Psalm 107–109

BOOK V

Psalms 107–150

Psalm 107

¹Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.

His faithful love continues forever.

²That’s what those who have been set free by the Lord should say.

He set them free from the power of the enemy.

³He brought them back from other lands.

He brought them back from east and west, from north and south.

⁴Some of them wandered in deserts that were dry and empty.

They couldn’t find their way to a city where they could settle down.

⁵They were hungry and thirsty.

Their lives were slipping away.

⁶Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.

And he saved them from their troubles.

⁷He led them straight

to a city where they could settle down.

⁸Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.

Let them give thanks for the miracles he does for his people.

⁹He gives those who are thirsty all of the water they want.

He gives those who are hungry all of the good food they can eat.

¹⁰Others lived in the deepest darkness.

They suffered as prisoners in iron chains.

¹¹That’s because they hadn’t obeyed the words of God.

They had refused to follow the advice of the Most High God.

¹²So he made them do work that was hard and bitter.

They tripped and fell, and there was no one to help them.

¹³Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.

And he saved them from their troubles.

¹⁴He brought them out of the deepest darkness.

He broke their chains off.

¹⁵Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.

Let them give thanks for the miracles he does for his people.

¹⁶He breaks down gates that are made of bronze.

He cuts through bars that are made of iron.

¹⁷Others were foolish. They suffered because of their sins.

They suffered because they wouldn’t obey the Lord.

¹⁸They refused to eat anything.

They came close to passing through the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.

And he saved them from their troubles.

²⁰He gave his command and healed them.

He saved them from the grave.

²¹Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.

Let them give thanks for the miracles he does for his people.

²²Let them sacrifice thank offerings.

Let them talk about what he has done as they sing with joy.

²³Others sailed out on the ocean in ships.

They traded goods on the mighty waters.

²⁴They saw the works of the Lord.

They saw the miracles he did on the ocean.

²⁵He spoke and stirred up a storm.

It lifted the waves high.

²⁶They rose up to the heavens. Then they went down deep into the ocean.

In that kind of danger the people’s boldness melted away.

²⁷They were unsteady like those who get drunk.

They didn’t know what to do.

²⁸Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.

And he brought them out of their troubles.

²⁹He made the storm as quiet as a whisper.

The waves of the ocean calmed down.

³⁰The people were glad when the ocean became calm.

Then he guided them to the harbor they were looking for.

³¹Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.

Let them give thanks for the miracles he does for his people.

³²Let them honor him among his people who gather for worship.

Let them praise him in the meeting of the elders.

³³He turned rivers into a desert.

He turned flowing springs into thirsty ground.

³⁴He turned land that produced crops into a salty land where nothing could grow.

He did it because the people who lived there were evil.

³⁵He turned the desert into pools of water.

He turned the dry and cracked ground into flowing springs.

³⁶He brought hungry people there to live.

They built a city where they could settle down.

³⁷They planted fields and vineyards

that produced large crops.

³⁸He blessed the people, and they greatly increased their numbers.

He kept their herds from getting smaller.

³⁹Then the number of God’s people got smaller.

They were brought low by trouble, suffering and sorrow.

⁴⁰The One who looks down on proud nobles

made them wander in a desert where no one lives.

⁴¹But he lifted needy people out of their suffering.

He made their families increase like flocks of sheep.

⁴²Honest people see it and are filled with joy.

But no one who is evil has anything to say.

⁴³Let those who are wise pay attention to these things.

Let them think about the Lord’s great love.

Psalm 108

A song. A psalm of David.

¹God, my heart feels secure.

I will sing and make music to you with all my heart.

²Harp and lyre, wake up!

I want to sing and make music before the sun rises.

³Lord, I will praise you among the nations.

I will sing about you among the people of the earth.

⁴Great is your love. It is higher than the heavens.

Your truth reaches to the skies.

⁵God, may you be honored above the heavens.

Let your glory be over the whole earth.

⁶Save us. Help us with your powerful right hand,

so that those you love may be saved.

⁷God has spoken from his temple.

He has said, “I will win the battle.

Then I will divide up the land around Shechem.

I will divide up the Valley of Succoth.

⁸Gilead belongs to me. So does the land of Manasseh.

Ephraim is the strongest tribe. It is like a helmet for my head.

Judah is the royal tribe. It is like a ruler’s staff.

⁹Moab serves me like one who washes my feet.

I toss my sandal on Edom to show that I own it.

I shout to Philistia that I have won the battle.”

¹⁰Who will bring me to the city that has high walls around it?

Who will lead me to the land of Edom?

¹¹God, isn’t it you, even though you have now turned away from us?

Isn’t it you, even though you don’t lead our armies into battle anymore?

¹²Help us against our enemies.

The help people give doesn’t amount to anything.

¹³With your help we will win the battle.

You will walk all over our enemies.

Psalm 109

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹God, I praise you.

Don’t remain silent.

²Sinful people who lie and cheat have spoken against me.

They have used their tongues to tell lies about me.

³They gather all around me with their words of hatred.

They attack me without any reason.

⁴They bring charges against me,

even though I love them

and pray for them.

⁵They pay me back with evil for the good things I do.

They pay back my love with hatred.

⁶Appoint an evil person to take my enemies to court.

Let him stand at their right hand and bring charges against them.

⁷When they are tried, let them be found guilty.

May even their prayers judge them.

⁸May their days be few.

Let others take their places as leaders.

⁹May their children’s fathers die.

May their wives become widows.

¹⁰May their children be driven from their destroyed homes.

May they wander around like beggars.

¹¹May everything those people own be taken away to pay for what they owe.

May strangers rob them of everything they’ve worked for.

¹²May no one be kind to them

or take pity on the children they leave behind.

¹³May their family line come to an end.

May their names be forgotten by those who live after them.

¹⁴May the Lord remember the evil things their fathers have done.

May he never erase the sins of their mothers.

¹⁵May the Lord never forget their sins.

Then he won’t let people remember those sinners anymore.

¹⁶They never thought about doing anything kind.

Instead, they drove those who were poor and needy to their deaths.

They did the same thing to those whose hearts were broken.

¹⁷They loved to call down curses on others.

May their curses come back on them.

They didn’t find any pleasure in giving anyone their blessing.

May no blessing ever come to them.

¹⁸They called down curses on others as easily as they put on clothes.

Cursing was as natural to them as getting a drink of water

or putting olive oil on their bodies.

¹⁹May their curses cover them like coats.

May their curses be wrapped around them like a belt forever.

²⁰May that be the Lord’s way of paying back

those who bring charges against me.

May it happen to those who say

evil things about me.

²¹But Lord and King,

be true to your name. Treat me well.

Because your love is so good, save me.

²²I am poor and needy.

My heart is wounded deep down inside me.

²³I fade away like an evening shadow.

I’m like a locust that someone brushes off.

²⁴My knees are weak because I’ve gone without food.

My body is very thin.

²⁵Those who bring charges against me laugh at me.

When they see me, they shake their heads at me.

²⁶Lord my God, help me.

Save me because you love me.

²⁷Lord, let my enemies know that you yourself have saved me.

You have done it with your own hand.

²⁸They may call down a curse on me.

But you will give me your blessing.

When they attack me, they will be put to shame.

But I will be filled with joy.

²⁹Those who bring charges against me will be clothed with dishonor.

They will be wrapped in shame as if it were a coat.

³⁰With my mouth I will continually praise the Lord.

I will praise him when all of his people gather for worship.

³¹He stands ready to help those who need it.

He saves them from those who have sentenced them to death.