Psalm 107 (106): “Give Thanks to the Lord,” He Calmed the Storm, Catholic Text

Psalm 107 is a great thanksgiving: “Give glory to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” It tells of four kinds of people rescued by God when “they cried to the Lord in their affliction”: lost wanderers, prisoners, the sick, and sailors in a storm, for whom “he turned the storm into a breeze: and its waves were still.” In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 106. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.

Psalm 107 in the Douay-Rheims Bible

Give glory to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Let them say so that have been redeemed by the Lord, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy: and gathered out of the countries.
From the rising and the setting of the sun, from the north and from the sea.
They wandered in a wilderness, in a place without water: they found not the way of a city for their habitation.
They were hungry and thirsty: their soul fainted in them.
And they cried to the Lord in their tribulation: and he delivered them out of their distresses.
And he led them into the right way: that they might go to a city of habitation.
Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him: and his wonderful works to the children of men.
For he hath satisfied the empty soul, and hath filled the hungry soul with good things.
Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death: bound in want and in iron.
Because they had exasperated the words of God: and provoked the counsel of the most High:
And their heart was humbled with labours: they were weakened, and there was none to help them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction: and he delivered them out of their distresses.
And he brought them out of darkness, and the shadow of death; and broke their bonds in sunder.
Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him, and his wonderful works to the children of men.
Because he hath broken gates of brass, and burst the iron bars.
He took them out of the way of their iniquity: for they were brought low for their injustices.
Their soul abhorred all manner of meat: and they drew nigh even to the gates of death.
And they cried to the Lord in their affliction: and he delivered them out of their distresses.
He sent his word, and healed them: and delivered them from their destructions.
Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him: and his wonderful works to the children of men.
And let them sacrifice the sacrifice of praise: and declare his works with joy.
They that go down to the sea in ships, doing business in the great waters:
These have seen the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.
He said the word, and there arose a storm of wind: and the waves thereof were lifted up.
They mount up to the heavens, and they go down to the depths: their soul pined away with evils.
They were troubled, and reeled like a drunken man; and all their wisdom was swallowed up.
And they cried to the Lord in their affliction: and he brought them out of their distresses.
And he turned the storm into a breeze: and its waves were still.
And they rejoiced because they were still: and he brought them to the haven which they wished for.
Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him, and his wonderful works to the children of men.
And let them exalt him in the church of the people: and praise him in the chair of the ancients.
He hath turned rivers into a wilderness: and the sources of water into dry ground:
A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
He hath turned a wilderness into pools of water, and a dry land into water springs.
And hath placed there the hungry; and they made a city for their habitation.
And they sowed fields, and planted vineyards: and they yielded fruit of birth.
And he blessed them, and they were multiplied exceedingly: and their cattle he suffered not to decrease.
Then they were brought to be few: and they were afflicted through the trouble of evils and sorrow.
Contempt was poured forth upon their princes: and he caused them to wander where there was no passing, and out of the way.
And he helped the poor out of poverty: and made him families like a flock of sheep.
The just shall see, and shall rejoice, and all iniquity shall stop their mouth.
Who is wise, and will keep these things: and will understand the mercies of the Lord?

Psalm 107 or Psalm 106?

The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 106 is Psalm 107 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Confitemini Domino, quoniam bonus. See how many psalms are there?

What the psalm means

  • Wanderers in the desert find a city to dwell in.
  • Prisoners in darkness are freed: “he broke their bonds in sunder.”
  • The sick are healed: “He sent his word, and healed them.”
  • Sailors in a storm: “They that go down to the sea in ships” cry out, and God calms the sea. Jesus does the same on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35–41).
  • The refrain: after each rescue, “Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him.”

How the Church uses Psalm 107

  • At Mass on the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B), with Jesus calming the storm: “Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.”
  • For travelers, sailors and those at sea. See the Catholic travel prayer.
  • In thanksgiving after rescue or recovery. See psalms of thanksgiving.

A prayer with Psalm 107

Written for this page:

Lord, I give you thanks, for you are good; your mercy endures for ever.
When I was lost, imprisoned, sick or caught in the storm, I cried to you and you saved me.
Send your word and heal me; still the storms of my life.
Let me never forget your mercies, and tell of your wonderful works. Amen.

Frequently asked questions

What is Psalm 107 about?

Thanksgiving for God’s rescue of travelers, prisoners, the sick and sailors, each saved when they cried to the Lord.

Where is “They that go down to the sea in ships”?

Psalm 107:23 (106:23 in the Douay-Rheims).

More psalms and prayers

Texts and sources

  • Scripture: Psalm 106 (107); Mark 4:35–41, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
  • The prayer was written for this page.