Psalms  ◦   Chapter 107

1Give thanks to the Creator God, for he is good;
his law of love is unchanging and endures forever.

2All whom the Lord has rescued will say this —
all whom he has rescued from the power of the enemy,

3whom he gathers from the earth —
from east and west, from north and south.

4Some wandered through the wilderness of this world — a desert devoid of love —
finding no way to enter the city where they could obtain rest.

5They were hungry and thirsty — in need of righteousness;
their lives slowly ebbed away.

6In distress they called to the Lord
and he healed them of their terminal sin-condition.

7He led them to live the right way — down the straight and narrow path —
that they might walk the road of life to the city where they would live.

8Oh, give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful acts of love to heal humanity:

9those who thirst for righteousness he satisfies,
and those who hunger for good he fills.

10Some sat in the darkness of lies and the deep gloom of hopelessness,
prisoners of fear and selfishness, suffering in chains they could not break,

11for they had rebelled against the designs of the Creator God
and rejected the healing plan of the Most High.

12So he taught them by letting them have their way, and life became hard;
they ruined themselves and there was no one to help.

13They cried out to the Lord in their distress
and he provided remedy for their terminal condition.

14He brought them out of the darkness of lies and the gloom of hopelessness
and broke the chains of fear and selfishness.

15Oh, give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful acts of love to heal humanity,

16for he destroys death’s door
and severs every tie to sin.

17Those who broke God’s design laws damaged their minds and became fools;
they suffered because they broke the protocols of life.

18Their appetites hated the food that would heal their souls
and they were knocking on death’s door.

19They cried out to the Lord in their distress
and he provided remedy for their terminal condition.

20He sent forth his Word and healed them;
he saved them from death.

21Oh, give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful acts of love to heal humanity.

22Let them present offerings of thanksgiving
and proclaim his methods of love with songs of joy.

23Those who go out on the sea in ships,
who carried cargo over the mighty waters,

24have seen how the Lord works —
his amazing ability to govern the deepest oceans.

25For he speaks and causes the stormy winds to stand still —
the winds that drive the waves to swell.

26Rising high in the air and falling deep in the depths,
the sailors became terrified.

27They stumbled and staggered like a drunk
and didn’t know what else they could do.

28They cried out to the Lord in their distress
and he delivered them from certain death.

29He caused the stormy winds to stand still,
and the angry waves were calmed.

30The sailors rejoiced because the waves calmed down,
and he guided them to the safe haven they sought.

31Oh, give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful acts of love to save humanity.

32Exalt him and his methods of love, wherever people assemble,
and praise him before the leaders of nations.

33He turned rivers into deserts,
flowing springs into dry ground

34and changed fruitful land into salt
to put an end to the wickedness happening there.

35He turned a desert into wetlands,
dry ground into flowing springs,

36and the hungry settled there
and established a city to live in.

37They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that brought a fruitful harvest;

38he blessed them, and they increased in number
and their livestock did not decrease.

39When they are diminished and degraded
by wickedness, coercion and grief,

40he shows contempt on their arrogant leaders by letting them go
and their lives become aimless, empty wastes.

41But he heals and uplifts out of misery those who recognize their need,
increasing their families and causing them to prosper.

42Those set right in heart with God understand and rejoice,
but all who prefer selfishness have nothing to say.

43Those who are wise will learn from these things
and understand how great the Lord’s law of love truly is.