BOOK FIVE: Psalms 107—150

Thanksgiving to the Lord for His Great Works of Deliverance

107 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!For His mercy endures forever.² Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,³ And gathered out of the lands,From the east and from the west,From the north and from the south.

⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;They found no city to dwell in.⁵ Hungry and thirsty,Their soul fainted in them.⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,And He delivered them out of their distresses.⁷ And He led them forth by the right way,That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.⁸ Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,And for His wonderful works to the children of men!⁹ For He satisfies the longing soul,And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

¹⁰ Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,Bound in affliction and irons—¹¹ Because they rebelled against the words of God,And despised the counsel of the Most High,¹² Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;They fell down, and there was none to help.¹³ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,And He saved them out of their distresses.¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,And broke their chains in pieces.¹⁵ Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,And for His wonderful works to the children of men!¹⁶ For He has broken the gates of bronze,And cut the bars of iron in two.

¹⁷ Fools, because of their transgression,And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.¹⁸ Their soul abhorred all manner of food,And they drew near to the gates of death.¹⁹ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,And He saved them out of their distresses.²⁰ He sent His word and healed them,And delivered them from their destructions.²¹ Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,And for His wonderful works to the children of men!²² Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,And declare His works with rejoicing.

²³ Those who go down to the sea in ships,Who do business on great waters,²⁴ They see the works of the Lord,And His wonders in the deep.²⁵ For He commands and raises the stormy wind,Which lifts up the waves of the sea.²⁶ They mount up to the heavens,They go down again to the depths;Their soul melts because of trouble.²⁷ They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,And are at their wits’ end.²⁸ Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,And He brings them out of their distresses.²⁹ He calms the storm,So that its waves are still.³⁰ Then they are glad because they are quiet;So He guides them to their desired haven.³¹ Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,And for His wonderful works to the children of men!³² Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,And praise Him in the company of the elders.

³³ He turns rivers into a wilderness,And the watersprings into dry ground;³⁴ A fruitful land into barrenness,For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.³⁵ He turns a wilderness into pools of water,And dry land into watersprings.³⁶ There He makes the hungry dwell,That they may establish a city for a dwelling place,³⁷ And sow fields and plant vineyards,That they may yield a fruitful harvest.³⁸ He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly;And He does not let their cattle decrease.

³⁹ When they are diminished and brought lowThrough oppression, affliction, and sorrow,⁴⁰ He pours contempt on princes,And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;⁴¹ Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction,And makes their families like a flock.⁴² The righteous see it and rejoice,And all iniquity stops its mouth.

⁴³ Whoever is wise will observe these things,And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.