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Psalm 107

1  O give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious, ♦︎
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.
2  Let the redeemed of the Lord say this, ♦︎
   those he redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
3  And gathered out of the lands
      from the east and from the west, ♦︎
   from the north and from the south.
4  Some went astray in desert wastes ♦︎
   and found no path to a city to dwell in.
5  Hungry and thirsty, ♦︎
   their soul was fainting within them.
6  So they cried to the Lord in their trouble ♦︎
   and he delivered them from their distress.
7  He set their feet on the right way ♦︎
   till they came to a city to dwell in.
8  Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness ♦︎
   and the wonders he does for his children.
9  For he satisfies the longing soul ♦︎
   and fills the hungry soul with good.
10  Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, ♦︎
   bound fast in misery and iron,
11  For they had rebelled against the words of God ♦︎
   and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12  So he bowed down their heart with heaviness; ♦︎
   they stumbled and there was none to help them.
13  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, ♦︎
   and he delivered them from their distress.
14  He brought them out of darkness and out of the shadow of death, ♦︎
   and broke their bonds asunder.
15  Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness ♦︎
   and the wonders he does for his children.
16  For he has broken the doors of bronze ♦︎
   and breaks the bars of iron in pieces.
17  Some were foolish and took a rebellious way, ♦︎
   and were plagued because of their wrongdoing.
18  Their soul abhorred all manner of food ♦︎
   and drew near to the gates of death.
19  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, ♦︎
   and he delivered them from their distress.
20  He sent forth his word and healed them, ♦︎
   and saved them from destruction.
21  Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness ♦︎
   and the wonders he does for his children.
22  Let them offer him sacrifices of thanksgiving ♦︎
   and tell of his acts with shouts of joy.
23  Those who go down to the sea in ships ♦︎
   and ply their trade in great waters,
24  These have seen the works of the Lord ♦︎
   and his wonders in the deep.
25  For at his word the stormy wind arose ♦︎
   and lifted up the waves of the sea.
26  They were carried up to the heavens
      and down again to the deep; ♦︎
   their soul melted away in their peril.
27  They reeled and staggered like a drunkard ♦︎
   and were at their wits’ end.
28  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, ♦︎
   and he brought them out of their distress.
29  He made the storm be still ♦︎
   and the waves of the sea were calmed.
30  Then were they glad because they were at rest, ♦︎
   and he brought them to the haven they desired.
31  Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness ♦︎
   and the wonders he does for his children.
32  Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people ♦︎
   and praise him in the council of the elders.
33  The Lord turns rivers into wilderness ♦︎
   and water springs into thirsty ground;
34  A fruitful land he makes a salty waste, ♦︎
   because of the wickedness of those who dwell there.
35  He makes the wilderness a pool of water ♦︎
   and water springs out of a thirsty land.
36  There he settles the hungry ♦︎
   and they build a city to dwell in.
37  They sow fields and plant vineyards ♦︎
   and bring in a fruitful harvest.
38  He blesses them, so that they multiply greatly; ♦︎
   he does not let their herds of cattle decrease.
39  He pours contempt on princes ♦︎
   and makes them wander in trackless wastes.
40  They are diminished and brought low, ♦︎
   through stress of misfortune and sorrow,
41  But he raises the poor from their misery ♦︎
   and multiplies their families like flocks of sheep.
42  The upright will see this and rejoice, ♦︎
   but all wickedness will shut its mouth.
43  Whoever is wise will ponder these things ♦︎
   and consider the loving-kindness of the Lord.

Penitence and Trust in God

⁸ Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy;
   when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
   the Lord will be a light to me.
⁹ I must bear the indignation of the Lord,
   because I have sinned against him,
until he takes my side
   and executes judgement for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
   I shall see his vindication.
¹⁰ Then my enemy will see,
   and shame will cover her who said to me,
   ‘Where is the Lord your God?’
My eyes will see her downfall;^*
   now she will be trodden down
   like the mire of the streets.

A Prophecy of Restoration

¹¹ A day for the building of your walls!
   In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
¹² In that day they will come to you
   from Assyria to^* Egypt,
and from Egypt to the River,
   from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
¹³ But the earth will be desolate
   because of its inhabitants,
   for the fruit of their doings.

¹⁴ Shepherd your people with your staff,
   the flock that belongs to you,
which lives alone in a forest
   in the midst of a garden land;
let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
   as in the days of old.
¹⁵ As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
   show us^* marvellous things.
¹⁶ The nations shall see and be ashamed
   of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
   their ears shall be deaf;
¹⁷ they shall lick dust like a snake,
   like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their fortresses;
   they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
   and they shall stand in fear of you.

God’s Compassion and Steadfast Love

¹⁸ Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
   and passing over the transgression
   of the remnant of your^* possession?
He does not retain his anger for ever,
   because he delights in showing clemency.
¹⁹ He will again have compassion upon us;
   he will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all our^* sins
   into the depths of the sea.
²⁰ You will show faithfulness to Jacob
   and unswerving loyalty to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our ancestors
   from the days of old.

The Tradition of the Elders

7Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, ²they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. ³(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands,^* thus observing the tradition of the elders; ⁴and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it;^* and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.^*) ⁵So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live^* according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ ⁶He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
“This people honours me with their lips,
   but their hearts are far from me;
⁷ in vain do they worship me,
   teaching human precepts as doctrines.”
⁸You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’

9 Then he said to them, ‘You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! ¹⁰For Moses said, “Honour your father and your mother”; and, “Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.” ¹¹But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, “Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban” (that is, an offering to God^*)— ¹²then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, ¹³thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.’