble and heavenly; for the fairest rose that grows here has a prickle with it, and there is a tartness in our sweetest enjoyments. Observe the mixture of your crosses, to make you patient and thankful; for the bitterest pill God gives you to swallow has a vehicle of mercy (Lam 3:22).
7. The concurrence of providences.
8. The design and language of providences (Mic 6:9).
9. The harmony of providences.
(1) With the Word.
(2) Among themselves.
(3) With their design and end.
(4) With the prayers of the people of God.
IV. Why Christians should wisely observe providences.
1. Because they are Gods works (Psa 135:6).
2. Because they are great works (Psa 111:2).
3. Because they are often very mysterious works, and therefore they need observation (Psa 92:5).
4. Because they are always perfect works. They will abide the strictest search and the most narrow inquiry (Deu 32:4).
5. Because they are speaking works. They speak Heavens language to the earth, and therefore should be observed. (T. Boston, D.D.)
The operations of the Divine lovingkindness
Human love, we may say as a general rule, is easily understood by human creatures. Not so the Divine love, the lovingkindness of the Lord. Guided by a wisdom to which our minds cannot reach, that often operates towards us in a way that much perplexes us.
I. Whenever He loves, He afflicts us. Either He finds us in trouble, or He ere long brings us into it–that is one of the rules He has laid down for the exercise of His lovingkindness. Are you, then, prepared to receive affliction from Him when, though conscious of a whole mass of evil dwelling in you, you can discover no indulged, no specific sins which have called down that affliction on you? Are you prepared for the storm, and the storm of Gods raising, when honestly engaged in your worldly callings? Are you prepared for hunger, and thirst, and faintness of soul in Gods own ways, while walking with God, following prayerfully and closely as you can the Lords own guidance?
II. He generally brings His people to an extremity of danger or of trouble, before He succours them. We are often made to see and to see with wonder that our extremity is, indeed, Gods opportunity; that His helping work begins just when we are beginning to fear there is no help for us; that He does all that is needful for us when we are brought with a sorrowful and perhaps half despairing heart to say, nothing can be done. Deliverance we may depend on, but we must not depend on it till the extremity comes.
III. He draws forth from His people earnest prayer for relief before He sends it them. He has it in store for them, but He says, I will be inquired of them for it before they shall have it. And this is one of His main designs in allowing our troubles to come to an extremity before He helps us–He wants to strip us of all creature-confidence; that we may be compelled to turn to Him for help, be constrained to come to Him with our difficulties and sorrows. Our prayers do Him no good, but they do us good–they bring us into closer union with Himself, the fountain of all good.
IV. When the Lord delivers His praying people in their extremities, He generally delivers them signally and most effectually.
1. Signally. He lays bare His arm as He delivers them; makes it visible; compels them to see, and to see with grateful wonder and a thrilling delight, that their deliverance is His work and His alone.
2. Effectually. He makes the help He gives them adequate to their extremity and more than adequate to it, surpassing their necessity. He often blesses and enriches them while He delivers them. (C. Bradley; M.A.)
Providence observed
I. In what manner we should observe the-Divine providence.
1. There should be a prevailing recollection that there is a providence; so that we live not like heathens who know not God.
2. We ought to take particular notice of special events or remarkable occurrences.
3. We should gratefully acknowledge the Divine goodness; observe particular mercies.
4. Humbly submit to the Divine chastisements. These are often heavy and severe, though wisely ordered and mixed with mercy.
5. Observe, as far as may be, the design of God in the events of His providence, and particularly what benefit you may derive from them.
II. The wisdom and advantage of a due observance of the ways of Providence.
1. If you observe these things you shall see Gods lovingkindness prevailing in all His dealings with the children of men.
2. We may extend the application of the promise. For, according to the whole tenor of the Word of God, all the truly pious, such as they are who devoutly observe the ways of God, are really interested in His gracious regards. The Lord loveth the righteous. He receives them into His favour through the grace and righteousness of Jesus Christ. He will save them with an everlasting salvation. They shall, therefore, understand what a glorious thing it is to have an interest in God as their portion. (Essex Remembrancer.)
The lovingkindness of the Lord
If we wish to understand the lovingkindness of the Lord, we need not speculate, we have only to observe; and we have nor anxiously to east about for examples, as they are gathered and classified for us in the induction which distinguishes this inspired song.
I. It is effectual. Gives complete relief. No mockery of favour, no semblance of love. Deals not in half-measures, but secures complete deliverance.
II. It is seasonable. God interferes in the crisis, and waits till it come, ere He show His power and love.
III. It is undeserved. We forget Him, but He does not forget us; and when our sins expose us to imminent peril–and that peril is a righteous and appropriate punishment, even then does He make no tarrying, but He swiftly comes to save us.
IV. It is habitual. God has special pleasure in such acts of beneficent intervention. He has often vouchsafed relief to others, and will He not to thee? The Lords hand is not shortened. He daily loadeth us with benefits.
V. If we take pains and still observe these things, we shall find these things all to be acts of simultaneous lovingkindness. God is not so occupied with one case of misery as to overlook the others. All those deeds of lovingkindness may happen, and very often do happen, at one and the same time.
VI. It is manifested in answer to prayer. The spirit, in the hour of its weakness, looks up to God, and He blesses and saves. O, then, ask and wait; wrestle and triumph.
VII. It is often startling in its nature and results. The good it does is amazing, and the penalty it sends is confounding. These sudden and terrible reverses are meant to teach and humble–for they show the justice of God, exhibit the evil of sin, and induce man to forsake it. (John Eadie, D.D.)
Observation
What are we called upon to do? To observe. But that is a scientific word. Certainly. There is no book more scientific than the Bible Is not science called sometimes the art of observation? Here is a religious teacher who says, Be scientific–observe. Sometimes we want a microscope, sometimes a telescope; everything depends upon the object on which we are fixing our observation; if it be minute, there is the microscope; if it be distant, there is the telescope; what we have to do is to observe,–which few men can do. There are few born surveyors. We are not to observe a little here and a little there, but we are to observe minutely, we are to observe in detail, to observe the little spectral shapes no larger than the band of a man, and we are to observe them growing until the accumulation fills the firmament with promise of rain. It is delightful to find a word which binds us to a scientific policy. Isaac Newton said he was not aware that he excelled any one except it might be in the faculty of paying attention–shall we call it the faculty of observation? Darwin never slept; he was observing whilst he was dreaming; he left the object for a moment or two and came back to it to follow it on. And one would imagine from some of Sir John Lubbocks most useful books, packed as they are with information, that he had spent the most of his life in an ant-heap. He knows about ants–their policy, their economy, their method, their conflicts, their conquests–all their wondrous system of society. When a man observes God in that way, there will be no atheists. Atheism comes from want of observation,–not observation of a broad vulgar kind, as for example the eyes that take in a whole sky at a time without taking in one solitary gleam of light for careful and reverent analysis, but an observation as minute and detailed, and patient and long-continued, as a man has bestowed upon the habits of an ant. Who would go to a man who had never seen an ant, in order to learn from him the habits of the busy little creature? We smile at the suggestion. Yet there are men who go to professed atheists to know what they think of theology! That which would be ridiculous in science is supposed to be rather philosophical and somewhat broad-minded in the Church. We go to experts. We are right in doing so. We ought to go to experts in the study of history,–not the broad vulgar history of kings, and rival policies, and sanguinary battles; but the inner history of thought, motive, purpose, spiritual growth, and those mysterious inventions which seem to have no beginning and no ending, circumferences without visible centre, centres without measurable circumferences,–the mystery of social movement. What shall be the result of this observation: shall man see the power of God, the grandeur of God, the majesty of God? No: or through them he will see the further quality, the beauteous reality:–Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord. The exiles shall say, He was good to us in Babylon, though we knew it not at the time. The prisoners shall say, There was not one bar too many of iron or brass in the cage that held us: we see it now. Sick men shall say, In the sick-chamber where we mourned and pined in weakness God was love. And men who have been tossed to and fro on great waters shall say, The earth is the Lords and the fulness thereof, and His also is the fulness of the sea. They come out of all this tumult of experience, not saying, God is great, God is majestic, God is overwhelming: hear them; they come out of all this tragedy, agony, loss, saying, God is love. (J. Parker, D.D.)
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Psa 108:1-13
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 43. Whoso is wise] That is, He that is wise, he that fears God, and regards the operation of his hand will observe-lay up and keep, these things. He will hide them in his heart, that he sin not against Jehovah. He will encourage himself in the Lord, because he finds that he is a never-failing spring of goodness to the righteous.
They shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord] chasdey Yehovah, the exuberant goodness of Jehovah. This is his peculiar and most prominent characteristic among men; for “judgment is his strange work.” What a wonderful discourse on Divine Providence, and God’s management of the world, does this inimitable Psalm contain! The ignorant cannot read it without profit; and by the study of it, the wise man will become yet wiser.
ANALYSIS OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH PSALM
The title of this Psalm is Hallelujah, because it sets forth the praises of God for delivering such as are oppressed from four common miseries; after each of which is expressed those intercalary verses: “O that men would praise the Lord,” c., ” They cried unto the Lord in their trouble.” It also praises God for his providence in its effects.
I. A preface in which he exhorts all to praise God, especially the redeemed, Ps 107:1-2.
II. A declaration of his goodness in particular.
I. To the travellers and strangers, famished, Ps 107:3-9.
2. To the prisoners and captives, Ps 107:10-16.
3. To the sick, Ps 107:16-23.
4. To the mariners, Ps 107:23-32.
III. A praise of God’s power and providence. which is evidently seen in the changes and varieties in the world, of which he gives many instances, that prove him to be the sole Disposer and Governor of the universe, Ps 107:33-42.
IV. The conclusion, which sets forth the use we are to make of it, Ps 107:42-43.
I. 1. This Psalm, like the former, begins: “That we celebrate and set forth God’s praise,” and for the same reasons. “O give thanks unto the Lord” 1. “For he is good;” 2. And merciful: “For his mercy endureth for ever.”
2. And those whom he invites to perform this duty are all who are sensible that they have received any mercy or goodness from him in either soul or body, whom he calls the redeemed of the Lord; that men may know, when they are freed from any evil, that it is not by chance or their wisdom: God’s hand is in it; he is the First Cause; the rest are only his instruments.
1. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say,” i.e., that he is good and merciful.
2. “They say so whom he hath redeemed,” c. If the Holy Ghost means, when he speaks of our redemption by Christ, the enemy, the devil, or some tyrant, tribulations c. then a corporeal and temporal redemption is meant. The next verse seems to refer to their banishment.
3. “And gathered them out of the lands,” c. Which is yet as true of our spiritual redemption. Mt 8:11; Joh 10:16 Joh 11:52.
II. Most expositors begin the second part at the second verse, but some at the fourth; but it is not material. In those two there was mention made of God’s goodness in their deliverance, in their collection from all lands. But the following is a declaration of what they suffered during their absence from their country. And this is the misery which the prophet first instances in this place, then shows the course the travellers took, and lastly acquaints us with the manner of their deliverance. Their misery was –
1. “That they wandered.” No small discomfort for an ingenious native to go from place to place as a vagrant. God’s people were for a time pilgrims; “few and evil were their days.”
2. The place adds to their misery. Travellers are not confined always to solitary places, they occasionally have company; but these “wandered in the wilderness in a solitary place,” c. Literally it was fulfilled in the Israelites, while they travelled through the wilderness.
3. “Hungry and thirsty.” Men may wander and be solitary and yet have a sufficient supply of food; but God’s people sometimes fast, as Elijah, David, c.
4. And the famine was so great “that their soul,” that is, their life, “was ready to faint.” This is the incrementum that the prophet uses to aggravate the misery of the travellers, and the several steps by which it rises.
The prophet shows the course which these travellers and hungry souls took for ease and help and that it did not fail them, nor any one else who has tried it.
1. “Then in their trouble.” God let them be brought into trouble to bring them back to himself.
2. “They cried.” In their petition they were very earnest; it was no cold prayer, which froze on the way before it got to heaven; but fervent. A cry.
3. “And they cried.” Not to any false god, but unto the Lord.
The success was answerable to their desire.
1. In general, “He delivered them out of their distresses.”
2. But in particular, the deliverance was every way fit.
1. “They wandered in the wilderness,” c., Ps 107:4. “But he led them forth, that they might go to a city of habitation.”
2. “They were hungry, and thirsty,” c. But “he filled the hungry soul,” &c.
And upon this he concludes his exhortation to praise God, which he is so earnest for them to do, that he inserts the exhortation between each mention of the mercies.
1. The Lord delivered: “The Lord led them forth.” Praise him then.
2. Of his mere mercy, not of desert. “For he is good.”
3. And the effects of his goodness were seen in his works let his praise then be as public as his works “O that men,” c.
The second corporeal misery to which men are subject is captivity and imprisonment he then shows the course the captives took, and God’s mercy in their deliverance.
1. Captives; they were taken by the enemy, put in dungeons and prisons, where they were debarred the comfort of the sun: “For they sat in darkness,” c., and in fear of death.
2. Besides, in this place “they were fast bound with affliction,” c., because of their rebellion against the Lord: “The iron entered into their soul.” “He brought them low” but they sought help of the Lord.
“They cried unto the Lord in their trouble.” “And found the same favour as the travellers did. “And he saved them out of their distresses.”
The manner was suitable to their distress.
1. “For they sat in darkness,” c. “But he brought them out,” &c.
2. “They were bound in affliction and iron,” &c. The prison was not so strong but he was stronger, and delivered them from captivity. Now the psalmist interposes his thanksgiving: “O that men,” &c.
The third misery is some great sickness or pining away of the body under some grievous disease, such as when stung by fiery serpents, as the Israelites. 1. He describes the danger under which they languished. 2. Shows the method they took for their recovery.
1. The appellation he fastens on the diseased persons, fools not but that, generally speaking, they were wise enough but in that they sinned with a high hand against God, “they are fools.”
2. Now such fools God often smites with an incurable disease: “Fools, because of their transgression,” c. Not but that all sickness is from sin but this that the prophet speaks of was their general apostasy, rebellion, and contempt of God’s will and commandment.
The effect was lamentable and double.
1. “Their soul abhorred all manner of meat.” Meat, with which the life of man is sustained, became loathsome to them, the disease was so grievous.
2. And deadly too; no art of the physician could cure them. “For they drew near to the gates of death,” that is, the grave, where Death exercises his power, as the judges of Israel did in the gates.
But these, being but dead men in the eye of man, took the same course as they did before.
1. “They cried unto the Lord in their trouble.”
2. And by God’s blessing they recovered; God was alone their Physician.
3. This was the manner of their cure. “He saved them out of their distress.”
1. “He sent his word, and healed them.” He said the word only, and they were made whole. Or if any medicine were made use of, it was his word which made it medicinal, as in the case of the bunch of figs, and therefore the prophet uses an apt word to put them in mind. “He sent his word,” as a great prince sends forth his ambassadors to do his commands. Most probably the centurion had this in his mind when he said, “Say the word only, and my servant shall be whole.”
2. “And he delivered them from their destructions,” which are opposed to their previous danger. “They drew nigh,” c.
3. But he exhorts the saved to be thankful: “O that men,” c.
And he adds,
1. “Let them sacrifice their sacrifices.”
2. But with these conditions and limitations: 1. That it be with a thankful heart, for an outward sacrifice is nothing. 2. That with the sacrifice there go an annunciation that men declare and publish that the cure came from God. 3. That it be done with rejoicing that we have an experience of God’s presence, favour, and mercy, for which the heart ought to rejoice more than for the cure of the body.
The fourth misery arises from the danger at sea.
1. He describes.
2. Shows the course they take in a storm.
3. And the event following upon their prayers.
Upon which he calls upon them, as upon the three before, to praise God.
1. “They that go down to the sea in ships.” For the sea is lower than the earth.
2. “That do business in great waters.” As merchants, mariners, c.
3. “These men see the works of the Lord,” c. Others hear of them by relation, but these see them: they see the great whales, innumerable kinds of fish, and monsters islands dispersed and safe in the waves, whirlpools, quicksands, rocks and have experience of the virtue of the loadstone. They discover many stars we know not; and they behold the vast workings of the sea, which fill the most valiant with fear.
4. “For he commandeth,” c.
Now he describes the tempest: –
1. From the cause. God speaks the word.
2. By it “he raiseth the stormy wind.”
3. Which, inspired by his word, “lifts up the waves thereof.”
——Fluctus ad sidera tollit.
“The waves arise to heaven.”
4. “They” (that is, the passengers) “mount up to heaven,” c.
Hi summo in fluctu pendent, his unda dehiscens.
“They hung upon the wave the sea yawns under them and the bottom seems to be laid bare between the surges.”
5. “Their soul its melted because of trouble.” Their spirit fails.
Extemplo AEneae solvuntur frigora membra.
“The limbs of the hero himself dissolve with terror.”
6. “They reel to and fro.” Tossed this way and that way.
Tres Eurus ab alto in brevia, et syrtes urget.
“They are dashed against the shoals and quicksands.”
7. “They stagger and totter,” c. An apt simile.
Cui dubli stantque labantque pedes.
“They cannot keep their feet.”
8. “And are at their wit’s end.” Omnis sapientia eorum absorbetur. – “Their judgment roves their art fails; their skill is at an end.”
Et meminisse viae media Palinurus in unda.
“Even the pilot loses his way in the troubled deep.”
Hitherto the prophet has poetically described the tempest and storm; and now he gives an account of the course they took to save their lives. “Then they cried unto the Lord,” c. An old proverb says: Qui nescit orare, discat navigare. “He who knows not how to pray, let him learn to be a sailor.”
And the consequence of their praying was:
“And he brings them out,” c. In this manner: –
1. “He makes the storm a calm.”
———Dicto citius tumida aequora placat.
“By his word the swelling sea becomes calm.”
2. “So that the waves thereof are still.” Et cunctus pelagi cecidit fragor. “And the noise of it is hushed to silence.”
3. “Then they are glad,” &c., no more reeling to and fro whence arises their joy.
———Laeto testantur gaudia plausu.
“The clapping of hands expresses their joy.”
4. And to increase it: “So he brings them to their desired haven.”
———Magno telluris amore,
Egressi optata nautae potiuntur arena,
Et sale tabentes artus in littore ponunt.
“The weather-beaten marines having reached the shore, in an ecstacy of joy kiss the sand, and lay themselves down upon the beach.”
And now, in the last place, he calls upon them to pay their tribute of thankful duty for the miracle done them in their preservation: “O that men would praise the Lord,” c.
And probably in their danger they might have made a vow, which is frequently done in such cases. Read the Life of Nazianzen. This vow the prophet would have them pay openly.
1. “Let them exalt him also in the congregation,” &c.
2. And that not only before the promiscuous multitude but “let them praise him in the assembly of the elders,” c. Sua tabula sacer votiva paries indicat, uvida suspendisse potenti vestimenta maris Deo. “Let them here suspend their votive tablet and hang their wet clothes against a wall, as a grateful offering to him who rules the seas.”
III. The prophet had exalted God’s mercies in freeing men from these four miseries and calamities these travellers through the wilderness, captivity, sickness, shipwreck; and now he manifests his power, providence, and wisdom, in the vicissitudes we meet with below. In the earth we see strange mutations; in kingdoms, wonderful revolutions; yet we must go higher, and not rest short of the hand which governs all.
The prophet first instances the earth’s changes.
1. “He turns rivers into a wilderness,” c. The fertility of any land arises from its rivers, as is apparent in Egypt from the overflowing of the Nile. And when Elisha would free the soil from barrenness, he first healed the waters. The drying up of rivers produces famine, and when the channels are directed from their courses, the fruitful land becomes a wilderness.
2. And the cause of this is: “The iniquity of them that dwell therein.”
On the contrary, God illustrates his mercy by sometimes changing the wilderness into a fruitful and abundant place.
1. “He turneth the wilderness into a standing water,” &c. They shall be fruitful for man’s sake.
2. “For there he makes the hungry to dwell.” God puts it into men’s minds to plant colonies in some newly found and good land, where the hungry find plenty and are satisfied.
3. And to build houses: “That they may prepare a city,” &c.
Pars aptare locum tecto, pars ducere muros.
“Some dig out the foundations, others raise the walls.”
4. The endeavours of the colonists are: 1. “To sow fields.” 2. “To plant vineyards.” Which was the first trade in the world.
5. And God’s blessing on those endeavours: “God blessed them also.” 1. In children: “So that they multiplied greatly.” 2. In cattle: “And suffered not their cattle to decrease.”
But there is nothing in this world perpetual and stable: even those whom God had sometimes blessed and enriched continued not at one stay.
1. These are “minished, and brought low.”
2. These are “worn out by oppression,” &c. By some public calamity, war, famine, invasion, &c.
Even monarchs are subject to changes.
1. “He pours contempt upon princes.” It is a heavy judgment for princes, civil or ecclesiastical, to become contemptible for then the reins of discipline are let loose, confusion follows, and all things grow worse. And this for the iniquity of those, c.
2. “He causeth them to wander in the wilderness,” &c., which clause is subject to a double interpretation.
Either that he suffers princes to err in their counsels, lives, and example or they enact unjust laws, favour wicked men, or oppress the good. But in the following verse there is some comfort.
“Yet setteth he the poor man on high,” c. Delivers him from all affliction.
“And maketh him families like a flock.” Becomes his shepherd, and governs him by his special providence.
IV. He concludes the Psalm with an epiphonema, in which he persuades good men to consider the former promises, and lay them to heart to observe the whole course of God’s providence, that they impute not the changes of the world to chance or fortune, but bless God for all his dispensations.
1. “The righteous shall see it,” &c. Consider, meditate upon it.
2. “And rejoice.” When they are assured that God is their Guardian, and that all he lays upon them is for their real good.
“And all iniquity shall stop her mouth.” By the observation of the event, at last evil doers shall not have cause to laugh and blaspheme, but to confess that all is justly and wisely done by God.
And this consideration is that of the wise man who looks afar off.
1. “Who is wise,” &c., so as to mark these changes in the world properly.
2. “And they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.” It shall be seen by them how ineffable is his mercy towards those who truly fear him, and call upon his name: but our life is hid with Christ in God.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Whoso is wise, and will observe these things; or, who (for the Hebrew particle mi is interrogative) is wise? for (as the conjunctive particle is frequently used) he will observe these things. All who are truly wise will consider all these events, and lay them to heart, as being very useful for their own instruction.
Even they, or each of them, all such wise and considering persons,
shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord; will see and acknowledge that God is kind or good to all, and that his tender mercies are over all his works, as it is said, Psa 145:9, and singularly kind and gracious to all wise and godly men.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Whoso is wise,…. Or as it may be read interrogatively, “who is wise?” as in Jer 9:12, that is, spiritually wise, wise unto salvation; who is made to know wisdom in the hidden part; for not such as are possessed of natural wisdom, or worldly wise men, much less who are wise to do evil, are here meant.
And will observe these things; the remarkable appearances of divine Providence to persons in distress; the various changes and vicissitudes in the world; the several afflictions of God’s people, and their deliverances out of them; the wonderful works of God in nature, providence, and grace; these will be observed, taken notice of, laid up in the mind, and kept by such who are truly wise, who know how to make a right use and proper improvement of them.
Even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord; everyone of the wise men; they will perceive the kindness of God unto all men, in the several dispensations of his providence towards them, and his special love and kindness towards his own people, even in all their afflictions; they will perceive this to be at the bottom of every mercy and blessing; they will understand more of the nature and excellency of it, and know more of the love of God and Christ, which passeth knowledge. Or “the kindnesses of the Lord shall be understood”: that is, by wise men; so R. Moses in Aben Ezra renders the words.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
43. Whosoever is wise, so as to observe these things. We are now informed that men begin to be wise when they turn their whole attention to the contemplation of the works of God, and that all others besides are fools. For however much they may pique themselves upon their superior acuteness and subtilty, all this is of no avail so long as they shut their eyes against the light which is presented to them. In employing this interrogatory form of address, he indirectly adverts to that false persuasion which prevails in the world, at the very time when the most daring heaven-despiser esteems himself to be the wisest of men; as if he should say, that all those who do not properly observe the providence of God, will be found to be nothing but fools. This caution is the more necessary, since we find that some of the greatest of philosophers were so mischievous as to devote their talents to obscure and conceal the providence of God, and, entirely overlooking his agency, ascribed all to secondary causes. At the head of these was Aristotle, a man of genius and learning; but being a heathen, whose heart was perverse and depraved, it was his constant aim to entangle and perplex God’s overruling providence by a variety of wild speculations; so much so, that it may with too much truth be said, that he employed his naturally acute powers of mind to extinguish all light. Besides, the prophet not only condemns the insensate Epicureans, whose insensibility was of the basest character, but he also informs us that a blindness, still greater and more detestable, was to be found among these great philosophers themselves. By the term, observe, he informs us, that the bare apprehension of the works of God is not enough, — they must be carefully considered in order that the knowledge of them may be deliberately and maturely digested. And, therefore, that it may be engraven upon our hearts, we must make these works the theme of our attentive and constant meditation. When the prophet says, Whosoever is wise, even they shall understand, the change of the singular into the plural number is beautifully appropriate. By the one he tacitly complains of the fewness of those who observe the judgments of God; as if he should say, How seldom do we meet with a person who truly and attentively considers the works of God! Then he adverts to the fact of their being so visibly before all, that it is impossible that men could overlook them, were it not that their minds are perverted by their own wickedness. And if any person be disposed to inquire how it comes to pass that the prophet, after treating of the judgments and severity of God, now makes mention of his loving-kindness, I answer, that his loving-kindness shines most conspicuously, and occupies a very prominent place in all that he does; for he is naturally prone to loving-kindness, by which also he draws us to himself.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(43) The psalm ends in the style, and almost in the very words, of the prophecy of Hosea. (Comp. Hos. 14:9.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
43. This is the conclusion of the whole.
Whoso is wise, and will observe these things That is, whosoever observes that God rewards and punishes the moral good or evil of men’s actions, shaping his life accordingly; and that penitence, prayer, and praise become all men: such shall experience the lovingkindness of the Lord.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 683
GODS LOVE SEEN IN ALL HIS DISPENSATIONS
Psa 107:43. Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.
TO know God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, is the highest privilege and perfection of man. This attainment, infinitely beyond all others, constitutes true wisdom. But to acquire this knowledge, it is necessary that we study well, not the book of Revelation only, but the records also of Gods providential dealings with mankind. The Word and works of God mutually reflect light on each other; and the more extensive and accurate our observation is of those things which occur from day to day, the more just will be our apprehension of Gods nature and perfections. True indeed it is, that, as far as theory is concerned, we may learn every thing from the Scripture alone: for in the world and in the Church we can find only a repetition of those things which are recorded in the Sacred Volume: but a practical sense of Gods love is greatly furthered by the constant exhibition of it which may be seen in his dealings with us; so that we may well say with the Psalmist, Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.
We propose to shew,
I.
What those things are which are here presented to our notice
To enter fully into them, we should distinctly consider the different representations which are here given of Gods merciful interposition in behalf of bewildered travellers, incarcerated prisoners, dying invalids, and mariners reduced to the lowest ebb of despondency. But instead of minutely prosecuting those different inquiries [Note: If this subject were used as a Thanksgiving after a Storm, or after a Recovery from Sickness, the particular circumstances should here be noticed, with an especial reference to that part of the psalm that is proper to the occasion.], we will draw your attention to the two principal points which pervade the whole; namely,
1.
The timely succour which he affords to the distressed
[The instances mentioned in the psalm are only a few out of the numberless interpositions which God vouchsafes to men in distress: but whatever be the trouble from which we are delivered, it is of infinite importance that we see the hand of God both in the trouble itself and in the deliverance from it. There is neither good nor evil in a city, but it must be traced to God as its author. Whether men or devils be the agents, it matters not; they can do nothing without a special licence from God himself: and hence, when men had plundered Job of all his possessions, and Satan had destroyed all his children, he equally ascribed the different events to God; The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Thus must we do: we must ascribe nothing to chance, and nothing to the creature, except as an instrument in the hands of God. If the folly or malignity of man injure us, or the wisdom or benevolence of man repair the injury, we must look through the second causes, and fix our eyes on God, as the first great Cause of all. If we see not God in the dispensations, of course we shall learn nothing of God from them: but if we behold his agency in them, then will our eyes be opened to see his wisdom and goodness also.]
2.
His condescending attention to their prayers
[In all the instances specified in this psalm, Gods interpositions are mentioned as answers to prayer: They cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. Many, alas! of the prayers which are offered in seasons of difficulty and distress have respect to nothing more than the particular occasion, and are accompanied with no real desire after God: yet even these prayers God often condescends to hear, just as he did the prayers in which Ahab deprecated the judgments denounced against him. But when the prayers proceed from a penitent and contrite heart, and are offered up in the prevailing name of Jesus Christ, God will hear them at all times and under all circumstances. We do not say that the precise thing which may be asked shall certainly be granted; because God may see that, on the whole, that would not prove a blessing to the person who asks it: but no prayer that is offered up in faith shall go forth in vain: it shall surely be answered, if not in the way expected or desired, at least in a way that shall ultimately prove most conducive to the good of him that offers it.]
These things being matters of daily occurrence, we shall proceed to mark,
II.
The benefit arising from an attentive consideration of them
From these we shall be led to notice, not merely the agency of God in all the concerns of man, but especially, and above all, his loving-kindness also. This will be seen,
1.
In the darkest dispensations of his providence
[Gods dearest children are not more exempt from trials than others: on the contrary, they are often most subjected to them. But in this the loving-kindness of God is especially manifest: for by their trials he leads them to more fervent prayer; that prayer brings to them more signal interpositions; and those interpositions fill them with joy, far overbalancing all the troubles they have endured. Let any child of God look back to his former life, and say, whether the events which once he regarded as the heaviest calamities, have not been overruled for his greatest good? Yes: it is not David only, but every child of God, that must say, It is good for me that I have been afflicted. We may indeed, like Jacob, say for a time, All these things are against me: but when we have seen the end and issue of the dispensation, we shall confess that the Lord has been pitiful to us, and of tender mercy [Note: Jam 5:11.]. If we view an insulated and individual occurrence, we may be perplexed respecting it; but if we view it in connexion with all that has preceded and followed it, we shall be able to set our seal to the truth of that promise, All things shall work together for good to them that love God. Whatever then be the affliction under which we are suffering, let us never for a moment lose sight of that truth, Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.]
2.
In the most painful operations of his grace
[The different circumstances adduced for the illustration of Gods providence may not unfitly be regarded as images to shadow forth also the operations of his grace. Truly in them we may see the wants and miseries, the helplessness and terrors, of an awakened soul. Who that knows any thing of his own state has not seen himself a wanderer from the ways of God, and perishing for lack of knowledge? Who has not groaned, and bitterly too, under the chains of sin by which he has been tied and bound? Who has not felt his inability to help himself, as much as if he had been dying of an incurable disorder? And who has not seen himself sinking, as it were, into the bottomless abyss, and been almost at his wits end, because he saw not how his soul could be saved? We do not mean to intimate, that all converted persons have felt these things in an equal degree: but all have felt them sufficiently to see the suitableness of these images to their own experience. What then shall we say? Does God, in suffering them to be so exercised, mark his displeasure against them? No: it is love, and love alone, that he manifests. Multitudes of others he leaves to follow their own evil ways without fear, and without remorse: but those whom he loves he awakens from their security: he sends his Holy Spirit to convince them of sin; he stirs them up to fervent prayer; and then, in answer to their prayers, he speaks peace to their souls. Those troubles were not at the time joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterwards they yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby.]
Advice
1.
View the hand of God in every thing
[Things may be called great or small by comparison; but, in fact, there is nothing small, when considered in relation to the possible events which may spring from it. The opening of the book precisely in the place where the services of Mordecai to Ahasuerus were recorded, was as much a work of God as any other that is contained in the Sacred Volume [Note: Est 6:1-3.]: and the circumstances connected with it were of incalculable importance to the whole Jewish nation. Let nothing then be accounted small: but receive every thing as from God, and endeavour to improve every thing for him: and then shall every thing enrich you with wisdom, and inflame your souls with gratitude and love.]
2.
Take occasion from every thing to spread your wants before him in prayer
[The great, the universal remedy, to which we should have recourse, is Prayer. Prayer will turn every thing to gold. Whether our trials be of a temporal or spiritual nature, they cannot fail of proving blessings if only they drive us to a throne of grace. The direction of God himself is, that in every thing we should make our requests known to him: and, on our doing so, we are assured, that the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus [Note: Php 4:6-7.]. If we call upon him in the time of trouble, he will hear us, and turn all our complaints into praise and thanksgiving.]
3.
Give him the glory of all the deliverances you receive
[On all the different occasions mentioned in the psalm, it is said, O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness! This is the tribute which all of us are called to pay; and the very end which God proposes to himself, both in our trials and deliverances, is, to make us sensible of his goodness, and to draw forth from us the tribute of a grateful heart. Whoso offereth him praise, glorifieth him. See to it then that your daily mercies call forth suitable returns of love and gratitude: and thus will you be preparing gradually for that blessed day, when all the mysterious designs of God, which now you could not penetrate, shall be unravelled, and all your sorrows terminate in endless joy.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
This seems to be a general conclusion. The man of God having taken up the subject from the beginning, and shown how all men, and especially the redeemed, ought to bless God for his goodness: and having instanced, in the different and diversified events which are going on in life, as well in the world of providence as in grace, how the Lord is watching over his people for good, and will ultimately punish the evil; he makes this the closing reflection: “The wise will ponder and observe it; and they that do so shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.”
REFLECTIONS
AND now, Reader, what ought to be the result of all this long and beautiful discourse, but in a direct application of it to ourselves, to bless God, and to give him thanks forever? And oh! if you and I can mark down in our own history, the subject of redemption, what loud and increased notes of praise ought to swell our song: He remembered us in our low estate, for his mercy endureth forever. Say, my soul! hath the Lord gathered thee out of the lands! Hath he taken thee home to himself? Did he find thee in a waste and barren land, hungry and thirsty, and every hope dried up within thee? And hath he brought thee by a right way, to a city of habitation? Oh! then, praise the Lord for his goodness, and declare the wonders which he doeth to the children of men.
And see that Jesus is increasingly precious to thee for the time to come. All thine interest and security is from God’s covenant love in Christ. There is no mercy out of Christ; all the acceptation of our persons, and the everlasting security of the redeemed, all is in Jesus. See to it, then, that all thy fresh springs are in him.
And oh! that a sense of past mercies might be made the dependence and security of the future! If the Lord remembered thee in thy low estate, when thinking nothing of him; surely his grace will have respect to thee now, when desiring his knowledge and his love. For if while thine heart was harder than stone, Jesus passed by, and bid thee live; he will not cast thee off now he hath softened thine heart by his grace. Precious Lord Jesus! in thee I find all things, both for present peace and future happiness; and therefore to thee I come, on thee I depend, and from thee I look for all things. The Lord is my strength and my song; and he is become my salvation, Amen.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 107:43 Whoso [is] wise, and will observe these [things], even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
Ver. 43. Whoso is wise ] Heb. Who is wise? q.d. not many. Exclamatio querulatoria (Piscat.). Rari quippe boni. None but those that observe providences, and lay up experiences; which, if men would do, they might have a divinity of their own, were they but well read in the story of their own lives.
Even they shall understand, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
lovingkindness = lovingkindnesses (plural) Same word as “mercy”, in Psa 107:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
is wise: Psa 28:5, Psa 64:9, Isa 5:12, Jer 9:12, Dan 10:12, Hos 14:9
they shall understand: Psa 50:23, Jer 9:24, Eph 3:18, Eph 3:19
Reciprocal: Gen 19:19 – and thou Gen 24:21 – wondering at Deu 32:29 – O that Job 34:27 – would Psa 14:2 – any Psa 37:10 – thou Psa 111:2 – sought Pro 21:12 – wisely Pro 23:26 – let Pro 24:23 – things Ecc 7:13 – Consider Isa 42:20 – Seeing Isa 48:6 – hast heard Dan 12:10 – but the wise Mic 6:9 – and Hag 2:15 – consider Rom 11:25 – I would 1Ti 5:21 – that Jam 3:13 – is a Rev 13:18 – Here
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 107:43. Whoso is wise, and will observe these things All who are truly wise will consider all these events, and will treasure up in their hearts the contents of this most instructive and delightful Psalm. Even they Or, and they, namely, each of them; all such wise and considerate persons, shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord Will see and acknowledge that God is kind and good to all, and that his tender mercies are over all his works; and that he is singularly kind and gracious to all wise and godly persons. He will not only be fully assured of Gods goodness, but will become experimentally acquainted and duly affected with it.