Psalm 107 (106)
A third look at the history of Israel. Like the two preceding psalms, this one recalls the past, and draws another lesson from it: each time they cried to the Lord, he listened to them. “Let us give thanks for his love.”
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say this, those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some strayed in the wilderness and were lost, far away from the city.
5 They wandered about hungry and thirsty, their lives ebbing away.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in anguish, and he rescued them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way to a city where they could dwell.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his love and wondrous deeds for hu mans.
9 He quenches the thirst of the soul and satisfies the hunger of the heart.
10 They lived in the darkness of death like prisoners suffering in chains,
11 for they rebelled against the word of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12 Their backs bent in hard labor, they fell down, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in anguish, and he rescued them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of the dark and gloom, and he tore asunder their bonds.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his love and wondrous deeds for hu mans.
16 For he breaks open gates of bronze and batters down bars of iron.
17 They were sick because of their wrongs, they were afflicted for their iniquities.
18 Unable to take any food they drew near the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in anguish, and he rescued them from their distress.
20 He sent forth his word and healed them, and rescued them from destruction.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his love and wondrous deeds for hu mans.
22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds in joyful song.
23 Those who went to the sea in ships, merchants on the mighty waters,
24 saw the marvels of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and stirred up a storm whipping up the waves of the sea.
26 Flung upward and plunged to the depths, they lost courage in the ordeal;
27 reeling like drunkards, they were
adrift, in spite of all their seamanship.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in anguish, and he rescued them from their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a gentle breeze and hushed the billows to silent waves.
30 How glad they were! He brought them safe and sound to the port where they were bound.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his love and wondrous deeds for humans.
32 Let them extol him in the congregation, praise him in the assembly of the people.
33 He turned rivers into wastelands, flowing springs into parched grounds,
34 and fruitful valleys into salt-flats, because of the wickedness of their inhabitants.
35 Yet he also turned deserts into watersheds and parched land into flowing springs.
36 There he let the hungry settle and found a city where they could dwell.
37 They planted vineyards, they sowed fields, and from them got fruitful harvests.
38 By his blessing their numbers increased, and their herds and flocks did not diminish.
39 But then they dwindled and were humbled through oppression, sorrow and distress.
40 And he who pours contempt upon princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes
41 rescued the needy from their affliction and made their families flourish like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad, but the wicked are silenced.
43 Let the wise consider all this and understand the Lord’s infinite love.