Psalms 106; Psalms 107

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Psalms 106

1 Hallelujah! Thank God! And why? Because he's good, because his love lasts.
2 But who on earth can do it - declaim God's mighty acts, broadcast all his praises?
3 You're one happy man when you do what's right, one happy woman when you form the habit of justice.
4 Remember me, God, when you enjoy your people; include me when you save them;
5 I want to see your chosen succeed, celebrate with your celebrating nation, join the Hallelujahs of your pride and joy!
6 We've sinned a lot, both we and our parents; We've fallen short, hurt a lot of people.
7 After our parents left Egypt, they took your wonders for granted, forgot your great and wonderful love. They were barely beyond the Red Sea when they defied the High God
8 - the very place he saved them! - the place he revealed his amazing power!
9 He rebuked the Red Sea so that it dried up on the spot - he paraded them right through! - no one so much as got wet feet!
10 He saved them from a life of oppression, pried them loose from the grip of the enemy.
11 Then the waters flowed back on their oppressors; there wasn't a single survivor.
12 Then they believed his words were true and broke out in songs of praise.
13 But it wasn't long before they forgot the whole thing, wouldn't wait to be told what to do.
14 They only cared about pleasing themselves in that desert, provoked God with their insistent demands.
15 He gave them exactly what they asked for - but along with it they got an empty heart.
16 One day in camp some grew jealous of Moses, also of Aaron, holy priest of God.
17 The ground opened and swallowed Dathan, then buried Abiram's gang.
18 Fire flared against that rebel crew and torched them to a cinder.
19 They cast in metal a bull calf at Horeb and worshiped the statue they'd made.
20 They traded the Glory for a cheap piece of sculpture - a grass-chewing bull!
21 They forgot God, their very own Savior, who turned things around in Egypt,
22 Who created a world of wonders in the Land of Ham, who gave that stunning performance at the Red Sea.
23 Fed up, God decided to get rid of them - and except for Moses, his chosen, he would have. But Moses stood in the gap and deflected God's anger, prevented it from destroying them utterly.
24 They went on to reject the Blessed Land, didn't believe a word of what God promised.
25 They found fault with the life they had and turned a deaf ear to God's voice.
26 Exasperated, God swore that he'd lay them low in the desert,
27 Scattering their children hither and yon, strewing them all over the earth.
28 Then they linked up with Baal Peor, attending funeral banquets and eating idol food.
29 That made God so angry that a plague spread through their ranks;
30 Phinehas stood up and pled their case and the plague was stopped.
31 This was counted to his credit; his descendants will never forget it.
32 They angered God again at Meribah Springs; this time Moses got mixed up in their evil;
33 Because they defied God yet again, Moses exploded and lost his temper.
34 They didn't wipe out those godless cultures as ordered by God;
35 Instead they intermarried with the heathen, and in time became just like them.
36 They worshiped their idols, were caught in the trap of idols.
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters at the altars of demon gods.
38 They slit the throats of their babies, murdered their infant girls and boys. They offered their babies to Canaan's gods; the blood of their babies stained the land.
39 Their way of life stank to high heaven; they lived like whores.
40 And God was furious - a wildfire anger; he couldn't stand even to look at his people.
41 He turned them over to the heathen so that the people who hated them ruled them.
42 Their enemies made life hard for them; they were tyrannized under that rule.
43 Over and over God rescued them, but they never learned - until finally their sins destroyed them.
44 Still, when God saw the trouble they were in and heard their cries for help,
45 He remembered his Covenant with them, and, immense with love, took them by the hand.
46 He poured out his mercy on them while their captors looked on, amazed.
47 Save us, God, our God! Gather us back out of exile So we can give thanks to your holy name and join in the glory when you are praised!
48 Blessed be God, Israel's God! Bless now, bless always! Oh! Let everyone say Amen! Hallelujah!
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.

Psalms 107

1 Oh, thank God - he's so good! His love never runs out.
2 All of you set free by God, tell the world! Tell how he freed you from oppression,
3 Then rounded you up from all over the place, from the four winds, from the seven seas.
4 Some of you wandered for years in the desert, looking but not finding a good place to live,
5 Half-starved and parched with thirst, staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.
6 Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God. He got you out in the nick of time;
7 He put your feet on a wonderful road that took you straight to a good place to live.
8 So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
9 He poured great draughts of water down parched throats; the starved and hungry got plenty to eat.
10 Some of you were locked in a dark cell, cruelly confined behind bars,
11 Punished for defying God's Word, for turning your back on the High God's counsel -
12 A hard sentence, and your hearts so heavy, and not a soul in sight to help.
13 Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.
14 He led you out of your dark, dark cell, broke open the jail and led you out.
15 So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;
16 He shattered the heavy jailhouse doors, he snapped the prison bars like matchsticks!
17 Some of you were sick because you'd lived a bad life, your bodies feeling the effects of your sin;
18 You couldn't stand the sight of food, so miserable you thought you'd be better off dead.
19 Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.
20 He spoke the word that healed you, that pulled you back from the brink of death.
21 So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;
22 Offer thanksgiving sacrifices, tell the world what he's done - sing it out!
23 Some of you set sail in big ships; you put to sea to do business in faraway ports.
24 Out at sea you saw God in action, saw his breathtaking ways with the ocean:
25 With a word he called up the wind - an ocean storm, towering waves!
26 You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out; your hearts were stuck in your throats.
27 You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk, you didn't know which end was up.
28 Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.
29 He quieted the wind down to a whisper, put a muzzle on all the big waves.
30 And you were so glad when the storm died down, and he led you safely back to harbor.
31 So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
32 Lift high your praises when the people assemble, shout Hallelujah when the elders meet!
33 God turned rivers into wasteland, springs of water into sunbaked mud;
34 Luscious orchards became alkali flats because of the evil of the people who lived there.
35 Then he changed wasteland into fresh pools of water, arid earth into springs of water,
36 Brought in the hungry and settled them there; they moved in - what a great place to live!
37 They sowed the fields, they planted vineyards, they reaped a bountiful harvest.
38 He blessed them and they prospered greatly; their herds of cattle never decreased.
39 But abuse and evil and trouble declined
40 as he heaped scorn on princes and sent them away. He gave the poor a safe place to live,
41 treated their clans like well-cared-for sheep.
42 Good people see this and are glad; bad people are speechless, stopped in their tracks.
43 If you are really wise, you'll think this over - it's time you appreciated God's deep love.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.