Psalm 107–109

THE PSALMS: BOOK 5

PSALM 107

¹O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures for ever!

²Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

whom he has redeemed from trouble

³and gathered in from the lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south.

⁴Some wandered in desert wastes,

finding no way to a city to dwell in;

⁵hungry and thirsty,

their soul fainted within them.

⁶Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress;

⁷he led them by a straight way,

till they reached a city to dwell in.

⁸Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to the sons of men!

⁹For he satisfies him who is thirsty,

and the hungry he fills with good things.

¹⁰Some sat in darkness and in gloom,

prisoners in affliction and in irons,

¹¹for they had rebelled against the words of God,

and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

¹²Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;

they fell down, with none to help.

¹³Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress;

¹⁴he brought them out of darkness and gloom,

and broke their bonds asunder.

¹⁵Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to the sons of men!

¹⁶For he shatters the doors of bronze,

and cuts in two the bars of iron.

¹⁷Some were sick through their sinful ways,

and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;

¹⁸they loathed any kind of food,

and they drew near to the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress;

²⁰he sent forth his word, and healed them,

and delivered them from destruction.

²¹Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to the sons of men!

²²And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,

and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

²³Some went down to the sea in ships,

doing business on the great waters;

²⁴they saw the deeds of the Lord,

his wondrous works in the deep.

²⁵For he commanded, and raised the stormy wind,

which lifted up the waves of the sea.

²⁶They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;

their courage melted away in their evil plight;

²⁷they reeled and staggered like drunken men,

and were at their wits’ end.

²⁸Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress;

²⁹he made the storm be still,

and the waves of the sea were hushed.

³⁰Then they were glad because they had quiet,

and he brought them to their desired haven.

³¹Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to the sons of men!

³²Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,

and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

³³He turns rivers into a desert,

springs of water into thirsty ground,

³⁴a fruitful land into a salty waste,

because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.

³⁵He turns a desert into pools of water,

a parched land into springs of water.

³⁶And there he lets the hungry dwell,

and they establish a city to live in;

³⁷they sow fields, and plant vineyards,

and get a fruitful yield.

³⁸By his blessing they multiply greatly;

and he does not let their cattle decrease.

³⁹When they are diminished and brought low

through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,

⁴⁰he pours contempt upon princes

and makes them wander in trackless wastes;

⁴¹but he raises up the needy out of affliction,

and makes their families like flocks.

⁴²The upright see it and are glad;

and all wickedness stops its mouth.

⁴³Whoever is wise, let him give heed to these things;

let men consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

PSALM 108

A Song. A Psalm of David.

¹My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast!

I will sing and make melody!

Awake, my soul!

²Awake, O harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn!

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

I will sing praises to thee among the nations.

⁴For thy steadfast love is great above the heavens,

thy faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let thy glory be over all the earth!

⁶That thy beloved may be delivered,

give help by thy right hand, and answer me!

⁷God has promised in his sanctuary:

“With exultation I will divide up Shechem,

and portion out the Vale of Succoth.

⁸Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim is my helmet;

Judah my scepter.

⁹Moab is my washbasin;

upon Edom I cast my shoe;

over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

¹⁰Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

¹¹Hast thou not rejected us, O God?

Thou dost not go forth, O God, with our armies.

¹²O grant us help against the foe,

for vain is the help of man!

¹³With God we shall do valiantly;

it is he who will tread down our foes.

PSALM 109

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹Be not silent, O God of my praise!

²For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,

speaking against me with lying tongues.

³They beset me with words of hate,

and attack me without cause.

⁴In return for my love they accuse me,

even as I make prayer for them.

⁵So they reward me evil for good,

and hatred for my love.

⁶Appoint a wicked man against him;

let an accuser bring him to trial.

⁷When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;

let his prayer be counted as sin!

⁸May his days be few;

may another seize his goods!

⁹May his children be fatherless,

and his wife a widow!

¹⁰May his children wander about and beg;

may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit!

¹¹May the creditor seize all that he has;

may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!

¹²Let there be none to extend kindness to him,

nor any to pity his fatherless children!

¹³May his posterity be cut off;

may his name be blotted out in the second generation!

¹⁴May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,

and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!

¹⁵Let them be before the Lord continually;

and may his memory be cut off from the earth!

¹⁶For he did not remember to show kindness,

but pursued the poor and needy

and the brokenhearted to their death.

¹⁷He loved to curse; let curses come on him!

He did not like blessing; may it be far from him!

¹⁸He clothed himself with cursing as his coat,

may it soak into his body like water,

like oil into his bones!

¹⁹May it be like a garment which he wraps round him,

like a belt with which he daily girds himself!

²⁰May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord,

of those who speak evil against my life!

²¹But thou, O GOD my Lord,

deal on my behalf for thy name’s sake;

because thy steadfast love is good, deliver me!

²²For I am poor and needy,

and my heart is stricken within me.

²³I am gone, like a shadow at evening;

I am shaken off like a locust.

²⁴My knees are weak through fasting;

my body has become gaunt.

²⁵I am an object of scorn to my accusers;

when they see me, they wag their heads.

²⁶Help me, O Lord my God!

Save me according to thy steadfast love!

²⁷Let them know that this is thy hand;

thou, O Lord, hast done it!

²⁸Let them curse, but do thou bless!

Let my assailants be put to shame; may thy servant be glad!

²⁹May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;

may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle!

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

I will praise him in the midst of the throng.

³¹For he stands at the right hand of the needy,

to save him from those who condemn him to death.