1Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

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2Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—

those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

3those he gathered from the lands,

from east and west, from north and south.

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4Some wandered in desert wastelands,

finding no way to a city where they could settle. (This is the soul being lost in the physical world.)

5They were hungry and thirsty,

and their lives ebbed away.

6Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

7He led them by a straight way

to a city where they could settle.

8Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

9for he satisfies the thirsty

and fills the hungry with good things. (This is talking about the hunger and thirst of the spirit. Anyone who actually thinks that this is talking about the body is too materialistic. Revelation 3:20 has the same meaning, "I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.")

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10Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,

prisoners suffering in iron chains, (This emphasizes the darkness by repeating it twice. There's the darkness of the physical world and then there is the true darkness of the spiritual world. These are the chains of the spirit.)

11because they rebelled against God’s commands

and despised the plans of the Most High.

12So he subjected them to bitter labor; (Sounds like the curse that God gave to Adam in the Garden of Eden.)

they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

13Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress.

14He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,

and broke away their chains.

15Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

16for he breaks down gates of bronze

and cuts through bars of iron.

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17Some became fools through their rebellious ways

and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.

18They loathed all food

and drew near the gates of death. (This is the food of the spirit and lacking this food is spiritual death.)

19Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress.

20He sent out his word and healed them;

he rescued them from the grave. (This is the Word of God resurrects the spiritually dead back to life.)

21Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

22Let them sacrifice thank offerings

and tell of his works with songs of joy.

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23Some went out on the sea in ships;

they were merchants on the mighty waters.

24They saw the works of the Lord,

his wonderful deeds in the deep.

25For he spoke and stirred up a tempest

that lifted high the waves.

26They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;

in their peril their courage melted away.

27They reeled and staggered like drunkards;

they were at their wits’ end.

28Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

and he brought them out of their distress.

29He stilled the storm to a whisper;

the waves of the sea were hushed.

30They were glad when it grew calm,

and he guided them to their desired haven. (This seems to have inspired the walking on the water story in the New Testament. As explained on the page Reinterpreting the Bible the sea represents the world, the storm represents the movements, tempests and chaos of the physical world and the stilling of the storm represents the rest that is talked about on the page called The Concept of Rest. The rest is the state of the spiritual world as opposed to the movements of the physical world.)  

31Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

32Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people

and praise him in the council of the elders.

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33He turned rivers into a desert,

flowing springs into thirsty ground,

34and fruitful land into a salt waste,

because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

35He turned the desert into pools of water

and the parched ground into flowing springs;

36there he brought the hungry to live,

and they founded a city where they could settle.

37They sowed fields and planted vineyards

that yielded a fruitful harvest;

38he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,

and he did not let their herds diminish.

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39Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled

by oppression, calamity and sorrow;

40he who pours contempt on nobles

made them wander in a trackless waste.

41But he lifted the needy out of their affliction

and increased their families like flocks.

42The upright see and rejoice,

but all the wicked shut their mouths.

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43Let the one who is wise heed these things

and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.