Sin and Divine Patience

1 Their God and Savior they forgot,
Their Helper and their Stay,
But Moses plead the promised grace
And turned God's wrath away.

2 Yea, they despised the pleasant land,
The promised land of God,
And tempted Him to make them fall
And scatter them abroad.

3 They sacrificed to heathen gods,
And God their sin repaid;
Then holy wrath avenged the wrong,
And so the plague was stayed.

4 The Lord approved the righteous act
Of him who sin abhorred,
And honored him for evermore
With just and great reward.

5 By wicked strife they angered God,
His wrath they did provoke;
And, stirred by their rebellious cries,
Their leader rashly spoke.

6 Ensnared, they served the heathen gods,
And by them were beguiled;
The blood of children sacrificed
The very land defiled.

7 Against His own inheritance
Jehovah's wrath arose,
His chosen people He condemned
To serve their heathen foes.

8 Though from their harsh oppressors' hand
Ofttimes He set them free,
Rebellious still, they were brought low
In their iniquity.

9 When unto God they cried, He heard
And turned again His face,
In boundless love remembering
The covenant of His grace.

10 He even touched their captors' hearts,
And made their very foes
Compassionate and pitiful
To feel His people's woes.

11 Save us, O Lord, our gracious God,
From alien lands reclaim,
That we may triumph in Thy praise
And bless Thy holy Name.

12 Blessed be the Lord our covenant God,
All praise to Him accord;
Let all the people say, Amen.
Praise ye, praise ye the Lord.

Source: Psalter Hymnal (Red): doctrinal standards and liturgy of the Christian Reformed Church #224