Oh Give Thanks! (Psalm 107)

by Chris Juby

Lyrics

1. Oh give thanks to the Lord
He is faithful and good
And his love will endure forever
Let the ones he has saved
From the east to the west
Bring a chorus of joyful praise

Oh give thanks!
For the Lord is always good
We will sing of his great love
We will sing of his great love

2. Some had wandered away
To a desolate place
They were thirsty, their souls were fainting
Then they cried to the Lord
And he straightened the road
He has shown them the way of life

3. Some were chained in the dark
They rebelled against God
And their hearts were bowed down with burden
Then they cried to the Lord
And he reached out his arm
He has broken the bonds of hell

4. Some were sick in their sin
They were wasting away
And the doorway to death was open
Then they cried to the Lord
And he sent out his word
He delivered them from the grave

5. Some went out on the waves
Seeking fortune and fame
But the waters rose up to drown them
Then they cried to the Lord
And he silenced the storm
He will carry them home at last

6. He turns desert to streams
So the hungry can live
By his blessing they grow and prosper
He provides for the weak
So the righteous will see
And remember the love of God

Lyrics Chords

Chords

Recommended keys: D,C

           D
1) Oh give thanks to the Lord
      A
He is faithful and good
        G           A       D
And his love will endure forever

Let the ones he has saved
         Bm
From the east to the west 
        G         A      D
Bring a chorus of joyful praise

      D/F# A
   Oh give thanks!
           Bm      G D/F# A
   For the Lord is always good
           Bm      G   D/F#  A
   We will sing of his great love
           Bm      G   Em    D
   We will sing of his great love

2) Some had wandered away
To a desolate place
They were thirsty, their souls were fainting
Then they cried to the Lord
And he straightened the road 
He has shown them the way of life 

3) Some were chained in the dark
They rebelled against God
And their hearts were bowed down with burden
Then they cried to the Lord
And he reached out his arm
He has broken the bonds of hell

4) Some were sick in their sin
They were wasting away
And the doorway to death was open
Then they cried to the Lord
And he sent out his word
He delivered them from the grave

5) Some went out on the waves
Seeking fortune and fame
But the waters rose up to drown them
Then they cried to the Lord
And he silenced the storm
He will carry them home at last 
      Bm       G        D        Bm       G
   At last, at last, at last, at last, at last

6) He turns desert to streams
So the hungry can live
By his blessing they grow and prosper
He provides for the weak
So the righteous will see
And remember the love of God

Listen Now

Resources

Lead Sheet - D (.pdf)
Chord Sheet - D (.pdf)

Story

A new way of writing a song for me. I didn't really get Psalm 107, so I decided to set it to music as a method of Bible study. It was very effective! A melody and feel came quickly, and with my songwriting head on it was easy to spot the structure of the psalm.

The obvious theme is thanking God for all the various expressions of his salvation. Each of the four central testimony verses sets up a predicament, then the singer cries to the Lord and is saved. I tried to write the last line of each of those verses so they add up to a picture of what God has ultimately done for us in Christ.

Joel at Resound gave me some helpful feedback as I was getting towards finished.

I'm not quite sure how to use this song in Sunday worship yet. It's quite a different feel to our usual songs, and there are a lot of words. My idea is that the congregation would join in strongly on the chorus, with maybe not everyone singing the verses. I'll edit this paragraph with something more definite when I've used it live.

Chris Juby