Psalm 107–109

BOOK V

(Psalms 107–150)

Psalm 107

THANKSGIVING FOR GOD’S DELIVERANCE

¹Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his faithful love endures forever.^y

²Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim

that he has redeemed them from the power of the foe^z

³and has gathered them from the lands—

from the east and the west,

from the north and the south.^aa

⁴Some wandered in the desolate wilderness,

finding no way to a city where they could live.^ab

⁵They were hungry and thirsty;

their spirits failed^A within them.^a

⁶Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;

he rescued them from their distress.^b

⁷He led them by the right path

to go to a city where they could live.^c

⁸Let them give thanks to the Lord

for his faithful love

and his wondrous works for all humanity.^d

⁹For he has satisfied the thirsty

and filled the hungry with good things.^e

¹⁰Others sat in darkness and gloom—

prisoners in cruel chains^f—

¹¹because they rebelled against God’s commands

and despised the counsel of the Most High.^g

¹²He broke their spirits^C with hard labor;

they stumbled, and there was no one to help.^h

¹³Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;

he saved them from their distress.ⁱ

¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and gloom

and broke their chains apart.^j

¹⁵Let them give thanks to the Lord

for his faithful love

and his wondrous works for all humanity.^k

¹⁶For he has broken down the bronze gates

and cut through the iron bars.^l

¹⁷Fools suffered affliction

because of their rebellious ways and their iniquities.^m

¹⁸They loathed all food

and came near the gates of death.ⁿ

¹⁹Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;

he saved them from their distress.^o

²⁰He sent his word and healed them;

he rescued them from their traps.

²¹Let them give thanks to the Lord

for his faithful love

and his wondrous works for all humanity.^q

²²Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices

and announce his works with shouts of joy.^r

²³Others went to sea in ships,

conducting trade on the vast water.^s

²⁴They saw the Lord’s works,

his wondrous works in the deep.^t

²⁵He spoke and raised a stormy wind

that stirred up the waves of the sea.^Au

²⁶Rising up to the sky, sinking down to the depths,

their courage^B melting away in anguish,^v

²⁷they reeled and staggered like a drunkard,

and all their skill was useless.^w

²⁸Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

and he brought them out of their distress.^x

²⁹He stilled the storm to a whisper,

and the waves of the sea were hushed.^y

³⁰They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet.

Then he guided them to the harbor they longed for.^z

³¹Let them give thanks to the Lord

for his faithful love

and his wondrous works for all humanity.^aa

³²Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people

and praise him in the council of the elders.^ab

³³He turns rivers into desert,

springs into thirsty ground,^ac

³⁴and fruitful land into salty wasteland,

because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.^ad

³⁵He turns a desert into a pool,

dry land into springs.^ae

³⁶He causes the hungry to settle there,

and they establish a city where they can live.^af

³⁷They sow fields and plant vineyards

that yield a fruitful harvest.^ag

³⁸He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;^ah

he does not let their livestock decrease.^a

³⁹When they are diminished and are humbled

by cruel oppression and sorrow,^b

⁴⁰he pours contempt on nobles^c

and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.^d

⁴¹But he lifts the needy out of their suffering^e

and makes their families multiply like flocks.^f

⁴²The upright see it and rejoice,^g

and all injustice shuts its mouth.^h

⁴³Let whoever is wise pay attention to these things

and consider the Lord’s acts of faithful love.ⁱ

Psalm 108

A PLEA FOR VICTORY

A song. A psalm of David.

¹My heart is confident, God;

I will sing; I will sing praises

with the whole of my being.^Cj

²Wake up, harp and lyre!

I will wake up the dawn.^k

³I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.^l

⁴For your faithful love is higher than the heavens,

and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.^m

⁵God, be exalted above the heavens,ⁿ

and let your glory be over the whole earth.^o

⁶Save with your right hand and answer me

so that those you love may be rescued.^p

⁷God has spoken in his sanctuary:^A

“I will celebrate!

I will divide up Shechem.^q

I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.^r

⁸Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine,

and Ephraim is my helmet;^s

Judah is my scepter.^t

⁹Moab is my washbasin;^u

I throw my sandal on Edom.^v

I shout in triumph over Philistia.”^w

¹⁰Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?^x

¹¹God, haven’t you rejected us?

God, you do not march out with our armies.^y

¹²Give us aid against the foe,

for human help is worthless.^z

¹³With God we will perform valiantly;^aa

he will trample our foes.^ab

Psalm 109

PRAYER AGAINST AN ENEMY

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

¹God of my praise, do not be silent.^ac

²For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;

they speak against me with lying tongues.^ad

³They surround me with hateful words

and attack me without cause.^ae

⁴In return for my love they accuse me,

but I continue to pray.^Baf

⁵They repay me evil for good,

and hatred for my love.^ag

⁶Set a wicked person over him;

let an accuser^C stand at his right hand.^ah

⁷When he is judged, let him be found guilty,

and let his prayer be counted as sin.^ai

⁸Let his days be few;

let another take over his position.^aj

⁹Let his children be fatherless

and his wife a widow.^ak

¹⁰Let his children wander as beggars,

searching for food far^D from their demolished homes.^al

¹¹Let a creditor seize all he has;

let strangers plunder what he has worked for.^am

¹²Let no one show him kindness,

and let no one be gracious to his fatherless children.^an

¹³Let the line of his descendants be cut off;

let their name be blotted out in the next generation.^ao

¹⁴Let the iniquity of his fathers

be remembered before the Lord,^ap

and do not let his mother’s sin be blotted out.^a

¹⁵Let their sins^A always remain before the Lord,

and let him remove^B all memory of them from the earth.^b

¹⁶For he did not think to show kindness,

but pursued the suffering, needy, and brokenhearted

in order to put them to death.^c

¹⁷He loved cursing—let it fall on him;

he took no delight in blessing—let it be far from him.^d

¹⁸He wore cursing like his coat—

let it enter his body like water

and go into his bones like oil.^e

¹⁹Let it be like a robe he wraps around himself,

like a belt he always wears.^f

²⁰Let this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,

to those who speak evil against me.^g

²¹But you, Lord, my Lord,

deal kindly with me for your name’s sake;^h

because your faithful love is good, rescue me.ⁱ

²²For I am suffering and needy;^j

my heart is wounded within me.^k

²³I fade away like a lengthening shadow;^l

I am shaken off like a locust.

²⁴My knees are weak from fasting,

and my body is emaciated.^Cm

²⁵I have become an object of ridicule to my accusers;^D

when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.ⁿ

²⁶Help me, Lord my God;

save me according to your faithful love^o

²⁷so they may know that this is your hand

and that you, Lord, have done it.^p

²⁸Though they curse, you will bless.

When they rise up, they will be put to shame,

but your servant will rejoice.^q

²⁹My accusers will be clothed with disgrace;

they will wear their shame like a cloak.^r

³⁰I will fervently thank the Lord with my mouth;

I will praise him in the presence of many.^s

³¹For he stands at the right hand of the needy

to save him from those who would condemn him.^t