BOOK V

(Psalms 107–150)

Psalm 107

• 107 “ Give thanks to the LORD because he is good,
• because his faithful love lasts forever! ”
• ² That’s what those who are redeemed by the LORD say,
• the ones God redeemed from the power of their enemies,
• ³ the ones God gathered from various countries,
• from east and west, north and south.

• ⁴ Some of the redeemed had wandered into the desert, into the wasteland.
• They couldn’t find their way to a city or town.
• ⁵ They were hungry and thirsty;
• their lives were slipping away.
• ⁶ So they cried out to the LORD in their distress,
• and God delivered them from their desperate circumstances.
• ⁷ God led them straight to human habitation.
• ⁸ Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love
• and his wondrous works for all people,
• ⁹ because God satisfied the one who was parched with thirst,
• and he filled up the hungry with good things!

• ¹⁰ Some of the redeemed had been sitting in darkness and deep gloom;
• they were prisoners suffering in chains
• ¹¹ because they had disobeyed God’s instructions
• and rejected the Most High’s plans.
• ¹² So God humbled them with hard work.
• They stumbled, and there was no one to help them.
• ¹³ So they cried out to the LORD in their distress,
• and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
• ¹⁴ God brought them out from the darkness and deep gloom;
• he shattered their chains.
• ¹⁵ Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love
• and his wondrous works for all people,
• ¹⁶ because God has shattered bronze doors
• and split iron bars in two!

• ¹⁷ Some of the redeemed were fools because of their sinful ways.
• They suffered because of their wickedness.
• ¹⁸ They had absolutely no appetite for food;
• they had arrived at death’s gates.
• ¹⁹ So they cried out to the LORD in their distress,
• and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
• ²⁰ God gave the order and healed them;
• he rescued them from their pit.
• ²¹ Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love
• and his wondrous works for all people.
• ²² Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices
• and declare what God has donein songs of joy!

• ²³ Some of the redeemed had gone out on the ocean in ships,
• making their living on the high seas.
• ²⁴ They saw what the LORD had made;
• they saw his wondrous works in the depths of the sea.
• ²⁵ God spoke and stirred up a storm
• that brought the waves up high.
• ²⁶ The waves went as high as the sky;
• they crashed down to the depths.
• The sailors’ courage melted at this terrible situation.
• ²⁷ They staggered and stumbled around like they were drunk.
• None of their skill was of any help.
• ²⁸ So they cried out to the LORD in their distress,
• and God brought them out safe from their desperate circumstances.
• ²⁹ God quieted the storm to a whisper;
• the sea’s waves were hushed.
• ³⁰ So they rejoiced because the waves had calmed down;
• then God led them to the harbor they were hoping for.
• ³¹ Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love
• and his wondrous works for all people.
• ³² Let them exalt God in the congregation of the people
• and praise God in the assembly of the elders.

• ³³ God turns rivers into desert,
• watery springs into thirsty ground,
• ³⁴ fruitful land into unproductive dirt,
• when its inhabitants are wicked.
• ³⁵ But God can also turn the desert into watery pools,
• thirsty ground into watery springs,
• ³⁶ where he settles the hungry.
• They even build a city and live there!
• ³⁷ They plant fields and vineyards
• and obtain a fruitful harvest.
• ³⁸ God blesses them, and they become many.
• God won’t even let their cattle diminish.
• ³⁹ But when they do diminish—
• when they’re brought down by oppression, trouble, and grief—
• ⁴⁰ God pours contempt on their leaders,
• making them wander aimlessly in the wastelands.
• ⁴¹ But God raises the needy from their suffering;
• he makes their families as numerous as sheep!

• ⁴² Those who do right see it and celebrate,
• but every wicked person shuts their mouth.
• ⁴³ Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things,
• carefully considering the LORD ’s faithful love.