Psalms 107:16 Explained in Context

Read It With

• Psalms 107:10–16
• Psalms 107:1–43

Read Psalms 107:16 with 107:10–16 and 107:1–43. Read alone, “For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars…” could lose the communal voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 107:10–16, the communal voice carries the movement “Prisoners brought from darkness” as part of “Let the redeemed tell four rescue stories.” Its thanksgiving-wisdom form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.

Why This Verse Appears Here

Psalms 107:10–16 answers or redirects “Wanderers brought to a city” within Psalm 107 by carrying “Prisoners brought from darkness.” The turn from “For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” to “Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron” explains why this movement occurs here. Within that relationship, Psalm 107:16 supplies a reason or consequence through “For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron…” and must be read with the claim it supports.