| Scripture | 
Expanded Comments | 
|   Israel's Rebelliousness and Jehovah's Deliverances. | 
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1 Praise ye Jehovah. Oh give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
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His mercy –  Which sent his Son to be our Redeemer. R5427:3
  The wrath of God is always just and tempered with mercy. HG319:5; R5427:3; R2613:2
  Endureth for ever –  To a full completeness. R5427:3 Psalms 106:12
  They sang his praise –  In the song of Moses recorded in Exo. 15:1-20. R3998:6
 
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2 Who can utter the mighty acts of Jehovah, Or show forth all his praise?
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3 Blessed are they that keep justice, And he that doeth righteousness at all times.
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4 Remember me, O Jehovah, with the favor that thou bearest unto thy people; Oh visit me with thy salvation,
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5 That I may see the prosperity of thy chosen, That I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, That I may glory with thine inheritance.
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6 We have sinned with our fathers, We have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
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7 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; They remembered not the multitude of thy lovingkindnesses, But were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
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8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, That he might make his mighty power to be known.
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9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up: So he led them through the depths, as through a wilderness.
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10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
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11 And the waters covered their adversaries; There was not one of them left.
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12 Then believed they his words; They sang his praise. 
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13 They soon forgat his works; They waited not for his counsel,
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14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tempted God in the desert.
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15 And he gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul.
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16 They envied Moses also in the camp, And Aaron the holy one of Jehovah.
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17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, And covered the company of Abiram.
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18 And a fire was kindled in their company; The flame burned up the wicked.
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19 They made a calf in Horeb, And worshipped a molten image.
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20 Thus they changed my glory For the likeness of an ox that eateth grass.
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21 They forgat God their Saviour, Who had done great things in Egypt,
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22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, And awesome things by the Red Sea.
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23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, Had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, To turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
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Stood before him –  God dealt with only one man in connection with the making of the Law covenant--Moses. R1725:6
  In the breach –  See comments on Psa. 105:26. Psalms 106:35
  Learned their works –  Grecian philosophy, including the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. R5910:3
 
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24 Yes, they despised the pleasant land, They believed not his word,
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25 But murmured in their tents, And hearkened not unto the voice of Jehovah.
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26 Therefore he sware unto them, That he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
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27 And that he would overthrow their seed among the nations, And scatter them in the lands.
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28 They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, And ate the sacrifices of the dead.
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29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their doings; And the plague brake in upon them.
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30 They stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment; And so the plague was stayed.
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31 And that was reckoned unto him for righteousness, Unto all generations for evermore.
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32 They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, So that it went ill with Moses for their sakes;
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33 Because they were rebellious against his spirit, And he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
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34 They did not destroy the peoples, As Jehovah commanded them,
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35 But mingled themselves with the nations, And learned their works,
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36 And served their idols, Which became a snare unto them.
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Served their idols –  Sought after wizards, necromancers-- mediums of the fallen spirits. R5910:2
 
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37 Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto demons,
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38 And shed innocent blood, Even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, Whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with blood.
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39 Thus were they defiled with their works, And played the harlot in their doings.
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40 Therefore was the wrath of Jehovah kindled against his people, And he abhorred his inheritance.
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41 And he gave them into the hand of the nations; And they that hated them ruled over them.
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42 Their enemies also oppressed them, And they were brought into subjection under their hand.
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43 Many times did he deliver them; But they were rebellious in their counsel, And were brought low in their iniquity.
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44 Nevertheless he regarded their distress, When he heard their cry:
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45 And he remembered for them his covenant, And repented according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
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46 He made them also to be pitied Of all those that carried them captive.
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47 Save us, O Jehovah our God, And gather us from among the nations, To give thanks unto thy holy name, And to triumph in thy praise.
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48 Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. And let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye Jehovah. | 
From everlasting –  From all eternity; without any beginning. E86
 
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