For he maketh sore - That is, he afflicts.
And bindeth up - He heals. The phrase is taken from the custom of binding up a wound; see Isaiah 1:6, note; Isaiah 38:21, note. This was a common mode of healing among the Hebrews; and the practice of medicine appears to have been confined much to external applications. The meaning of this verse is, that afflictions come from God, and that he only can support, comfort, and restore. Health is his gift; and all the consolation which we need, and for which we can look, must come from him.