The Lord Will Not Forsake His People
O Lord, God of avengeance,
O God of vengeance, bshine forth!
2 aRise up, O bjudge of the earth;
repay to the cproud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, ahow long shall the wicked,
how long shall bthe wicked exult?
4 They pour out their aarrogant words;
all bthe evildoers boast.
5 They acrush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill athe widow and the sojourner,
and murder athe fatherless;
7 aand they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 aUnderstand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
9 aHe who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who adisciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who bteaches man knowledge—
11 athe Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are bbut a breath.
12 aBlessed is the man whom you bdiscipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him arest from bdays of trouble,
until ca pit is dug for the wicked.
14 aFor the Lord will not forsake his bpeople;
he will not abandon his bheritage;
15 for ajustice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will bfollow it.
16 aWho rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 aIf the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of bsilence.
18 When I thought, a“My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, bheld me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can awicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame injustice by bstatute?
21 They aband together against the life of the righteous
and condemn bthe innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has become my astronghold,
and my God bthe rock of my crefuge.
23 He will bring back on them atheir iniquity
and bwipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.