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Book 5

Psalms 107—150

God Saves from Many Dangers

107 Thank the Lord because he is good.
    His love continues forever.
That is what the people the Lord has saved should say.
    They are the ones he has saved from the enemy.
He has gathered them from other lands,
    from east and west, north and south.

Some people had wandered in the desert lands.
    They found no city to live in.
They were hungry and thirsty.
    They were discouraged.
In their misery they cried out to the Lord.
    And he saved them from their troubles.
He led them on a straight road
    to a city where they could live.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
    and for the miracles he does for people.
He satisfies the thirsty.
    He fills up the hungry.

10 Some sat in gloom and darkness.
    They were prisoners suffering in chains.
11 They had turned against the words of God.
    They had refused the advice of God Most High.
12 So he broke their pride by hard work.
    They stumbled, and no one helped.
13 In their misery they cried out to the Lord.
    And he saved them from their troubles.
14 He brought them out of their gloom and darkness.
    He broke their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
    and for the miracles he does for people.
16 He breaks down bronze gates.
    And he cuts apart iron bars.

17 Some became fools who turned against God.
    They suffered for the evil they did.
18 They refused to eat anything.
    So they almost died.
19 In their misery they cried out to the Lord.
    And he saved them from their troubles.
20 God gave the command and healed them.
    So they were saved from dying.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
    and for the miracles he does for people.
22 Let them offer sacrifices to thank him.
    With joy they should tell what he has done.

23 Others went out to sea in ships.
    They did business on the great oceans.
24 They saw what the Lord could do.
    They saw the miracles he did.
25 He spoke, and a storm came up.
    It blew up high waves.
26 The ships tossed as high as the sky and fell low in the waves.
    The storm was so bad the men lost their courage.
27 They stumbled and fell like men who were drunk.
    They did not know what to do.
28 In their misery they cried out to the Lord.
    And he saved them from their troubles.
29 He made the storm be still.
    He calmed the waves.
30 They were happy that it was quiet.
    And God guided them to the port they wanted.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
    and for the miracles he does for people.
32 Let them praise his greatness in the meeting of the people.
    They should praise him in the meeting of the elders.

33 He changed rivers into a desert,
    and springs of water into dry ground.
34 He made fertile land salty
    because the people there did evil.
35 He changed the desert into pools of water
    and dry ground into springs of water.
36 He had the hungry settle there.
    They built a city to live in.
37 They planted seeds in the fields and vineyards.
    And they had a good harvest.
38 God blessed them, and they grew in number.
    Their cattle did not become fewer.

39 Because of disaster, troubles and sadness,
    their families grew smaller and weaker.
40 He showed he was displeased with their important men.
    He made them wander in a pathless desert.
41 But he lifted the poor out of their suffering.
    And he made their families grow like flocks of sheep.
42 Good people see this and are happy.
    But the wicked say nothing.

43 Whoever is wise will remember these things.
    He will think about the love of the Lord.

BOOK V

(Psalms 107–150)

Psalm 107

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

Some of the redeemed had wandered into the desert, into the wasteland.
    They couldn’t find their way to a city or town.
They were hungry and thirsty;
    their lives were slipping away.
So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
    and God delivered them from their desperate circumstances.
    God led them straight to human habitation.
Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
    and his wondrous works for all people,
    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 done in 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.