Psalms 107:35
in Psalms 107He turns a desert into pools of water and a dry land into flowing springs.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He turneth a wilderness into a pool of water, And a dry land into watersprings.
KJV
He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
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This verse in Psalms 107
Commentary
9 notes on this verseHe turneth the wilderness into a standing water. With another turn of his hand he more than restores that which in judgment he took away. He does his work of mercy on a royal scale, for a deep lake is seen where before there was only a sandy waste. It is not by natural laws, working by some innate force, that this wonder is wrought, but by himself—He turneth. And dry ground into watersprings. Continuance, abundance, and perpetual freshness are all implied in watersprings, and these are created where all was dry.
This site's exposition
He turns rivers into deserts
on Psalms 107:33-38
He turns rivers into deserts and fruitful land into fields of salt, and verse 34 gives the reason, the wickedness of the people living there. Verse 35 turns it the other way, with pools of water where the desert was and springs in the dry land, and the hungry settle there to sow fields and plant vineyards. He blesses them, and they multiply.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"He made the wilderness to be a standing water, and the dry ground to be outgoings of waters" [Psalm 107:35].
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The land of Canaan, which was once the glory of all lands for fruitfulness, is said to be, at this day, a fruitless, useless, worthless spot of ground, as was foretold, Deut. xxix.
He turneth the wilderness into a standing water,.... On the other hand, when it is the pleasure of God, a country uncultivated and like a desert, he makes it fruitful as one that is well watered and tilled; as this country of ours, and the land in America, once waste places, now fruitful ones.
When we are in any of these or the like distresses it will be comfortable to sing this psalm, with application; but, if we be not, others are, and have been, of whose deliverances it becomes us to give God the glory, for we are members one of another. Exhortation to Celebrate God's Praises. 1 O give thanks unto the L ORD , for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He punishes the wicked by destroying the sources of fertility, or, in mercy, gives fruitfulness to deserts, which become the homes of a busy and successful agricultural population. By a permitted misrule and tyranny, this scene of prosperity is changed to one of adversity.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
He turneth the wilderness into a standing water. With another turn of his hand he more than restores that which in judgment he took away. He does his work of mercy on a royal scale, for a deep lake is seen where before there was only a sandy waste. It is not by natural laws, working by some innate force, that this wonder is wrought, but by himself—He turneth. And dry ground into watersprings. Continuance, abundance, and perpetual freshness are all implied in watersprings, and these are created where all was dry. This wonder of mercy is the precise reversal of the deed of judgment, and wrought by the selfsame hand. Even thus in the church, and in each individual saint, the mercy of the Lord soon works wonderful changes where restoring and renewing grace begin their benign work. O that we might see this verse fulfilled in all around us, and within our own hearts: then would these words serve us for an exclamation of grateful astonishment, and a song of well deserved praise.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He turneth the wilderness into a standing water - A pool; a lake. See the notes at Isa 35:6-7. And dry ground into water-springs - Not merely watering it with rain from heaven, but causing gushing fountains to break forth, and to flow continually, diffusing fertility and beauty everywhere.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יָשֵׂ֣ם | yasem | he made | H7760 → | 584 times |
| מִ֭דְבָּר | midbor | a wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| לַֽאֲגַם־ | laagam- | into a pool of | H98 → | |
| מַ֑יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וְאֶ֥רֶץ | veeretz | and a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| צִ֝יָּ֗ה | tziyah | dry | H6723 → | 16 times |
| לְמֹצָ֥אֵי | lemotzaei | into springs of | H4161 → | 27 times |
| מָֽיִם׃ | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
יָשֵׂ֣םhe made
yasemH7760 →584 times
מִ֭דְבָּרa wilderness
midborH4057 →270 times
לַֽאֲגַם־into a pool of
laagam-H98 →
מַ֑יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
וְאֶ֥רֶץand a land
veeretzH776 →2504 times
צִ֝יָּ֗הdry
tziyahH6723 →16 times
לְמֹצָ֥אֵיinto springs of
lemotzaeiH4161 →27 times
מָֽיִם׃water
mayimH4325 →581 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 114:8who turned the rock into a pool, the flint into a fountain of water!
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 8:15
He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.
- Numbers 20:11
Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink.
- Psalms 105:41
He opened a rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.
- Exodus 17:6
Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in…
- 1 Corinthians 10:4
and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
- Deuteronomy 8:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 107; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.