Joy in Forgiveness of Israel’s Sins
Praise the Lord!
aOh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?
Who can declare all His praise?
3 Blessed are those who keep justice,
And he who adoes righteousness at ball times!
4 aRemember me, O Lord, with the favor You have toward Your people.
Oh, visit me with Your salvation,
5 That I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may glory with Your inheritance.
6 aWe have sinned with our fathers,
We have committed iniquity,
We have done wickedly.
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;
They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies,
aBut rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake,
aThat He might make His mighty power known.
9 aHe rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up;
So bHe led them through the depths,
As through the wilderness.
10 He asaved them from the hand of him who hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 aThe waters covered their enemies;
There was not one of them left.
12 aThen they believed His words;
They sang His praise.
13 aThey soon forgot His works;
They did not wait for His counsel,
14 aBut lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,
And tested God in the desert.
15 aAnd He gave them their request,
But bsent leanness into their soul.
16 When athey envied Moses in the camp,
And Aaron the saint of the Lord,
17 aThe earth opened up and swallowed Dathan,
And covered the faction of Abiram.
18 aA fire was kindled in their company;
The flame burned up the wicked.
19 aThey made a calf in Horeb,
And worshiped the molded image.
20 Thus athey changed their glory
Into the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God their Savior,
Who had done great things in Egypt,
22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham,
Awesome things by the Red Sea.
23 aTherefore He said that He would destroy them,
Had not Moses His chosen one bstood before Him in the breach,
To turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.
24 Then they despised athe pleasant land;
They bdid not believe His word,
25 aBut complained in their tents,
And did not heed the voice of the Lord.
26 aTherefore He raised His hand in an oath against them,
bTo overthrow them in the wilderness,
27 aTo overthrow their descendants among the nations,
And to scatter them in the lands.
28 aThey joined themselves also to Baal of Peor,
And ate sacrifices made to the dead.
29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And the plague broke out among them.
30 aThen Phinehas stood up and intervened,
And the plague was stopped.
31 And that was accounted to him afor righteousness
To all generations forevermore.
32 aThey angered Him also at the waters of strife,
bSo that it went ill with Moses on account of them;
33 aBecause they rebelled against His Spirit,
So that he spoke rashly with his lips.
34 aThey did not destroy the peoples,
bConcerning whom the Lord had commanded them,
35 aBut they mingled with the Gentiles
And learned their works;
36 aThey served their idols,
bWhich became a snare to them.
37 aThey even sacrificed their sons
And their daughters to bdemons,
38 And shed innocent blood,
The blood of their sons and daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
And athe land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they were adefiled by their own works,
And bplayed the harlot by their own deeds.
40 Therefore athe wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people,
So that He abhorred bHis own inheritance.
41 And aHe gave them into the hand of the Gentiles,
And those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them,
And they were brought into subjection under their hand.
43 aMany times He delivered them;
But they rebelled in their counsel,
And were brought low for their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless He regarded their affliction,
When aHe heard their cry;
45 aAnd for their sake He remembered His covenant,
And brelented caccording to the multitude of His mercies.
46 aHe also made them to be pitied
By all those who carried them away captive.
47 aSave us, O Lord our God,
And gather us from among the Gentiles,
To give thanks to Your holy name,
To triumph in Your praise.
48 aBlessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved.