Psalms 106

Psalm 106

A Confession of Israel’s Sins

1Praise the Lord ![#1 Chr 16.34; Ps 105.1]

O give thanks to the Lord , for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

2Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord[#Ps 145.4, 12]

or declare all his praise?

3Happy are those who observe justice,[#Ps 15.2]

who do righteousness at all times.

4Remember us, O Lord , when you show favor to your people;[#Ps 119.132; #106.4 Heb mss Gk: MT me]

help us when you deliver them,

5that we may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,[#Ps 1.3; 118.15]

that we may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

that we may glory in your heritage.

6Both we and our ancestors have sinned;[#Dan 9.5]

we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.

7Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,[#Ex 14.11]

did not consider your wonderful works;

they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love

but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.

8Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,[#Ex 9.16]

so that he might make known his mighty power.

9He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry;[#Ex 14.21; Isa 63.11–14; #106.9 Or Sea of Reeds]

he led them through the deep as through a desert.

10So he saved them from the hand of the foe[#Ex 14.30]

and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.

11The waters covered their adversaries;[#Ex 14.28; 15.5]

not one of them was left.

12Then they believed his words;[#Ex 14.31]

they sang his praise.

13But they soon forgot his works;[#Ex 15.24]

they did not wait for his counsel.

14But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness[#1 Cor 10.6, 9]

and put God to the test in the desert;

15he gave them what they asked[#Num 11.31]

but sent a wasting disease among them.

16They were jealous of Moses in the camp[#Num 16.1–3]

and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord .

17The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan[#Deut 11.6]

and covered the faction of Abiram.

18Fire also broke out in their company;[#Num 16.35]

the flame burned up the wicked.

19They made a calf at Horeb[#Ex 32.4]

and worshiped a cast image.

20They exchanged the glory of God[#Jer 2.11; Rom 1.23; #106.20 Compare Gk mss: Heb exchanged their glory]

for the image of an ox that eats grass.

21They forgot God, their Savior,[#Deut 10.21]

who had done great things in Egypt,

22wondrous works in the land of Ham,[#Ps 105.27]

and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

23Therefore he said he would destroy them—[#Ex 32.10]

had not Moses, his chosen one,

stood in the breach before him,

to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

24Then they despised the pleasant land,[#Heb 3.18, 19]

having no faith in his promise.

25They grumbled in their tents[#Num 14.2]

and did not obey the voice of the Lord .

26Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them[#Num 14.28–35; Heb 3.11]

that he would make them fall in the wilderness

27and would disperse their descendants among the nations,[#Ps 44.11; #106.27 Syr: Heb cause to fall]

scattering them over the lands.

28Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor[#Num 25.2, 3]

and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;

29they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,

and a plague broke out among them.

30Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,[#Num 25.7]

and the plague was stopped.

31And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness[#Num 25.11–13]

from generation to generation forever.

32They angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah,[#Num 20.3, 13; #106.32 Heb him]

and it went ill with Moses on their account,

33for they made his spirit bitter,[#Num 20.10]

and he spoke words that were rash.

34They did not destroy the peoples,[#Deut 7.2, 16]

as the Lord had commanded them,

35but they mingled with the nations[#Judg 3.5, 6]

and learned to do as they did.

36They served their idols,[#Judg 2.12]

which became a snare to them.

37They sacrificed their sons[#2 Kings 7.17]

and their daughters to the demons;

38they poured out innocent blood,[#Num 35.33]

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,

and the land was polluted with blood.

39Thus they became unclean by their acts[#Num 15.39]

and prostituted themselves in their doings.

40Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,[#Ps 78.59]

and he abhorred his heritage;

41he gave them into the hand of the nations,[#Judg 2.14; Neh 9.27]

so that those who hated them ruled over them.

42Their enemies oppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power.

43Many times he delivered them,[#Judg 2.16–18]

but they were rebellious in their purposes

and were brought low through their iniquity.

44Nevertheless, he regarded their distress[#Judg 3.9]

when he heard their cry.

45For their sake he remembered his covenant[#Judg 2.18; Ps 105.8]

and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

46He caused them to be pitied[#Ezra 9.9; Jer 42.12]

by all who held them captive.

47Save us, O Lord our God,[#1 Chr 16.35, 36; Ps 147.2]

and gather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.

48Blessed be the Lord , the God of Israel,[#Ps 41.13]

from everlasting to everlasting.

And let all the people say, “Amen.”

Praise the Lord !

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Published by: National Council of the Churches of Christ