WEB
Psalms 107
The psalm that opens Book Five gathers the "redeemed" from every direction and walks through four portraits of rescue: wanderers lost in the desert, prisoners in darkness and iron, fools sick from their own folly, and sailors caught in a storm. Each group cries out and is delivered. Watch the two repeated lines that organize the whole poem: "Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble," and the answering call to "praise the LORD for his loving kindness." Four times the same rhythm of distress and deliverance.
- 1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
- 2
Let the redeemed by the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
- 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 desert way. They found no city to live in.
- 5
Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
- 6
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
- 7
He led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in.
- 8
Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
- 9
For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good.
- 10
Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron,
- 11
because they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High.
- 12
Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help.
- 13
Then they cried 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 away their chains.
- 15
Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
- 16
For he has broken the gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron.
- 17
Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities.
- 18
Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death.
- 19
Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, and he saves them out of their distresses.
- 20
He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves.
- 21
Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
- 22
Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds with singing.
- 23
Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters,
- 24
these see the LORD’s deeds, and his wonders in the deep.
- 25
For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves.
- 26
They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts away because of trouble.
- 27
They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
- 28
Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress.
- 29
He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still.
- 30
Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven.
- 31
Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds for the children of men!
- 32
Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders.
- 33
He turns rivers into a desert, water springs into a thirsty ground,
- 34
and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
- 35
He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs.
- 36
There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in,
- 37
sow fields, plant vineyards, and reap the fruits of increase.
- 38
He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly. He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease.
- 39
Again, they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
- 40
He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
- 41
Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like a flock.
- 42
The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths.
- 43
Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the loving kindnesses of the LORD.
A storm answered by stillness
The sailors' scene (vv. 23-30) is the most vivid: they mount to the sky and plunge to the depths, reeling "like a drunken man" at their wits' end. Then God "makes the storm a calm" and brings them to their desired haven.
After the four rescues the psalm turns wider (vv. 33-43), showing God reversing rivers and deserts, raising the needy and humbling princes, and ends by inviting the wise to read these reversals as a record of his loving kindness.
Context layers
Keep these closed by default and open them only when you want more context.
Share a small range via:
/en/web/psalms/107/16-18
Or use the Passage link builder.