Study Desk

^(F1)Praise ^(F2)the LORD! Oh ^(C1)give thanks to the LORD, for He ^(C2)is good; For ^(C3)His mercy is everlasting.

Who can speak of the ^(C1)mighty deeds of the LORD, Or can proclaim all His praise?

How blessed are those who maintain ^(F1)justice, ^(F2)Who ^(C1)practice righteousness at all times!

Remember me, LORD, in Your ^(C1)favor ^(F1)toward Your people. Visit me with Your salvation,

So that I may see the ^(C1)prosperity of Your chosen ones, That I may ^(C2)rejoice in the joy of Your nation, That I may ^(C3)boast with Your ^(F1)inheritance.

^(C1)We have sinned ^(F1)(C2)like our fathers, We have gone astray, we have behaved wickedly.

Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your ^(F1)wonders; They ^(C1)did not remember ^(F2)Your abundant kindnesses, But ^(C2)rebelled by the sea, at the ^(F3)Red Sea.

Nevertheless He saved them ^(C1)for the sake of His name, So that He might ^(C2)make His power known.

So He ^(C1)rebuked the ^(F1)Red Sea and it ^(C2)dried up, And He ^(C3)led them through the mighty waters, as through the wilderness.

So He ^(C1)saved them from the ^(F1)hand of one who hated them, And ^(C2)redeemed them from the ^(F1)hand of the enemy.

^(C1)The waters covered their adversaries; Not one of them was left.

Then they ^(C1)believed His words; They ^(C2)sang His praise.

They quickly ^(C1)forgot His works; They ^(C2)did not wait for His plan,

But ^(C1)became lustfully greedy in the wilderness, And ^(C2)put God to the test in the desert.

So He ^(C1)gave them their request, But ^(C2)sent a ^(F1)wasting disease among them.

When they became ^(C1)envious of Moses in the camp, And of Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,

The ^(C1)earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, And engulfed the ^(F1)company of Abiram.

And a ^(C1)fire blazed up in their ^(F1)company; The flame consumed the wicked.

They ^(C1)made a calf in Horeb, And worshiped a cast metal image.

So they ^(C1)exchanged their glory For the image of an ox that eats grass.

They ^(C1)forgot God their Savior, Who had done ^(C2)great things in Egypt,

^(F1)(C1)Wonders in the land of Ham, And awesome things by the ^(F2)Red Sea.

Therefore ^(C1)He said that He would destroy them, If ^(C2)Moses, His chosen one, had not stood in the gap before Him, To turn away His wrath from destroying them.

Then they ^(C1)rejected the ^(C2)pleasant land; They ^(C3)did not believe His word,

But ^(C1)grumbled in their tents; They did not listen to the voice of the LORD.

Therefore He ^(F1)(C1)swore to them That He would have them fall in the wilderness,

And that He would ^(C1)bring down their ^(F1)descendants among the nations, And ^(C2)scatter them in the lands.

They also ^(C1)followed ^(F1)Baal-peor, And ate ^(C2)sacrifices offered to the dead.

So they ^(C1)provoked Him to anger with their deeds, And a plague broke out among them.

Then Phinehas ^(C1)stood up and ^(F1)intervened, And so the ^(C2)plague was brought to a halt.

And it was ^(C1)credited to him as righteousness, To all generations forever.

They also ^(C1)provoked Him to wrath at the waters of ^(F1)Meribah, So that it ^(C2)went badly for Moses on their account.

Because they ^(C1)were rebellious against ^(F1)His Spirit, He spoke rashly with his lips.

They ^(C1)did not destroy the peoples, As ^(C2)the LORD had commanded them,

But ^(C1)they got involved with the nations And learned their ^(F1)practices,

And ^(C1)served their idols, ^(C2)Which became a snare to them.

They even ^(C1)sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the ^(C2)demons,

And shed ^(C1)innocent blood, The blood of their ^(C2)sons and their daughters Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was ^(C3)defiled with the blood.

So they became ^(C1)unclean in their ^(F1)practices, And ^(F2)(C2)were unfaithful in their deeds.

Therefore the ^(C1)anger of the LORD was kindled against His people, And He ^(C2)loathed His ^(F1)(C3)inheritance.

So ^(C1)He handed them over to the ^(F1)nations, And those who hated them ruled over them.

Their enemies also ^(C1)oppressed them, And they were subdued under their ^(F1)power.

Many times He would ^(C1)rescue them; They, however, were rebellious in their ^(C2)plan, And they ^(C3)sank down into their guilt.

Nevertheless He looked at their distress When He ^(C1)heard their cry;

And He ^(C1)remembered His covenant for their sake, And ^(F1)(C2)relented ^(C3)according to the greatness of His mercy.

He also made them ^(C1)objects of compassion In the presence of all their captors.

^(C1)Save us, LORD our God, And ^(C2)gather us from the nations, To give thanks to Your holy name And ^(C3)glory in Your praise.

^(C1)Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting. And all the people shall say, "Amen." ^(F1)Praise ^(F2)the LORD!

^(C1)Give thanks to the LORD, for ^(C2)He is good, For His mercy is everlasting.

^(C1)The redeemed of the LORD shall say so, Those whom He has ^(C2)redeemed from the hand of the enemy

And ^(C1)gathered from the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the ^(F1)south.

They ^(C1)wandered in the wilderness in a ^(F1)desert region; They did not find a way to ^(F2)an inhabited ^(C2)city.

They were hungry ^(F1)and thirsty; Their ^(C1)souls felt weak within them.

Then they ^(C1)cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them from their distresses.

He also had them walk on a ^(F1)(C1)straight way, To go to ^(F2)(C2)an inhabited city.

^(C1)They shall give thanks to the LORD for His mercy, And for His ^(F1)wonders to the sons of mankind!

For He has ^(C1)satisfied the ^(F1)thirsty soul, And He has filled the ^(C2)hungry soul with what is good.

There were those who ^(C1)lived in darkness and in ^(F1)the shadow of death, ^(C2)Prisoners in misery and ^(F2)chains,

Because they had ^(C1)rebelled against the words of God And ^(C2)rejected the ^(C3)plan of the Most High.

Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was ^(C1)no one to help.

Then they ^(C1)cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them from their distresses.

He ^(C1)brought them out of darkness and ^(F1)the shadow of death And ^(C2)broke their bands apart.

^(C1)They shall give thanks to the LORD for His mercy, And for His ^(F1)wonders to the sons of mankind!

For He has ^(C1)shattered gates of bronze And cut off bars of iron.

Fools, because of ^(F1)their rebellious way, And ^(C1)because of their guilty deeds, were afflicted.

Their ^(C1)souls loathed all kinds of food, And they ^(C2)came close to the ^(C3)gates of death.

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them from their distresses.

He ^(C1)sent His word and ^(C2)healed them, And ^(C3)saved them from their ^(F1)destruction.

^(C1)They shall give thanks to the LORD for His mercy, And for His ^(F1)wonders to the sons of mankind!

They shall also offer ^(C1)sacrifices of thanksgiving, And ^(C2)tell of His works with joyful singing.

Those who ^(C1)go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters;

They have seen the works of the LORD, And His ^(F1)wonders in the deep.

For He ^(C1)spoke and raised a ^(C2)stormy wind, Which ^(C3)lifted the waves ^(F1)of the sea.

They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul ^(C1)melted away in their misery.

They reeled and ^(C1)staggered like a drunken person, And ^(F1)were at their wits' end.

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses.

He ^(C1)caused the storm to be still, So that the waves ^(F1)of the sea were hushed.

Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired harbor.

^(C1)They shall give thanks to the LORD for His mercy, And for His ^(F1)(C2)wonders to the sons of mankind!

They shall also ^(C1)exalt Him ^(C2)in the congregation of the people, And ^(C3)praise Him at the seat of the elders.

He ^(C1)turns rivers into a ^(F1)wilderness, And springs of water into a thirsty ground;

And a ^(C1)fruitful land into a ^(C2)salt waste, Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

He ^(C1)turns a ^(F1)wilderness into a pool of water, And a dry land into springs of water;

And He has the hungry live there, So that they may establish ^(F1)(C1)an inhabited city,

And sow fields and ^(C1)plant vineyards, And ^(F1)gather a fruitful harvest.

He also blesses them and they ^(C1)multiply greatly, And He ^(C2)does not let their cattle decrease.

When they ^(C1)become few and ^(C2)lowly Because of oppression, misery, and sorrow,

He ^(C1)pours contempt upon noblemen And ^(C2)makes them wander ^(C3)in a pathless wasteland.

But He ^(C1)sets the needy ^(F1)securely on high, away from affliction, And ^(C2)makes his families like a flock.

The ^(C1)upright see it and are glad; But all ^(C2)injustice shuts its mouth.

Who is ^(C1)wise? He is to pay attention to these things, And consider the ^(C2)mercy of the LORD.