New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Psalm 107
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BOOK V Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good. His faithful love continues forever.
2
That's what those who have been set free by the Lord should say. He set them free from the power of the enemy.
3
He brought them back from other lands. He brought them back from east and west, from north and south.
4
Some of them wandered in deserts that were dry and empty. They couldn't find their way to a city where they could settle down.
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They were hungry and thirsty. Their lives were slipping away.
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Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems. And he saved them from their troubles.
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He led them straight to a city where they could settle down.
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Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love. Let them give thanks for the miracles he does for his people.
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He 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.
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Others lived in the deepest darkness. They suffered as prisoners in iron chains.
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That's because they hadn't obeyed the words of God. They had refused to follow the advice of the Most High God.
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So he made them do work that was hard and bitter. They tripped and fell, and there was no one to help them.
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Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems. And he saved them from their troubles.
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He brought them out of the deepest darkness. He broke their chains off.
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Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love. Let them give thanks for the miracles he does for his people.
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He breaks down gates that are made of bronze. He cuts through bars that are made of iron.
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Others were foolish. They suffered because of their sins. They suffered because they wouldn't obey the Lord.
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They refused to eat anything. They came close to passing through the gates of death.
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Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems. And he saved them from their troubles.
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He gave his command and healed them. He saved them from the grave.
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Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love. Let them give thanks for the miracles he does for his people.
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Let them sacrifice thank offerings. Let them talk about what he has done as they sing with joy.
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Others sailed out on the ocean in ships. They traded goods on the mighty waters.
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They saw the works of the Lord. They saw the miracles he did on the ocean.
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He spoke and stirred up a storm. It lifted the waves high.
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They rose up to the heavens. Then they went down deep into the ocean. In that kind of danger the people's boldness melted away.
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They were unsteady like those who get drunk. They didn't know what to do.
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Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems. And he brought them out of their troubles.
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He made the storm as quiet as a whisper. The waves of the ocean calmed down.
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The people were glad when the ocean became calm. Then he guided them to the harbor they were looking for.
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Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love. Let them give thanks for the miracles he does for his people.
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Let them honor him among his people who gather for worship. Let them praise him in the meeting of the elders.
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He turned rivers into a desert. He turned flowing springs into thirsty ground.
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He turned land that produced crops into a salty land where nothing could grow. He did it because the people who lived there were evil.
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He turned the desert into pools of water. He turned the dry and cracked ground into flowing springs.
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He brought hungry people there to live. They built a city where they could settle down.
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They planted fields and vineyards that produced large crops.
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He blessed the people, and they greatly increased their numbers. He kept their herds from getting smaller.
39
Then the number of God's people got smaller. They were brought low by trouble, suffering and sorrow.
40
The One who looks down on proud nobles made them wander in a desert where no one lives.
41
But he lifted needy people out of their suffering. He made their families increase like flocks of sheep.
42
Honest people see it and are filled with joy. But no one who is evil has anything to say.
43
Let those who are wise pay attention to these things. Let them think about the Lord's great love.
Summary of Psalm 107
Psalm 107 is a song about God's ability to rescue people from many different kinds of trouble. God's faithful love is present even when people are experiencing very different forms of suffering.
Psalm 107 ultimately teaches that God hears people when they cry to Him in distress and that His power extends over wandering, captivity, sickness, storms, nations, land, poverty, and human suffering. The chapter does not describe only one kind of problem. Instead, it presents several different situations so that almost every reader can recognize something familiar. Some people are lost. Some are imprisoned. Some are sick. Some are caught in circumstances they cannot control. Others are experiencing social or economic hardship. Yet the repeated message is that God sees people in their distress and can bring them through it.
The opening verses establish the central reason for the entire psalm: the LORD is good, and His faithful love lasts forever. This statement is repeated throughout the chapter because the writer wants the people who have experienced God's rescue to remember where their deliverance came from. They are not simply lucky survivors. Their rescue is presented as evidence of God's continuing love.
The first group is made up of people wandering through a wilderness. They have no city where they can settle, and their basic needs are not being met. They are hungry and thirsty, and their strength is disappearing. This is more than physical discomfort. They have no clear destination and no stable place to call home. Their situation represents the experience of people who feel lost and without direction.
When these people cry to the LORD, He does not simply give them temporary relief. He leads them toward a place where they can live. The image of being led along the right road is important. God's help includes direction. Sometimes the answer to distress is not an immediate change in every circumstance but a new path that leads toward stability and safety.
The second group is described as prisoners sitting in darkness. Their suffering is connected with rebellion and rejection of God's instruction. The psalm does not hide the moral dimension of their situation. Some suffering results from circumstances outside a person's control, while some consequences come from wrong choices. Yet even people who have brought trouble upon themselves can cry to God. The psalm emphasizes that God's mercy is available when people turn back to Him.
The image of God breaking bronze gates and cutting through iron bars is especially powerful. Human beings may create barriers that appear impossible to overcome, but those barriers are not stronger than God. The imagery emphasizes complete liberation. What looks permanently closed to people can be opened by God.
The third group consists of people suffering from severe illness. Their condition has become so difficult that they no longer want food and feel close to death. Their physical weakness leaves them unable to save themselves. Again, they cry to God. The response is described in simple but powerful terms: God sends His word and heals them.
This section shows that the psalm is deeply concerned with human vulnerability. Sickness can reduce a strong person to weakness. Hunger can destroy confidence. Captivity can remove freedom. Yet the psalm repeatedly presents God as the One who can restore what people cannot restore by themselves. The appropriate response after rescue is thanksgiving and testimony.
The fourth group is dramatically different. These people are not wandering in the desert or sitting in prison. They are sailors traveling across the sea. Their problem is a violent storm. The sea rises, the ship is tossed, and the sailors become helpless. The language emphasizes that human skill has limits. Even experienced sailors can become powerless when nature becomes overwhelming.
The sailors' response is the same as that of the other groups: they cry to the LORD. God calms the storm and brings them safely into harbor. This section shows God's authority over creation. The sea, which ancient people often associated with danger and chaos, is not outside God's control. The storm can become calm when God commands it.
The repetition throughout these four sections is one of the most important literary features of Psalm 107. Each group experiences a different problem, but the structure is similar: trouble, prayer, rescue, thanksgiving. The repetition teaches that God's faithful love is not limited to one type of crisis. He can meet people in many different situations.
After these four stories, the psalm broadens its focus to the land itself. God can transform the environment. He can turn rivers into deserts and fertile land into barren ground because of wickedness. But He can also reverse that condition, turning dry places into pools of water and deserts into fertile areas. The message is that God has authority not only over individuals but also over communities, economies, agriculture, and the land.
The agricultural section provides a hopeful picture of restoration. Hungry people are given a place to live. They build a city. They plant fields and vineyards. Their crops produce food. Their families increase. Their livestock multiply. The picture is one of stability replacing wandering and abundance replacing hunger. God's restoration is described in practical terms: homes, food, work, families, and productive land.
The psalm then reminds the reader that circumstances can change again. People who were once numerous can become few. Communities can experience oppression, trouble, and sorrow. Proud rulers can be brought down. Those who appear powerful can lose their position, while people who are poor and needy can be lifted up. This reinforces one of the major themes of the chapter: human circumstances are not permanent. God can reverse them.
The contrast between the proud and the needy is especially important. The psalm does not assume that power is a permanent possession. Leaders who become arrogant can be humbled. People who are suffering can be raised up. This reflects a broader biblical theme that God cares about justice and is able to overturn human systems of power.
Verse 41 provides one of the chapter's most hopeful images. God lifts the needy out of their suffering and gives them a secure place. Their families become numerous like flocks. The picture is one of restoration after weakness. The people who were once vulnerable are no longer abandoned. They have stability, community, and a future.
The final verse turns the entire chapter into a lesson in wisdom. The writer does not simply want people to hear these stories and move on. He wants them to think about them. Wise people should observe the pattern and recognize God's faithful love. The stories become lessons about God's character.
Psalm 107 therefore encourages people to remember God's deliverance. If you are wandering, God can provide direction. If you are trapped, God can provide freedom. If you are suffering physically, God can provide help and healing. If you are facing circumstances that feel uncontrollable, God remains sovereign. If your community or circumstances have been devastated, God can bring restoration. The psalm does not promise that every difficulty will disappear immediately, but it repeatedly emphasizes that distress is a proper reason to cry out to God rather than to surrender to hopelessness.
The central message of Psalm 107 is simple and powerful: people experience many different forms of trouble, but God's faithful love reaches them in every situation. The appropriate response is to cry to Him, recognize His help, remember what He has done, and give Him thanks. The chapter begins with the declaration that God's faithful love lasts forever, and it ends by telling the wise to consider that love carefully. Everything between those two points is evidence supporting the same truth.
Psalm 107 ultimately teaches that God hears people when they cry to Him in distress and that His power extends over wandering, captivity, sickness, storms, nations, land, poverty, and human suffering. The chapter does not describe only one kind of problem. Instead, it presents several different situations so that almost every reader can recognize something familiar. Some people are lost. Some are imprisoned. Some are sick. Some are caught in circumstances they cannot control. Others are experiencing social or economic hardship. Yet the repeated message is that God sees people in their distress and can bring them through it.
The opening verses establish the central reason for the entire psalm: the LORD is good, and His faithful love lasts forever. This statement is repeated throughout the chapter because the writer wants the people who have experienced God's rescue to remember where their deliverance came from. They are not simply lucky survivors. Their rescue is presented as evidence of God's continuing love.
The first group is made up of people wandering through a wilderness. They have no city where they can settle, and their basic needs are not being met. They are hungry and thirsty, and their strength is disappearing. This is more than physical discomfort. They have no clear destination and no stable place to call home. Their situation represents the experience of people who feel lost and without direction.
When these people cry to the LORD, He does not simply give them temporary relief. He leads them toward a place where they can live. The image of being led along the right road is important. God's help includes direction. Sometimes the answer to distress is not an immediate change in every circumstance but a new path that leads toward stability and safety.
The second group is described as prisoners sitting in darkness. Their suffering is connected with rebellion and rejection of God's instruction. The psalm does not hide the moral dimension of their situation. Some suffering results from circumstances outside a person's control, while some consequences come from wrong choices. Yet even people who have brought trouble upon themselves can cry to God. The psalm emphasizes that God's mercy is available when people turn back to Him.
The image of God breaking bronze gates and cutting through iron bars is especially powerful. Human beings may create barriers that appear impossible to overcome, but those barriers are not stronger than God. The imagery emphasizes complete liberation. What looks permanently closed to people can be opened by God.
The third group consists of people suffering from severe illness. Their condition has become so difficult that they no longer want food and feel close to death. Their physical weakness leaves them unable to save themselves. Again, they cry to God. The response is described in simple but powerful terms: God sends His word and heals them.
This section shows that the psalm is deeply concerned with human vulnerability. Sickness can reduce a strong person to weakness. Hunger can destroy confidence. Captivity can remove freedom. Yet the psalm repeatedly presents God as the One who can restore what people cannot restore by themselves. The appropriate response after rescue is thanksgiving and testimony.
The fourth group is dramatically different. These people are not wandering in the desert or sitting in prison. They are sailors traveling across the sea. Their problem is a violent storm. The sea rises, the ship is tossed, and the sailors become helpless. The language emphasizes that human skill has limits. Even experienced sailors can become powerless when nature becomes overwhelming.
The sailors' response is the same as that of the other groups: they cry to the LORD. God calms the storm and brings them safely into harbor. This section shows God's authority over creation. The sea, which ancient people often associated with danger and chaos, is not outside God's control. The storm can become calm when God commands it.
The repetition throughout these four sections is one of the most important literary features of Psalm 107. Each group experiences a different problem, but the structure is similar: trouble, prayer, rescue, thanksgiving. The repetition teaches that God's faithful love is not limited to one type of crisis. He can meet people in many different situations.
After these four stories, the psalm broadens its focus to the land itself. God can transform the environment. He can turn rivers into deserts and fertile land into barren ground because of wickedness. But He can also reverse that condition, turning dry places into pools of water and deserts into fertile areas. The message is that God has authority not only over individuals but also over communities, economies, agriculture, and the land.
The agricultural section provides a hopeful picture of restoration. Hungry people are given a place to live. They build a city. They plant fields and vineyards. Their crops produce food. Their families increase. Their livestock multiply. The picture is one of stability replacing wandering and abundance replacing hunger. God's restoration is described in practical terms: homes, food, work, families, and productive land.
The psalm then reminds the reader that circumstances can change again. People who were once numerous can become few. Communities can experience oppression, trouble, and sorrow. Proud rulers can be brought down. Those who appear powerful can lose their position, while people who are poor and needy can be lifted up. This reinforces one of the major themes of the chapter: human circumstances are not permanent. God can reverse them.
The contrast between the proud and the needy is especially important. The psalm does not assume that power is a permanent possession. Leaders who become arrogant can be humbled. People who are suffering can be raised up. This reflects a broader biblical theme that God cares about justice and is able to overturn human systems of power.
Verse 41 provides one of the chapter's most hopeful images. God lifts the needy out of their suffering and gives them a secure place. Their families become numerous like flocks. The picture is one of restoration after weakness. The people who were once vulnerable are no longer abandoned. They have stability, community, and a future.
The final verse turns the entire chapter into a lesson in wisdom. The writer does not simply want people to hear these stories and move on. He wants them to think about them. Wise people should observe the pattern and recognize God's faithful love. The stories become lessons about God's character.
Psalm 107 therefore encourages people to remember God's deliverance. If you are wandering, God can provide direction. If you are trapped, God can provide freedom. If you are suffering physically, God can provide help and healing. If you are facing circumstances that feel uncontrollable, God remains sovereign. If your community or circumstances have been devastated, God can bring restoration. The psalm does not promise that every difficulty will disappear immediately, but it repeatedly emphasizes that distress is a proper reason to cry out to God rather than to surrender to hopelessness.
The central message of Psalm 107 is simple and powerful: people experience many different forms of trouble, but God's faithful love reaches them in every situation. The appropriate response is to cry to Him, recognize His help, remember what He has done, and give Him thanks. The chapter begins with the declaration that God's faithful love lasts forever, and it ends by telling the wise to consider that love carefully. Everything between those two points is evidence supporting the same truth.