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! al