Psalms 107:36 Commentary: God Settles the Hungry

Psalm 107 belongs to a group of liturgical thanksgiving psalms. Its structure is unique among the psalms: four strophes with a double refrain (the cry for help in vv.6,13,19,28 and the call to thankfulness in vv.8,15,21,31), followed by a longer section without refrain (vv.33, 42) that shifts from individual deliverances to God's providential rule over the natural world and human history. Verse 36 sits in this second half, which depicts God's power to reverse conditions: turning rivers into desert (v.33) and desert into water (v.35). The vocabulary echoes prophetic passages such as Isaiah 35:7 and 41:18, which anticipate the restoration of Israel.

Keil and Delitzsch point out that the exiles returning under Cyrus would have experienced precisely this: a land left barren by war and neglect, now made fruitful again under their hands. The “hungry” (רְעֵבִים) are not just temporarily famished but those who lacked the means of sustenance, perhaps the landless poor or displaced exiles. By settling them “there” (שָׁם), God gives them a place to build a permanent city (עִיר מוֹשָׁב), not a nomadic camp. Adam Clarke applies this to the first colonists of any place, including the settlement of America. This reflects the broader biblical theme of God providing a dwelling place for His people, from Eden to Canaan to the New Jerusalem. The reversal of fortunes, from hunger to plenty, from wandering to settled community, serves as a concrete sign of God's kingdom breaking into broken human history.

The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Psalm 107:36. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the variations among English translations (e.g., “prepare a city for habitation” vs. “establish a city in which to dwell”) reflect translation choices rather than underlying textual differences.

Psalm 107:36 has been read across church history primarily as a testament to God’s providential care for the poor and displaced. Early church writers often connected it to the exodus and the settlement of Canaan, seeing in it a pattern of God giving land to the landless. Medieval commentators sporadically applied the verse allegorically, interpreting the “city” as the Church established among the spiritually hungry. Reformation-era interpreters like Calvin and Matthew Henry focused on the sovereignty of God displayed in the reversals of fortune, using the passage to teach dependence on divine providence. In more recent centuries, the verse has been cited in the context of colonization (by Adam Clarke in reference to America) and in modern social-justice readings as a model for God’s concern for the homeless and landless. Throughout its reception, the emphasis has remained on God as the active agent who transforms barren circumstances into places of habitation and community.

Three-point outline

1. God reverses barrenness. He turns deserts into fertile grounds (vv.33, 35), preparing the way for the hungry before they even arrive.
2. God settles the hungry. He doesn’t just give food; He gives a permanent home, a city where they can build community.
3. God establishes community. The hungry don’t simply receive; they “prepare a city” (v.36), actively building a society under God’s blessing (vv.37, 38).

Five-point outline

1. The God of reversals (vv.33, 35): He turns waste to water, showing His power over creation.
2. Place and purpose (v.36): The hungry are not left in the wilderness but given a dwelling and a task.
3. Multiplication of blessing (vv.37, 38): Fields, vineyards, and livestock increase, not by human effort alone, but by divine blessing.
4. Humbling the proud (vv.39, 40): Those who trust in their own strength are diminished; princes wander in the waste.
5. Lifting the poor (vv.41, 42): God sets the needy on high, and the righteous see and rejoice.

Illustration hooks

• A refugee family resettling in a new country. They arrive with nothing, but over time they build a home, plant a garden, and become part of a neighborhood. The process is not automatic; it involves daily work, but the opportunity itself is God’s opening.
• A community garden on a vacant lot in a food desert. What was once barren ground becomes a source of fresh produce, and neighbors who were isolated begin to gather and share meals. The lot itself shifts from “wilderness” to “habitation.”
• A church plant in a struggling urban area. A small group of believers moves into a neglected building, renovates it, and begins serving the neighborhood’s poor. Over years, the area around the church becomes more stable, and families who were transient find a place to put down roots.

Questions your congregation is asking

• If God turns fruitful land barren because of wickedness (v.34), what does that mean for places today that are suffering environmental or economic collapse? Is it always punishment, or are there other factors?
• Does this verse promise that every individual who is hungry will be given a physical home and land? Or is it describing God’s general care, without guaranteeing specific outcomes for each person?
• How do I participate in God’s work of “settling the hungry” in my own community? What does it look like to help people move from instability to a permanent dwelling?

Psalm 107:36 sits at the heart of a poetic section that contrasts God’s power to strip away and God’s power to restore. The larger passage (vv.33, 41) is not about individual redemption but about God’s sovereignty over the conditions in which entire peoples live. As you study this verse together, pay attention to how the reversal motif, from desert to water, from hunger to a settled city, reveals God’s character as both Judge and Provider.

Discussion questions

1. Read verses 33, 38. What pattern do you see between the judgment in vv.33, 34 and the blessing in vv.35, 38? What does this say about God’s relationship with human sin and human need?
2. Verse 36 says God “makes the hungry to dwell.” Why is it significant that God not only fills their stomachs but gives them a lasting home?
3. The people in this verse “prepare a city for habitation.” In what sense are they active participants, not just passive recipients? How does this balance divine initiative and human responsibility?
4. Verse 38 says God “blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly.” How does this connect to the creation mandate in Genesis 1:28 to be fruitful and multiply? What does this tell us about God’s original design for human flourishing?
5. In what ways have you seen God turn a barren situation in your life into a place of fruitfulness? How can you recognize God’s hand in that process rather than attributing it only to your own effort?
6. How does the shift from individual examples (vv.4, 32) to national/global patterns (vv.33, 42) change the way you read this psalm? What does it teach about God’s care for both persons and peoples?
7. If this verse calls us to imitate God’s concern for the hungry and homeless, what is one concrete step your group could take this month to help someone move from instability toward a settled life?