Psalms 106; Psalms 107

Psalms 106

1 Praise the LORD ! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

2 Who can list the glorious miracles of the LORD ? Who can ever praise him enough?

3 There is joy for those who deal justly with others and always do what is right.

4 Remember me, LORD, when you show favor to your people; come near and rescue me.

5 Let me share in the prosperity of your chosen ones. Let me rejoice in the joy of your people; let me praise you with those who are your heritage.

6 Like our ancestors, we have sinned. We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly!

7 Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the LORD ’s miraculous deeds. They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them. Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.

8 Even so, he saved them— to defend the honor of his name and to demonstrate his mighty power.

9 He commanded the Red Sea to dry up. He led Israel across the sea as if it were a desert.

10 So he rescued them from their enemies and redeemed them from their foes.

11 Then the water returned and covered their enemies; not one of them survived.

12 Then his people believed his promises. Then they sang his praise.

13 Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done! They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!

14 In the wilderness their desires ran wild, testing God’s patience in that dry wasteland.

15 So he gave them what they asked for, but he sent a plague along with it.

16 The people in the camp were jealous of Moses and envious of Aaron, the LORD ’s holy priest.

17 Because of this, the earth opened up; it swallowed Dathan and buried Abiram and the other rebels.

18 Fire fell upon their followers; a flame consumed the wicked.

19 The people made a calf at Mount Sinai ; they bowed before an image made of gold.

20 They traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass-eating bull.

21 They forgot God, their savior, who had done such great things in Egypt—

22 such wonderful things in the land of Ham, such awesome deeds at the Red Sea.

23 So he declared he would destroy them. But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the LORD and the people. He begged him to turn from his anger and not destroy them.

24 The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them.

25 Instead, they grumbled in their tents and refused to obey the LORD .

26 Therefore, he solemnly swore that he would kill them in the wilderness,

27 that he would scatter their descendants among the nations, exiling them to distant lands.

28 Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor; they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead!

29 They angered the LORD with all these things, so a plague broke out among them.

30 But Phinehas had the courage to intervene, and the plague was stopped.

31 So he has been regarded as a righteous man ever since that time.

32 At Meribah, too, they angered the LORD, causing Moses serious trouble.

33 They made Moses angry, and he spoke foolishly.

34 Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the LORD had commanded them.

35 Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs.

36 They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall.

37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons.

38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters. By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan, they polluted the land with murder.

39 They defiled themselves by their evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in the LORD ’s sight.

40 That is why the LORD ’s anger burned against his people, and he abhorred his own special possession.

41 He handed them over to pagan nations, and they were ruled by those who hated them.

42 Their enemies crushed them and brought them under their cruel power.

43 Again and again he rescued them, but they chose to rebel against him, and they were finally destroyed by their sin.

44 Even so, he pitied them in their distress and listened to their cries.

45 He remembered his covenant with them and relented because of his unfailing love.

46 He even caused their captors to treat them with kindness.

47 Save us, O LORD our God! Gather us back from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you.

48 Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting! Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the LORD !

Psalms 107

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

2 Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.

3 For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.

4 Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless.

5 Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.

6 “ LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.

7 He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.

8 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

9 For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery.

11 They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High.

12 That is why he broke them with hard labor; they fell, and no one was there to help them.

13 “ LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

14 He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains.

15 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

16 For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron.

17 Some were fools; they rebelled and suffered for their sins.

18 They couldn’t stand the thought of food, and they were knocking on death’s door.

19 “ LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

20 He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.

21 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.

23 Some went off to sea in ships, plying the trade routes of the world.

24 They, too, observed the LORD ’s power in action, his impressive works on the deepest seas.

25 He spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up the waves.

26 Their ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged again to the depths; the sailors cringed in terror.

27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end.

28 “ LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.

29 He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.

30 What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!

31 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

32 Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.

33 He changes rivers into deserts, and springs of water into dry, thirsty land.

34 He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands, because of the wickedness of those who live there.

35 But he also turns deserts into pools of water, the dry land into springs of water.

36 He brings the hungry to settle there and to build their cities.

37 They sow their fields, plant their vineyards, and harvest their bumper crops.

38 How he blesses them! They raise large families there, and their herds of livestock increase.

39 When they decrease in number and become impoverished through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,

40 the LORD pours contempt on their princes, causing them to wander in trackless wastelands.

41 But he rescues the poor from trouble and increases their families like flocks of sheep.

42 The godly will see these things and be glad, while the wicked are struck silent.

43 Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the LORD .