PSALMS 107-108

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The LORD Delivers Men from Manifold Troubles.107:1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,

Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary

3 And gathered from the lands,

From the east and from the west,

From the north and from the south.

4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region;

They did not find a way to an inhabited city.

5 They were hungry and thirsty;

Their soul fainted within them.

6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;

He delivered them out of their distresses.

7 He led them also by a straight way,

To go to an inhabited city.

8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,

And for His wonders to the sons of men!

9 For He has satisfied the thirsty soul,

And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.

10 There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death,

Prisoners in misery and chains,

11 Because they had rebelled against the words of God

And spurned the counsel of the Most High.

12 Therefore He humbled their heart with labor;

They stumbled and there was none to help.

13 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;

He saved them out of their distresses.

14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death

And broke their bands apart.

15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,

And for His wonders to the sons of men!

16 For He has shattered gates of bronze

And cut bars of iron asunder.

17 Fools, because of their rebellious way,

And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.

18 Their soul abhorred all kinds of food,

And they drew near to the gates of death.

19 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;

He saved them out of their distresses.

20 He sent His word and healed them,

And delivered them from their destructions.

21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,

And for His wonders to the sons of men!

22 Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,

And tell of His works with joyful singing.

23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,

Who do business on great waters;

24 They have seen the works of the LORD,

And His wonders in the deep.

25 For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind,

Which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;

Their soul melted away in their misery.

27 They reeled and staggered like a drunken man,

And were at their wits’ end.

28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

And He brought them out of their distresses.

29 He caused the storm to be still,

So that the waves of the sea were hushed.

30 Then they were glad because they were quiet,

So He guided them to their desired haven.

31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,

And for His wonders to the sons of men!

32 Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people,

And praise Him at the seat of the elders.

33 He changes rivers into a wilderness

And springs of water into a thirsty ground;

34 A fruitful land into a salt waste,

Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

35 He changes a wilderness into a pool of water

And a dry land into springs of water;

36 And there He makes the hungry to dwell,

So that they may establish an inhabited city,

37 And sow fields and plant vineyards,

And gather a fruitful harvest.

38 Also He blesses them and they multiply greatly,

And He does not let their cattle decrease.

39 When they are diminished and bowed down

Through oppression, misery and sorrow,

40 He pours contempt upon princes

And makes them wander in a pathless waste.

41 But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction,

And makes his families like a flock.

42 The upright see it and are glad;

But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.

43 Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things,

And consider the lovingkindnesses of the LORD.

God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory.A Song, a Psalm of David.
108:1 My heart is steadfast, O God;

I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.

2 Awake, harp and lyre;

I will awaken the dawn!

3 I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples,

And I will sing praises to You among the nations.

4 For Your lovingkindness is great above the heavens,

And Your truth reaches to the skies.

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,

And Your glory above all the earth.

6 That Your beloved may be delivered,

Save with Your right hand, and answer me!

7 God has spoken in His holiness:

“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem

And measure out the valley of Succoth.

8 “Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;

Ephraim also is the helmet of My head;

Judah is My scepter.

9 “Moab is My washbowl;

Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;

Over Philistia I will shout aloud.”

10 Who will bring me into the besieged city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

11 Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us?

And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?

12 Oh give us help against the adversary,

For deliverance by man is in vain.

13 Through God we will do valiantly,

And it is He who shall tread down our adversaries.

MARK 5

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The Gerasene Demoniac  5:1 They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. 2 When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, 3 and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. 6 Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; 7 and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” 8 For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. 12 The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 13 Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.
    14 Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. 16 Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. 17 And they began to implore Him to leave their region. 18 As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. 19 And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
Miracles and Healing    21 When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore. 22 One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him, fell at His feet 23 and implored Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.” 24 And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.
    25 A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, 26 and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse-- 27 after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. 28 For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” 29 Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. 30 Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” 31 And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” 32 And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. 33 But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”
    35 While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?” 36 But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.” 37 And He allowed no one to accompany Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the synagogue official; and He saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. 39 And entering in, He said to them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.” 40 They began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was. 41 Taking the child by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded. 43 And He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said that something should be given her to eat.