“Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 107:6 Mean?
"Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses." The pattern that structures Psalm 107 appears here: trouble produces crying, crying reaches God, and God delivers. The sequence is repeated four times in the psalm (verses 6, 13, 19, 28), creating a liturgical rhythm: trouble, cry, deliverance. The pattern is predictable, reliable, and repeated.
The word "cried" (yitz'aqu — they cried out, they shouted) is the desperate call of people with no other options: the cry isn't gentle prayer. It's the shout of desperation. The volume of the cry matches the severity of the trouble. The people who cried had exhausted every other resource. The crying out to God is the last resort that turns out to be the first solution.
The "delivered them out of their distresses" (yatzilem mimmetsuqotehem — He rescued them from their tight places) uses language of physical liberation: the distresses are 'tight places' — narrow, constricting, squeezing. God's deliverance is extraction from confinement. The tight place that compressed them is broken open by divine rescue.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What tight place are you in — and have you cried out to God from inside it?
- 2.How does the four-fold repetition of this pattern prove that deliverance is God's character, not coincidence?
- 3.What does 'distresses' being 'tight places' teach about how suffering constricts your life?
- 4.Which of the four scenarios in Psalm 107 (wanderers, prisoners, fools, sailors) best describes your current trouble?
Devotional
They cried. He delivered. The pattern of Psalm 107 is as simple as it is profound: people get into trouble. They cry out to God. God rescues them. The cycle repeats four times in the psalm — four different scenarios, four identical patterns. The trouble changes. The crying changes. The deliverance is constant.
The 'cried unto the LORD in their trouble' means the crying happens IN the trouble — not after the trouble, not before, but inside it. The cry goes up while the distress is happening. The prayer is simultaneous with the suffering. You don't wait for the trouble to end before you call on God. You call FROM the trouble, INSIDE the trouble, DURING the trouble.
The 'delivered them out of their distresses' is physical language: the distresses are 'tight places' — narrow, compressing, squeezing the life out of you. The deliverance is extraction — God pulling you OUT of the constriction. The place that was crushing you is broken open. The walls that were closing in are pushed back. The tight place becomes the open place because God reached in and pulled you out.
The four repetitions in Psalm 107 prove the pattern is universal: wanderers in the desert (verses 4-9), prisoners in darkness (10-16), fools who made themselves sick (17-22), sailors in a storm (23-32). Different people. Different troubles. Same pattern: cry, and He delivers. The variety of scenarios and the consistency of the response prove that the pattern isn't circumstantial. It's character. God's character is: He delivers those who cry.
What tight place are you in — and have you cried out?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And he led them forth by the right way,.... Thus God by his providence directs travellers that have lost their way, and…
Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble - The language in this verse is repeated in this psalm in Psa 107:13, Psa…
Here is, I. A general call to all to give thanks to God, Psa 107:1. Let all that sing this psalm, or pray over it, set…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture