Chapter 106

Praise the Lord, the Lord is gracious; his mercy endures for ever;

be this the cry of men the Lord has rescued, rescued them from the enemy’s hand, and gathered them in

from sunrising and sunset, from the north country and the south.

Some have wandered in parched deserts, missing the way to the city that was their home,

hungry and thirsty, so that their spirits died within them.

So they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he relieved their distress,

guiding them surely to the place where they should find a home.

Praise they the Lord in his mercies, in his wondrous dealings with mortal men;

poor souls that were thirsty, contented now, poor souls that were hungry, satisfied now with all good.

Some lay where darkness overshadowed them, helpless in bonds of iron;

their punishment for rebelling against God’s decrees, for thwarting the will of the most High.

Their hearts bowed down with sorrow, none else to aid their faltering steps,

they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he relieved their distress,

rescuing them from darkness, from the shadows, tearing their chains asunder.

Praise they the Lord in his mercies, in his wondrous dealings with mortal men;

the Lord who has shattered the gates of brass, riven the bonds of iron.

Some for their own fault must needs be humbled; for their guilt

they lay sick, with no stomach for food, close to death’s door.

So they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he relieved their distress,

uttered the word of healing, and saved them from their peril.

Praise they the Lord in his mercies, in his wondrous dealings with mortal men;

theirs to offer him sacrifice in thanksgiving, and proclaim joyfully what he has done for them.

Some there were that ventured abroad in ships, trafficking over the high seas;

these are men that have witnessed the Lord’s doings, his wonderful doings amid the deep.

At his word the stormy wind rose, churning up its waves;

high up towards heaven they were carried, then sank into the trough, with spirits fainting at their peril;

see them reeling and staggering to and fro as a drunkard does, all their seamanship forgotten!

So they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he relieved their distress,

stilling the storm into a whisper, till all its waves were quiet.

Glad hearts were theirs, when calm fell about them, and he brought them to the haven where they longed to be.

Praise they the Lord in his mercies, in his wondrous dealings with mortal men;

let them extol his name, where the people gather, glorify him where the elders sit in council.

Here, he changes rivers into desert sand, wells into dry ground;

land that once was fruitful into a salty marsh, to punish its people’s guilt.

There, he turns the wilderness into pools of water, desert ground into springs;

and establishes hungry folk there, so that they build themselves a city to dwell in,

sow fields, and plant vineyards, and reap the harvest;

he blesses them, so that their numbers increase beyond measure, and to their cattle grants increase.

Once, they were but few, worn down by stress of need and ill fortune;

but now the same power that shames proud chieftains, and keeps them wandering in a pathless desert,

has rescued the poor from need, their households thrive like their own flocks.

Honest men will rejoice to witness it, and malice will stand dumb with confusion.

Heed it well, if thou wouldst be wise; be these thy study, the mercies of the Lord.