This psalm is without a title, and its author is unknown. The occasion on which it was composed is not particularly designated, though from Psalm 107:2-3, it is probable that it was on a return from exile or captivity. There is nothing in the psalm to forbid the supposition that this was the return from the captivity at Babylon, and that the psalm was designed to be used at the re-dedication of the temple after the restoration. Every part of it would be appropriate to such an occasion, and it is every way probable that so important an event would be celebrated with appropriate songs of praise.
The "design" of the psalm, so far as it has a practical bearing, is indicated in Psalm 107:8, Psalm 107:15, Psalm 107:21, Psalm 107:31, in the language repeated in those verses: "Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" The purpose of the psalm is so to set forth these "works," or these "doings" of God, as to lead men to praise and adoration.
The psalm is very regular in its structure. The first three verses are introductory, intended to designate the people who were specially called on to praise God - as those who had been redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the lands - east, west, north, and south.
The remainder of the psalm is divided into portions marked by the above words, "Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness," etc., Psalm 107:8, Psalm 107:15, Psalm 107:21, Psalm 107:31. These portions are of unequal length, and this language (with a few appropriate words added) is placed "at the close of each part," as being that which was suggested by the previous thoughts. In the closing portion, however, Psalm 107:32-43, this language is not employed, but the expression of "desire" in the other cases is changed into an "affirmation" that all who were wise would "observe these things," and would "understand the loving-kindness of the Lord."
The particular parts of the psalm are the following:
I. A reference to the redeemed of the Lord as having wandered in the wilderness; as having been hungry and thirsty; as having no city to dwell in; and then, as calling upon the Lord in such a manner that he heard them, and led them in a right and safe way. For "this" the psalmist expresses the wish that "men would praise the Lord for his goodness," Psalm 107:4-9.
II. A reference to God as displaying goodness toward those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and who are bound in affliction and iron: illustrated by a reference to the people of God in the times of bondage, as being cast down and punished for their sins, and as then calling upon the Lord in their trouble, so that he brought them out of that darkness and shadow of death, and brake their bands asunder. For "this" the psalmist expresses the wish that "men would praise the Lord for his goodness," Psalm 107:10-16.
III. A reference to the deliverance performed for the people of God. They had sinned; they had shown their folly; they had drawn near to the gates of death, and then they cried unto the Lord, and he sent his word and healed them. For "this" the psalmist expresses the desire that "men would praise the Lord for his goodness," Psalm 107:17-22.
IV. A reference to the goodness of the Lord as manifested toward those who go down to the sea in ships, and do business in the great waters. They see the wonders of the Lord in the deep. They encounter storms and tempests. They are raised up to the heavens on the waves, and then sink to a corresponding depth. They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunkard; and then they cry to the Lord, and he hears them, and makes the sea calm, and brings them to the desired haven. For "this" the psalmist expresses the wish that "men would praise the Lord for his goodness," Psalm 107:23-32.
V. A reference to the goodness of the Lord in preparing a place for men to dwell in: turning rivers into a wilderness, the water-springs into dry ground, the wilderness into standing water, and the dry ground into water-springs: making arrangements for people to dwell upon the earth, so that they may sow the fields and plant vineyards - setting the poor on high from affliction, and making them families like a flock. In reference to "this," and to "all" that God does, the psalmist says, in the conclusion of the psalm, that all who are "wise, and will observe these things, shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord," Psalm 107:33-43.

A thanksgiving of the people for deliverance from difficulties and dangers; their state compared to a journey through a frightful wilderness, Psalm 107:1-9; to confinement in a dreary dungeon, Psalm 107:10-16; to a dangerous malady, Psalm 107:17-22; to a tempest at sea, Psalm 107:23-32. The psalmist calls on men to praise God for the merciful dispensations of his providence, in giving rain and fruitful seasons, after affliction by drought and famine, Psalm 107:33-38; for supporting the poor in affliction, and bringing down the oppressors, Psalm 107:39-41. The use which the righteous should make of these providences, Psalm 107:42; and the advantage to be derived from a due consideration of God's merciful providence, Psalm 107:43.
This Psalm has no title, either in the Hebrew, or any of the Versions; the word "Hallelujah," which is prefixed to some of the latter, is no title, but was most probably borrowed from the conclusion of the preceding Psalm. The author is unknown; but it was probably like Psalm 105 and 106, made and sung at the dedication of the second temple. The three Psalm seem to be on the same subject. In them the author has comprised the marvellous acts of the Lord towards his people; the transgressions of this people against God; the captivities and miseries they endured in consequence; and finally God's merciful kindness to them in their restoration from captivity, and re-establishment in their own land.
This Psalm seems to have been sung in parts: the Psalm 107:8, Psalm 107:15, Psalm 107:21, and Psalm 107:31, with the Psalm 107:6, Psalm 107:13, Psalm 107:19, and Psalm 107:28, forming what may be called the burden of the song. In singing of which the whole chorus joined.
We may easily perceive that the Psalm must have been sung in alternate parts, having a double burden, or intercalary verse often recurring, and another immediately following, giving a reason for the former. See the Psalm 107:8 and Psalm 107:9, the Psalm 107:15 and Psalm 107:16, the Psalm 107:21 and Psalm 107:22, the Psalm 107:31 and Psalm 107:32, and the Psalm 107:42 and Psalm 107:43, which may be reckoned under the same denomination. Dr. Lowth, in his 29th prelection, has made some excellent remarks on this Psalm. "It is observable," says he, "that after each of the intercalary verses one is added, expressive of deliverance or praise. I would farther observe, that if the Psalm be supposed to be made with a view to the alternate response of one side of the choir to the other, then it may be considered as if it were written exactly after the method of the ancient pastorals, where, be the subject of their verse what it will, each swain endeavors to excel the other; and one may perceive their thoughts and expressions gradually to arise upon each other; and hence a manifest beauty may be discovered in this Divine pastoral. We will suppose, then, that the author composed it for the use of his brethren the Jews, when, in the joy of their hearts, they were assembled after their return from captivity. At such a time, what theme could be so proper for the subject of his poem, as the manifest goodness of Almighty God? The first performers, therefore, invite the whole nation to praise God for this; a great instance of it being their late return from captivity. At Psalm 107:10, the other side take the subject, and rightly observe that the return of their great men, who were actually in chains, was a more remarkable instance of God's mercy to them, than the return of the people in general, who were only dispersed, we may suppose, up and down the open country. Then the first performers beautitully compare this unexpected deliverance to that which God sometimes vouchsafes to the languishing dying man, when he recalls, as it were, the sentence of death, and restores him to his former vigor. The others again compare it, with still greater strength and expression, to God's delivering the affrighted mariner from all the dreadful horrors of the ungovernable and arbitrary ocean. But the first, still resolved to outdo the rest, recur to that series of wonderful works which God had vouchsafed to their nation, Psalm 107:32, and of which they had so lately such a convincing proof. Wherefore at last, as in a common chorus, they all conclude with exhorting each other to a serious consideration of these things, and to make a proper return to Almighty God for them.
"No doubt the composition of this Psalm is admirable throughout; and the descriptive part of it adds at least its share of beauty to the whole; but what is most to be admired is its conciseness, and withal the expressiveness of the diction, which strikes the imagination with inimitable elegance. The weary and bewildered traveler, the miserable captive in the hideous dungeon, the sick and dying man, the seaman foundering in a storm, are described in so affecting a manner, that they far exceed any thing of the kind, though never so much labored." I may add that had such an Idyl appeared in Theocritus or Virgil, or had it been found as a scene in any of the Greek tragedians, even in Aeschylus himself, it would have been praised up to the heavens, and probably been produced as their master-piece.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 107
This psalm, from its style, and from its connection with the preceding psalms, seems to have been written by David. The two foregoing psalms respect the children of Israel; this is generally thought to concern all mankind, and its view to assert a general providence which attends all, in whatsoever condition and circumstance; and to encourage men in their distresses to cry unto the Lord. According to Kimchi, Aben Ezra, and others, four sorts of persons are mentioned, travellers through a wilderness, prisoners, sick persons, and such who use the seas; to which some add a fifth, husbandmen; these are instanced in, not to the exclusion of others, but from them it may be concluded that whatsoever state or condition persons may be in, they are known and taken notice of by the Lord, and are relieved by him when they call upon him. Some restrain the whole to the Israelites, as the Targum, R. Obadiah, Arama, and others, where they make any application; and others apply the psalm to New Testament times; and indeed, though the literal sense should be attended unto and preserved, yet it seems to be applicable to spiritual persons and things. The title of it in the Syriac version is pretty remarkable,
"it is said concerning Joab and Abiah the sons of Samuel, who recited the commandments of the Lord. God gathered the Jews out of captivity, and brought them out from Babylon. Also the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, gathered the Gentiles from the four corners of the world, by preaching to baptism.''.

(Psalm 107:1-9) God's providential care of the children of men in distresses, in banishment, and dispersion.
(Psalm 107:10-16) In captivity.
(Psalm 107:17-22) In sickness.
(Psalm 107:23-32) Danger at sea..
(Psalm 107:33-43) God's hand is to be seen by his own people.

An Admonition to Fellow-Countrymen to Render Thanks on account of Having Got the Better of Calamities
With this Psalm begins the Fifth Book, the Book אלה הדברים of the Psalter. With Ps 106 closed the Fourth Book, or the Book במדבר, the first Psalm of which, Ps 90, bewailed the manifestation of God's wrath in the case of the generation of the desert, and in the presence of the prevailing death took refuge in God the eternal and unchangeable One. Ps 106, which closes the book has בּמּדבּר (Psalm 106:14, Psalm 107:26) as its favourite word, and makes confession of the sins of Israel on the way to Canaan. Now, just as at the beginning of the Book of Deuteronomy Israel stands on the threshold of the Land of Promise, after the two tribes and a half have already established themselves on the other side of the Jordan, so at the beginning of this Fifth Book of the Psalter we see Israel restored to the soil of its fatherland. There it is the Israel redeemed out of Egypt, here it is the Israel redeemed out of the lands of the Exile. There the lawgiver once more admonishes Israel to yield the obedience of love to the Law of Jahve, here the psalmist calls upon Israel to show gratitude towards Him, who has redeemed it from exile and distress and death.
We must not therefore be surprised if Ps 106 and Ps 107 are closely connected, in spite of the fact that the boundary of the two Books lies between them. "Ps. 107 stands in close relationship to Ps 106. The similarity of the beginning at once points back to this Psalm. Thanks are here given in Psalm 107:3 for what was there desired in v. 47. The praise of the Lord which was promised in Psalm 106:47 in the case of redemption being vouchsafed, is here presented to Him after redemption vouchsafed." This observation of Hengstenberg is fully confirmed. The Psalm 104:1 really to a certain extent from a tetralogy. Ps 104 derives its material from the history of the creation, Ps 105 from the history of Israel in Egypt, in the desert, and in the Land of Promise down to the Exile, and Psalm 107 from the time of the restoration. Nevertheless the connection of Ps 104 with Psalm 105:1 is by far not so close as that of these three Psalm among themselves. These three anonymous Psalm form a trilogy in the strictest sense; they are a tripartite whole from the hand of one author. The observation is an old one. The Harpffe Davids mit Teutschen Saiten bespannet (Harp of David strung with German Strings), a translation of the Psalm which appeared in Augsburg in the year 1659, begins Ps 106 with the words: "For the third time already am I now come, and I make bold to spread abroad, with grateful acknowledgment, Thy great kindnesses." God's wondrous deeds of loving-kindness and compassion towards Israel from the time of their forefathers down to the redemption out of Egypt according to the promise, and giving them possession of Canaan, are the theme of Ps 105. The theme of Ps 106 is the sinful conduct of Israel from Egypt onwards during the journey through the desert, and then in the Land of Promise, by which they brought about the fulfilment of the threat of exile (Psalm 106:27); but even there God's mercy was not suffered to go unattested (Psalm 106:46). The theme of Psalm 107, finally, is the sacrifice of praise that is due to Him who redeemed them out of exile and all kinds of destruction. We may compare Psalm 105:44, He gave them the lands (ארצות) of the heathen; Psalm 106:27, (He threatened) to cast forth their seed among the heathen and to scatter them in the lands (בּארצות); and Psalm 107:3, out of the lands (מארצות) hath He brought them together, out of east and west, out of north and south. The designed similarity of the expression, the internal connection, and the progression in accordance with a definite plan, are not to be mistaken here. In other respects, too, these three Psalm are intimately interwoven. In them Egypt is called "the land of Ham" (Psalm 105:23, Psalm 105:27; Psalm 106:22), and Israel "the chosen ones of Jahve" (Psalm 105:6, Psalm 105:43; Psalm 106:5, cf. Psalm 23:1-6). They are fond of the interrogative form of exclamation (Psalm 106:2; Psalm 107:43). There is an approach in them to the hypostatic conception of the Word (דּבר, Psalm 105:19; Psalm 106:20). Compare also ישׁימון Psalm 106:14; Psalm 107:4; and the Hithpa. התהלּל Psalm 105:3; Psalm 106:5, השׁתּבּח, Psalm 106:47, התבּלּע Psalm 107:27. In all three the poet shows himself to be especially familiar with Isaiah 40:1, and also with the Book of Job. Psalm 107 is the fullest in reminiscences taken from both these Books, and in this Psalm the movement of the poet is more free without recapitulating history that has been committed to writing. Everything therefore favours the assertion that Ps 105, Ps 106, and Ps 107 are a "trefoil" (trifolium) - two Hodu-Psalm, and a Hallalujah-Psalm in the middle.
Ps. 107 consists of six groups with an introit, Psalm 107:1-3, and an epiphonem, Psalm 107:43. The poet unrolls before the dispersion of Israel that has again attained to the possession of its native land the pictures of divine deliverances in which human history, and more especially the history of the exiles, is so rich. The epiphonem at the same time stamps the hymn as a consolatory Psalm; for those who were gathered again out of the lands of the heathen nevertheless still looked for the final redemption under the now milder, now more despotic sceptre of the secular power.