1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.
2 Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies.
3 For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in the desert, lost and homeless.
5 Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.
6 "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.
7 He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.
8 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them.
9 For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, miserable prisoners in chains.
11 They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High.
12 That is why he broke them with hard labor; they fell, and no one helped them rise again.
13 "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
14 He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains.
15 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them.
16 For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron.
17 Some were fools in their rebellion; they suffered for their sins.
18 Their appetites were gone, and death was near.
19 "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
20 He spoke, and they were healed-- snatched from the door of death.
There is a wonderful parallel between the works of God that the psalmist extols in this psalm, and the works Jesus did as recorded in the New Testament. Look them up and see how Jesus came to fulfill God's purposes:
v. 7 He made a city of habitation (Hebrews 11:16),
v. 9 Fills the hungry soul with goodness (Matthew 5:6),
v. 14 He sets the captives free, bringing them into the
light (John 12:36).
When Jesus read the verse below from Isaiah 61:1 He said that this Scripture had come true before their very eyes:
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, because the LORD has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to announce that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed" (Luke 4:21 NLT)
Praise the Lord!
