Psalms 107:13-14
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The verse highlights that distress isn't just an external situation, but it humbles the heart, leading to genuine cries to God. It's this recognition of their own helplessness, spurred by affliction, that truly opens them to receive His deliverance.
This psalm is a song of thanksgiving, celebrating God's steadfast love through specific acts of deliverance. The verses immediately preceding describe people trapped in deep darkness and despair, bound by their own rebellion against God's word, feeling utterly helpless. This verse acts as the turning point, revealing that their desperate cries in affliction were heard by God, who then rescued them from their terrible situations.
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes we only turn to God when everything else falls apart. What does this verse say about our deepest needs and God's persistent grace?
This verse highlights a powerful pattern: affliction often strips away our pride and self-reliance. When we're 'bound in affliction and iron,' as the surrounding verses describe, our usual resources fail. This isn't accidental; it's often God's way of humbling us, making us realize we can't handle everything on our own.
God's deliverance isn't random. What is it about this cry that God hears and responds to so powerfully?
The psalm emphasizes that God actively hears and responds when His people cry out to Him in their distress. This isn't just a passive observation; it's a declaration of God's character and His faithfulness to His promises.
Understand the original words
YHWH · Hebrew Noun
The covenant name of God (Yahweh), the self-existent One who enters into a personal, redemptive relationship with His people.
tsar · Hebrew Noun
A state of affliction, tight circumstances, or narrowing; often used in the Psalms to describe the experience of being pressured or besieged by enemies or sin.
choshek · Hebrew Noun
A condition representing not only physical darkness but also spiritual ignorance, judgment, alienation from God, and the absence of His favor.
tsalmavet · Hebrew Noun
A metaphorical phrase signifying the deepest state of despair, severe danger, the grip of the grave, or the proximity of death.
This verse likely resonates with the experience of the post-exilic Jewish community, who, after returning from Babylonian captivity, found themselves in desperate circumstances. They faced immense challenges in rebuilding their lives and their land, prompting them to cry out to the Lord in their troubles, much like their ancestors in previous times of distress.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Assyrian Exile
The Northern Kingdom of Israel falls to the Assyrian Empire, leading to the exile of many of its inhabitants. This marks a period of great distress and loss for the Israelites.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Babylonian Exile
Jerusalem is destroyed by the Babylonians, and a large portion of the Southern Kingdom of Judah is deported into exile. This is a profound national trauma, plunging the people into deep despair.
c. 539 BC
Cyrus's Decree and Return from Exile
Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon and issues a decree allowing the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple. This marks the beginning of the return journey and national restoration.
Post-Exilic Period (c. 539 BC onwards)— this verse
Returnees Crying Out in Distress
Many of the returned exiles faced immense hardship, poverty, and opposition in rebuilding their lives and the city. This period of struggle and rebuilding would have prompted cries to God for help, as depicted in this verse.
When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of their oppression, God raised up a deliverer, mirroring the pattern of crying out in trouble and receiving salvation.
1 Samuel 12:10This passage describes the Israelites crying out to God after sinning and being delivered into the hands of their enemies, highlighting the connection between sin, distress, and a subsequent cry for divine help.
Nehemiah 9:28Here, the people confess their sins and then cry out to God, who answers them in their distress, reinforcing the theme of God's faithfulness to those who call on Him even after their wrongdoing.
Jonah 2:2Jonah's prayer from the belly of the fish, crying out to the Lord in his distress, demonstrates a direct parallel to the desperate plea for deliverance found in Psalms 107:13.
Matthew 15:23-28The Gentile woman persistently cries out to Jesus for help for her daughter, and although Jesus tests her faith, He ultimately delivers her, showing that persistent cries in times of trouble can lead to salvation.
clarkePsalms 107:13: "Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses."
Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble - This was the salutary effect which their afflictions produced: they began to cry to God for mercy and help; and God mercifully heard their prayer, and reversed their state; for,
calvinPsalms 107:10-16: "Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;"
- They who dwell in darkness, and in the shadow of death, being bound in trouble and iron; 11. Because they rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High: 12. When he humbled their heart with affliction; they were brought low, and there was none to help them. 13. In their affliction they cried to Jehovah, and he delivered them from their tribulations. 14. H…
The verse highlights that distress isn't just an external situation, but it humbles the heart, leading to genuine cries to God. It's this recognition of their own helplessness, spurred by affliction, that truly opens them to receive His deliverance.
This psalm is a song of thanksgiving, celebrating God's steadfast love through specific acts of deliverance. The verses immediately preceding describe people trapped in deep darkness and despair, bound by their own rebellion against God's word, feeling utterly helpless. This verse acts as the turning point, revealing that their desperate cries in affliction were heard by God, who then rescued them from their terrible situations.
This psalm is a song of thanksgiving, celebrating God's steadfast love through specific acts of deliverance. The verses immediately preceding describe people trapped in deep darkness and despair, bound by their own rebellion against God's word, feeling utterly helpless. This verse acts as the turning point, revealing that their desperate cries in affliction were heard by God, who then rescued them from their terrible situations.
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"Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart." — The verse highlights that distress isn't just an external situation, but it humbles the heart, leading to genuine cries to God. It's this recognition of their own helplessness, spurred by afflictio…
