Read the Bible

¹ Shout praises to the Lord!
    He is good to us,
    and his love never fails.
² Everyone the Lord has rescued
from trouble
    should praise him,
³ everyone he has brought
from the east and the west,
    the north and the south.^[a]

⁴ Some of you were lost
in the scorching desert,
    far from a town.
⁵ You were hungry and thirsty
    and about to give up.
⁶ You were in serious trouble,
    but you prayed to the Lord,
    and he rescued you.
⁷ Right away he brought you
    to a town.
⁸ You should praise the Lord
    for his love
    and for the wonderful things
    he does for all of us.
⁹ To everyone who is thirsty,
    he gives something to drink;
to everyone who is hungry,
    he gives good things to eat.

¹⁰ Some of you were prisoners
    suffering in deepest darkness
    and bound by chains,
¹¹ because you had rebelled
against God Most High
    and refused his advice.
¹² You were worn out
from working like slaves,
    and no one came to help.
¹³ You were in serious trouble,
    but you prayed to the Lord,
    and he rescued you.
¹⁴ He brought you out
of the deepest darkness
    and broke your chains.

¹⁵ You should praise the Lord
    for his love
    and for the wonderful things
    he does for all of us.
¹⁶ He breaks down bronze gates
    and shatters iron locks.

¹⁷ Some of you had foolishly
committed a lot of sins
    and were in terrible pain.
¹⁸ The very thought of food
was disgusting to you,
    and you were almost dead.
¹⁹ You were in serious trouble,
    but you prayed to the Lord,
    and he rescued you.
²⁰ By the power of his own word,
he healed you
    and saved you
    from destruction.

²¹ You should praise the Lord
    for his love
    and for the wonderful things
    he does for all of us.
²² You should celebrate
    by offering sacrifices
    and singing joyful songs
    to tell what he has done.

²³ Some of you made a living
    by sailing the mighty sea,
²⁴     and you saw the miracles
    the Lord performed there.
²⁵ At his command a storm arose,
    and waves covered the sea.
²⁶ You were tossed to the sky
    and to the ocean depths,
    until things looked so bad
    that you lost your courage.
²⁷ You staggered like drunkards
    and gave up all hope.
²⁸ You were in serious trouble,
    but you prayed to the Lord,
    and he rescued you.
²⁹ He made the storm stop
    and the sea be quiet.
³⁰ You were happy because of this,
and he brought you to the port
    where you wanted to go.

³¹ You should praise the Lord
    for his love
    and for the wonderful things
    he does for all of us.
³² Honor the Lord
when you
    and your leaders
    meet to worship.

³³ If you start doing wrong,
the Lord will turn rivers
    into deserts,
³⁴     flowing streams
    into scorched land,
    and fruitful fields
    into beds of salt.

³⁵ But the Lord can also turn
    deserts into lakes
    and scorched land
    into flowing streams.
³⁶ If you are hungry,
    you can settle there
    and build a town.
³⁷ You can plant fields
and vineyards
    that produce
    a good harvest.
³⁸ The Lord will bless you
with many children
    and with herds of cattle.

³⁹ Sometimes you may be crushed
    by troubles and sorrows,
    until only a few of you
    are left to survive.
⁴⁰ But the Lord will take revenge
    on those who conquer you,
    and he will make them wander
    across desert sands.
⁴¹ When you are suffering
    and in need,
he will come to your rescue,
    and your families will grow
    as fast as a herd of sheep.
⁴² You will see this because
    you obey the Lord,
    but everyone who is wicked
    will be silenced.

⁴³ Be wise! Remember this
    and think about the kindness
    of the Lord.