Beginning
Psalm 106
Israel Forgets
Introduction
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
2 Who can tell about the mighty deeds of the Lord?
Who can cause all his praise to be heard?
3 Blessed are those who defend justice,
who do what is right all the time.
4 Remember me, O Lord,
when you show favor to your people.
Visit me with your salvation,
5 so that I may experience the good that belongs to your chosen ones,
so that I may rejoice in the joy of your nation,
so that I may join in praise with the people that belongs to you.
Rebellion in Egypt
6 We have sinned along with our fathers.
We have become guilty. We have acted wickedly.
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not reflect on your wonders.
They did not remember your abundant mercies,
so they rebelled beside the sea, by the Red Sea.
God’s Grace
8 Nevertheless, he saved them for his name’s sake,
to make his might known.
9 Then he rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up.
He caused them to go through the deep sea as if it were a desert.
10 He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them.
He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 Then the waters covered their foes.
Not one of them remained.
12 Then they believed his words. They sang his praise.
Rebellions in the Wilderness
13 They quickly forgot his deeds.
They did not wait for his plan.
14 Because they were filled with craving in the wilderness,
they challenged God in the wasteland.
15 So he gave them what they asked for,
but he made them sick so they wasted away.
16 Then they grew jealous of Moses in the camp
and of Aaron, who was holy to the Lord.
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan,
and it closed over the followers of Abiram.
18 Then fire burned up their followers.
Flames consumed the wicked.
19 They made a calf at Horeb,
and they bowed down to a thing cast from metal.
20 So they exchanged their Glory for a model of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who saved them
by doing great things in Egypt,
22 wonders in the land of Ham,
awesome deeds beside the Red Sea.
God’s Grace
23 So he said he would destroy them.
But Moses, his chosen one, stood between God and the people
to turn aside his wrath, so it did not destroy them.
More Rebellions in the Wilderness
24 Then they refused the pleasant land.
They did not believe his word.
25 They grumbled in their tents.
They did not listen to the voice of the Lord.
26 So he lifted up his hand and swore to them
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27 and make their descendants fall among the nations,
and he would scatter them throughout the lands.
28 Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,
and they ate sacrifices offered to dead gods.
29 They provoked the Lord by their actions,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas stood up and interceded for them,
and the plague was restrained.
31 So this was credited to him as righteousness
for generation after generation, to eternity.
32 Again by the waters of Meribah they provoked the Lord,
and trouble came on Moses because of them.
33 Because they rebelled against his Spirit,[b]
Moses spoke recklessly with his lips.
Rebellion Continues in the Land
34 They did not destroy the peoples
as the Lord had commanded them,
35 but they mixed with the nations,
and they learned to do what the nations did.
36 They also served their idols,
and the idols became a snare for them.
37 They also sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
38 They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
So the land was polluted by their children’s blood,
39 and they made themselves unclean by what they did.
They prostituted themselves by their actions.
The Judgment
40 Therefore the Lord burned with anger against his people,
and he loathed the people who belonged to him.
41 So he handed them over to the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Then their enemies oppressed them,
and they had to submit to their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
but they deliberately rebelled,
and they sank down in their guilt.
God’s Grace
44 But he looked on them in their distress when he heard their outcry.
45 So for their sake he remembered his covenant.
Because of his great mercy, he changed his course.
46 Then he caused all their captors to have pity on them.
Closing Prayer
47 Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from the nations,
so that we may give thanks to your holy name and praise you confidently.
Closing Doxology
48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from eternity to eternity,
and all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord.
Book V
Psalms 107–150
Psalm 107
He Redeemed Them From Trouble
Invocation to Give Thanks
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say this,
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.[c]
First Crisis: The Wilderness
4 They wandered in the wilderness, in the wasteland.
They did not find the way to a city where they could live.
5 They were hungry and also thirsty,
so their lives were draining away.
Refrain
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress.
He delivered them from their troubles.
7 He led them by a straight way to come to a city where they could live.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his mercy and his wonderful deeds for all people,[d]
9 because he satisfies the desire of the thirsty,
and he fills the desire of the hungry with good things.
Second Crisis: Imprisonment
10 They were sitting in darkness and the shadow of death,
prisoners, bound in misery and chains,
11 because they had rebelled against the words of God,
and they despised the plan of the Most High.
12 So he broke their hearts with hard labor.
They stumbled, and there was no helper.
Refrain
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress.
He saved them from their troubles.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and he tore off their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his mercy and his wonderful deeds for all people,
16 because he shatters bronze doors,
and he cuts through iron bars.
Third Crisis: Rebellion
17 They became fools through their rebellious way,
and they brought affliction on themselves by their guilt.
18 They lost their appetite for food,
so they approached the gates of death.
Refrain
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress.
He saved them from their troubles.
20 He sent his word and healed them.
He rescued them from the pits that trapped them.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his mercy and his wonderful deeds for all people,
22 so let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell about his works with a joyful shout.
Fourth Crisis: On the Sea
23 They went down to the sea in ships.
They conducted trade on many waters.
24 They saw the deeds of the Lord
and his wonders on the deep.
25 For he spoke and stirred up a violent storm,
which produced large waves.
26 They were raised up to the sky.
They sank down into the depths.
In their danger their courage melted.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunk.
All their skill disappeared.
Refrain
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress.
He brought them out of their troubles.
29 He calmed the storm. Its waves were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew quiet,
and he guided them to the port they desired.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his mercy and his wonderful deeds for all people.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the session of the elders.
Curses and Blessings
33 He turned rivers into a wilderness
and flowing springs into thirsty ground.
34 He turned fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived in it.
35 He turned the wilderness into pools of water
and the desert into flowing springs.
36 Then he let the hungry live there,
and they founded a city where they could live.
37 Then they sowed fields, and they planted vineyards,
which produced abundant fruit.
38 Then he blessed them, so they increased greatly in number.
He did not let their herds of cattle decrease.
39 But then their numbers decreased,
and they were humbled by oppression, disaster, and sorrow.
40 He who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in confusion
where there was no road.
41 But he lifted up the needy out of affliction
and made their families like a flock.
42 The upright see and rejoice,
but all wickedness shuts its mouth.
Application: Be Wise
43 Whoever is wise, let him keep these things.
Let them take to heart the mercies of the Lord.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.