Commentary - Psalm 107:10-16

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 107 is a grand anthem of redemption, a call for the redeemed of the Lord to say so. The psalmist provides a series of four vignettes, four representative examples of God's deliverance, before concluding with a wisdom meditation on God's steadfast love. The passage before us, verses 10 through 16, is the second of these vignettes. It describes the plight of those imprisoned in darkness, not because of random misfortune, but as a direct consequence of their rebellion against the words and counsel of God. This is a picture of covenantal judgment. God Himself brings them low, subduing their hearts with hard labor. But this discipline is not merely punitive; it is medicinal. It is designed to bring them to the end of themselves, to a place where they have nowhere to turn but to Him. And when they cry out, He hears and He saves. The deliverance is as total as the bondage was severe. He shatters the very instruments of their captivity, the bronze doors and iron bars, bringing them out of the shadow of death into the light of His lovingkindness. The required response, the refrain of the psalm, is then stated: give thanks to Yahweh for His wondrous deeds.

This is the gospel pattern in miniature. Man's rebellion leads to bondage. God's sovereign discipline brings man to despair of his own strength. A cry for mercy is met with radical, powerful deliverance. And the result is heartfelt gratitude and public testimony. This is not just Israel's story; it is the story of every sinner brought out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of God's beloved Son.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 107 begins Book V of the Psalter (Psalms 107-150). This final book has a strong doxological and post-exilic flavor, focusing heavily on praise and the restoration of Israel after the judgment of the exile. Psalm 107 serves as a magnificent introduction to this section, recounting God's faithfulness in gathering His people from the four corners of the earth. The structure is highly organized, with the repeated refrain in verses 8, 15, 21, and 31 ("Let them give thanks to Yahweh for His lovingkindness...") tying the four central stories of deliverance together. This particular story of the prisoners follows the story of the wanderers in the desert (vv. 4-9) and precedes the story of the fools afflicted for their sin (vv. 17-22) and the sailors caught in the storm (vv. 23-32). Each describes a different kind of trouble, but all share the same pattern: distress, crying out to God, deliverance, and a call to thanksgiving. This psalm is a textbook on how God's providence works in the lives of His covenant people, turning their sin and its consequences into an occasion for His glory and their salvation.

Key Issues

The Cause and Cure of Bondage

Modern man, when he finds himself in a prison of his own making, whether it be addiction, despair, or some other form of darkness, tends to see himself as a victim of circumstance. He blames his environment, his upbringing, his brain chemistry, anything but his own choices. The Bible, with its bracing realism, will have none of it. This psalm is crystal clear about the cause of this particular bondage: "Because they had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High." The prison is a direct result of rebellion.

This is a crucial diagnostic truth. You cannot solve a problem if you misidentify its cause. The problem is not ultimately psychological or sociological; it is theological. The problem is a proud heart that sets itself against the revealed will of God. And because the cause is theological, the cure must be as well. The cure is not a twelve-step program that avoids mentioning God. The cure is not mustering up more willpower. The cure begins when the prisoner, broken by the consequences of his own rebellion, finally cries out to the very God he rebelled against. God's discipline is a severe mercy, a painful grace that brings us to the point where we are willing to be saved. He humbles us with labor so that we will stop trusting in our own labor and start trusting in His.

Verse by Verse Commentary

10 There were those who inhabited darkness and the shadow of death, Prisoners in affliction and irons,

The psalmist paints a grim picture. This is not just a bad day; it is a state of being. They are inhabitants of darkness. The "shadow of death" (salmawet in Hebrew) is a potent phrase for the deepest, most terrifying gloom, a place where death's presence is palpable. They are prisoners, not just in a metaphorical sense, but bound by "affliction and irons." This is a condition of utter misery and helplessness. The darkness is spiritual, the affliction is emotional and physical, and the irons are a tangible representation of their complete inability to free themselves. This is the natural habitat of fallen man outside of Christ, in the dark, under sentence of death, and in chains.

11 Because they had rebelled against the words of God And spurned the counsel of the Most High.

Here is the reason, the explicit cause for the condition described in verse 10. The word "because" is the hinge. Their imprisonment is not an accident. It is the direct outworking of their sin. They rebelled, which is the active defiance of a rightful king. And they spurned counsel, which is the proud rejection of offered wisdom. Notice the objects of their rebellion: the "words of God" and the "counsel of the Most High." They rejected both the clear commands and the wise guidance of their sovereign Creator. This is the essence of all sin. It is to say to God, "I will not have you rule over me. I know better than you do." When a man insists on being his own god, he will inevitably find himself in a prison of his own making.

12 So He subdued their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was none to help.

The consequences continue, and notice the active agent: "He subdued their heart." God is sovereign over this process. The affliction is not random; it is a divine chastisement. He brings them low, humbling their rebellious hearts through exhausting, fruitless labor. Think of Israel in Egypt, making bricks without straw. The goal of this divinely ordained labor is to break their pride. And it works. They stumble. Their self-reliance fails them. And in that moment of collapse, they look around and find "there was none to help." Their idols are useless. Their friends are powerless. Their own strength is gone. God has engineered their circumstances to strip them of every false hope, leaving them utterly alone and desperate. This is a terrifying place to be, but it is often the necessary prelude to salvation.

13 Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses.

Here is the turning point. "Then." In that moment of utter helplessness, they finally do the one thing they should have done in the first place. They cry out to Yahweh. This is not a polite inquiry; it is the desperate scream of a drowning man. And it is directed to Yahweh, the covenant God they had rebelled against. This cry is the essence of repentance. And the response is immediate and effective. "He saved them." God is not waiting for them to clean themselves up. He is not waiting for them to promise to do better. He responds to the cry of faith, however faint and desperate. He delivers them from the very distresses that He Himself had orchestrated. His discipline has achieved its purpose.

14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death And broke their bands apart.

The deliverance is described in terms that directly reverse their initial condition. They were in "darkness and the shadow of death," and He "brought them out." They were in "irons," and He "broke their bands apart." The salvation is total. He doesn't just unlock the cell door; He leads them out into the light. He doesn't just loosen their chains; He shatters them. This is the nature of the salvation Christ provides. He doesn't just offer parole from sin; He grants a full pardon and breaks the power of sin completely. He brings us out of the kingdom of darkness and into His marvelous light.

15 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for His lovingkindness, And for His wondrous deeds to the sons of men!

This is the required response, the refrain that echoes through the psalm. The delivered are now summoned to become proclaimers. They are to give public thanks, to testify to two things. First, God's lovingkindness, His hesed. This is not mere sentimental affection; it is His rugged, unbreakable, covenant loyalty. It is His faithfulness to His promises even when His people have been faithless. Second, they are to testify to His "wondrous deeds." Salvation is a miracle. Breaking iron bars is a wonder. Bringing a man out of death's shadow is a mighty act. This testimony is not to be kept private; it is for the benefit of all the "sons of men." The redeemed are to say so, for the glory of God and the encouragement of others who are still in chains.

16 For He has shattered the doors of bronze And cut through the bars of iron.

This verse provides the grounds for the praise called for in the previous verse. Why should they give thanks? Because God has done the impossible. Ancient city gates and prison doors were often overlaid with bronze and secured with iron bars. They were symbols of impregnable strength. But for God, they are nothing. He "shattered" the doors and "cut through" the bars. The verbs are violent and decisive. This is a picture of overwhelming, omnipotent grace. The obstacles to our salvation, whether they be the power of sin, the accusations of the devil, or the gates of hell itself, are like bronze doors and iron bars to our God. And through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He has shattered them all.

Application

This passage is a mirror. In it, we see our own story. Every Christian is a man who was once a prisoner in darkness. Our hearts were rebellious, and we spurned the counsel of the Most High. And God, in His mercy, did not leave us there. He subdued our hearts, perhaps with the labor of trying to establish our own righteousness, or with the affliction of seeing our lives fall apart. He brought us to a place where we stumbled and there was no one to help.

And in that place, we cried out. We abandoned our self-reliance and threw ourselves on the mercy of the God we had offended. And He heard us. He brought us out of the darkness. He shattered the chains of our sin. He did not do this because we were worthy, but because of His hesed, His covenant faithfulness demonstrated perfectly at the cross. Jesus is the one who entered the deepest darkness, the very shadow of death, so that He could lead captives to freedom.

The application, then, is simple and twofold. First, if you are currently in a prison of your own making, recognize the cause. It is rebellion. And recognize the only cure. It is to cry out to Yahweh. Stop trying to pick the lock. Stop trying to file through the bars. Confess your helplessness and call upon the name of the Lord. He is a master jail-breaker. Second, if you have been brought out, then obey the command of the psalmist. "Let them give thanks." Your testimony is a powerful weapon. Tell people what God has done. Speak of His lovingkindness. Proclaim His wondrous deeds. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.