God’s Love for Israel

105 Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him.

Tell the nations what he has done.

2  Sing to him; sing praises to him.

Tell about all his miracles.

3  Be glad that you are his;

let those who seek the Lord be happy.

4  Depend on the Lord and his strength;

always go to him for help.

5  Remember the miracles he has done;

remember his wonders and his decisions.

6  You are descendants of his servant Abraham,

the children of Jacob, his chosen people.

7  He is the Lord our God.

His laws are for all the world.

8  He will keep his agreement forever;

he will keep his promises always.

9  He will keep the agreement he made with Abraham

and the promise he made to Isaac.

10  He made it a law for the people of Jacob;

he made it an agreement with Israel to last forever.

11  The Lord said, “I will give you the land of Canaan,

and it will belong to you.”

12  Then God’s people were few in number.

They were strangers in the land.

13  They went from one nation to another,

from one kingdom to another.

14  But the Lord did not let anyone hurt them;

he warned kings not to harm them.

15  He said, “Don’t touch my chosen people,

and don’t harm my prophets.”

16  God ordered a time of hunger in the land,

and he destroyed all the food.

17  Then he sent a man ahead of them—

Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

18  They put chains around his feet

and an iron ring around his neck.

19  Then the time he had spoken of came,

and the Lord’s words proved that Joseph was right.

20  The king of Egypt sent for Joseph and freed him;

the ruler of the people set him free.

21  He made him the master of his house;

Joseph was in charge of his riches.

22  He could order the princes as he wished.

He taught the older men to be wise.

23  Then his father Israel came to Egypt;

Jacob n lived in Egypt. n

24  The Lord made his people grow in number,

and he made them stronger than their enemies.

25  He caused the Egyptians to hate his people

and to make plans against his servants.

26  Then he sent his servant Moses,

and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

27  They did many signs among the Egyptians

and worked wonders in Egypt.

28  The Lord sent darkness and made the land dark,

but the Egyptians turned against what he said.

29  So he changed their water into blood

and made their fish die.

30  Then their country was filled with frogs,

even in the bedrooms of their rulers.

31  The Lord spoke and flies came,

and gnats were everywhere in the country.

32  He made hail fall like rain

and sent lightning through their land.

33  He struck down their grapevines and fig trees,

and he destroyed every tree in the country.

34  He spoke and grasshoppers came;

the locusts were too many to count.

35  They ate all the plants in the land

and everything the earth produced.

36  The Lord also killed all the firstborn sons in the land,

the oldest son of each family.

37  Then he brought his people out,

and they carried with them silver and gold.

Not one of his people stumbled.

38  The Egyptians were glad when they left,

because the Egyptians were afraid of them.

39  The Lord covered them with a cloud

and lit up the night with fire.

40  When they asked, he brought them quail

and filled them with bread from heaven.

41  God split the rock, and water flowed out;

it ran like a river through the desert.

42  He remembered his holy promise

to his servant Abraham.

43  So God brought his people out with joy,

his chosen ones with singing.

44  He gave them lands of other nations,

so they received what others had worked for.

45  This was so they would keep his orders

and obey his teachings.

Praise the Lord!