Psalm 107:1-3

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. Psalm 107:1 Book V of the Psalter. Two collections are included in this final part: the pilgrimage chants or “Songs of Ascent” (Pss 120–134) and the Hallel or “Praise” psalms (113–118; 120–136; 146–150). In addition, we see a further group of psalms attributed to David (Pss 138–145). Jewish tradition also groups together Pss 113–118, known as the Egyptian Hallel, for use at the Passover. The “hymn” sung at the Last Supper (see Mk 14:26) was probably part of that Hallel.
   Although cries of supplication still form part of the prayer of the psalmist, joy begins to radiate upon the face of the pilgrim who draws near to the Lord; the acclamation voiced in the presence of God will transform the conclusion of the Psalter into a prodigious symphony of happiness.
2. Psalm 107:1 Even though this psalm is not part of Book IV, many believe that it was originally associated with Pss 105–106 and served as a kind of conclusion to the theme-related Pss 104–107. After the account of God’s works in creation (see Ps 104:2-26) and his care for the animal world (see Ps 104:27-30) it recounts “the wonders [God] does for people” (Ps 107:8).
   Psalm 107 is a thanksgiving for “God’s deliverances.” Persons in distress have cried out to him and obtained help: wandering voyagers (vv. 4-9), prisoners (vv. 10-16), the sick (vv. 17-22), and the shipwrecked (vv. 23-32). The Lord reverses situations as he pleases (vv. 33-41), but only the believer can discern the divine action. Beneath the concrete life of the era, evoked at times with humor (vv. 26-27 remind us that the Israelites were not very seaworthy), we see the history of the chosen people: the journeys of the Exodus and the Exile, their temptations and their sins.
   Visibly the author takes his inspiration from the Book of Consolation (see Isa 40–55) and the writings of the sages (see Job; Wis 16). Thanksgivings that are at first private, ultimately express the gratitude of an entire people. For the believer, the events become signs: they invite him to discover in his life and that of the community of peoples a secret presence of God.
   Christians pray this psalm to praise the Father for redeeming us in Christ. We have been saved by him from the hand of the infernal oppressor, gathered by him into the Church, and delivered by his love from the spiritual death to which we were doomed by the state in which Satan bound us and which was symbolized by the image of the wilderness, captivity, sickness, and the storm.
3. Psalm 107:1 A conventional cry of praise in the liturgy of the temple often cited in the Old Testament (see Pss 106:1; 118:1; 136:1; 1 Chr 16:34; 1 Mac 4:24; Jer 33:11; Dan 3:89). Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.
4. Psalm 107:3 From the lands: e.g., Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, and Moab, into which the catastrophe of 587 B.C. had dispersed the chosen people (see 2 Ki 17:6; 24:12-16; Isa 11:11f; 43:5f; Jer 52:28-30). South: literally, “[the] sea.”