And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;

And hath placed there the hungry; and they made a city for their habitation.

And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, and they establish a city of habitation;

And He causeth the hungry to dwell there, And they prepare a city of habitation.

And there he gives the poor a resting-place, so that they may make themselves a town;

And there he maketh the hungry to dwell - Those who were in want; those who would have perished. It is not necessary to refer this to any particular case. It is a general statement, pertaining to changes which God makes upon the earth, as great as if he "should" thus convert a desert into a fruitful field - a barren waste into a land abounding in springs of water; as if he should conduct there a company of famished men, and provide for them food in abundance.
That they may prepare a city for habitation - A permanent dwelling-place for man.

And there he maketh the hungry to dwell - All this seems to apply admirably to the first colonists of any place. They flee from a land of want, an ingrata terra that did not repay their toil, and they seek the wilderness where the land wants only cultivation to make it produce all the necessaries of life. He, by his providence, so guides their steps as to lead them to rivers which they can navigate, and from which they can procure plenty of fish, and shows them wells or springs which they have not digged. The hungry dwell there; and jointly agree, for convenience and defense, to build them a city for habitation. They sow the fields which they have cleared; and plant vineyards, and orchards which yield them in creasing fruits, Psalm 107:37, and he multiplies their cattle greatly, and does not suffer them to decrease, Psalm 107:38. What a fine picture is this of the first peopling and planting of America, and of the multiplication and extension of that people; of the Divine blessing on their industry, and the general and astonishing prosperity of their country! May they never again know what is spoken in the following verse:

And there he maketh the hungry to dwell,.... In those fruitful places which they find agreeable to them, and so fix upon them as the places of their abode, and build houses, and dwell there; having all the conveniences of life, which they wanted elsewhere: so such as hunger and thirst after righteousness make to such places where the waters are, the word is preached, and ordinances administered; and here they take up their dwelling, their bread being given them, and their waters sure unto them.
That they may prepare a city for habitation; those poor necessitous persons, as they were when they first came; building houses, and others continually coming to them, by degrees form a well regulated city, which are a large number of inhabitants: which may be considered as an emblem of the church of God, often compared to a city; and is an habitation for God, and where saints desire and delight to dwell.

Hungry - Poor people who could not provide for themselves.