Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause
A Maskil1 of rAsaph.
1 O God, why do you scast us off forever?
Why does your anger tsmoke against uthe sheep of your pasture?
2 vRemember your congregation, which you have wpurchased of old,
which you have xredeemed to be ythe tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, zwhere you have dwelt.
3 Direct your steps to athe perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4 Your foes have broared in the midst of your meeting place;
cthey set up their down signs for esigns.
5 They were like those who swing faxes
in a forest of trees.2
6 And all its gcarved wood
they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7 They hset your sanctuary on fire;
they iprofaned jthe dwelling place of your name,
bringing it down to the ground.
8 They ksaid to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our lsigns;
mthere is no longer any prophet,
and there is none among us who knows how long.
10 How long, O God, nis the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11 Why odo you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the fold of your garment3 and destroy them!
12 Yet pGod my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You qdivided the sea by your might;
you rbroke the heads of sthe sea monsters4 on the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of tLeviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You usplit open springs and brooks;
you vdried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you have established wthe heavenly lights and the sun.
17 You have xfixed all the boundaries of the earth;
you have made ysummer and winter.
18 zRemember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and aa foolish people reviles your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of your bdove to the wild beasts;
cdo not forget the life of your poor forever.
20 Have regard for dthe covenant,
for ethe dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not fthe downtrodden gturn back in shame;
let hthe poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, O God, idefend your cause;
jremember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
kthe uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!
Great Is Your Faithfulness
1 kI am the man who has seen affliction
under the lrod of his wrath;
14 aI have become the laughingstock of all peoples,
bthe object of their taunts all day long.
15 cHe has filled me with bitterness;
he has sated me with dwormwood.
16 eHe has made my teeth grind on gravel,
and fmade me cower in ashes;
17 my soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness1 is;
18 gso I say, “My endurance has perished;
so has my hope from the Lord.”
19 hRemember my affliction and my wanderings,
20 My soul continually remembers it
jand is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind,
and ktherefore I have hope:
22 lThe steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;2
lhis mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new mevery morning;
ngreat is your faithfulness.
24 o“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
k“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who pwait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
26 qIt is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
27 rIt is good for a man that he bear
the yoke sin his youth.
28 Let him tsit alone in silence
when it is laid on him;
29 ulet him put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope;
30 vlet him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
and let him be filled with insults.
31 wFor the Lord will not
cast off forever,
32 but, though he xcause grief, yhe will have compassion
zaccording to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33 afor he does not afflict from his heart
or bgrieve the children of men.
Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy
16 a“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and bagain a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So csome of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, d‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, e‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? fWe do not know what he is talking about.” 19 gJesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, hyou will weep and lament, but ithe world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but jyour sorrow will turn into joy. 21 kWhen a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 lSo also you have sorrow now, but mI will see you again, and nyour hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 oIn that day you will pask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, qwhatever you ask of the Father in my name, rhe will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. sAsk, and you will receive, tthat your joy may be full.
I Have Overcome the World
25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. uThe hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 vfor the Father himself loves you, because wyou have loved me and xhave believed that I came from God.1 28 yI came from the Father and have come into the world, and now zI am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not ausing figurative speech! 30 Now we know that byou know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that cyou came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, dthe hour is coming, indeed it has come, when eyou will be scattered, each to his own home, and fwill leave me alone. gYet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that hin me you may have peace. iIn the world you will have jtribulation. But ktake heart; lI have overcome the world.”
