A well-written song by Asaph. Pay attention, my people, to my instruction! Listen to the words I speak!

I will sing a song that imparts wisdom; I will make insightful observations about the past.

we will not hide from their descendants. We will tell the next generation about the Lord's praiseworthy acts, about his strength and the amazing things he has done.

He established a rule in Jacob; he set up a law in Israel. He commanded our ancestors to make his deeds known to their descendants,

How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and insulted him in the desert!

He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them the grain of heaven.

He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.

David cared for them with pure motives; he led them with skill.

His raging anger lashed out against them, He sent fury, rage, and trouble as messengers who bring disaster.

But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; he was like a warrior in a drunken rage.

Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury.

Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God, and did not obey his commands.

Despite all this, they continued to sin, and did not trust him to do amazing things.

They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel.

so that the next generation, children yet to be born, might know about them. They will grow up and tell their descendants about them.

He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors, in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.

He gave a command to the clouds above, and opened the doors in the sky.

They remembered that God was their protector, and that the sovereign God was their deliverer.

He led them with a cloud by day, and with the light of a fire all night long.

When he struck them down, they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God.

The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they retreated in the day of battle.

Then they will place their confidence in God. They will not forget the works of God, and they will obey his commands.

He remembered that they were made of flesh, and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.

What we have heard and learned -- that which our ancestors have told us --

when he performed his awesome deeds in Egypt, and his acts of judgment in the region of Zoan.

Man ate the food of the mighty ones. He sent them more than enough to eat.

They insulted God, saying, "Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness?

God heard and was angry; he completely rejected Israel.

They willfully challenged God by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.

He broke open rocks in the wilderness, and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea.

He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their reproductive power in the tents of Ham.

Then they will not be like their ancestors, who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that was not committed and faithful to God.

He chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loves.

He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth, which he established permanently.

They did not keep their covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law.

He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.

Yet he brought out his people like sheep; he led them through the wilderness like a flock.

Yet they continued to sin against him, and rebelled against the sovereign One in the desert.

He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh, the tent where he lived among men.

He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.

They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant.

But they deceived him with their words, and lied to him.

He sent his anger in full force; he did not spare them from death; he handed their lives over to destruction.

They made him angry with their pagan shrines, and made him jealous with their idols.

He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the water stand in a heap.

They forgot what he had done, the amazing things he had shown them.

He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired.

He drove the nations out from before them; he assigned them their tribal allotments and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down.

When the Lord heard this, he was furious. A fire broke out against Jacob, and his anger flared up against Israel,

He took him away from following the mother sheep, and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his chosen nation.

He sent swarms of biting insects against them, as well as frogs that overran their land.

He guided them safely along, while the sea covered their enemies.

He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy.

because they did not have faith in God, and did not trust his ability to deliver them.

He brought the east wind through the sky, and by his strength led forth the south wind.

They did not remember what he had done, how he delivered them from the enemy,

They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow.

Yes, he struck a rock and water flowed out, streams gushed forth. But can he also give us food? Will he provide meat for his people?"

when the anger of God flared up against them. He killed some of the strongest of them; he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.

He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores.

He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust.

He caused streams to flow from the rock, and made the water flow like rivers.

Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins remained unmarried.

He rained hail down on their cattle, and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock.

So he caused them to die unsatisfied and filled with terror.

He drove his enemies back; he made them a permanent target for insults.

He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams.

They ate until they were stuffed; he gave them what they desired.

They were not yet filled up, their food was still in their mouths,

Their priests fell by the sword, but their widows did not weep.

He delivered his people over to the sword, and was angry with his chosen nation.

He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp, all around their homes.