A maskil of Asaph.
1 My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
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I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
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things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.
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We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.
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He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children,
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so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.
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Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
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They would not be like their ancestors— a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.
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The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle;
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they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law.
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They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.
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He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
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He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall.
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He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.
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He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
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he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.
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But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
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They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.
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They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?
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True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, streams flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his people?”