His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
The same history from the other side, as confession. They forgot at the sea, craved in the desert, made the calf, sacrificed their own children. Again and again our Father handed them over, heard them cry, and remembered his covenant anyway.
106 1Hallelujah! Give thanks to our Father, for he is good; his covenant love endures forever.
2Who can recount the mighty deeds of our Father, or proclaim all his praise? 3Blessed are those who keep justice, who always do what is right.
4Remember me, our Father, with the favor you show your people; come to me with your salvation, 5that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones, rejoice in the gladness of your nation, and exult with your inheritance.
6We have sinned, as our ancestors did; we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly. 7When our ancestors were in Egypt, they did not consider your wonders; they did not remember the abundance of your covenant love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. a a v7 Hebrew: Yam Suf, "Sea of Reeds." 8Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make known his mighty power. 9He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the deep waters as through a desert. 10He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 11The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. 12Then they believed his words; they sang his praise.
13But they quickly forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. 14In the wilderness they gave in to craving, and in the wasteland they put our Father to the test. 15So he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them. 16In the camp they grew jealous of Moses, and of Aaron, the holy one of our Father. 17The earth opened and swallowed Dathan, and covered over the company of Abiram. 18Fire blazed against their company; a flame burned up the wicked.
19At Horeb they made a calf and bowed down to a cast-metal image. 20They exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass. 21They forgot our Father, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, 22wonders in the land of Ham, awesome deeds by the Red Sea. b b v22 The land of Ham is an ancient poetic name for Egypt. 23So he said he would destroy them—had not Moses, his chosen one, stepped into the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise. 25They grumbled in their tents and did not listen to the voice of our Father. 26So he lifted his hand and swore that he would make them fall in the wilderness, 27to make their descendants fall among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.
28They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods. 29They provoked him to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. 30But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped. 31And it was credited to him as righteousness, for all generations forever. 32At the waters of Meribah they angered him, and it went badly for Moses on their account, 33for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly.
34They did not destroy the peoples, as our Father had commanded them, 35but they mingled with the nations and learned their ways. 36They served their idols, which became a trap for them. 37They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons. 38They poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was defiled with blood. 39They became unclean by their deeds and prostituted themselves by their actions.
40So the anger of our Father burned against his people, and he abhorred his inheritance. 41He handed them over to the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them. 42Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought under their power. 43Many times he delivered them, but in all their plans they were bent on rebellion, and they sank low in their sin. 44Yet he looked upon their distress when he heard their cry. 45For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his loyal love. 46He moved all their captors to take pity on them.
47Save us, our Father, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and exult in your praise.
48Blessed be the Father of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, "Amen!" Hallelujah!
