O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:
-The sore trouble out of which God brought His people into a wealthy place; praise to God accordingly.
Verse 8,9. O bless our God ... Which holdeth (Hebrew, putteth) our soul in life - i:e., restores us to life from our political death as a nation. The same image is used of Israel's future revivification in Ezekiel 37:1-28 (cf. Psalms 30:3).
And suffereth not our feet to be moved - (Psalms 15:5, end; 55:22; 121:3.)
Verse 10. For thou, O God, hast proved us - thou hast tested the steadfastness of our faith, hope, and patience in the furnace of trial.
Thou hast tried us, as silver is tried - (1 Peter 1:7; Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:3; Isaiah 48:10.) Chastisement presupposes sin, to remove which is the design of trials. Therefore the profession of innocence, in Psalms 66:18, is only relative, not absolute. He is sincere in aim; his integrity is genuine, though at times he falls into sins of infirmity which call for chastisement (Isaiah 1:25).
Verse 11. Thou laidst affliction upon our loins - literally, a heavy burden; so the pressure of affliction. The loins are the seat of strength (Psalms 69:23). The image is from beasts of burden.
Verse 12. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads - as horses which are guided by the head, though it is upon the back that the rider sits. "Men" - literally, mean men х 'ªnowsh (H582)]: The meaner the master the more degraded is the servant (Isaiah 51:23).
We went through fire and through water - i:e., through extreme dangers of an opposite kind. Yet God was still with His people even there (Isaiah 43:2).
But thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place - into abundance; literally, a 'well-watered place.' In Psalms 23:5 the same Hebrew means '(my cup) is running over.'