Give Thanks to the LORD for He is Good
1 Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his loving kindness endures forever.
2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD,
or fully declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are those who advocate for justice.
Blessed is one who does what is right at all times.
4 Remember me, LORD, with the favor that you show to your people.
Visit me with your salvation,
5 that I may see the prosperity of your chosen,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 We have sinned with our fathers.
We have committed iniquity.
We have acted wickedly.
7 Our fathers did not understand your wonders in Egypt.
They did not remember the abundance of your loving kindnesses,
but were rebellious at the sea, by the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake,
that he might make his mighty power known.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up,
so he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
10 He saved them from the hand that hated them,
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 The waters covered their adversaries.
There was not one of them left.
12 Then they believed his words.
They sang his praise.
13 They soon forgot his works.
They did not wait for his counsel,
14 but gave in to their cravings in the desert
and tested God in the desert.
15 He gave them their request,
but sent a wasting disease among them.
16 They envied Moses also in the camp,
and Aaron, the LORD’s holy priest.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan
and covered the company of Abiram.
18 A fire was kindled in their company.
The flame burned up the wicked.
19 They made a calf in Horeb
and worshiped a molten image.
20 Thus they exchanged their glory
for an image of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham
and awesome things by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore he said that he would have destroyed them,
had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the gap,
to turn away his wrath, so that he would not destroy them.
24 Yes, they despised the pleasant land.
They did not believe his word,
25 but murmured in their tents
and did not listen to the voice of the LORD.
26 Therefore he swore to them
that he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
27 that he would overthrow their offspring among the nations
and scatter them in the lands.
28 They also aligned themselves with Baal Peor
and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
29 Thus they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds.
The plague broke in on them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment,
so the plague was stopped.
31 That was credited to him as righteousness,
for all generations to come.
32 They angered the LORD at the waters of Meribah,
so that Moses suffered because of them.
33 Because they provoked his spirit,
from Moses’ own lips, came rash words.
34 They did not destroy the peoples,
as the LORD commanded them,
35 but mingled with other nations,
and learned their ways.
36 They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37 Indeed, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
38 They shed innocent blood,
even the blood of their sons and of their daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
The land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they were defiled with their ways
and prostituted themselves in their deeds.
40 Therefore the LORD burned with anger against his people.
He abhorred his inheritance.
41 He gave them into the hand of the nations.
Those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them.
They were brought into submission under their hand.
43 He rescued them many times,
but they continued in their deliberate rebellion
and were brought low in their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless he regarded their distress
when he heard their cry.
45 He remembered for them, his covenant,
and relented according to the abundance of his loving kindnesses.
46 He made them also to be pitied
by all those who took them captive.
47 Save us, LORD, our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
and triumph in your praise!
48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
Let all the people say, “Amen.”
Hallelujah!