A Cry of Distress

691 Save me, O God , For the waters have threatened e my life . 2 I have sunk in deep mire , and there is no foothold ; I have come into deep waters , and a flood overflows me. 3 I am weary with my crying ; my throat is parched ; My eyes fail while I wait for my God . 4 Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head ; Those who would destroy me are powerful , being wrongfully my enemies ; What I did not steal , I then have to restore . 5 O God , it is You who knows my folly , And my wrongs are not hidden from You. 6 May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of hosts ; May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel , 7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach ; Dishonor has covered my face . 8 I have become estranged from my brothers And an alien to my mother's sons . 9 For zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. 10 When I wept in my soul with fasting , It became my reproach . 11 When I made sackcloth my clothing , I became a byword to them. 12 Those who sit in the gate talk about me, And I am the song of the drunkards e .

13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord , at an acceptable time ; O God , in the greatness of Your lovingkindness , Answer me with Your saving truth . 14 Deliver me from the mire and do not let me sink ; May I be delivered from my foes and from the deep waters . 15 May the flood of water not overflow me Nor the deep swallow me up, Nor the pit shut its mouth on me. 16 Answer me, O Lord , for Your lovingkindness is good ; According to the greatness of Your compassion , turn to me, 17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant , For I am in distress ; answer me quickly . 18 Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it; Ransom me because of my enemies ! 19 You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor ; All my adversaries are before You. 20 Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick . And I looked for sympathy , but there was none , And for comforters , but I found none . 21 They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink .

22 May their table before them become a snare ; And when they are in peace , may it become a trap . 23 May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see , And make their loins shake continually . 24 Pour out Your indignation on them, And may Your burning anger overtake them. 25 May their camp be desolate ; May none dwell in their tents . 26 For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten , And they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded . 27 Add iniquity to their iniquity , And may they not come into Your righteousness . 28 May they be blotted out of the book of life And may they not be recorded with the righteous . 29 But I am afflicted and in pain ; May Your salvation , O God , set me securely on high .

30 I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving . 31 And it will please the Lord better than an ox Or a young bull with horns and hoofs . 32 The humble have seen it and are glad ; You who seek God , let your heart revive . 33 For the Lord hears the needy And does not despise His who are prisoners . 34 Let heaven and earth praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them. 35 For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah , That they may dwell there and possess it. 36 The descendants of His servants will inherit it, And those who love His name will dwell in it.