Thursday 16th June 2022

Psalm 106

A Confession of Israel’s Sins

¹ Praise the Lord!
   O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.
² Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,
   or declare all his praise?
³ Happy are those who observe justice,
   who do righteousness at all times.

⁴ Remember me, O Lord, when you show favour to your people;
   help me when you deliver them;
⁵ that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
   that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
   that I may glory in your heritage.

⁶ Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
   we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.
⁷ Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
   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.^*
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
   so that he might make known his mighty power.
⁹ He rebuked the Red Sea,^* and it became dry;
   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 hand of the enemy.
¹¹ 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,
   but sent a wasting disease among them.

¹⁶ They were jealous of Moses in the camp,
   and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
¹⁷ The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
   and covered the faction of Abiram.
¹⁸ Fire also broke out in their company;
   the flame burned up the wicked.

¹⁹ They made a calf at Horeb
   and worshipped a cast 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 awesome deeds 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 grumbled 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 Baal of Peor,
   and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
²⁹ they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
   and a plague broke out among them.
³⁰ Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
   and the plague was stopped.
³¹ And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness
   from generation to generation for ever.

³² They angered the Lord ^* at the waters of Meribah,
   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 they did.
³⁶ They served their 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 prostituted themselves 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 For their sake he remembered his covenant,
   and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
⁴⁶ He caused them to be pitied
   by all who held them captive.

⁴⁷ Save us, O Lord our God,
   and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
   and glory in your praise.

⁴⁸ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
   from everlasting to everlasting.
And let all the people say, ‘Amen.’
   Praise the Lord!

NRSV