1
|
[A well-written song by Asaph.] Pay attention, my people, to my instruction! Listen to the words I speak! |
2
|
I will sing a song that imparts wisdom; I will make insightful observations about the past. |
3
|
What we have heard and learned— that which our ancestors have told us— |
4
|
we will not hide from their descendants. We will tell the next generation about the LORD's praiseworthy acts, about his strength and the amazing things he has done. |
5
|
He established a rule in Jacob; he set up a law in Israel. He commanded our ancestors to make his deeds known to their descendants, |
6
|
so that the next generation, children yet to be born, might know about them. They will grow up and tell their descendants about them. |
7
|
Then they will place their confidence in God. They will not forget the works of God, and they will obey his commands. |
8
|
Then they will not be like their ancestors, who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that was not committed and faithful to God. |
9
|
The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they retreated in the day of battle. |
10
|
They did not keep their covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law. |
11
|
They forgot what he had done, the amazing things he had shown them. |
12
|
He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors, in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. |
13
|
He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the water stand in a heap. |
14
|
He led them with a cloud by day, and with the light of a fire all night long. |
15
|
He broke open rocks in the wilderness, and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea. |
16
|
He caused streams to flow from the rock, and made the water flow like rivers. |
17
|
Yet they continued to sin against him, and rebelled against the sovereign One in the desert. |
18
|
They willfully challenged God by asking for food to satisfy their appetite. |
19
|
They insulted God, saying, "Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness? |
20
|
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?" |
21
|
When the LORD heard this, he was furious. A fire broke out against Jacob, and his anger flared up against Israel, |
22
|
because they did not have faith in God, and did not trust his ability to deliver them. |
23
|
He gave a command to the clouds above, and opened the doors in the sky. |
24
|
He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them the grain of heaven. |
25
|
Man ate the food of the mighty ones. He sent them more than enough to eat. |
26
|
He brought the east wind through the sky, and by his strength led forth the south wind. |
27
|
He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores. |
28
|
He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp, all around their homes. |
29
|
They ate until they were stuffed; he gave them what they desired. |
30
|
They were not yet filled up, their food was still in their mouths, |
31
|
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. |
32
|
Despite all this, they continued to sin, and did not trust him to do amazing things. |
33
|
So he caused them to die unsatisfied and filled with terror. |
34
|
When he struck them down, they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God. |
35
|
They remembered that God was their protector, and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. |
36
|
But they deceived him with their words, and lied to him. |
37
|
They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant. |
38
|
Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury. |
39
|
He remembered that they were made of flesh, and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. |
40
|
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and insulted him in the desert! |
41
|
They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel. |
42
|
They did not remember what he had done, how he delivered them from the enemy, |
43
|
when he performed his awesome deeds in Egypt, and his acts of judgment in the region of Zoan. |
44
|
He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams. |
45
|
He sent swarms of biting insects against them, as well as frogs that overran their land. |
46
|
He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust. |
47
|
He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain. |
48
|
He rained hail down on their cattle, and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock. |
49
|
His raging anger lashed out against them, He sent fury, rage, and trouble as messengers who bring disaster. |
50
|
He sent his anger in full force; he did not spare them from death; he handed their lives over to destruction. |
51
|
He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their reproductive power in the tents of Ham. |
52
|
Yet he brought out his people like sheep; he led them through the wilderness like a flock. |
53
|
He guided them safely along, while the sea covered their enemies. |
54
|
He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired. |
55
|
He drove the nations out from before them; he assigned them their tribal allotments and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. |
56
|
Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God, and did not obey his commands. |
57
|
They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. |
58
|
They made him angry with their pagan shrines, and made him jealous with their idols. |
59
|
God heard and was angry; he completely rejected Israel. |
60
|
He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh, the tent where he lived among men. |
61
|
He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy. |
62
|
He delivered his people over to the sword, and was angry with his chosen nation. |
63
|
Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins remained unmarried. |
64
|
Their priests fell by the sword, but their widows did not weep. |
65
|
But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. |
66
|
He drove his enemies back; he made them a permanent target for insults. |
67
|
He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. |
68
|
He chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loves. |
69
|
He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. |
70
|
He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds. |
71
|
He took him away from following the mother sheep, and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his chosen nation. |
72
|
David cared for them with pure motives; he led them with skill. |
Psalms 78:1 English Language Bible Words basic statistical display
COMING SOON ...