Verse 1
Book 5(Psalms 107-150) Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, and his loyal love endures!
Verse 2
Let those delivered by the LORD speak out, those whom he delivered from the power of the enemy,
Verse 3
and gathered from foreign lands, from east and west, from north and south.
Verse 4
They wandered through the wilderness, in a wasteland; they found no road to a city in which to live.
Verse 5
They were hungry and thirsty; they fainted from exhaustion.
Verse 6
They cried out to the LORD in their distress; he delivered them from their troubles.
Verse 7
He led them on a level road, that they might find a city in which to live.
Verse 8
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his loyal love, and for the amazing things he has done for people!
Verse 9
For he has satisfied those who thirst, and those who hunger he has filled with food.
Verse 10
They sat in utter darkness, bound in painful iron chains,
Verse 11
because they had rebelled against God’s commands, and rejected the instructions of the Most High.
Verse 12
So he used suffering to humble them; they stumbled and no one helped them up.
Verse 13
Verse 14
He brought them out of the utter darkness, and tore off their shackles.
Verse 15
Verse 16
For he shattered the bronze gates, and hacked through the iron bars.
Verse 17
They acted like fools in their rebellious ways, and suffered because of their sins.
Verse 18
They lost their appetite for all food, and they drew near the gates of death.
Verse 19
Verse 20
He sent them an assuring word and healed them; he rescued them from the pits where they were trapped.
Verse 21
Verse 22
Let them present thank offerings, and loudly proclaim what he has done!
Verse 23
Some traveled on the sea in ships, and carried cargo over the vast waters.
Verse 24
They witnessed the acts of the LORD, his amazing feats on the deep water.
Verse 25
He gave the order for a windstorm, and it stirred up the waves of the sea.
Verse 26
They reached up to the sky, then dropped into the depths. The sailors’ strength left them because the danger was so great.
Verse 27
They swayed and staggered like a drunk, and all their skill proved ineffective.
Verse 28
Verse 29
He calmed the storm, and the waves grew silent.
Verse 30
The sailors rejoiced because the waves grew quiet, and he led them to the harbor they desired.
Verse 31
Verse 32
Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people! Let them praise him in the place where the leaders preside!
Verse 33
He turned streams into a desert, springs of water into arid land,
Verse 34
and a fruitful land into a barren place, because of the sin of its inhabitants.
Verse 35
As for his people, he turned a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into springs of water.
Verse 36
He allowed the hungry to settle there, and they established a city in which to live.
Verse 37
They cultivated fields, and planted vineyards, which yielded a harvest of fruit.
Verse 38
He blessed them so that they became very numerous. He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number.
Verse 39
As for their enemies, they decreased in number and were beaten down, because of painful distress and suffering.
Verse 40
He would pour contempt upon princes, and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.
Verse 41
Yet he protected the needy from oppression, and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.
Verse 42
When the godly see this, they rejoice, and every sinner shuts his mouth.
Verse 43
Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things! Let them consider the LORD’s acts of loyal love!