Bible Study Psalms 107
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Psalms 107 · WEB

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

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Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
2Let the redeemed of Yahweh say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
3and gathered from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4Some wandered in the desert in a wasteland. They found no city to live in.
5Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distress,
7he led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in.
8Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
9For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good.
10Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron,
11because they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High.
12Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help.
13Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bonds apart.
15Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
16For he has broken the gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron.
17Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities.
18Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death.
19Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, he saves them out of their distresses.
20He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves.
21Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
22Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds with singing.
23Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters,
24these see Yahweh's works, and his wonders in the deep.
25For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves.
26They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts away because of trouble.
27They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
28Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress.
29He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still.
30Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven.
31Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
32Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders.
33He turns rivers into a desert, water springs into a thirsty ground,
34and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs.
36There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in,
37sow fields, plant vineyards, and reap the fruits of increase.
38He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly. He doesn't allow their livestock to decrease.
39Again, they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
40He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
41Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like a flock.
42The upright will see it and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths.
43Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the loving kindnesses of Yahweh.
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Summary

Psalm 107 opens Book V of the Psalter with a sweeping call to gratitude. Four groups of the redeemed testify to God's salvation: desert wanderers, prisoners in darkness, sick men near death, and sailors in a storm. Each episode follows the same shape — distress, crying out, deliverance, praise — and ends with the same refrain: "Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!" The psalm closes by affirming that God overturns the powerful and lifts the needy, and calls the wise to pay attention to this pattern.

Themes

  • Four archetypes of human distress: lostness, captivity, sickness, danger
  • The universal pattern: cry → deliverance → praise
  • God's hesed as the constant in every story
  • Gratitude as the proper response of the delivered
  • The wise person recognizes God's patterns of rescue

Key verses

  • Ps 107:2 — “Let the redeemed of Yahweh say so.”
  • Ps 107:43 — “Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the loving kindnesses of Yahweh.”
  • Ps 107:8-9 — “Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness... for he satisfies the longing soul.”

Context & background

Psalm 107 opens Book V (Psalms 107-150), the final book of the Psalter. The gathering "from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south" (v. 3) suggests the post-exilic context — the return of scattered Israel from the nations. The four groups (lost travelers, prisoners, sick men, sailors) represent the full range of human crisis. Sailors in the ancient Mediterranean world were uniquely acquainted with terrifying storms — the expression "at their wits' end" (literally "all their wisdom was swallowed up") would resonate deeply in a seafaring culture. "He sends his word, and heals them" (v. 20) is a striking anticipation of the logos who heals by his word — picked up in John 1 and the Gospel healing narratives. The closing verse is a wisdom saying: seeing God's patterns of hesed requires paying attention.

Cross-references

  • Isaiah 42:7 — "to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison" — v. 14's liberation
  • Isaiah 43:5-6 — "I will bring your offspring from the east... from the north and from the south" — v. 3's gathering
  • John 1:1, 14 — "the Word became flesh" — v. 20's "he sends his word"
  • Luke 1:79 — "to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death" — v. 10
  • Mark 4:35-41 — Jesus stills the storm — vv. 25-29 the narrative template

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  1. Observe

    What are the four groups of the redeemed and their crises?

  2. Observe

    What is the repeated refrain after each rescue?

  3. Interpret

    What does it mean that crying out is the turning point?

  4. Interpret

    How does "he sends his word and heals them" connect to creation and Jesus?

  5. Apply

    What testimony of rescue needs to be told?

  6. Apply

    What practices help notice patterns of God's hesed?

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