Save us when trouble comes
1There is a nation that destroys
the lands of other people,
but no one has destroyed
the land of that nation.
There is a nation
that betrays other nations,
but no one has betrayed that nation.
That nation will suffer badly.
When they have finished
destroying and betraying,
other people will come
to betray and destroy their land.
2Lord, please have mercy on us.
We are waiting for You to help us.
Make us strong every morning,
and save us because we are suffering.
3When You talk and the nations
hear your voice, they run away.
When You stand up and
come to the nations, they flee.
4Other nations will take away
everything that those people have taken.
The other nations will come
like locusts to take away everything.
5The Lord is above everyone,
and He lives in heaven.
He will change the people of Jerusalem
so that they will do
what is right and fair again.
6They will always trust in the Lord.
He will save them
and give them wisdom and knowledge.
They will serve the Lord
and that will make them feel rich.
The land will cry and mourn
7Listen to the soldiers of Jerusalem.
They cry and ask the Lord
to come and help them.
Listen to the crying of the messengers
who wanted to make peace.
8No one walks on the roads,
and there is no one on the paths.
The enemies have broken
their agreement with us.
They have defeated
our towns and cities easily,
and our people could not stop them.
9The land mourns,
and everything has become dry.
Mount Lebanon looks
like a man who is sick and dying,
and the plants on the mountain have become dry.
The Sharon Valley is like a desert.
The leaves of the trees in Bashan
and Mount Carmel have fallen off.
God warns his enemies
10The Lord says:
‘I will now get up
and do what I want to do.
11Everything you do
is like dry grass and chaff.
You have started a fire,
but you will burn in that fire.
12Nations will burn
and they will become ashes
like thorn-bushes that someone cuts off
and throws into the fire.
13Nations that are far away
and people who are near,
look at the things that I do.
You must know how strong I am.’
14The sinners in Jerusalem are afraid,
and bad people start to tremble.
They say: ‘Who can live
near a fire that burns everything?
Who can live near a fire that burns forever?
15It is only people who live in the right way
and speak the truth,
people who do not take things
from other people to make themselves rich,
people who do not take gifts or bribe money
to do what is wrong to someone else,
people who do not listen to plans to kill someone,
people who do not want to do bad things.
16These people will live high on the mountains
and they will be safe behind the rocks.
They will get food
and they will always have water.’
The Lord will save us
17You will see a king with beautiful clothes
and you will see the big land.
18Then you will remember
how afraid you were when your enemies
took your things
and counted and weighed them to take them away,
and how they looked at how they could
break down the towers of your city.
19But you will not see those proud people again,
those people who speak a language
that you do not understand.
20Look at Zion, at Jerusalem,
the city where we come together to celebrate.
It is a place where you can live safely.
It is like a tent that no one will ever move,
and no one will pull out its tent-pegs or break its ropes.
21The Lord will be the strong One for us,
the God who is King.
There will be big rivers and deep streams,
but the rowing boats and big boats
of the enemies will not be able go there.
22Yes, the Lord is our Judge,
the Lord is our Leader,
and the Lord is our King. He will save us.
23The ropes of the enemies' boats hang loose.
The ropes do not keep the mast
of the boat upright
or keep the sails open.
There are many things that you can take,
and even the crippled people
will take everything that they want.
24No one in Jerusalem will say:
‘I am sick.’
The Lord will forgive the sin
of all the people in the city.
