the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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World English Bible
Psalms 107:43
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Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord .
Whoso is wise shall give heed to these things, and they shall consider the mercies of the LORD.
Whoever is wise will give heed to these things; And they will consider the loving-kindnesses of Yahweh.
Whoever is wise will remember these things and will think about the love of the Lord .
Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things! Let them consider the Lord 's acts of loyal love!
Whoever [is] wise, and will observe these [things], even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the LORD.
Who is wise? Let him observe and heed these things; And [thoughtfully] consider the lovingkindness of the LORD.
Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord .
Who is wijs, and schal kepe these thingis; and schal vndirstonde the mercies of the Lord?
Let him who is wise pay heed to these things and consider the loving devotion of the LORD.
Be wise! Remember this and think about the kindness of the Lord .
Whoso is wise will give heed to these things; And they will consider the lovingkindnesses of Jehovah.
Let the wise give thought to these things, and see the mercies of the Lord.
Let whoever is wise observe these things and consider Adonai 's loving deeds.
Whoso is wise, let him observe these things, and let them understand the loving-kindnesses of Jehovah.
Whoever is wise will remember these things and begin to understand the Lord 's faithful love.
Whoso is wise, let him observe these things, and let them consider the mercies of the LORD.
Who so is wise, and will obserue those things; euen they shall vnderstand the louing kindenesse of the Lord.
Let the wise man think about these things. And may he think about the loving-kindness of the Lord.
Let those who are wise give heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love of the Lord .
Who is wise that hee may obserue these things? for they shall vnderstand the louing kindnesse of the Lord.
Whosoever is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
May those who are wise think about these things; may they consider the Lord 's constant love.
Who is wise? then let him observe these things! and diligently consider the lovingkindness of Yahweh.
(106-43) Who is wise, and will keep these things; and will understand the mercies of the Lord?
Whoever is wise, let him give heed to these things; let men consider the steadfast love of the LORD.
Whosoeuer is wyse, he wyll both obserue these thinges: and also well consider the louing kindnesse of God.
Who is wise, and will observe these things, and understand the mercies of the Lord?
Let whoever is wise pay attention to these thingsand consider the Lord’s acts of faithful love.
Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the lovingkindnesses of the LORD.
Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord .
Whoever is wise, then let him observe these things, and let them consider Yahweh's acts of loyal love.
Whoever is wise and will observe these things , they shall discern the mercies of Jehovah.
Who [is] wise, and observeth these? They understand the kind acts of Jehovah!
Who so is wyse, and pondreth these thinges well, shall vnderstonde the louynge kyndnesses of the LORDE.
Who is wise? He is to pay attention to these things, And consider the mercy of the LORD.
Whoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, And consider the lovingkindnesses of the Lord .
Who is wise? Let him keep these things,And carefully consider the lovingkindnesses of Yahweh.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
is wise: Psalms 28:5, Psalms 64:9, Isaiah 5:12, Jeremiah 9:12, Daniel 10:12, Hosea 14:9
they shall understand: Psalms 50:23, Jeremiah 9:24, Ephesians 3:18, Ephesians 3:19
Reciprocal: Genesis 19:19 - and thou Genesis 24:21 - wondering at Deuteronomy 32:29 - O that Job 34:27 - would Psalms 14:2 - any Psalms 37:10 - thou Psalms 111:2 - sought Proverbs 21:12 - wisely Proverbs 23:26 - let Proverbs 24:23 - things Ecclesiastes 7:13 - Consider Isaiah 42:20 - Seeing Isaiah 48:6 - hast heard Daniel 12:10 - but the wise Micah 6:9 - and Haggai 2:15 - consider Romans 11:25 - I would 1 Timothy 5:21 - that James 3:13 - is a Revelation 13:18 - Here
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Whoso is wise,.... Or as it may be read interrogatively, "who is wise?" as in Jeremiah 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.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
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 âproperâ 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 âinnumerableâ 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 âeternityâ 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!
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Psalms 107:43. 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 — ×ס×× ×××× 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, Psalms 107:1-2.
II. A declaration of his goodness in particular.
I. To the travellers and strangers, famished, Psalms 107:3-9.
2. To the prisoners and captives, Psalms 107:10-16.
3. To the sick, Psalms 107:16-23.
4. To the mariners, Psalms 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, Psalms 107:33-42.
IV. The conclusion, which sets forth the use we are to make of it, Psalms 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. Matthew 8:11; John 10:16 John 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., Psalms 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.
