Book V—Psalms 107–150
Psalm 107
God, Savior of Those in Distress
1 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his kindness endures forever.”
2 Let this be the prayer of the redeemed of the Lord,
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe
3 and gathered together from the lands,
from east and west, north and south.
4 Some wandered in a barren wilderness,
unable to discover a path to an inhabited city.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their life was wasting away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their anguish,
and he saved them from their distress.
7 He led them by a direct route
to a city in which they could dwell.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness
and for the wonders he does for people.
9 He has satisfied the thirsty
and filled the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and the shadow of death,
bound in misery and in chains,
11 because they had rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the plan of the Most High.
12 He humbled their hearts with hard labor;
when they stumbled, no one was there to offer help.
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their need,
and he rescued them from their distress.
14 He brought them forth from darkness and the shadow of death
and tore their chains to pieces.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness
and for the wonders he does for people.
16 He has broken down gates of bronze
and cut through iron bars.
17 Some were made foolish by their wicked ways
and were afflicted because of their iniquities.
18 All types of food became loathsome to them,
and they were nearing the gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their anguish,
and he rescued them from their distress.
20 He sent forth his word and healed them,
saving them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness
and for the wonders he does for people.
22 Let them offer sacrifices in thanksgiving
and recount his deeds with jubilation.
23 Some went down to the sea in ships
and engaged in commerce on the mighty waters.
24 They beheld the works of the Lord
and his wonders in the deep.
25 He spoke and raised up a storm wind
that stirred up the waves of the sea.
26 They were lifted up to the heavens, then cast down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their plight.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and they were at their wits’ end.
28 They cried out to the Lord in their anguish,
and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He reduced the storm to a whisper,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They rejoiced because of the calm,
and he guided them to the port they sought.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness
and for the wonders he does for people.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into wasteland,
springs of water into parched ground,
34 and fertile land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who live there.
35 He turns the wasteland into pools of water
and the parched ground into bubbling springs.
36 There he provides the hungry with a home,
and they build a city where they can settle.
37 They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield crops for the harvest.
38 He blesses them and they greatly increase in number,
and he does not let their cattle decrease.
39 Eventually their numbers diminish and they are humbled
because of oppression, adversity, and affliction;
40 he who pours forth his contempt on princes
makes them wander in trackless wastes,
41 while he raises the needy from their misery
and increases their families like flocks.
42 The upright see and exult,
while the wicked are reduced to silence.
43 Let whoever is wise reflect on these things
and understand the merciful love of the Lord.
Footnotes
- Psalm 107:1
- Psalm 107:1
- Psalm 107:1
- Psalm 107:3
- Psalm 107:4
- Psalm 107:8
- Psalm 107:10
- Psalm 107:10
- Psalm 107:12
- Psalm 107:17
- Psalm 107:18
- Psalm 107:20
- Psalm 107:23
- Psalm 107:24
- Psalm 107:32
- Psalm 107:33
- Psalm 107:33
- Psalm 107:34
- Psalm 107:36
- Psalm 107:42
- Psalm 107:43
