CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Psalms 107
Chapter 107 of 150
Chapter Overview
What happens in Psalms 107
The opening psalm of Book 5, celebrating God's faithful love in rescuing people from four types of distress: wandering in the desert, imprisonment, sickness, and storms at sea. The refrain repeats: 'Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.'
Scripture
Psalms 107
Give Thanks to the Lord
Study note
The redeemed of the Lord are called to declare that his love endures forever. He has gathered them from every direction.
1 Thank the Lord, because he is good! His loyal love goes on forever. O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let the people the Lord has rescued say so -- the ones he has saved from the enemy's hand Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
3 and gathered in from faraway places, from the east and the west, from the north and the south. And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
Lost in the Desert
Study note
Some wandered in the wilderness, hungry and thirsty. They cried out to the Lord and he led them to a city to live in. Let them give thanks for his faithful love.
4 Some of them wandered through empty deserts on lonely roads, unable to find a town to call home. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
5 Hunger gnawed at them and thirst wore them down. Their strength was fading fast. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6 In their need, they cried out to the Lord. He rescued them from their terrible situation. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7 He guided them along a straight road until they reached a city where they could live. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
8 Let them praise the Lord for his loyal love and for the incredible things he does for people. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 He gives plenty to drink to those who are parched and fills the hungry with wonderful food. For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
Prisoners Set Free
Study note
Some sat in darkness and chains because they had rebelled against God. They cried out and he saved them, breaking their chains.
10 Some of them sat trapped in pitch-black darkness, locked up in chains of misery, Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
11 because they had turned against what God said and laughed at the advice of the Most High. Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
12 So he crushed their pride with backbreaking work. They fell down, and nobody was there to pick them up. Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they called out to the Lord in their trouble, and he pulled them out of their mess. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of the darkness and the deepest shadows and snapped their chains to pieces. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
15 Let them praise the Lord for his loyal love and for the incredible things he does for people. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16 He smashes gates made of bronze and chops through bars made of iron. For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
Healed from Sickness
Study note
Some became fools through their rebellion and were near death. They cried out and God sent his word and healed them.
17 Some people suffered because they foolishly rebelled. Their sins brought pain upon them. Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
18 The very thought of food made them sick. They came right up to the doorstep of death. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
19 Then they called out to the Lord in their trouble, and he pulled them out of their mess. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
20 He sent his word and made them well again. He snatched them from the edge of the grave. He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
21 Let them praise the Lord for his loyal love and for the incredible things he does for people. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
22 Let them bring offerings of thanksgiving and tell everyone about his works with songs of pure joy. And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
Rescued from the Storm
Study note
Some went out on the sea and saw God's wonders. A fierce storm tossed them around until they cried out. God stilled the storm and guided them to a safe harbor.
23 Others set sail on the open ocean, earning a living on the wide waters. They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
24 They witnessed firsthand what the Lord can do -- his jaw-dropping wonders out on the deep. These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
25 He spoke a word, and a fierce wind kicked up, churning the waves into towering walls of water. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26 The waves tossed them up toward the sky and plunged them down toward the bottom. Their courage dissolved in their panic. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
27 They stumbled and swayed like people who have had too much to drink. Every bit of their sailing skill was useless. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
28 Then they called out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them safely through. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29 He hushed the storm to barely a whisper, and the thrashing waves grew calm and still. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
30 How glad they were when everything settled down! He led them right to the harbor they had been hoping for. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31 Let them praise the Lord for his loyal love and for the incredible things he does for people. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them honor him when all the people gather and praise him in the meeting of the leaders. Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
God Transforms the Land
Study note
God turns rivers into deserts for the wicked but springs of water for the hungry. He settles them and blesses their fields. Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things and understand the Lord's faithful love.
33 He can turn rivers into bone-dry desert and bubbling springs into cracked, thirsty ground, He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
34 He turns rich farmland into salty waste. He does this because of the evil of the people living there. A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
35 But he also turns deserts into shimmering pools of water and parched land into flowing springs. He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
36 He settles hungry people there, and they build a town to live in. And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
37 They plant fields and grow vineyards that produce an excellent harvest. And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
38 He blesses them, and their numbers grow and grow. He keeps their herds from shrinking. He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
39 But when they shrink in number and are beaten down by trouble, hardship, and grief, Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
40 he pours shame on those proud leaders and sends them stumbling through an empty wasteland with no path. He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
41 But the ones in need -- he lifts them out of their suffering and grows their families as big as flocks of sheep. Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
42 Honest people see this and it makes them glad. Every wicked mouth snaps shut. The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
43 Whoever is truly wise should take all of this to heart and think deeply about the Lord's never-ending loyal love. Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
Key Themes
Themes in Psalms 107
Four pictures of distress and God's deliveranceWanderers, prisoners, the sick, and storm-tossed sailorsThe refrain: cry out to God and he will saveGod's faithful love endures forever
Apply This Today
Living Psalms 107
No matter what kind of trouble you are in — lost, enslaved, sick, or storm-tossed — the answer is the same: cry out to the Lord, and He will deliver. This psalm is practical proof that God meets people in every kind of crisis. Your situation is not too unique for God's rescue.
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