Psalm 107–109

BOOK 5

PSALM 107

The Lord Delivers Men from Manifold Troubles.

¹Oh ^agive thanks to the Lord, for ^bHe is good,

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

²Let ^athe redeemed of the Lord say so,

Whom He has ^bredeemed from the hand of the adversary

³And ^agathered from the lands,

From the east and from the west,

From the north and from the ¹south.

⁴They ^awandered in the wilderness in a ¹desert region;

They did not find a way to ²an inhabited ^bcity.

⁵They were hungry ¹and thirsty;

Their ^asoul fainted within them.

⁶Then they ^acried out to the Lord in their trouble;

He delivered them out of their distresses.

⁷He led them also by a ^1astraight way,

To go to ^2ban inhabited city.

^8aLet them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,

And for His ¹wonders to the sons of men!

⁹For He has ^asatisfied the ¹thirsty soul,

And the ^bhungry soul He has filled with what is good.

¹⁰There were those who ^adwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death,

^bPrisoners in ¹misery and ²chains,

¹¹Because they had ^arebelled against the words of God

And ^bspurned the ^ccounsel of the Most High.

¹²Therefore He humbled their heart with labor;

They stumbled and there was ^anone to help.

¹³Then they ^acried out to the Lord in their trouble;

He saved them out of their distresses.

¹⁴He ^abrought them out of darkness and the shadow of death

And ^bbroke their bands apart.

^15aLet them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,

And for His ¹wonders to the sons of men!

¹⁶For He has ^ashattered gates of bronze

And cut bars of iron asunder.

¹⁷Fools, because of ¹their rebellious way,

And ^abecause of their iniquities, were afflicted.

¹⁸Their ^asoul abhorred all kinds of food,

And they ^bdrew near to the ^cgates of death.

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

He saved them out of their distresses.

²⁰He ^asent His word and ^bhealed them,

And ^cdelivered them from their ¹destructions.

^21aLet them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,

And for His ¹wonders to the sons of men!

²²Let them also offer ^asacrifices of thanksgiving,

And ^btell of His works with joyful singing.

²³Those who ^ago down to the sea in ships,

Who do business on great waters;

²⁴They have seen the works of the Lord,

And His ¹wonders in the deep.

²⁵For He ^aspoke and raised up a ^bstormy wind,

Which ^clifted up the waves ¹of the sea.

²⁶They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;

Their soul ^amelted away in their misery.

²⁷They reeled and ^astaggered like a drunken man,

And ¹were at their wits’ end.

²⁸Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

And He brought them out of their distresses.

²⁹He ^acaused the storm to be still,

So that the waves ¹of the sea were hushed.

³⁰Then they were glad because they were quiet,

So He guided them to their desired haven.

^31aLet them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,

And for His ^1bwonders to the sons of men!

³²Let them ^aextol Him also ^bin the congregation of the people,

And ^cpraise Him at the seat of the elders.

³³He ^1achanges rivers into a ²wilderness

And springs of water into a thirsty ground;

³⁴A ^afruitful land into a ^bsalt waste,

Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

³⁵He ^1achanges a ²wilderness into a pool of water

And a dry land into springs of water;

³⁶And there He makes the hungry to dwell,

So that they may establish ^1aan inhabited city,

³⁷And sow fields and ^aplant vineyards,

And ¹gather a fruitful harvest.

³⁸Also He blesses them and they ^amultiply greatly,

And He ^bdoes not let their cattle decrease.

³⁹When they are ^adiminished and ^bbowed down

Through oppression, misery and sorrow,

⁴⁰He ^apours contempt upon ¹princes

And ^bmakes them wander ^cin a pathless waste.

⁴¹But He ^asets the needy ¹securely on high away from affliction,

And ^bmakes his families like a flock.

⁴²The ^aupright see it and are glad;

But all ^bunrighteousness shuts its mouth.

⁴³Who is ^awise? Let him give heed to these things,

And consider the ^blovingkindnesses of the Lord.

PSALM 108

God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory.

A Song, a Psalm of David.

^1aMy heart is steadfast, O God;

I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my ¹soul.

²Awake, harp and lyre;

I will awaken the dawn!

³I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples,

And I will sing praises to You among the nations.

⁴For Your ^alovingkindness is great ^babove the heavens,

And Your truth reaches to the skies.

^5aBe exalted, O God, above the heavens,

And Your glory above all the earth.

^6aThat Your beloved may be delivered,

Save with Your right hand, and answer me!

⁷God has spoken in His ¹holiness:

“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem

And measure out the valley of Succoth.

⁸“Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;

Ephraim also is the ¹helmet of My head;

^aJudah is My ²scepter.

⁹“Moab is My washbowl;

Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;

Over Philistia I will shout aloud.”

^10aWho will bring me into the besieged city?

Who ¹will lead me to Edom?

¹¹Have not You Yourself, O God, ^arejected us?

And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?

¹²Oh give us help against the adversary,

For ^adeliverance ¹by man is in vain.

¹³¹Through God we will do valiantly,

And ^ait is He who shall tread down our adversaries.

PSALM 109

Vengeance Invoked upon Adversaries.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

¹O ^aGod of my praise,

^bDo not be silent!

²For they have opened the ¹wicked and ^adeceitful mouth against me;

They have spoken ²against me with a ^blying tongue.

³They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,

And fought against me ^awithout cause.

⁴In return ^afor my love they act as my accusers;

But ^bI am in prayer.

⁵Thus they have ^1arepaid me evil for good

And ^bhatred for my love.

⁶Appoint a wicked man over him,

And let an ^1aaccuser stand at his right hand.

⁷When he is judged, let him ^acome forth guilty,

And let his ^bprayer become sin.

⁸Let ^ahis days be few;

Let ^banother take his office.

⁹Let his ^achildren be fatherless

And his ^bwife a widow.

¹⁰Let his ^achildren wander about and beg;

And let them ^bseek sustenance ¹far from their ruined homes.

¹¹Let ^athe creditor ¹seize all that he has,

And let ^bstrangers plunder the product of his labor.

¹²Let there be none to ^1aextend lovingkindness to him,

Nor ^bany to be gracious to his fatherless children.

¹³Let his ^aposterity be ¹cut off;

In a following generation let their ^bname be blotted out.

¹⁴Let ^athe iniquity of his fathers be remembered ¹before the Lord,

And do not let the sin of his mother be ^bblotted out.

¹⁵Let ^athem be before the Lord continually,

That He may ^bcut off their memory from the earth;

¹⁶Because he did not remember to show lovingkindness,

But persecuted the ^aafflicted and needy man,

And the ^bdespondent in heart, to ^cput them to death.

¹⁷He also loved cursing, so ^ait came to him;

And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.

¹⁸But he ^aclothed himself with cursing as with his garment,

And it ^bentered into ¹his body like water

And like oil into his bones.

¹⁹Let it be to him as ^aa garment with which he covers himself,

And for a belt with which he constantly ^bgirds himself.

²⁰¹Let this be the ^areward of my accusers from the Lord,

And of those who ^bspeak evil against my soul.

²¹But You, O ¹God, the Lord, deal kindly with me ^afor Your name’s sake;

Because ^bYour lovingkindness is good, deliver me;

²²For ^aI am afflicted and needy,

And ¹my heart is ^bwounded within me.

²³I am passing ^alike a shadow when it lengthens;

I am shaken off ^blike the locust.

²⁴My ^aknees ¹are weak from ^bfasting,

And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.

²⁵I also have become a ^areproach to them;

When they see me, they ^bwag their head.

^26aHelp me, O Lord my God;

Save me according to Your lovingkindness.

²⁷¹And let them ^aknow that this is Your hand;

You, Lord, have done it.

^28aLet them curse, but You bless;

When they arise, they shall be ashamed,

But Your ^bservant shall be glad.

²⁹¹Let ^amy accusers be clothed with dishonor,

And ²let them ^bcover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.

³⁰With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord;

And in the midst of many ^aI will praise Him.

³¹For He stands ^aat the right hand of the needy,

To save him from those who ^bjudge his soul.