Psalm 107: Common English Bible - a fresh interpretation to touch the heart and mind (2011)

BOOK Five of the Psalter (Psalms 107 - 150):
"Give thanks to the LORD because he is good,
because his faithful love lasts forever!"
That's what those who are redeemed by the LORD say,
the ones God redeemed from the power of their enemies,
the ones God gathered from various countries,
from east and west, south and north.

Some of the redeemed had wandered into the desert, into the wasteland.
They couldn't find their way to a city or town.
They were hungry and thirsty;
their lives were slipping away.
So they cried out to the LORD in their distress,
and God delivered them from their desperate circumstances.
God led them straight to human habitation.
Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all people,
because God satisfied the one who was parches with thirst,
and he filled up the hungry with good things!

Some of the redeemed has been sitting in darkness and deep gloom;
they were prisoners suffering in chains because they had disobeyed
God's Instructions and rejected the Most High's plans.
So God humbled them with hard work.
They stumbled and there was no one to help them.
So they cried out to the LORD in their distress,
and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
God brought them out from the darkness and deep gloom;
he shattered their claims.
Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love and  his wondrous works
for all people, because God has shattered bronze doors and split iron bars in two!

Some of the redeemed were fools because of their sinful ways
they suffered because of their wickedness.
They had absolutely no appetite for food;
they had arrived at death's gates.
So they cried out to the LORD in their distress,
and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
God gave the order and healed them; he rescued them from their pit.
Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all people.
Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and
declare what God has done in songs of joy!
Some of the redeemed had gone out on the ocean in ships,
making their living on the high seas.
They saw what the LORD had made;
they saw his wondrous works in the depths of the sea.
God spoke and stirred up a storm that brought the waves up high.
The waves went as high as the sky;
they crashed down to the depths.
The sailors' courage melted at this terrible situation.
They staggered and quieted the storm to a whisper;
the sea's waves were hushed.
So they rejoiced because the waves had calmed down;
then God led them to the harbor they were hoping for.
Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all people.
Let them exalt God in the congregation of the people and
praise God in the assembly of the elders.

God turns rivers into desert,
watery springs into thirsty ground,
fruitful land into unproductive dirt,
when its inhabitants are wicked.
But God can also turn the desert into watery pools,
thirsty ground into watery springs,
where he settles the hungry.
They even build a city and live there!
They plant fields and vineyards and obtain a fruitful harvest.
God blesses them, and they become many.
God won't even let their cattle diminish.
But when they do diminish --
when they're brought down by oppression, trouble, and grief --
God pours contempt on their leaders,
making them wander aimlessly in the wastelands.
But God raises the needy from their suffering;
he makes their families as numerous as sheep!

Those who do right see it and celebrate,
but every wicked person shuts their mouth.
Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things,
carefully considering the LORD's faithful love.