Hope in the LORD’s Faithfulness
1I am the one who has seen the afflictionsthat come from the rod of the LORD’s anger.
2 He has led me into darkness,shutting out all light.
3 He has turned his hand against meagain and again, all day long.
4He has made my skin and flesh grow old.He has broken my bones.
5 He has besieged and surrounded mewith anguish and distress.
6 He has buried me in a dark place,like those long dead.
7He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.He has bound me in heavy chains.
8 And though I cry and shout,he has shut out my prayers.
9 He has blocked my way with a high stone wall;he has made my road crooked.
10He has hidden like a bear or a lion,waiting to attack me.
11 He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces,leaving me helpless and devastated.
12 He has drawn his bowand made me the target for his arrows.
13He shot his arrowsdeep into my heart.
14 My own people laugh at me.All day long they sing their mocking songs.
15 He has filled me with bitternessand given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.
16He has made me chew on gravel.He has rolled me in the dust.
17 Peace has been stripped away,and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 I cry out, “My splendor is gone!Everything I had hoped for from the LORD is lost!”
19The thought of my suffering and homelessnessis bitter beyond words. Or is wormwood and gall.
20 I will never forget this awful time,as I grieve over my loss.
21 Yet I still dare to hopewhen I remember this:
22The faithful love of the LORD never ends! As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads of the LORD keeps us from destruction.His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance;therefore, I will hope in him!”
25The LORD is good to those who depend on him,to those who search for him.
26 So it is good to wait quietlyfor salvation from the LORD.
27 And it is good for people to submit at an early ageto the yoke of his discipline:
28Let them sit alone in silencebeneath the LORD’s demands.
29 Let them lie face down in the dust,for there may be hope at last.
30 Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike themand accept the insults of their enemies.
31For no one is abandonedby the Lord forever.
32 Though he brings grief, he also shows compassionbecause of the greatness of his unfailing love.
33 For he does not enjoy hurting peopleor causing them sorrow.
34If people crush underfootall the prisoners of the land,
35 if they deprive others of their rightsin defiance of the Most High,
36 if they twist justice in the courts—doesn’t the Lord see all these things?
37Who can command things to happenwithout the Lord’s permission?
38 Does not the Most Highsend both calamity and good?
39 Then why should we, mere humans, complainwhen we are punished for our sins?
40Instead, let us test and examine our ways.Let us turn back to the LORD.
41 Let us lift our hearts and handsto God in heaven and say,
42 “We have sinned and rebelled,and you have not forgiven us.
43“You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down,and slaughtered us without mercy.
44 You have hidden yourself in a cloudso our prayers cannot reach you.
45 You have discarded us as refuse and garbageamong the nations.
46“All our enemieshave spoken out against us.
47 We are filled with fear,for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined.”
48 Tears stream from my eyesbecause of the destruction of my people!
49My tears flow endlessly;they will not stop
50 until the LORD looks downfrom heaven and sees.
51 My heart is breakingover the fate of all the women of Jerusalem.
52My enemies, whom I have never harmed,hunted me down like a bird.
53 They threw me into a pitand dropped stones on me.
54 The water rose over my head,and I cried out, “This is the end!”
55But I called on your name, LORD,from deep within the pit.
56 You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading!Hear my cry for help!”
57 Yes, you came when I called;you told me, “Do not fear.”
58Lord, you are my lawyer! Plead my case!For you have redeemed my life.
59 You have seen the wrong they have done to me, LORD.Be my judge, and prove me right.
60 You have seen the vengeful plotsmy enemies have laid against me.
61LORD, you have heard the vile names they call me.You know all about the plans they have made.
62 My enemies whisper and mutteras they plot against me all day long.
63 Look at them! Whether they sit or stand,I am the object of their mocking songs.
64Pay them back, LORD,for all the evil they have done.
65 Give them hard and stubborn hearts,and then let your curse fall on them!
66 Chase them down in your anger,destroying them beneath the LORD’s heavens.
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