John Calvin Commentary Psalms 107:1

"O give thanks unto Jehovah; For he is good; For his lovingkindness [endureth] for ever." — Psalms 107:1 (ASV)

Praise Jehovah. We have already explained this verse, for it formed the beginning of the previous psalm. And it appears that it was not only frequently used among the Jews, but also so incorporated with other psalms, that when one part of the chorus on one side was singing a portion of the psalm, the other part of the chorus on the opposite side, in its turn, after each succeeding verse, responded, Praise Jehovah, because he is good, etc. The author of this psalm, whoever he was, has, instead of the ordinary preface, inserted this beautiful sentiment, in which praise and thanksgiving to God were so frequently expressed by the Israelite Church.

Immediately he proceeds to speak more particularly. And first, he exhorts those to offer up a tribute of gratitude to God, who, after having been delivered from slavery and imprisonment, and after a long and painful journey, arrived in safety at their homes. These he calls the redeemed of God; because, in wandering through the trackless desert and howling wilderness, they many a time would have been prevented from returning home, had not God, as it were, with His outstretched hand, appeared as their guard and their guide. He does not here refer to travelers indiscriminately, but to such as either by hostile power, or by any other kind of violence, or by stern necessity, having been banished to distant regions, felt themselves to be in the midst of imminent dangers; or it may be that he refers to those who had been made prisoners by enemies, pirates, or other robbers. He reminds them that it was by no chance event that they had been driven about in that manner and had been brought back to their native country, but that all their wanderings had been under the superintending providence of God.

But the second verse might be joined with the first, as if the prophet were commanding the persons whom he was addressing to sing this celebrated ode. It may, with equal appropriateness, be read by itself thus: Let the redeemed of Jehovah, who have returned from captivity to their own land, now come forth and take part in the celebration of God’s praises, and let them publish His loving-kindness which they have experienced in their deliverance.

Among the Jews, who undertook extensive journeys, such occurrences as these were very common, because they could hardly leave their own land without encountering from all directions rugged, difficult, and perilous ways; and the same observation is equally applicable to mankind in general. He reminds them how often they wandered and strayed from the right way, and found no place of shelter; something not at all rare in these lonely deserts. Were a person to enter a forest without any knowledge of the proper direction, he would, in the course of his wandering, be in danger of becoming the prey of lions and wolves. However, he particularly has in mind those who, finding themselves unexpectedly in desert places, are also in danger of perishing from hunger and thirst. For it is certain that such persons are in hourly danger of death, unless the Lord comes to their rescue.