Show Bible Commentary For A Bible Verse

Click here to show/hide instructions.

Selected Verse: Psalms 107:1 - King James

Verse	Translation	Text
Ps 107:1	King James	O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

Open All | Close All Open All | Close All

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
Although the general theme of this Psalm may have been suggested by God's special favor to the Israelites in their restoration from captivity, it must be regarded as an instructive celebration of God's praise for His merciful providence to all men in their various emergencies. Of these several are given--captivity and bondage, wanderings by land and sea, and famine; some as evidences of God's displeasure, and all the deliverances as evidence of His goodness and mercy to them who humbly seek Him. (Psa. 107:1-43) This call for thankful praise is the burden or chorus (compare Psa 107:8, Psa 107:15, &c.).

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

Although the general theme of this Psalm may have been suggested by God's special favor to the Israelites in their restoration from captivity, it must be regarded as an instructive celebration of God's praise for His merciful providence to all men in their various emergencies. Of these several are given--captivity and bondage, wanderings by land and sea, and famine; some as evidences of God's displeasure, and all the deliverances as evidence of His goodness and mercy to them who humbly seek Him. (Psa. 107:1-43)

This call for thankful praise is the burden or chorus (compare Psa 107:8, Psa 107:15, &c.).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good - See the notes at Psa 106:1. For his mercy endureth for ever - He is unchanging in his mercy. It is an attribute of his very nature. He is constantly manifesting it. The word rendered "mercy" here, however - חסד chesed - is more general in its signification than our word "mercy." Our word means "favor shown to the guilty;" the Hebrew word means kindness, goodness, benignity in general. It is this which is celebrated in the psalm before us.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good - See the notes at Psa 106:1.

For his mercy endureth for ever - He is unchanging in his mercy. It is an attribute of his very nature. He is constantly manifesting it. The word rendered "mercy" here, however - חסד chesed - is more general in its signification than our word "mercy." Our word means "favor shown to the guilty;" the Hebrew word means kindness, goodness, benignity in general. It is this which is celebrated in the psalm before us.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The introit, with the call upon them to grateful praise, is addressed to the returned exiles. The Psalm carries the marks of its deutero-Isaianic character on the very front of it, viz.: "the redeemed of Jahve," taken from Isa 62:12, cf. Psa 63:4; Psa 35:9.; קבּץ as in Isa 56:8, and frequently; "from the north and from the sea," as in Isa 49:12 : "the sea" (ים) here (as perhaps there also), side by side with east, west, and north, is the south, or rather (since ים is an established usus loquendi for the west) the south-west, viz., the southern portion of the Mediterranean washing the shores of Egypt. With this the poet associates the thought of the exiles of Egypt, as with וּממּערב the exiles of the islands, i.e., of Asia Minor and Europe; he is therefore writing at a period in which the Jewish state newly founded by the release of the Babylonian exiles had induced the scattered fellow-countrymen in all countries to return home. Calling upon the redeemed ones to give thanks to God the Redeemer in order that the work of the restoration of Israel may be gloriously perfected amidst the thanksgiving of the redeemed ones, he forthwith formulates the thanksgiving by putting the language of thanksgiving of the ancient liturgy (Jer 33:11) into their mouth. The nation, now again established upon the soil of the fatherland, has, until it had acquired this again, seen destruction in every form in a strange land, and can tell of the most manifold divine deliverances. The call to sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving is expanded accordingly into several pictures portraying the dangers of the strange land, which are not so much allegorical, personifying the Exile, as rather exemplificative.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

The introit, with the call upon them to grateful praise, is addressed to the returned exiles. The Psalm carries the marks of its deutero-Isaianic character on the very front of it, viz.: "the redeemed of Jahve," taken from Isa 62:12, cf. Psa 63:4; Psa 35:9.; קבּץ as in Isa 56:8, and frequently; "from the north and from the sea," as in Isa 49:12 : "the sea" (ים) here (as perhaps there also), side by side with east, west, and north, is the south, or rather (since ים is an established usus loquendi for the west) the south-west, viz., the southern portion of the Mediterranean washing the shores of Egypt. With this the poet associates the thought of the exiles of Egypt, as with וּממּערב the exiles of the islands, i.e., of Asia Minor and Europe; he is therefore writing at a period in which the Jewish state newly founded by the release of the Babylonian exiles had induced the scattered fellow-countrymen in all countries to return home. Calling upon the redeemed ones to give thanks to God the Redeemer in order that the work of the restoration of Israel may be gloriously perfected amidst the thanksgiving of the redeemed ones, he forthwith formulates the thanksgiving by putting the language of thanksgiving of the ancient liturgy (Jer 33:11) into their mouth. The nation, now again established upon the soil of the fatherland, has, until it had acquired this again, seen destruction in every form in a strange land, and can tell of the most manifold divine deliverances. The call to sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving is expanded accordingly into several pictures portraying the dangers of the strange land, which are not so much allegorical, personifying the Exile, as rather exemplificative.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
O give thanks - Here is a duty prescribed; and the reasons of it are immediately laid down. 1. He is good. This is his nature. 2. His mercy endureth for ever. This is the stream that flows from the fountain of his goodness.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826

O give thanks - Here is a duty prescribed; and the reasons of it are immediately laid down.

1. He is good. This is his nature.

2. His mercy endureth for ever.

This is the stream that flows from the fountain of his goodness.

Top