Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 107:1 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 1. 1O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 107:1: Within “Let the redeemed tell four rescue stories: The redeemed gather from every direction,” the line “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good” supplies one distinct parallel claim, image, address, or response.
Book V opens by calling the gathered redeemed to speak
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 107:1–3. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 107:1–3
- Psalms 107:1–43
Read Psalms 107:1 with 107:1–3 and 107:1–43. Read alone, “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good” could lose the communal voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 107:1–3, the communal voice carries the movement “The redeemed gather from every direction” as part of “Let the redeemed tell four rescue stories.” Its thanksgiving-wisdom form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 107:1–3 opens Psalm 107 with “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” and establishes the communal voice and “The redeemed gather from every direction” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Psalm 107 opens Book V with gathered people giving thanks after Psalm 106 closes Book IV with confession, exile, and a plea to be gathered. Within that relationship, Psalm 107:1 adds the distinct poetic line “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good” within “The redeemed gather from every direction,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope.
Follow the Context
- Identify the communal voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 107:1–3; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 107:1–3, the communal voice carries the movement “The redeemed gather from every direction” as part of “Let the redeemed tell four rescue stories.” Its thanksgiving-wisdom form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
- This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The four scenes are poetic testimonies, not diagnoses of why every traveler, prisoner, sick person, or sailor suffers.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 107:1 does not allow “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse adds the distinct poetic line “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good” within “The redeemed gather from every direction,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. The complete movement is “The redeemed gather from every direction.” This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The four scenes are poetic testimonies, not diagnoses of why every traveler, prisoner, sick person, or sailor suffers.
What Remains True
Read “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good” as part of the communal voice in “Let the redeemed tell four rescue stories: The redeemed gather from every direction.” Wisdom is formed through sustained attention to the LORD's instruction and embodied choices, not through a formula that guarantees ease or status. The local movement is “The redeemed gather from every direction.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The four scenes are poetic testimonies, not diagnoses of why every traveler, prisoner, sick person, or sailor suffers.
Teach It Back
Retell Psalm 107:1 as one step in Book V. Name the movement “The redeemed gather from every direction,” explain “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good,” keep Jewish meaning and any later reception distinguishable, give one fitting response, and reject this overreach: This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The four scenes are poetic testimonies, not diagnoses of why every traveler, prisoner, sick person, or sailor suffers.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 107:1–3 — Let the redeemed tell four rescue stories: The redeemed gather from every directionSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 107:1–3, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 107:1–3
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 107:1–3.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 107 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 107:1–3
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: genres, parallelism, and forms; Theological Themes: Torah and human response; applied to Psalms 107:1–3
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 107 for Psalms 107:1–3
Open NETS Psalms ↗