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A Contemplation of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
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I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,
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Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.
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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.
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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;
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That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children,
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That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments;
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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.
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The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle.
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They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law,
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And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them.
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Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
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He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
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In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire.
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He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
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He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.
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But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
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And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy.
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Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
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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?"
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Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel,
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Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation.
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Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven,
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Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.
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Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full.
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He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind.
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He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
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And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings.
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So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire.
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They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths,
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The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel.
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In spite of this they still sinned, And did not believe in His wondrous works.
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Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear.
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When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
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Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer.
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Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue;
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For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
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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;
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For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again.
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How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!
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Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.
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They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
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When He worked His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
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Turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, that they could not drink.
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He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, And frogs, which destroyed them.
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He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.
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He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycamore trees with frost.
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He also gave up their cattle to the hail, And their flocks to fiery lightning.
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He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them.
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He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague,
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And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
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But He made His own people go forth like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
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And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
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And He brought them to His holy border, This mountain which His right hand had acquired.
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He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them an inheritance by survey, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.