Beginning
A Nation Asks for Forgiveness
1 (A) We will celebrate
and praise you, Lord!
You are good to us,
and your love never fails.
2 No one can praise you enough
for all the mighty things
you have done.
3 You bless those people
who are honest and fair
in everything they do.
4 Remember me, Lord,
when you show kindness
by saving your people.
5 Let me prosper with the rest
of your chosen ones,
as they celebrate with pride
because they belong to you.
6 We and our ancestors
have sinned terribly.
7 (B) When they were in Egypt,
they paid no attention
to your marvelous deeds
or your wonderful love.
And they turned against you
at the Red Sea.[a]
8 But you were true to your name,
and you rescued them to prove
how mighty you are.
9 (C) You said to the Red Sea,[b]
“Dry up!”
Then you led your people across
on land as dry as a desert.
10 You saved all of them
11 and drowned every one
of their enemies.
12 (D) Then your people trusted you
and sang your praises.
13 But they soon forgot
what you had done
and rejected your advice.
14 (E) They became greedy for food
and tested you there
in the desert.
15 So you gave them
what they wanted,
but later you destroyed them
with a horrible disease.
16 (F) Everyone in camp was jealous
of Moses and of Aaron,
your chosen priest.
17 Dathan and Abiram rebelled,
and the earth opened up
and swallowed them.
18 Then fire broke out
and destroyed all
of their followers.
19 (G) At Horeb your people
made and worshiped the statue
20 of a bull, instead of you,
their glorious God.
21 You worked powerful miracles
to save them from Egypt,
but they forgot about you
22 and the fearsome things
you did at the Red Sea.[c]
23 You were angry and started
to destroy them,
but Moses, your chosen leader,
begged you not to do it.
24 (H) They would not trust
you, Lord,
and they did not like
the promised land.
25 They would not obey you,
and they grumbled
in their tents.
26 So you threatened them
by saying, “I'll kill you
out here in the desert!
27 (I) I'll scatter your children
everywhere in the world.”
28 (J) Your people became followers
of a god named Baal Peor,
and they ate sacrifices
offered to the dead.[d]
29 They did such terrible things
that you punished them
with a deadly disease.
30 But Phinehas[e] helped them,
and the sickness stopped.
31 Now he will always
be highly honored.
32 (K) At Meribah Spring[f]
they turned against you
and made you furious.
33 Then Moses got into trouble
for speaking in anger.
34 (L) Our Lord, they disobeyed you
by refusing to destroy
the nations.
35 Instead they were friendly
with those foreigners
and followed their customs.
36 Then they fell into the trap
of worshiping idols.
37 (M) They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons
38 (N) and to the gods of Canaan.
Then they poured out the blood
of these innocent children
and made the land filthy.
39 By doing such gruesome things,
they also became filthy.
40 (O) Finally, Lord, you were angry
and terribly disgusted
with your people.
41 So you put them in the power
of nations that hated them.
42 They were mistreated and abused
by their enemies,
43 but you saved them
time after time.
They were determined to rebel,
and their sins caused
their downfall.
44 You answered their prayers
when they were in trouble.
45 You kept your agreement
and were so merciful
46 that their enemies
had pity on them.
47 (P) Save us, Lord God!
Bring us back
from among the nations.
Let us celebrate and shout
in praise of your holy name.
48 Lord God of Israel,
you deserve to be praised
forever and ever.
Let everyone say, “Amen!
Shout praises to the Lord!”
BOOK V
(Psalms 107–150)
The Lord Is Good to His People
1 (Q) Shout praises to the Lord!
He is good to us,
and his love never fails.
2 Everyone the Lord has rescued
from trouble
should praise him,
3 everyone he has brought
from the east and the west,
the north and the south.[g]
4 Some of you were lost
in the scorching desert,
far from a town.
5 You were hungry and thirsty
and about to give up.
6 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
and he rescued you.
7 At once he brought you
to a town.
8 You should praise the Lord
for his love
and for the wonderful things
he does for all of us.
9 To everyone who is thirsty,
he gives something to drink;
to everyone who is hungry,
he gives good things to eat.
10 Some of you were prisoners
suffering in deepest darkness
and bound by chains,
11 because you had rebelled
against God Most High
and refused his advice.
12 You were worn out
from working like slaves,
and no one came to help.
13 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
and he rescued you.
14 He brought you out
of the deepest darkness
and broke your chains.
15 You should praise the Lord
for his love
and for the wonderful things
he does for all of us.
16 He breaks down bronze gates
and shatters iron locks.
17 Some of you had foolishly
committed a lot of sins
and were in terrible pain.
18 The very thought of food
was disgusting to you,
and you were almost dead.
19 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
and he rescued you.
20 By the power of his own word,
he healed you and saved you
from destruction.
21 You should praise the Lord
for his love
and for the wonderful things
he does for all of us.
22 You should celebrate
by offering sacrifices
and singing joyful songs
to tell what he has done.
23 Some of you made a living
by sailing the mighty sea,
24 and you saw the miracles
the Lord performed there.
25 At his command a storm arose,
and waves covered the sea.
26 You were tossed to the sky
and to the ocean depths,
until things looked so bad
that you lost your courage.
27 You staggered like drunkards
and gave up all hope.
28 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
and he rescued you.
29 He made the storm stop
and the sea be quiet.
30 You were happy because of this,
and he brought you to the port
where you wanted to go.
31 You should praise the Lord
for his love
and for the wonderful things
he does for all of us.
32 Honor the Lord
when you and your leaders
meet to worship.
33 If you start doing wrong,
the Lord will turn rivers
into deserts,
34 (R) flowing streams
into scorched land,
and fruitful fields
into beds of salt.
35 But the Lord can also turn
deserts into lakes
and scorched land
into flowing streams.
36 If you are hungry,
you can settle there
and build a town.
37 You can plant fields
and vineyards that produce
a good harvest.
38 The Lord will bless you
with many children
and with herds of cattle.
39 Sometimes you may be crushed
by troubles and sorrows,
until only a few of you
are left to survive.
40 But the Lord will take revenge
on those who conquer you,
and he will make them wander
across desert sands.
41 When you are suffering
and in need,
he will come to your rescue,
and your families will grow
as fast as a herd of sheep.
42 You will see this because
you obey the Lord,
but everyone who is wicked
will be silenced.
43 Be wise! Remember this
and think about the kindness
of the Lord.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.