Psalms 78:14-72
He led them with a cloud by day, and with the light of a fire all night long.He broke open rocks in the wilderness, and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea.He caused streams to flow from the rock, and made the water flow like rivers.Yet they continued to sin against him, and rebelled against the sovereign One in the desert.They willfully challenged God by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.They insulted God, saying,“ Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness?Yes, he struck a rock and water flowed out, streams gushed forth. But can he also give us food? Will he provide meat for his people?”When the LORD heard this, he was furious. A fire broke out against Jacob, and his anger flared up against Israel,because they did not have faith in God, and did not trust his ability to deliver them.He gave a command to the clouds above, and opened the doors in the sky.He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them the grain of heaven.Man ate the food of the mighty ones. He sent them more than enough to eat.He brought the east wind through the sky, and by his strength led forth the south wind.He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores.He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp, all around their homes.They ate until they were stuffed; he gave them what they desired.They were not yet filled up, their food was still in their mouths,when the anger of God flared up against them. He killed some of the strongest of them; he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.Despite all this, they continued to sin, and did not trust him to do amazing things.So he caused them to die unsatisfied and filled with terror.When he struck them down, they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God.They remembered that God was their protector, and that the sovereign God was their deliverer.But they deceived him with their words, and lied to him.They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant.Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury.He remembered that they were made of flesh, and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and insulted him in the desert!They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel.They did not remember what he had done, how he delivered them from the enemy,when he performed his awesome deeds in Egypt, and his acts of judgment in the region of Zoan.He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams.He sent swarms of biting insects against them, as well as frogs that overran their land.He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust.He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.He rained hail down on their cattle, and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock.His raging anger lashed out against them, He sent fury, rage, and trouble as messengers who bring disaster.He sent his anger in full force; he did not spare them from death; he handed their lives over to destruction.He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their reproductive power in the tents of Ham.Yet he brought out his people like sheep; he led them through the wilderness like a flock.He guided them safely along, while the sea covered their enemies.He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired.He drove the nations out from before them; he assigned them their tribal allotments and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down.Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God, and did not obey his commands.They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow.They made him angry with their pagan shrines, and made him jealous with their idols.God heard and was angry; he completely rejected Israel.He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh, the tent where he lived among men.He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy.He delivered his people over to the sword, and was angry with his chosen nation.Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins remained unmarried.Their priests fell by the sword, but their widows did not weep.But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; he was like a warrior in a drunken rage.He drove his enemies back; he made them a permanent target for insults.He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.He chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loves.He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth, which he established permanently.He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.He took him away from following the mother sheep, and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his chosen nation.David cared for them with pure motives; he led them with skill.
Psalms 106:12-48
They believed his promises; they sang praises to him.They quickly forgot what he had done; they did not wait for his instructions.In the wilderness they had an insatiable craving for meat; they challenged God in the desert.He granted their request, then struck them with a disease.In the camp they resented Moses, and Aaron, the LORD’s holy priest.The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it engulfed the group led by Abiram.Fire burned their group; the flames scorched the wicked.They made an image of a calf at Horeb, and worshiped a metal idol.They traded their majestic God for the image of an ox that eats grass.They rejected the God who delivered them, the one who performed great deeds in Egypt,amazing feats in the land of Ham, mighty acts by the Red Sea.He threatened to destroy them, but Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him and turned back his destructive anger.They rejected the fruitful land; they did not believe his promise.They grumbled in their tents; they did not obey the LORD.So he made a solemn vow that he would make them die in the desert,make their descendants die among the nations, and scatter them among foreign lands.They worshiped Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.They made the LORD angry by their actions, and a plague broke out among them.Phinehas took a stand and intervened, and the plague subsided.This brought him a reward, an eternal gift.They made him angry by the waters of Meribah, and Moses suffered because of them,for they aroused his temper, and he spoke rashly.They did not destroy the nations, as the LORD had commanded them to do.They mixed in with the nations and learned their ways.They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.They shed innocent blood– the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. The land was polluted by bloodshed.They were defiled by their deeds, and unfaithful in their actions.So the LORD was angry with his people and despised the people who belong to him.He handed them over to the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them.Their enemies oppressed them; they were subject to their authority.Many times he delivered them, but they had a rebellious attitude, and degraded themselves by their sin.Yet he took notice of their distress, when he heard their cry for help.He remembered his covenant with them, and relented because of his great loyal love.He caused all their conquerors to have pity on them.Deliver us, O LORD, our God! Gather us from among the nations! Then we will give thanks to your holy name, and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.The LORD God of Israel deserves praise, in the future and forevermore. Let all the people say,“ We agree! Praise the LORD!”
