A Prayer for Justice
1 Why are you so far away, O Lord?
Why do you hide yourself when we are in trouble?
2 The wicked are proud and persecute the poor;
catch them in the traps they have made.
3 The wicked are proud of their evil desires;
the greedy curse and reject the Lord.
4 The wicked do not care about the Lord;
in their pride they think that God doesn't matter.
5 The wicked succeed in everything.
They cannot understand God's judgments;
they sneer at their enemies.
6 They say to themselves, “We will never fail;
we will never be in trouble.”
7 Their speech is filled with curses, lies, and threats;
they are quick to speak hateful, evil words.
8 They hide themselves in the villages,
waiting to murder innocent people.
They spy on their helpless victims;
9 they wait in their hiding place like lions.
They lie in wait for the poor;
they catch them in their traps and drag them away.
10 The helpless victims lie crushed;
brute strength has defeated them.
11 The wicked say to themselves, “God doesn't care!
He has closed his eyes and will never see me!”
12 O Lord, punish those wicked people!
Remember those who are suffering!
13 How can the wicked despise God
and say to themselves, “He will not punish me”?
14 But you do see; you take notice of trouble and suffering
and are always ready to help.
The helpless commit themselves to you;
you have always helped the needy.
15 Break the power of wicked and evil people;
punish them for the wrong they have done
until they do it no more.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever.
Those who worship other gods
will vanish from his land.
17 You will listen, O Lord, to the prayers of the lowly;
you will give them courage.
18 You will hear the cries of the oppressed and the orphans;
you will judge in their favor,
so that mortal men may cause terror no more.
1 Why standest thou farre off, O Lord, and hidest thee in due time, euen in affliction? 2 The wicked with pride doeth persecute the poore: let them be taken in the craftes that they haue imagined. 3 For the wicked hath made boast of his owne heartes desire, and the couetous blesseth himselfe: he contemneth the Lord. 4 The wicked is so proude that hee seeketh not for God: hee thinketh alwayes, There is no God. 5 His wayes alway prosper: thy iudgements are hie aboue his sight: therefore defieth he all his enemies. 6 He saith in his heart, I shall neuer be moued, nor be in danger. 7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceite and fraude: vnder his tongue is mischiefe and iniquitie. 8 He lieth in waite in the villages: in the secret places doeth hee murder the innocent: his eyes are bent against the poore. 9 He lyeth in waite secretly, euen as a lyon in his denne: he lyeth in waite to spoyle the poore: he doeth spoyle the poore, when he draweth him into his net. 10 He croucheth and boweth: therefore heaps of the poore doe fall by his might. 11 He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten, he hideth away his face, and will neuer see. 12 Arise, O Lord God: lift vp thine hande: forget not the poore. 13 Wherefore doeth the wicked contemne God? he saith in his heart, Thou wilt not regard. 14 Yet thou hast seene it: for thou beholdest mischiefe and wrong, that thou mayest take it into thine handes: the poore committeth himselfe vnto thee: for thou art the helper of the fatherlesse. 15 Breake thou the arme of the wicked and malicious: searche his wickednes, and thou shalt finde none. 16 The Lord is King for euer and euer: the heathen are destroyed foorth of his land. 17 Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the poore: thou preparest their heart: thou bendest thine eare to them, 18 To iudge the fatherlesse and poore, that earthly man cause to feare no more.