Hope through God’s Mercy
1 I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of God’s wrath.
2 He has driven me away and forced me to walk
in darkness instead of light.
3 Yes, He repeatedly turns His hand
against me all day long.
4 He has worn away my flesh and skin;
He has shattered my bones.
5 He has laid siege against me,
encircling me with bitterness and hardship.
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those who have been dead for ages.
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
He has weighed me down with chains.
8 Even when I cry out and plead for help,
He rejects my prayer.
9 He has walled in my ways with cut stones;
He has made my paths crooked.
10 He isa bear waiting in ambush,
a lion in hiding.
11 He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces;
He left me desolate.
12 He strung His bow
and set me as the target for His arrow.
13 He pierced my kidneys
with His arrows.
14 I am a laughingstockto all my people,
mocked by their songsall day long.
15 He filled me with bitterness,
satiated me with wormwood.
16 He ground my teeth on gravel
and made me cowerin the dust.
17 My soul has been deprivedof peace;
I have forgotten what happiness is.
18 Then I thought: My futureis lost,
as well as my hope from theLord.
19 Remembermy affliction and my homelessness,
the wormwood and the poison.
20 I continually remember them
and have become depressed.
21 Yet I call this to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of theLord’s faithful love
we do not perish,
for His mercies never end.
23 They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness!
24 I say: TheLordis my portion,
therefore I will put my hope in Him.
25 TheLordis good to those who waitfor Him,
to the person who seeks Him.
26 It is good to wait quietly
for deliverance from theLord.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is still young.
28 Let him sit alone and be silent,
for God has disciplined him.
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust—
perhaps there is still hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek
to the one who would strike him;
let him be filled with shame.
31 For the Lord
will not reject us forever.
32 Even if He causes suffering,
He will show compassion
according to His abundant, faithful love.
33 For He does not enjoy bringing affliction
or suffering on mankind.
34 Crushing all the prisoners of the land
beneath one’s feet,
35 denying justice to a man
in the presence of the Most High,
36 or suppressing a person’s lawsuit—
the Lord does not approve of these things.
37 Who is there who speaks and it happens,
unless the Lord has ordained it?
38 Do not both adversity and good
come from the mouth of the Most High?
39 Why should any living person complain,
any man, because of the punishment for his sins?
40 Let us search out and examine our ways,
and turn back to theLord.
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
to God in heaven:
42 We have sinned and rebelled;
You have not forgiven.
43 You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us;
You have killed without compassion.
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.
45 You have made us disgusting filth
among the peoples.
46 All our enemies
open their mouths against us.
47 We have experienced panic and pitfall,
devastation and destruction.
48 My eyes flow with streams of tears
because of the destruction of my dear people.
49 My eyes overflow unceasingly,
without end,
50 until theLordlooks down
from heaven and sees.
51 My eyes bring me grief
because of the fate of all the women in my city.
52 For no apparent reason, my enemies
hunted me like a bird.
53 They dropped me alive intoa pit
and threw stones at me.
54 Water flooded over my head,
and I thought: I’m going to die!
55 I called on Your name, Yahweh,
from the depths of the Pit.
56 You hear my plea:
Do not ignore my cry for relief.
57 You come near when I call on You;
You say: “Do not be afraid.”
58 You defend my cause, Lord;
You redeem my life.
59 Lord, You see the wrong done to me;
judge my case.
60 You see all their malice,
all their plots against me.
61 Lord, You hear their insults,
all their plots against me.
62 The slanderand murmuring of my opponents
attack me all day long.
63 When they sit and when they rise, look,
I am mocked by their songs.
64 You will pay them back what they deserve,Lord,
according to the work of their hands.
65 You will give them a heart filled with anguish.
May Your curse be on them!
66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them
under Your heavens.
—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/LAM/3-2dfea10e761bea18dc120d099e5e6e63.mp3?version_id=72—