Prayer for Mercy and Help
1 Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and come down,
That the mountains might quake at Your presence–
2 As [sure as] fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil–
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did awesomeandamazing things which we did not expect,
You came down [at Sinai]; the mountains quaked at Your presence.
4 For from days of old no one has heard, nor has ear perceived,
Nor has the eyeseen a God besides You,
Who worksandacts in behalf of the one who [gladly] waits for Him.
5 You meet him who rejoices in doing that which is morally right,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
Indeed, You were angry, for we sinned;
We havelongcontinuedin our sins [prolonging Your anger].
And shall we be saved [under such circumstances]?
6 For we all have become like one who is [ceremonially] unclean [like a leper],
And all our deeds of righteousness are like filthy rags;
We all witheranddecay like a leaf,
And our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing], like the wind, takes us away [carrying us far from God’s favor, toward destruction].
7 There is no one who calls on Your name,
Who awakensandcauses himself to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us
And have handed us over to the [consuming and destructive] power of our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing].
8 Yet, O Lord, You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our Potter,
And we all are the work of Your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, O Lord,
Do not remember our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing] forever.
Now look, consider, for we are all Your people.
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful house [the temple built by Solomon],
Where our fathers praised You,
Has been burned by fire;
And all our precious objects are in ruins.
12 Considering these [tragedies], will You restrain Yourself, O Lord[and not help us]?
Will You keep silent and humiliateandoppress us beyond measure?