Psalm 107:31 calls God’s people to praise the LORD for two things: his steadfast love and the wonderful things he does for people. The verse is less a promise than an invitation, a summons to answer God’s rescue with gratitude that is spoken out loud. It comes at the close of a short scene in which people caught in danger cry to God and find him faithful, and the psalmist responds by asking them to tell everyone about it.
Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds for the children of men!
Psalm 107:31 (WEB)
What Psalm 107:31 Means
The verse begins with “Let them praise,” which points to a choice and a habit rather than a feeling that arrives on its own schedule. Praise here is an active response: naming God for who he is and recounting what he has done. The word “loving kindness” describes God’s faithful, committed love toward those who belong to him, a steady loyalty rather than occasional kindness. The psalm’s wider story shows that this love is especially visible when people are in trouble and God answers them.
The final phrase, “his wonderful deeds for the children of men,” widens the lens. The rescue in view is not limited to one person’s experience; God’s acts are wonderful in a way that invites the whole human family to notice them. The verse does not promise that every storm will calm on our timetable, nor that praise will change our circumstances. It describes what is fitting when God has been good to us, and it trusts that gratitude spoken aloud builds our memory of his faithfulness.
The Context of Psalm 107:31
Psalm 107 is part of the Psalter’s fifth book and is generally counted among the psalms of thanksgiving. Its authorship is not named in the text, and its precise date is debated, though it is usually read as a post-exilic collection that gathers Israel’s memories of deliverance. The psalm is written for worshipers who gather to give thanks, and it moves through several scenes of distress: wanderers in the desert, prisoners, the sick, and sailors on the sea. Each scene follows the same pattern of crying out, rescue, and a call to thank God.
Verses 28 to 30 describe sailors who cry to the LORD in a storm, and he calms the waves until they reach their harbor. Verse 31 then turns to the community and tells the rescued to praise him. Verses 32 to 34 go on to call the assembly and the elders to join in, and even show God reversing the fortunes of land that has gone bad. Read in this setting, the verse is a response to a specific deliverance, and it reminds the reader that God’s kindness is seen most clearly in the stories we tell about him.
Key Phrases in Psalm 107:31
Psalm 136:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his loving kindness endures forever.
(WEB)
This psalm repeats the call to give thanks because God is good and his loving kindness endures forever. Read alongside Psalm 107:31, it shows that the summons to praise is rooted in God’s enduring character, which remains constant whether or not we feel grateful at any given moment.
Psalm 107:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
(WEB)
This opening line of the same psalm sets the tone for everything that follows, calling people to give thanks because God is good and his love lasts. Reading it with verse 31 helps you see that the psalm begins and ends with the same invitation, framing the stories of rescue as reasons for thanksgiving.
A Short Prayer From Psalm 107:31
Lord, you have been faithful in ways I sometimes forget. Thank you for your loving kindness that holds steady when my own strength runs out, and for the wonderful things you have done in my life and in the lives of people around me. Help me to speak of your goodness plainly, to friends and family and to the people who need to hear that you still rescue. Let my gratitude be more than a passing feeling, and let it become the way I tell the story of your care. Amen.
