Why have you rejected us forever?
(Psalm 79:1-13; Jeremiah 52:1-11)
1
God, why have you abandoned us? Will you keep rejecting us forever? Why are you angry with us since we are like sheep in your pasture and you are like our shepherd?
2
Do not forget your people whom you chose long ago, the people whom you freed from being slaves in Egypt and caused to become your tribe. Do not forget Jerusalem, which is your home on this earth.
3
Walk along and see where everything has been totally ruined; our enemies have destroyed everything in the sacred temple.
4
Your enemies shouted triumphantly in this sacred place; they erected their banners to show they had defeated us.
5
They cut down all the engraved objects in the temple as woodsmen cut down trees.
6
Then they smashed all the carved wood with their axes and hammers.
7
Then they burned your temple to the ground; they caused that place where you were worshiped to be unfit for people to worship in.
8
They said to themselves, “We will destroy the Israelites completely,” and they also burned down all the other places where we gathered to worship you.
9
All our sacred symbols are gone; there are no prophets now, and no one knows how long this situation will continue.
10
God, how long will our enemies make fun of you? Will they insult you?
11
Why do you refuse to help us? Why do you keep your hand inside your cloak instead of using it to destroy our enemies?
12
God, you have been our king during all the years since we came out of Egypt, and you have enabled us to defeat our enemies in the land of Israel.
13
By your power you caused the sea to divide; it was as though you had smashed the heads of the rulers of Egypt who were like huge sea dragons.
14
It was as though you crushed the head of the king of Egypt and gave his body to the animals in the desert to eat.
15
You caused springs and streams to flow, and you also dried up rivers that had never dried up previously.
16
You created the days and the nights, and you put the sun and the moon in their places.
17
You determined where the oceans end and the land begins, and you created the summer season and the winter season.
18
Yahweh, do not forget that your enemies laugh at you and that it is foolish people who despise you.
19
Do not abandon your helpless people into the hands of their cruel enemies; do not forget your suffering people.
20
Continue thinking about the covenant that you made with us; remember that there are violent people in every dark place on the earth.
21
Do not allow your oppressed people to be disgraced; help those poor and needy people in order that they will again praise you.
22
God, arise and defend yourself by defending your people! Do not forget that foolish people laugh at you all during the day!
23
Do not forget that your enemies shout angrily at you; the uproar that they make while they oppose you never stops.
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