(King's Way Church, Versailles, Kentucky, on a 35 mile Horsey Hundred ride, May 24, 2024, with a 31 mile Horsey Hundred ride, Georgetown, May 26)

Happy are those who observe justice,

who do righteousness at all times.

Psalm 106:3 NRSVue

(click on a photo for a larger image)

Psalm 106 (NRSVue)

Praise the Lord!

    O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

    for his steadfast love endures forever.

Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord

    or declare all his praise?

Happy are those who observe justice,

    who do righteousness at all times.

Remember us, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;

    help us when you deliver them,

that we may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,

    that we may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

    that we may glory in your heritage.

Both we and our ancestors have sinned;

    we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.

Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,

    did not consider your wonderful works;

they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love

    but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.

Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,

    so that he might make known his mighty power.

He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry;

    he led them through the deep as through a desert.

So he saved them from the hand of the foe

    and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.

The waters covered their adversaries;

    not one of them was left.

Then they believed his words;

    they sang his praise.

But they soon forgot his works;

    they did not wait for his counsel.

But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness

    and put God to the test in the desert;

he gave them what they asked

    but sent a wasting disease among them.

They were jealous of Moses in the camp

    and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.

The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan

    and covered the faction of Abiram.

Fire also broke out in their company;

    the flame burned up the wicked.

They made a calf at Horeb

    and worshiped a cast image.

They exchanged the glory of God

    for the image of an ox that eats grass.

They forgot God, their Savior,

    who had done great things in Egypt,

wondrous works in the land of Ham,

    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

Therefore he said he would destroy them—

    had not Moses, his chosen one,

stood in the breach before him,

    to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

Then they despised the pleasant land,

    having no faith in his promise.

They grumbled in their tents

    and did not obey the voice of the Lord.

Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them

    that he would make them fall in the wilderness

and would disperse their descendants among the nations,

    scattering them over the lands.

Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor

    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;

they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,

    and a plague broke out among them.

Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,

    and the plague was stopped.

And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness

    from generation to generation forever.

They angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah,

    and it went ill with Moses on their account,

for they made his spirit bitter,

    and he spoke words that were rash.

They did not destroy the peoples,

    as the Lord had commanded them,

but they mingled with the nations

    and learned to do as they did.

They served their idols,

    which became a snare to them.

They sacrificed their sons

    and their daughters to the demons;

they poured out innocent blood,

    the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,

    and the land was polluted with blood.

Thus they became unclean by their acts

    and prostituted themselves in their doings.

Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,

    and he abhorred his heritage;

he gave them into the hand of the nations,

    so that those who hated them ruled over them.

Their enemies oppressed them,

    and they were brought into subjection under their power.

Many times he delivered them,

    but they were rebellious in their purposes

    and were brought low through their iniquity.

Nevertheless, he regarded their distress

    when he heard their cry.

For their sake he remembered his covenant

    and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

He caused them to be pitied

    by all who held them captive.

Save us, O Lord our God,

    and gather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

    and glory in your praise.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

    from everlasting to everlasting.

And let all the people say, “Amen.”

    Praise the Lord!