Psalm 106
Praise the Lord;
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
: and his mercy endures for ever.
Who can express the mighty acts of the Lord
: or fully voice his praise?
Blessed are those who act according to justice
: who at all times do the right.
Remember me, O Lord,
when you visit your people with your favour
: and come to me also with your salvation,
That I may see the prosperity of your chosen
: that I may rejoice with the rejoicing of your people,
and exult with those who are your own.
We have sinned like our fathers
: we have acted perversely and done wrong.
Our fathers when they were in Egypt
: took no heed of your wonders;
They did not remember the multitude of your loving-kindnesses
: but they rebelled at the Red Sea.
Nevertheless, he saved them for his name’s sake
: that he might make known his power.
He commanded the Red Sea, and it dried up
: and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
He delivered them from the hand of their adversary
: and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
The waters closed over their oppressors
: so that not one was left alive.
Then they believed his words
: and sang him songs of praise.
But in a little while they forgot what he had done
: and would wait for his counsel no more.
Greed took hold of them in the desert
: and they put God to the test in the wilderness.
So he gave them that which they desired
: but sent a wasting sickness among them.
Then they grew envious of Moses in the camp
: and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord;
Whereupon the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan
: it closed over the company of Abiram;
Fire flared out against their number
: and flame devoured the ungodly.
At Horeb they made themselves a calf
: and bowed down in worship to an image.
And so they exchanged the glory of God
: for the likeness of an ox that eats hay.
They forgot God who was their saviour
: that had done such great things in Egypt,
Who had worked his wonders in the land of Ham
: and his terrible deeds at the Red Sea.
Therefore he thought to destroy them
: had not Moses his servant stood before him in the breach,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
Then they despised the pleasant land
: and put no faith in his promise,
But murmured in their tents
: and would not obey the voice of the Lord.
So he lifted his hand to swear an oath against them
: that he would strike them down in the wilderness,
And cast out their children among the nations
: and scatter them through all the lands.
Then they joined themselves to the Baal of Peor
: and ate things sacrificed to gods that have no life.
They provoked him to anger with their wanton deeds
: and plague broke out among them.
Then stood up Phinehas and interposed
: and so the plague was ended;
And that was counted to him for righteousness
: throughout all generations for evermore.
They angered God also at the waters of Meribah
: so that Moses suffered for their misdeeds;
For they had embittered his spirit
: and he spoke rashly with his lips.
They did not destroy the peoples
: as the Lord had commanded them to do,
But they mingled themselves with the heathen
: and learned to follow their ways.
They worshipped foreign idols
: and these became their snare,
So that they sacrificed their sons
: and their own daughters to demons.
They shed innocent blood
: even the blood of their own sons and daughters,
Whom they offered to the idols of Canaan
: and the land was defiled with blood.
They made themselves foul by their acts
: and with wanton deeds whored after strange gods.
Then was the wrath of the Lord
kindled against his people
: and he loathed his own possession;
He gave them into the hands of the nations
: and their adversaries ruled over them.
Their enemies became their oppressors
: and they were brought into subjection
beneath their power.
Many a time he saved them
: but they rebelled against him to follow their own designs
and were brought down by their wickedness.
Nevertheless, he looked on their distress
: when he heard their loud crying.
He remembered his covenant with them
: and relented, according to the abundance of his loving-kindness.
And he caused them to be pitied
: even by those that held them captive.
Save us, O Lord our God,
and gather us from among the nations
: that we may give thanks to your holy name,
and make our boast in your praises.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting
: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise the Lord.