Psalms:78

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* Give ear , O my people , to my law ; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth . * I will open my mouth in a parable ; I will utter dark sayings of old , * Which we have heard and known , And our fathers have told us . * We will not hide them from their children , Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD , And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done . * For He established a testimony in Jacob , And appointed a law in Israel , Which He commanded our fathers , That they should make them known to their children ; * That the generation to come might know them , The children who would be born , That they may arise and declare them to their children , * That they may set their hope in God , And not forget the works of God , But keep His commandments ; * And may not be like their fathers , A stubborn and rebellious generation , A generation that did not set its heart aright , And whose spirit was not faithful to God . * The children of Ephraim , being armed and carrying bows , Turned back in the day of battle . * They did not keep the covenant of God ; They refused to walk in His law , * And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them . * Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers , In the land of Egypt , in the field of Zoan . * He divided the sea and caused them to pass through ; And He made the waters stand up like a heap . * In the daytime also He led them with the cloud , And all the night with a light of fire . * He split the rocks in the wilderness , And gave them drink in abundance like the depths . * He also brought streams out of the rock , And caused waters to run down like rivers . * But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness . * And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy . * Yes , they spoke against God : They said , "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness ? * Behold , He struck the rock , So that the waters gushed out , And the streams overflowed . Can He give bread also ? Can He provide meat for His people ? * Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious ; So a fire was kindled against Jacob , And anger also came up against Israel , * Because they did not believe in God , And did not trust in His salvation . * Yet He had commanded the clouds above , And opened the doors of heaven , * Had rained down manna on them to eat , And given them of the bread of heaven . * Men ate angels ' food ; He sent them food to the full . * He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens ; And by His power He brought in the south wind . * He also rained meat on them like the dust , Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas ; * And He let them fall in the midst of their camp , All around their dwellings . * So they ate and were well filled , For He gave them their own desire . * They were not deprived of their craving ; But while their food was still in their mouths , * The wrath of God came against them , And slew the stoutest of them , And struck down the choice men of Israel . * In spite of this they still sinned , And did not believe in His wondrous works . * Therefore their days He consumed in futility , And their years in fear . * When He slew them , then they sought Him ; And they returned and sought earnestly for God . * Then they remembered that God was their rock , And the Most High God their Redeemer . * Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth , And they lied to Him with their tongue ; * For their heart was not steadfast with Him , Nor were they faithful in His covenant . * But He , being full of compassion , forgave their iniquity , And did not destroy them . Yes , many a time He turned His anger away , And did not stir up all His wrath ; * For He remembered that they were but flesh , A breath that passes away and does not come again . * How often they provoked Him in the wilderness , And grieved Him in the desert ! * Yes , again and again they tempted God , And limited the Holy One of Israel . * They did not remember His power : The day when He redeemed them from the enemy , * When He worked His signs in Egypt , And His wonders in the field of Zoan ; * Turned their rivers into blood , And their streams , that they could not drink . * He sent swarms of flies among them , which devoured them , And frogs , which destroyed them . * He also gave their crops to the caterpillar , And their labor to the locust . * He destroyed their vines with hail , And their sycamore trees with frost . * He also gave up their cattle to the hail , And their flocks to fiery lightning . * He cast on them the fierceness of His anger , Wrath , indignation , and trouble , By sending angels of destruction among them . * He made a path for His anger ; He did not spare their soul from death , But gave their life over to the plague , * And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt , The first of their strength in the tents of Ham . * But He made His own people go forth like sheep , And guided them in the wilderness like a flock ; * And He led them on safely , so that they did not fear ; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies . * And He brought them to His holy border , This mountain which His right hand had acquired . * He also drove out the nations before them , Allotted them an inheritance by survey , And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents . * Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God , And did not keep His testimonies , * But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers ; They were turned aside like a deceitful bow . * For they provoked Him to anger with their high places , And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images . * When God heard this , He was furious , And greatly abhorred Israel , * So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh , The tent He had placed among men , * And delivered His strength into captivity , And His glory into the enemy 's hand . * He also gave His people over to the sword , And was furious with His inheritance . * The fire consumed their young men , And their maidens were not given in marriage . * Their priests fell by the sword , And their widows made no lamentation . * Then the Lord awoke as from sleep , Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine . * And He beat back His enemies ; He put them to a perpetual reproach . * Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph , And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim , * But chose the tribe of Judah , Mount Zion which He loved . * And He built His sanctuary like the heights , Like the earth which He has established forever . * He also chose David His servant , And took him from the sheepfolds ; * From following the ewes that had young He brought him , To shepherd Jacob His people , And Israel His inheritance . * So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart , And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands .

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