Psalms 107:41
But He lifts the needy from affliction and increases their families like flocks.
BSB
ASV
Yet setteth he the needy on high from affliction, And maketh him families like a flock.
KJV
Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction,.... On the other hand, the Lord sometimes exalteth men of low degree, raiseth men of mean extract and parentage, who have made a poor figure in life, to high places of honour, free from adversity and distress; as David from the sheepfold, and from following the ewes great with young, to be king of Israel.
Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction - Margin, “after.” The sense is not materially different. The idea is, that while he thus humbles princes, bringing them down from their lofty position, he has respect to the poor in their condition of suffering and trial, and raises them from that depressed state, and gives them prosperity. Thus he orders the circumstances of people, and shows his sovereignty. And maketh him families like flock - Numerous as a flock. Large families were accounted a blessing among the Hebrews. See the notes at Psa 107:38.
In these two verses we see how the Lord at will turns the wheel of providence. Paying no respect to man's imaginary grandeur, he puts princes down and makes them wander in banishment as they had made their captives wander when they drove them from land to land: at the same time, having ever a tender regard for the poor and needy, the Lord delivers the distressed and sets them in a position of comfort and happiness.
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.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
1 Samuel 2:8He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth…
leads to
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump
Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.
Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
Soon, by his extraordinary spirit, Daniel distinguished himself among the administrators and satraps. So the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
And Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, have you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel
Through
1 Samuel 2:21So the LORD attended to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
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And the Child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.
Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
