🎵WEB · Psalms 107:15
What does Psalms 107:15 mean?
"Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!"
— Psalms 107:15 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help.
Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke away their chains.
Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
For he has broken the gates of brass, and cut through bars of iron.
Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities.
Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death.
Explanation
Psalm 107:15 is a call to worship, urging people to thank God for two things: his loving kindness (the Hebrew word is "chesed," often translated "steadfast love" or "mercy") and his wonderful deeds done on behalf of humanity. In plain language, the verse says: give God praise because he is faithful and compassionate, and because he has acted powerfully to help people in real, tangible ways. It is not an abstract or private feeling being described here, but a public declaration meant to be spoken or sung.
This verse comes from Psalm 107, a communal hymn of thanksgiving, likely used in Israel's worship gatherings, possibly after the return from Babylonian exile. The psalm is structured around four scenarios of human distress — wandering in the wilderness, imprisonment, sickness, and danger at sea — and in each case, the people cry out to God, he delivers them, and then this refrain (or one very close to it) appears: "Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men." Verse 15 specifically follows the second scenario, where people sit in darkness and the shadow of death, bound in affliction, and God brings them out and breaks their chains. The refrain is not tied to one group only; it says "the children of men," meaning it applies broadly to humanity, not merely to Israel alone.
Theologically, this verse highlights two connected truths about God's character and God's action. His "loving kindness" speaks to his covenant faithfulness — a love that is loyal, dependable, and merciful,
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