Dad, You are good to us, and your love never fails.

A nation asks for forgiveness

1 1 We will celebrate  and praise you, LORD!

You are good to us, and your love never fails. 

2 No one can praise you enough for all the mighty things you have done.

3 You bless those people who are honest and fair in everything they do.

4 Remember me, LORD, when you show kindness by saving your people.

5 Let me prosper with the rest of your chosen ones, as they celebrate with pride because they belong to you.

6 We and our ancestors have sinned terribly.

7 When they were in Egypt, they paid no attention to your marvellous deeds or your wonderful love. And they turned against you at the Red Sea.

8 But you were true to your name, and you rescued them to prove how mighty you are.

9 You said to the Red Sea,“Dry up!” Then you led your people across on land as dry as a desert.

10 You saved all of them 11and drowned every one of their enemies.

12 Then your people trusted you and sang your praises.

13 But they soon forgot what you had done and rejected your advice.

14 They became greedy for food and tested you there in the desert.

15 So you gave them what they wanted, but later you destroyed them with a horrible disease.

16 Everyone in camp was jealous of Moses and of Aaron, your chosen priest.

17 Dathan and Abiram rebelled, and the earth opened up and swallowed them.

18 Then fire broke out and destroyed all of their followers.

19 At Horeb your people made and worshipped the statue 20 of a bull, instead of you,

their glorious God.

21 You worked powerful miracles to save them from Egypt, but they forgot about you

22 and the fearsome things you did at the Red Sea.

23 You were angry and started to destroy them, but Moses, your chosen leader, begged you not to do it.

24 They would not trust you, LORD, and they did not like the promised land.

25 They would not obey you, and they grumbled in their tents.

26 So you threatened them by saying, “I'll kill you out here in the desert!

27  I'll scatter your children everywhere in the world.”

28 Your people became followers of a god named Baal-Peor, and they ate sacrifices offered to the dead.

29 They did such terrible things that you punished them with a deadly disease.

30But Phinehas helped them, and the sickness stopped.

31 Now he will always be highly honoured.

32 At Meribah Spring they turned against you and made you furious.

33 Then Moses got into trouble for speaking in anger.

34 Our LORD, they disobeyed you by refusing to destroy the nations.

35 Instead they were friendly with those foreigners and followed their customs.

36 Then they fell into the trap of worshipping idols.

37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons and to the gods of Canaan.

Then they poured out the blood of these innocent children and made the land filthy.

39 By doing such gruesome things, they also became filthy.

40 Finally, LORD, you were angry and terribly disgusted with your people.

41 So you put them in the power of nations that hated them.

42 They were ill-treated and abused by their enemies, 43 but you saved them time after time. They were determined to rebel, and their sins caused their downfall.

44 You answered their prayers when they were in trouble.

45 You kept your agreement and were so merciful 46that their enemies had pity on them.

47 Save us, LORD God! Bring us back from among the nations.

Let us celebrate and shout in praise of your holy name.

48 LORD God of Israel, you deserve to be praised for ever and ever.

Let everyone say, “Amen!

Shout praises to the LORD!”