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Psalm 107

1  O give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious, ♦︎
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.
2  Let the redeemed of the Lord say this, ♦︎
   those he redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
3  And gathered out of the lands
      from the east and from the west, ♦︎
   from the north and from the south.
4  Some went astray in desert wastes ♦︎
   and found no path to a city to dwell in.
5  Hungry and thirsty, ♦︎
   their soul was fainting within them.
6  So they cried to the Lord in their trouble ♦︎
   and he delivered them from their distress.
7  He set their feet on the right way ♦︎
   till they came to a city to dwell in.
8  Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness ♦︎
   and the wonders he does for his children.
9  For he satisfies the longing soul ♦︎
   and fills the hungry soul with good.
10  Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, ♦︎
   bound fast in misery and iron,
11  For they had rebelled against the words of God ♦︎
   and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12  So he bowed down their heart with heaviness; ♦︎
   they stumbled and there was none to help them.
13  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, ♦︎
   and he delivered them from their distress.
14  He brought them out of darkness and out of the shadow of death, ♦︎
   and broke their bonds asunder.
15  Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness ♦︎
   and the wonders he does for his children.
16  For he has broken the doors of bronze ♦︎
   and breaks the bars of iron in pieces.

The Waters of Meribah

20The Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and was buried there.

2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and against Aaron. ³The people quarrelled with Moses and said, ‘Would that we had died when our kindred died before the Lord! ⁴Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? ⁵Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to bring us to this wretched place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; and there is no water to drink.’ ⁶Then Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting; they fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. ⁷The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ⁸Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and command the rock before their eyes to yield its water. Thus you shall bring water out of the rock for them; thus you shall provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.

9 So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he had commanded him. ¹⁰Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, ‘Listen, you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock?’ ¹¹Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. ¹²But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me, to show my holiness before the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.’ ¹³These are the waters of Meribah,^* where the people of Israel quarrelled with the Lord, and by which he showed his holiness.

6 Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. ⁷Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’ ⁸We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. ⁹We must not put Christ^* to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. ¹⁰And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. ¹¹These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. ¹²So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. ¹³No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.