Psalm 78:1-72 NKJV

[1] Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. [2] I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, [3] Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. [4] 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. [5] 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; [6] That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, [7] That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; [8] 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. [9] The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle. [10] They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law, [11] And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them. [12] Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. [13] He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap. [14] In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire. [15] He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths. [16] He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers. [17] But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. [18] And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy. [19] Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? [20] 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?" [21] Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel, [22] Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation. [23] Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven, [24] Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven. [25] Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full. [26] He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind. [27] He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; [28] And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings. [29] So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire. [30] They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths, [31] The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel. [32] In spite of this they still sinned, And did not believe in His wondrous works. [33] Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear. [34] When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God. [35] Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. [36] Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue; [37] For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant. [38] 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; [39] For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again. [40] How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert! [41] Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel. [42] They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy, [43] When He worked His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan; [44] Turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, that they could not drink. [45] He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, And frogs, which destroyed them. [46] He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust. [47] He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycamore trees with frost. [48] He also gave up their cattle to the hail, And their flocks to fiery lightning. [49] He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them. [50] He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague, [51] And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, The first of their strength in the tents of Ham. [52] But He made His own people go forth like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock; [53] And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies. [54] And He brought them to His holy border, This mountain which His right hand had acquired. [55] He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them an inheritance by survey, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents. [56] Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, And did not keep His testimonies, [57] But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were turned aside like a deceitful bow. [58] For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images. [59] When God heard this, He was furious, And greatly abhorred Israel, [60] So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men, [61] And delivered His strength into captivity, And His glory into the enemy's hand. [62] He also gave His people over to the sword, And was furious with His inheritance. [63] The fire consumed their young men, And their maidens were not given in marriage. [64] Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation. [65] Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine. [66] And He beat back His enemies; He put them to a perpetual reproach. [67] Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, [68] But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. [69] And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever. [70] He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds; [71] From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance. [72] So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.