Psalm 107 is a song of thanksgiving that calls God’s people to praise him for his steadfast love, because he rescues those who cry out to him in trouble. People read it when they want a clear summary of the chapter, and when they want to see how the same pattern of distress, prayer and deliverance shows up again and again across very different kinds of hardship. The psalm uses four vivid pictures of lost travelers, prisoners, sick people and sailors in a storm to show that God hears and saves.
Psalm 107 Summary
The psalm opens with a call to give thanks to the LORD, because his loving kindness lasts forever. It then invites the people he has redeemed to speak up and testify to what he has done, gathering from every direction of the compass. From there the poet gives four scenes. In each one people are in danger, they cry out, God delivers them, and they are urged to praise him. The scenes are wandering in a desert with no city, sitting in darkness and chains, being near death through illness, and being tossed about on the sea.
The final part of the psalm widens the view. The same God who calms storms also turns rivers into deserts and deserts into pools, and he lifts up the poor and multiplies their families. The upright see this and rejoice, while the wicked fall silent. The psalm closes by urging the wise to pay close attention to these things and to consider the loving kindnesses of the LORD.
Background and Setting
Psalm 107 belongs to the Psalter, the collection of songs in the Old Testament book of Psalms, and it is one of the psalms that opens the fifth and final book of that collection. Its authorship is not stated in the text. Many traditions attribute psalms of this kind to David or to other temple singers, but scholars generally date this one to the postexilic period, after Israel returned from exile in Babylon, when the community was rebuilding and needed to remember God’s rescues.
The psalm was written for the gathered worshipping community, the redeemed of the LORD, who would have sung it in the temple or in a festive assembly. Its placement at the start of the final book of the Psalter gives it a role as a hymn of thanksgiving that frames the collection’s movement from lament toward praise.
Psalm 107 Section by Section
Verses 1-3: The Redeemed Gather to Give Thanks
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed by the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary…
Psalm 107:1-2 (WEB)
The opening verses set the tone for everything that follows. The psalmist does not begin with a complaint but with an invitation: give thanks because the LORD is good and his loving kindness endures. The word “redeemed” tells us that the people have been bought back from trouble, and the image of being gathered from east, west, north and south suggests that God’s people have been scattered and are now brought together again. This is a community story, and every voice is needed to tell it.
Notice that thanksgiving comes first, before the detailed stories of rescue. The psalm teaches that gratitude is not a reward for getting out of trouble but a response to the character of God, whose kindness does not run out. The sentence that follows the opening is a call to speak up and say so, to put the testimony into words in the assembly.
Verses 4-9: Lost Travelers Find a City
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way. They found no city to live in. 5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses, 7 he led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in.
Psalm 107:4-7 (WEB)
The first scene is a caravan of travelers lost in the desert, hungry and thirsty, with no city in sight. Their soul faints within them, which is a vivid way of describing exhaustion that reaches the very center of a person. The turning point comes when they cry out to the LORD in their trouble. The psalm does not say they earned their rescue; it says he delivered them and led them along a straight path to a place where they could settle.
The response is a call to praise for his wonderful deeds among the children of men. The verses that follow say he satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry with good things. The picture is of God meeting a basic need, bread and water and a home, rather than a distant or abstract blessing.
Verses 10-16: Prisoners Set Free from Darkness
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron, 11 because they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High. 12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help. 13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke away their chains.
Psalm 107:10-14 (WEB)
The second scene moves from the open desert to a dark prison. The prisoners are bound in affliction and iron, and the psalm explains that their trouble came from rebellion against God’s words. The text does not hide the moral reason for their condition, but it also does not leave them there. Their hearts are brought low, and when they cry out again, God brings them out of darkness and breaks their chains.
The image of gates of brass and bars of iron being broken shows that no human barrier can hold back the God who hears his people. The refrain of praise returns here, a reminder that deliverance is always followed by thanksgiving. The lesson is that God’s rescue is not limited to the innocent or the lost; it reaches anyone who turns back to him.
Verses 17-22: The Sick Healed by a Word
17 Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities. 18 Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death. 19 Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, he saves them out of their distresses. 20 He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves.
Psalm 107:17-20 (WEB)
The third scene describes people brought low by their own foolishness and its consequences, so sick that they loathe food and draw near to the gates of death. Again they cry out in trouble, and God sends his word to heal them and deliver them from the grave. The psalm presents God’s word as a living power that brings life, not only as a message to be read.
The response is to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and to declare his deeds with singing. Thanksgiving here is public and embodied, something done with the body and voice as well as the heart. The section ends with the same call to praise that has marked each scene so far.
Verses 23-32: Sailors Calmed in the Storm
28 Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress. 29 He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still. 30 Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven.
Psalm 107:28-30 (WEB)
The final scene shows sailors on the great waters, who see the LORD’s deeds and wonders in the deep. When God commands the wind, the waves lift up and the ship rises to the sky and sinks to the depths. The sailors reel like drunkards and are at their wits’ end. The description is honest about how frightening such a storm is, and about how helpless the sailors feel against it.
Again they cry out, and God makes the storm a calm, stilling the waves so that the sailors are glad and brought safely to their desired harbor. The psalm then calls the people to exalt him in the assembly and praise him among the elders. The sea scene is a fitting close to the four stories, because it shows God’s power over the most untamable part of creation.
Verses 33-43: God Reverses Fortunes and Lifts the Needy
35 He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs. 36 There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in, 37 sow fields, plant vineyards, and reap the fruits of increase.
Psalm 107:35-37 (WEB)
The last section turns from individual rescues to God’s governance of the wider world. He turns rivers to desert and fruitful land to salt waste because of the wickedness of those who dwell there, and then he reverses the process, turning deserts into pools and dry land into springs. He lets the hungry settle and build a city, plant fields and vineyards, and reap their harvest. The psalm shows that God both judges and restores, and that he is the one who determines the fortunes of nations and families.
The closing verses speak of princes poured with contempt, of the needy lifted out of affliction, and of the upright who rejoice while the wicked are silenced. The final verse urges the wise to pay attention and to consider the loving kindnesses of the LORD. The psalm ends where it began, with God’s steadfast love as the foundation for wisdom.
Key Themes in Psalm 107
- God’s steadfast love: The phrase about loving kindness returns again and again, showing that God’s mercy is the constant ground of every rescue in the psalm.
- Cry out and be saved: In each of the four scenes, people in trouble call on the LORD and he answers, showing that prayer in distress is a central act of faith.
- Thanksgiving as response: Each deliverance is followed by a call to praise, teaching that gratitude is the proper way to receive God’s help.
- God’s power over every realm: The psalm moves from desert to prison to sickbed to sea, showing that God rules over every kind of danger and place.
- Reversal of fortunes: God turns rivers into deserts and deserts into springs, lifting the needy and humbling the proud, which reminds readers that human circumstances are in God’s hands.
Lessons From Psalm 107 for Today
Consider someone sitting in a hospital waiting room, waiting for test results they are afraid to hear. Psalm 107 gives them permission to cry out honestly, just as the sick people in the psalm did, and it reminds them that God’s word has the power to heal and to bring life. The psalm does not promise any particular result, but it teaches that calling on the LORD in trouble is never wasted.
Think also of a family who has lost their way after a long season of bad decisions, feeling like the wanderers in the desert with no home to return to. The psalm shows that God leads people by a straight path to a place of rest, and that the first step is turning back to him in honest prayer. For those who have been stuck in patterns of rebellion, the image of prisoners set free offers hope that chains can be broken.
Questions for Reflection
- When was the last time you cried out to God honestly, the way the people in Psalm 107 did in their trouble?
- Which of the four scenes in this psalm feels most like your own experience, and why?
- How can you make thanksgiving a regular and visible practice in your family or small group?
- What does it mean to you that God rules over both the storm at sea and the rise and fall of nations?
- Who in your life needs to hear the call to consider the loving kindnesses of the LORD this week?
A Prayer From Psalm 107
Lord, you are good, and your loving kindness lasts forever. Thank you for hearing me when I cry out in my trouble and for leading me out of every place where I have lost my way. Break the chains that hold me, calm the storms I cannot control, and bring me to the harbor you have prepared. Teach me to give thanks in the assembly of your people and to speak of your wonderful deeds with simple honesty. Make me wise enough to notice your kindness and to remember it with gratitude. Amen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote Psalm 107?
The psalm does not name its author, and scholars generally date it to the postexilic period, after the return from Babylon. Some traditions connect psalms like this one with David or temple singers, but the text itself does not settle the question.
What is the main message of Psalm 107?
The main message is that God’s steadfast love rescues people who cry out to him in trouble. The psalm shows this through four scenes of danger, and it calls every redeemed person to respond with thanksgiving and praise.
Why does the phrase “let them praise the LORD” repeat so often?
The repeated call to praise marks the end of each rescue story and teaches that gratitude is the right response to deliverance. The refrain also reminds the worshipping community to tell its story together.
