Psalm 107–109

Book Five (Psalms 107–150)

Psalm 107

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

His faithful love endures forever.

²Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!

Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.

³For he has gathered the exiles from many lands,

from east and west,

from north and south.

⁴Some wandered in the wilderness,

lost and homeless.

⁵Hungry and thirsty,

they nearly died.

⁶“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,

and he rescued them from their distress.

⁷He led them straight to safety,

to a city where they could live.

⁸Let them praise the Lord for his great love

and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

⁹For he satisfies the thirsty

and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom,

imprisoned in iron chains of misery.

¹¹They rebelled against the words of God,

scorning the counsel of the Most High.

¹²That is why he broke them with hard labor;

they fell, and no one was there to help them.

¹³“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress.

¹⁴He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom;

he snapped their chains.

¹⁵Let them praise the Lord for his great love

and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

¹⁶For he broke down their prison gates of bronze;

he cut apart their bars of iron.

¹⁷Some were fools; they rebelled

and suffered for their sins.

¹⁸They couldn’t stand the thought of food,

and they were knocking on death’s door.

¹⁹“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress.

²⁰He sent out his word and healed them,

snatching them from the door of death.

²¹Let them praise the Lord for his great love

and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

²²Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving

and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.

²³Some went off to sea in ships,

plying the trade routes of the world.

²⁴They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action,

his impressive works on the deepest seas.

²⁵He spoke, and the winds rose,

stirring up the waves.

²⁶Their ships were tossed to the heavens

and plunged again to the depths;

the sailors cringed in terror.

²⁷They reeled and staggered like drunkards

and were at their wits’ end.

²⁸“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress.

²⁹He calmed the storm to a whisper

and stilled the waves.

³⁰What a blessing was that stillness

as he brought them safely into harbor!

³¹Let them praise the Lord for his great love

and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

³²Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation

and before the leaders of the nation.

³³He changes rivers into deserts,

and springs of water into dry, thirsty land.

³⁴He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands,

because of the wickedness of those who live there.

³⁵But he also turns deserts into pools of water,

the dry land into springs of water.

³⁶He brings the hungry to settle there

and to build their cities.

³⁷They sow their fields, plant their vineyards,

and harvest their bumper crops.

³⁸How he blesses them!

They raise large families there,

and their herds of livestock increase.

³⁹When they decrease in number and become impoverished

through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,

⁴⁰the Lord pours contempt on their princes,

causing them to wander in trackless wastelands.

⁴¹But he rescues the poor from trouble

and increases their families like flocks of sheep.

⁴²The godly will see these things and be glad,

while the wicked are struck silent.

⁴³Those who are wise will take all this to heart;

they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.

Psalm 108

A song. A psalm of David.

¹My heart is confident in you, O God;

no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!

²Wake up, lyre and harp!

I will wake the dawn with my song.

³I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.

I will sing your praises among the nations.

⁴For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens.

Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.

May your glory shine over all the earth.

⁶Now rescue your beloved people.

Answer and save us by your power.

⁷God has promised this by his holiness:

“I will divide up Shechem with joy.

I will measure out the valley of Succoth.

⁸Gilead is mine,

and Manasseh, too.

Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors,

and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings.

⁹But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant,

and I will wipe my feet on Edom

and shout in triumph over Philistia.”

¹⁰Who will bring me into the fortified city?

Who will bring me victory over Edom?

¹¹Have you rejected us, O God?

Will you no longer march with our armies?

¹²Oh, please help us against our enemies,

for all human help is useless.

¹³With God’s help we will do mighty things,

for he will trample down our foes.

Psalm 109

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹O God, whom I praise,

don’t stand silent and aloof

²while the wicked slander me

and tell lies about me.

³They surround me with hateful words

and fight against me for no reason.

⁴I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations

even as I am praying for them!

⁵They repay evil for good,

and hatred for my love.

⁶They say, “Get an evil person to turn against him.

Send an accuser to bring him to trial.

⁷When his case comes up for judgment,

let him be pronounced guilty.

Count his prayers as sins.

⁸Let his years be few;

let someone else take his position.

⁹May his children become fatherless,

and his wife a widow.

¹⁰May his children wander as beggars

and be driven from their ruined homes.

¹¹May creditors seize his entire estate,

and strangers take all he has earned.

¹²Let no one be kind to him;

let no one pity his fatherless children.

¹³May all his offspring die.

May his family name be blotted out in the next generation.

¹⁴May the Lord never forget the sins of his fathers;

may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.

¹⁵May the Lord always remember these sins,

and may his name disappear from human memory.

¹⁶For he refused all kindness to others;

he persecuted the poor and needy,

and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.

¹⁷He loved to curse others;

now you curse him.

He never blessed others;

now don’t you bless him.

¹⁸Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing,

or the water he drinks,

or the rich food he eats.

¹⁹Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing;

may they be tied around him like a belt.”

²⁰May those curses become the Lord’s punishment

for my accusers who speak evil of me.

²¹But deal well with me, O Sovereign Lord,

for the sake of your own reputation!

Rescue me

because you are so faithful and good.

²²For I am poor and needy,

and my heart is full of pain.

²³I am fading like a shadow at dusk;

I am brushed off like a locust.

²⁴My knees are weak from fasting,

and I am skin and bones.

²⁵I am a joke to people everywhere;

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

²⁶Help me, O Lord my God!

Save me because of your unfailing love.

²⁷Let them see that this is your doing,

that you yourself have done it, Lord.

²⁸Then let them curse me if they like,

but you will bless me!

When they attack me, they will be disgraced!

But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!

²⁹May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;

may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.

³⁰But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord,

praising him to everyone.

³¹For he stands beside the needy,

ready to save them from those who condemn them.