Psalms 107

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.

²Let the redeemed by the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,

³and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

⁴They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way. They found no city to live in.

⁵Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

⁶Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.

⁷He led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in.

⁸Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!

⁹For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good.

¹⁰Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron,

¹¹because they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High.

¹²Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help.

¹³Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke away their chains.

¹⁵Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!

¹⁶For he has broken the gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron.

¹⁷Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities.

¹⁸Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, and he saves them out of their distresses.

²⁰He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves.

²¹Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!

²²Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds with singing.

²³Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters,

²⁴these see the LORD’s deeds, and his wonders in the deep.

²⁵For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves.

²⁶They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts away because of trouble.

²⁷They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.

²⁸Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress.

²⁹He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still.

³⁰Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven.

³¹Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds for the children of men!

³²Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders.

³³He turns rivers into a desert, water springs into a thirsty ground,

³⁴and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

³⁵He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs.

³⁶There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in,

³⁷sow fields, plant vineyards, and reap the fruits of increase.

³⁸He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly. He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease.

³⁹Again, they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.

⁴⁰He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.

⁴¹Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like a flock.

⁴²The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths.

⁴³Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the loving kindnesses of the LORD.

Previous Psalms 106

Next Psalms 108

Psalm 107 is a communal thanksgiving hymn celebrating God's steadfast love and deliverance across four distinct scenarios of human distress. The psalm follows a structured pattern where people cry out to the Lord in various troubles—wilderness wandering, imprisonment, sickness, and storms at sea—and God responds with rescue, followed by calls for praise. This liturgical composition emphasizes the universal nature of God's redemptive power and the appropriate human response of gratitude and public worship.

Context

This psalm serves as the opening hymn of Book V of the Psalter, establishing themes of divine deliverance and thanksgiving that resonate throughout the concluding section.

Key Themes

Outline

1-3
Call to Thanksgiving Opening invitation for the redeemed to give thanks for God's enduring loving kindness.
4-9
Deliverance from Wilderness First scenario describing God's rescue of those lost and hungry in the desert.
10-16
Liberation from Prison Second scenario of God freeing those bound in darkness due to rebellion.
17-22
Healing from Sickness Third scenario showing God's healing of those afflicted by their own foolishness.
23-32
Rescue from Storms Fourth scenario depicting God's calming of dangerous seas for sailors.
33-43
God's Sovereign Power Concluding reflection on God's ability to transform landscapes and circumstances according to his justice and mercy.

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles

107:1–107:43

poetry song joyful

A thanksgiving psalm celebrating God's deliverance of various groups from distress, emphasizing His loving kindness and calling for praise from those He has redeemed.

theme_rarity

Psalm 107's fourfold refrain "Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble" creates the Bible's most systematic template for communal thanksgiving, structuring gratitude through identical narrative cycles.

Insight Rare Theme