Psalms For Mercy

And Forgiveness Of A Nation

Psalm 106

1 Praise the Lord!

O give thanks to the Lord,

for He is good;

for His steadfast love endures forever!

2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,

or show forth all His praise?

3 Blessed are they who observe justice,

who do righteousness at all times!

4 Remember me, O Lord, when thou showest

favour to thy people;

help me when thou deliverest them;

5 that I may see the prosperity of thy chosen ones,

that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation,

that I may glory with thy heritage.

6 Both we and our fathers have sinned;

we have committed iniquity,

we have done wickedly.

7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,

did not consider thy wonderful works;

they did not remember the abundance of thy steadfast love,

but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.

8 Yet he saved them for His name's sake,

that He might make known His mighty power.

9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry;

and He led them through the deep as

through a desert.

10 So He saved them from the hand of the foe,

and delivered them from the power of the enemy.

11 And the waters covered their adversaries;

not one of them was left.

12 Then they believed His words;

they sang His praise.

13 But they soon forgot His works;

they did not wait for His counsel.

14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,

and put God to the test in the desert;

15 He gave them what they asked for,

but sent a wasting disease among them.

16 When men in the camp were jealous of Moses

and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,

17 the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

and covered the company of Abi'ram.

18 Fire also broke out in their company;

the flame burned up the wicked.

19 They made a calf in Horeb

and worshiped a molten image.

20 They exchanged the glory of God

for the image of an ox that eats grass.

21 They forgot God, their Saviour,

who had done great things in Egypt,

22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,

and terrible things by the Red Sea.

23 Therefore He said He would destroy them—

had not Moses, His chosen one,

stood in the breach before Him,

to turn away His wrath from destroying them.

24 Then they despised the pleasant land,

having no faith in His promise.

25 They murmured in their tents,

and did not obey the voice of the Lord.

26 Therefore He raised His hand and swore to them

that He would make them fall in the wilderness,

27 and would disperse their descendants among the nations,

scattering them over the lands.

28 Then they attached themselves to the Ba'al of Pe'or,

and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;

29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their doings,

and a plague broke out among them.

30 Then Phinehas stood up and interposed,

and the plague was stayed.

31 And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness

from generation to generation forever.

32 They angered Him at the waters of Mer'ibah,

and it went ill with Moses on their account;

33 for they made his spirit bitter,

and he spoke words that were rash.

34 They did not destroy the peoples,

as the Lord commanded them,

35 but they mingled with the nations

and learned to do as other nations did.

36 They served foreign idols,

which became a snare to them.

37 They sacrificed their sons

and their daughters to the demons;

38 they poured out innocent blood,

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;

and the land was polluted with blood.

39 Thus they became unclean by their acts,

and played the harlot in their doings.

40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled

against His people,

and He abhorred His heritage;

41 He gave them into the hand of the nations,

so that those who hated them ruled over them.

42 Their enemies oppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection

under their power.

43 Many times He delivered them,

but they were rebellious in their purposes,

and were brought low through their iniquity.

44 Nevertheless He regarded their distress,

when He heard their cry.

45 He remembered for their sake His covenant,

and relented according to the abundance

of His steadfast love.

46 He caused them to be pitied

by all those who held them captive.

47 Save us, O Lord our God,

and gather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to thy holy name

and glory in thy praise.

48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, "Amen!"

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 130

A Song of Ascents.

1 Out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord!

2 Lord, hear my voice!

Let thy ears be attentive

to the voice of my supplications!

3 If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities,

Lord, who could stand?

4 But there is forgiveness with thee,

that thou mayest be feared.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in His word I hope;

6 my soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen for the morning,

more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!

For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with Him is plenteous redemption.

8 And He will redeem Israel

from all his iniquities.