Psalms 107:26

26 They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their calamity;

Psalms 107:26 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 107:26

They mount up to the heaven
The waves which are lifted up by the stormy wind, and the ships which are upon them, and the men in them.

They go down again to the depths:
one while they seem to reach the skies, and presently they are down, as it were, in the bottom of the sea, and are threatened to be buried in the midst of it; distress at sea is described in much the same language by Virgil and Ovid F13.

Their soul is melted because of trouble;
because of the danger of being cast away; so it was with Jonah's mariner's, and with the disciples in the storm; sea roaring, and men's hearts failing for fear, are joined together in ( Luke 21:25 Luke 21:26 )


FOOTNOTES:

F13 "Tollimur in coelum", Virgil. Aeneid 3. prope finem. "Coelumque aequare videtur pontus". Ovid. Metamorph. l. 12. Fab. 10.

Psalms 107:26 In-Context

24 they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their calamity;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunkards, and were at their wits' end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out from their distress;
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.