Book V
Psalms 107–150
Psalm 107
1Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love continues forever.
2Let those who have been set free by the Lord tell their story.
He set them free from the power of the enemy.
3He brought them back from other lands.
He brought them back from east and west, from north and south.
4Some of them wandered in deserts that were dry and empty.
They couldn’t find a city where they could make their homes.
5They were hungry and thirsty.
Their lives were slipping away.
6Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.
And he saved them from their troubles.
7He led them straight
to a city where they could make their homes.
8Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.
Let them give thanks for the wonderful things he does for people.
9He gives those who are thirsty all the water they want.
He gives those who are hungry all the good food they can eat.
10Others lived in the deepest darkness.
They suffered as prisoners in iron chains.
11That’s because they hadn’t obeyed the commands of God.
They had refused to follow the plans of the Most High God.
12So he made them do work that was hard and bitter.
They tripped and fell, and there was no one to help them.
13Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.
And he saved them from their troubles.
14He brought them out of the deepest darkness.
He broke their chains off.
15Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.
Let them give thanks for the wonderful things he does for people.
16He breaks down gates that are made of bronze.
He cuts through bars that are made of iron.
17Others were foolish. They suffered because of their sins.
They suffered because they wouldn’t obey the Lord.
18They refused to eat anything.
They came close to passing through the gates of death.
19Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.
And he saved them from their troubles.
20He gave his command and healed them.
He saved them from the grave.
21Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.
Let them give thanks for the wonderful things he does for people.
22Let them sacrifice thank offerings.
Let them talk about what he has done as they sing with joy.
23Some people sailed out on the ocean in ships.
They traded goods on the mighty waters.
24They saw the works of the Lord.
They saw the wonderful deeds he did on the ocean.
25He spoke and stirred up a storm.
It lifted the waves high.
26They rose up to the heavens. Then they went down deep into the ocean.
In that kind of danger the people’s boldness melted away.
27They were unsteady like people who have become drunk.
They didn’t know what to do.
28Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.
And he brought them out of their troubles.
29He made the storm as quiet as a whisper.
The waves of the ocean calmed down.
30The people were glad when the ocean became calm.
Then he guided them to the harbor they were looking for.
31Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.
Let them give thanks for the wonderful things he does for people.
32Let them honor him among his people who gather for worship.
Let them praise him in the meeting of the elders.
33He turned rivers into a desert.
He turned flowing springs into thirsty ground.
34He turned land that produced crops into a salty land where nothing could grow.
He did it because the people who lived there were evil.
35He turned the desert into pools of water.
He turned the dry and cracked ground into flowing springs.
36He brought hungry people there to live.
They built a city where they could make their homes.
37They planted fields and vineyards
that produced large crops.
38He blessed the people, and they greatly increased their numbers.
He kept their herds from getting smaller.
39Then the number of God’s people got smaller.
They were made humble by trouble, suffering and sorrow.
40The God who looks down on proud nobles
made them wander in a desert where no one lives.
41But he lifted needy people out of their suffering.
He made their families increase like flocks of sheep.
42Honest people see it and are filled with joy.
But no one who is evil has anything to say.
43Let those who are wise pay attention to these things.
Let them think about the loving deeds of the Lord.
107
1主に感謝しなさい。
主は恵み深く、愛と思いやりにあふれたお方なのです。
2主のおかげで自由の身となれた人は、
大声でそう人に伝えなさい。
主に敵の手から救い出してもらったことを、
ほかの人に知らせなさい。
3主は、最果ての地で囚われの身となった人々を
連れ戻されました。
4住む家もない人々は、荒野をあてどなくさまよい、
5空腹をかかえ、のどはからからに渇き、
体力も衰え果てました。
6しかし彼らが「主よ、助けてください」と叫ぶと、
その切なる願いは聞かれました。
7神はすぐさま、安全で住むのに適した地へと
移してくださったのです。
8主が優しい心づかいを示し、
すばらしいことをしてくださったかを知って、
彼らが主を賛美しますように。
9主は渇いたたましいを潤し、
飢えたたましいを良いもので満たされるからです。
10みじめな奴隷になり下がり、
暗闇に座り込んでいる人はだれですか。
11神に逆らい、神々にまさる神をさげすんだ人々です。
12それゆえ、彼らは主から重労働を強いられ、
倒れても、だれにも起こしてもらえないのです。
13八方ふさがりの中で、
彼らが主に助けを求めた時、
その願いは聞かれました。
14暗闇から引き上げられ、
奴隷の鎖を断ち切っていただきました。
15すばらしい思いやりと恵みを
かけていただいたことについて、
彼らが主を賛美しますように。
16牢獄の青銅のとびらを押し倒し、
鉄格子を切断してくださったのは主なのですから。
17愚かな人々は、罪深い行いのために、
病気にかかりました。
18食欲もなく、死の一歩手前にいましたが、
19その苦境の中から主を呼ぶと、
力を与えられ救い出されたのです。
20主のひと声で病気はたちどころに治り、
死の入口から引き上げられました。
21これほどすばらしい恵みを頂いたことについて、
彼らが主を賛美しますように。
22彼らが主へのいけにえとして感謝をささげ、
主がしてくださったすばらしいことを歌にして、
語り継ぎますように。
23七つの海をまたにかけて
商売をする船乗りたちがいました。
24この人たちも、主の力を目の当たりに見るのです。
25主がお命じになると、波は山のように高くうねり、
26船を天まで持ち上げます。
しかし次の瞬間、船は深みに落とされ、
船乗りたちは恐怖に震えます。
27彼らは酔っぱらいのようによろめいて、
途方にくれます。
28こうして、あえぎながら神を呼び求めるとき、
彼らは救われるのです。
29主は嵐を静め、波を穏やかにされます。
30海が凪ぐと、目ざす港に無事に導かれるのです。
なんという祝福でしょう。
31このすばらしい恵みを頂いたことについて、
彼らが主をほめたたえますように。
32どうか、人々の前でも神をほめたたえ、
権力者の前でも、ものおじしませんように。
33主は川の水を干上がらせ、
34悪者どもの手に入れた肥沃な地を、
塩分の多い荒れ地に変えられます。
35また、荒野を豊かな水で潤された
肥沃な平野に変えられます。
36そこに飢えた人々を住まわせると、
彼らは町を作り、
37畑に種を蒔き、ぶどう畑には苗木を植え、
やがて豊作を祝うようになります。
38主の祝福を受けて、大家族をかかえるようになり、
家畜も大いに増えます。
39しかし、虐待され、
苦しみや悲しみを経験することで、
惨めな状態に陥る人々もいます。
40主は、おごり高ぶった人々をさげすみ、
権力者に廃墟をさまよわせます。
41しかし、神を信じて従う貧しい人には救いを与え、
多くの子どもを与え、繁栄をもたらされます。
42正しい人々はそれを見て喝采を送り、
悪者どもは貝のように堅く口を閉ざさざるをえません。
43あなたに知恵があるというのなら、
私の言っていることをよく聞いて、
主の恵みを深く思い巡らしなさい。
