A Prayer in Deep Distress
1 Woe to you Is. 21:2; Hab. 2:8who plunder, though you have not been plundered;
And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!
Rev. 13:10When you cease plundering,
You will be Is. 10:12; 14:25; 31:8plundered;
When you make an end of dealing treacherously,
They will deal treacherously with you.
2 O Lord, be gracious to us;
Is. 25:9; 26:8We have waited for You.
Be their arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.
3 At the noise of the tumult the people Is. 17:13shall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;
4 And Your plunder shall be gathered
Like the gathering of the caterpillar;
As the running to and fro of locusts,
He shall run upon them.
5 Ps. 97:9The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,
And the strength of salvation;
The fear of the Lordis His treasure.
7 Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,
2 Kin. 18:18, 37The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
8 Judg. 5:6The highways lie waste,
The traveling man ceases.
2 Kin. 18:13–17He has broken the covenant,
He has despised the cities,
He regards no man.
9 Is. 24:4The earth mourns and languishes,
Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;
Sharon is like a wilderness,
And Bashan and Carmel shake off theirfruits.
Impending Judgment on Zion
10 "NowPs. 12:5; Is. 2:19, 21 I will rise," says the Lord;
"Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.
11 (Ps. 7:14; Is. 26:18; 59:4; James 1:15)You shall conceive chaff,
You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
12 And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;
Is. 9:18Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.
13 Hear, Ps. 48:10; Is. 49:1you whoare afar off, what I have done;
And you whoare near, acknowledge My might."
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
"Who among us shall dwell with the devouring Is. 30:27, 30; Heb. 12:29fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?"
15 He who Ps. 15:2; 24:3, 4; Is. 58:6–11walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
And Ps. 119:37shuts his eyes from seeing evil:
16 He will dwell on high;
His place of defense willbe the fortress of rocks;
Bread will be given him,
His water willbe sure.
The Land of the Majestic King
17 Your eyes will see the King in His Ps. 27:4beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.
18 Your heart will meditate on terror:
1 Cor. 1:20"Where is the scribe?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?"
19 2 Kin. 19:32You will not see a fierce people,
Deut. 28:49, 50; Is. 28:11; Jer. 5:15A people of obscure speech, beyond perception,
Of a stammering tongue thatyou cannot understand.
20 Ps. 48:12Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see Ps. 46:5; 125:1; Is. 32:18Jerusalem, a quiet home,
A tabernacle that will not be taken down;
Is. 37:33Not one of Is. 54:2its stakes will ever be removed,
Nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 But there the majestic Lordwillbe for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
In which no galley with oars will sail,
Nor majestic ships pass by
22 (For the Lordis our (Acts 10:42)Judge,
The Lordis our Is. 1:10; 51:4, 7; James 4:12Lawgiver,
Ps. 89:18; Is. 25:9; 35:4; Zech. 9:9The Lordis our King;
He will save us);
23 Your tackle is loosed,
They could not strengthen their mast,
They could not spread the sail.
Then the prey of great plunder is divided;
The lame take the prey.
24 And the inhabitant will not say, "I am sick";
Is. 40:2; Jer. 50:20; Mic. 7:18, 19; 1 John 1:7–9The people who dwell in it willbe forgiven their iniquity.