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Psalm 78

1  Hear my teaching, O my people; ♦︎
   incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2  I will open my mouth in a parable; ♦︎
   I will pour forth mysteries from of old,
3  Such as we have heard and known, ♦︎
   which our forebears have told us.
4  We will not hide from their children,
      but will recount to generations to come, ♦︎
   the praises of the Lord and his power
      and the wonderful works he has done.
12  For he did marvellous things in the sight of their forebears, ♦︎
   in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13  He divided the sea and let them pass through; ♦︎
   he made the waters stand still in a heap.
14  He led them with a cloud by day ♦︎
   and all the night through with a blaze of fire.
15  He split the hard rocks in the wilderness ♦︎
   and gave them drink as from the great deep.
16  He brought streams out of the rock ♦︎
   and made water gush out like rivers.

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.

³²And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors ³³he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm,
“You are my Son;
   today I have begotten you.”
³⁴As to his raising him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
“I will give you the holy promises made to David.”
³⁵Therefore he has also said in another psalm,
“You will not let your Holy One experience corruption.”
³⁶For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, died,^* was laid beside his ancestors, and experienced corruption; ³⁷but he whom God raised up experienced no corruption. ³⁸Let it be known to you therefore, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you; ³⁹by this Jesus^* everyone who believes is set free from all those sins^* from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰Beware, therefore, that what the prophets said does not happen to you:
⁴¹ “Look, you scoffers!
   Be amazed and perish,
for in your days I am doing a work,
   a work that you will never believe, even if someone tells you.” ’