Psalms 107

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. Wesley opens the psalm as God's providential care for people in distress who cry to Him and are helped.

Both hear: praise frames every deliverance that follows. What comes through is a sincere call to thank the God whose love endures—mercy that invites the redeemed to speak.

Calvin: this verse, also opening the previous psalm, was often answered in chorus—Praise Jehovah, because He is good. The penman inserts thanksgiving where Israel so often began.

Steadfast love forever grounds gratitude before any story of rescue. Give thanks; He is good; love endures.

Let the redeemed by the LORD say so, those he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary. The rescued are not to stay silent; redemption calls for confession of the Deliverer.

"say so" is earnest invitation—those God has redeemed from trouble are urged to testify. Here the reader meets redeeming love that sincerely summons the freed to speak.

Calvin: let the redeemed of Jehovah who have returned from captivity come forth and publish His loving-kindness. They are redeemed because God's outstretched hand was their guard; wanderings were not chance.

Redeemed of the Lord name those God has actually brought out. Both see: redeemed; say so; from trouble.

And gathered out of the lands, from east and west, north and south. Wesley: Gathered—into their own land.

Undisputed: gathering is God's work across the compass. Wesley’s tradition hears a God who sincerely gathers the scattered and calls them home.

Calvin: whom He has gathered out of the lands from every quarter. Not casual travel but return under providence from exile and danger.

Gathering proves the Redeemer's hand. Gathered from the lands; every direction.

They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way. They found no city to live in. Wesley: No city—no town inhabited where they might refresh themselves.

No dispute here: homelessness without a path is misery. Classical Arminians preach a God who sees wanderers and later leads them straight.

Calvin: they wandered in the solitary desert and found no city of habitation—lonely places where hunger and thirst threaten death unless the Lord rescue.

Desert as stage for providence, not fortune. Wandered; no city to dwell in.

Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

Both affirm: bodily need empties the soul. Arminian interpreters hear faintness that drives sincere cry—need that grace meets without mocking the hungry.

Calvin: hungry and thirsty until the soul faints—hourly hazard of death in the desert unless God interposes.

Extremity prepares the cry of v. 6. The wanderers were hungry and thirsty, and their soul fainted.

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. Wesley: The Lord—unto Jehovah, the true God; even heathens had some knowledge of Him.

Cry and deliverance are linked—prayer answered. Arminian readers glory that God helps those in distress in answer to their prayers.

Calvin: in straits they called upon Jehovah. The verbs show continued action: when hope fails, then they cry. God often delivers even those whose hope does not center on Him, constraining acknowledgment that help is from Him alone.

Cry may be instinct under pressure; deliverance still from God. Where they meet: cried; delivered from distress.

He led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in. Wesley: Forth—out of the wilderness.

God leads; the city is gift. Arminian readers preach guidance as kindness toward the lost who cried.

Calvin: by God's hand they were led into the right way to a place of lodging. He connects mercy with wondrous works so silence would be impious.

Straight way is providence, not luck. Both traditions hear: led; straight way; city to dwell in.

Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!

Common reading: thanksgiving is owed. Wesley’s heirs hear "children of men" as wide horizon—works that invite all who see them to praise.

Calvin: let them celebrate His mercy and marvelous works before the sons of men. To remain silent after such deliverance would obscure God's glory.

Ingratitude after rescue is wickedness. Thank; steadfast love; wondrous works.

For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good things.

Both confess: longing and hunger met with good. Classical Arminians preach a God who fills—not with empty promise but with good for the soul that cries.

Calvin: He has satisfied the longing soul and filled the famished with good. The reflective line seals why thanks is due.

Satisfaction is God's verb. Satisfies; fills with good things.

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and in irons. Wesley: Darkness—in dark prisons or dungeons.

Either reading: bondage named without soft edges. Arminians hear prisoners whose later cry God still hears.

Calvin: another species of danger—darkness and shadow of death, bound in affliction and iron. Afflictions are God's rod; remedy is in His grace alone, not chance.

Captivity as judgment and stage for deliverance. Both sides agree: darkness; shadow of death; irons.

For they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High.

Rebellion and contempt of counsel are sins under light. Arminians preach spurning as willful resistance—counsel rejected, not never offered.

Calvin: afflictions do not happen by chance. He charges not mere sin but rebellion against God's word—best regulation of life is prompt obedience. Until people see troubles as God's appointment, they will not ask Him for deliverance.

Rebellion explains the irons. Both traditions see: rebelled; spurned counsel.

Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help. Wesley: Heart—the pride and obstinacy of their hearts; Fell—into hopeless miseries.

Pride brought low; no human helper. Arminians hear labor that humbles so the cry of v. 13 may be sincere.

Calvin: hard labor bows the heart; they fall with none to help—hopeless until God acts. Brazen gates and iron bars (v. 16) will enhance the later benefit.

Extremity strips false helpers. Both note: bowed down; fell; none to help.

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

Common confession: same refrain as the desert cry. This is repeated mercy—God still answers prisoners who call.

Calvin: again they cry and He delivers. Sighs and cries testify against later ingratitude—when in straits they confess God as deliverer; peace must not erase that confession.

Remember the cry after the rescue. Both readings hold: cried; delivered.

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke away their bonds apart.

Both agree: out of darkness; bonds broken. Wesleyan Arminians preach liberation as pattern of gospel freedom—bonds that God alone bursts.

Calvin: brought out of darkness and shadow of death; bands broken. Deliverance from perpetual slavery magnifies grace.

God breaks what humans cannot. God brought them out and burst their bonds.

Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!

Agreed: refrain of thanks after prison-rescue. Classical Arminians urge the freed not to mute the praise due.

Calvin: again the chorus—celebrate mercy and marvelous works. Ingratitude after wonder is charged as forgetting the Deliverer.

Thanks is duty of the released. Both hear: thank; steadfast love; wondrous works.

For he has broken the gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron.

Bronze and iron yield to God. Arminians hear strength that frees—no gate too strong for the Lord who answers cry.

Calvin: brazen gates and iron bars named to enhance the benefit—chains of perpetual slavery broken asunder.

Only God shatters such doors. Both see: shatters bronze; cuts iron bars.

Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction. Wesley: Afflicted—with sickness.

Folly is moral, not merely mental—sinful ways bring affliction. Arminian readers warn that chosen paths of sin still meet a God who can heal when they cry.

Calvin: fools afflicted for the way of their transgression. Fools are those who, giving themselves to sensuality, bring destruction; fear of God is wisdom, so shaking off His yoke is folly and fury.

Fatal diseases make grace conspicuous when deliverance comes. Undisputed: fools; sinful ways; affliction.

They loathed any kind of food. They draw near to the gates of death.

No dispute here: appetite gone; death's gates near. Arminians hear extremity that still leaves room for the cry of v. 19.

Calvin: they loathe all food and approach the gates of death—not slight illness but cases where hope is abandoned, so grace shines when life returns.

Near-death frames the word that heals. Both affirm: loathed food; gates of death.

Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, and he saves them out of their distresses. He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their distress.

Where they meet: third cry-and-deliver refrain. Arminian readers preach that sickness under sin does not bar sincere calling on the Lord.

Calvin: they call when reduced to straits, acknowledging they would be undone without His wonderful help.

Cry in illness still reaches God. They cried out, and God delivered them.

He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves. Wesley: Word—His command, or blessing.

Healing word is living command—God speaks and restores. Arminians glory that the same God who wounds by folly can heal by word when they cry.

Calvin: He sends His word—God has but to will or speak, and disease and death are expelled. Bodily recovery by the word images how souls live only as His word is apprehended; yet mercy here extends even toward the evil and unthankful.

Word as effective command of the Healer. Both traditions hear: sent His word; healed; delivered from destruction.

Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of man!

Healing should lead to thanksgiving. Arminians urge the recovered to praise, not only privately but as duty.

Calvin: again celebrate mercy before the sons of men. Recovery that baffled human skill must not be muted.

Wondrous works demand voice. Common reading: thank; steadfast love; wondrous works.

And Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds in songs of joy!

Both confess: thanks becomes sacrifice and song. The verse presses public joy—deeds told so others may trust the Healer.

Calvin: sacrifice of thanksgiving explains how God is robbed if providence is not recognized. To acknowledge His bounty is most acceptable; even nature teaches homage after escape from peril.

Silence after healing is theft of glory. Sacrifices of thanksgiving; songs of joy.

Those who go down to the sea in ships and do business in great waters see his works. Classical Arminians hear sailors whose later cry God will still answer.

Calvin: those who go down to the sea see God's wonders; their lives often hang on storms He raises and calms—as if brought from the tomb to light.

Sea business under providence. Either reading: ships; great waters.

These see the LORD’s deeds, and his wonders in the deep.

Both sides agree: the deep displays deeds. Arminian interpreters preach works meant to be seen and later praised.

Calvin: mariners are fit witnesses of God's works—more vast wonders than on land—especially as the next lines show storm and calm by His word.

Deep as classroom of providence. Both traditions see: deeds; wondrous works in the deep.

For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves of the sea.

Storm answers His command. Wesleyan Arminians refuse chance—wind rises because God speaks.

Calvin: He speaks and the winds blow; sudden changes proceed from God's secret appointment, not from the sea's own will.

Command precedes the swell. Both note: commanded; raised the stormy wind.

They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts away in their evil plight;

Common confession: terror that melts courage. Arminian interpreters hear human end so that divine help may be clear.

Calvin: they mount to heaven and descend to the deeps—death stares; the picture of peril makes goodness conspicuous when the storm ceases without loss.

Courage that melts in the storm strips away self-trust. Both readings hold: mounted; went down; courage melted.

They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.

Both agree: skill fails; wit ends. Arminian readers preach the end of counsel as the door of cry (v. 28).

Calvin: they reel like drunkards; all wisdom swallowed up—skill baffled, sails and sounding useless; they give themselves to wind and wave, then cry.

Wits' end is pedagogical. Agreed: reeled; staggered; wits' end.

Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress.

Both hear: fourth cry-and-deliver refrain at sea. Wesleyan Arminians hear prayer when every art fails—and God still delivers.

Calvin: all human aid failing, they cry to God—evidence they had been as it were dead. Deliverance from such peril is convincing proof of His care.

Cry at wits' end still heard. Both see: cried; delivered.

He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves grow still.

Storm still; waves hushed. Classical Arminians glory that the God who raised the wind also stills it for those who cried.

Calvin: He makes the storm a calm—not human agency but providence presiding; God restrains raging billows until the deep is smooth as a mirror.

Calm is as much His act as the storm. Undisputed: storm still; waves hushed.

Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven.

No dispute here: gladness and haven are gifts. Arminian interpreters preach arrival as kindness after terror—joy that should become praise.

Calvin: after great terror, joy; forgetfulness after remarkable deliverance would be striking ingratitude. They have been instructed by storm and calm that life is in God's hand.

Haven seals the lesson. Glad; quiet waters; desired haven.

Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds for the children of men!

Both affirm: fourth thanksgiving refrain. Arminian interpreters urge sailors and all who hear to thank, not whisper only at home.

Calvin: gratitude deserves to be magnified in all places, even great assemblies—not only private mention.

Public thanks after public peril. Where they meet: thank; steadfast love; wondrous works.

Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders. Wesley: Exalt Him—in public assemblies; Elders—magistrates; let them not be ashamed to speak of God's works before the greatest.

Praise before people and elders—no fear of rank. Listen here for open confession as duty of the delivered.

Calvin: specific mention of elders—the more wisdom and experience, the more capable of listening and witnessing these praises.

Congregation and elders as proper theater of praise. Both traditions hear: extol; congregation; assembly of elders.

He turns rivers into a desert, water springs into a thirsty ground. Wesley: Rivers—well-watered fruitful grounds; Into—dry ground like a barren wilderness.

God reverses fertility. Arminians hear judgment that can still warn and call to repentance.

Calvin: fruitful lands become unfruitful—folly to attribute to chance. God pours wrath by taking blessing; moisture that fed plants is withdrawn.

Landscape change as providence. Rivers to desert; springs to thirsty ground.

A fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it. Wesley: For—He does not inflict these judgments without cause, but for punishment of sin in some and prevention in others.

Evil of inhabitants is cause—judgment moral, not arbitrary. Classical Arminians preach warning that fruitful places can be lost through persistent evil.

Calvin: the earth is cursed on account of the iniquity of its inhabitants, who prove undeserving of His bounty. Saltness images extreme sterility; judgments are tokens of displeasure summoning sinners before His throne.

Evil explains the salty waste. Fruitful to salt; because of evil.

He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs. Wesley: Water—into a well-watered and fruitful land.

Common reading: reverse mercy after reverse judgment. Arminian readers preach a God who can make waste bloom for the hungry He will settle.

Calvin: desert turned into a pool displays miraculous power and goodness—parched ground becomes fruitful contrary to former nature.

Same hand that dries also waters. Desert to pools; parched to springs.

And a dry land into water springs. There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in. Wesley: Hungry—poor people who could not provide for themselves.

Both confess: hungry housed; city founded. Arminian interpreters hear kindness to the poor who could not secure a home alone.

Calvin: the famishing whom the world refuses, expatriated, are comfortably supplied in desert places God blesses with abundance; cities rise where once was no cottage.

God settles the hungry. Either reading: hungry dwell; establish a city.

They sow fields, plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.

Both sides agree: sowing and planting succeed under God. Classical Arminians preach fruit as gift that should lead to thanks, not pride.

Calvin: they sow and plant where cultivation was unknown—the land assumes a new aspect; fruit of annual increase is perennial by design, not a brief anomaly.

Yield traces to blessing. Sow; plant; fruitful yield.

By His blessing they are multiplied greatly. He doesn’t allow their livestock diminish.

Both traditions see: blessing multiplies; livestock kept. The passage carries increase as stewardship trust—gift that can be abused if hearts grow secure (v. 39).

Calvin: entirely owing to the Divine blessing that those once in want now increase in good things.

Multiply by blessing, not bare effort. Both note: by His blessing; multiply; livestock.

When they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow. Wesley: They—men who when exalted grow insolent and secure; Low—by God's just judgment.

Exaltation without humility invites being brought low. Arminians warn that security after blessing is itself sin God may judge.

Calvin: mankind do not forever continue the same—decreased by war, pestilence, or turmoil when God withdraws the grace that was the hidden spring of prosperity.

Diminishment when blessing is withdrawn. Common confession: diminished; brought low; oppression, evil, sorrow.

He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste. Wesley: Contempt—renders them despicable; Wander—banishes them from courts and kingdoms into desolate wildernesses.

Both readings hold: princes not exempt. The accent falls on leveling justice—rank cannot shield contempt God pours.

Calvin: God pours contempt on princes—their inward honor was His gift; when He hurls them from loftiness, even dependants may sport with them. History corroborates this overruling providence.

Majesty of rulers stands by God's gift and falls by His judgment. Both agree: contempt on princes; wander in wastes.

Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like flocks.

Classical Arminians preach reversal that comforts the low and warns the proud.

Calvin: as contrast, the poor and ignoble are exalted and houses increased—those held in no estimation suddenly rise. Men would recognize providence if perversity did not blind them.

God lifts the needy. Raises the needy; families like flocks.

The upright will see it, and be glad. All wickedness shuts its mouth.

Both hear: upright rejoice; wickedness silenced. Arminian interpreters hear moral clarity—providence that gladdens the just and stops the mouth of evil.

Calvin: the righteous see and rejoice—faith illuminates so they delight in God's equity and goodness; the wicked remain perplexed and mute, seeing yet not seeing.

Joy of the upright; mouth of wickedness stopped. Both see: upright glad; wickedness shuts its mouth.

Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the loving kindnesses of the LORD.

Wisdom is attending and considering—steadfast love studied in the stories of cry and rescue. Classical Arminians urge every hearer to observe and trust that love.

Calvin: men begin to be wise when they turn attention to God's works; all others are fools however sharp they seem. Observe—not bare glance but careful meditation; then they understand Jehovah's loving-kindness, which shines in all He does.

Wisdom equals observing providence and steadfast love. Undisputed: wise; attend; consider steadfast love.