God the Judge of All
1Lord, you are a God who punishes;
reveal your anger!
2You are the judge of us all;
rise and give the proud what they deserve!
3How much longer will the wicked be glad?
How much longer, Lord?
4How much longer will criminals be proud
and boast about their crimes?
5They crush your people, Lord;
they oppress those who belong to you.
6They kill widows and orphans,
and murder the strangers who live in our land.
7They say, “The Lord does not see us;
the God of Israel does not notice.”
8My people, how can you be such stupid fools?
When will you ever learn?
9God made our ears—can't he hear?
He made our eyes—can't he see?
10He scolds the nations—won't he punish them?
He is the teacher of us all—hasn't he any knowledge?
11 The Lord knows what we think;
he knows how senseless our reasoning is.
12Lord, how happy are those you instruct,
the ones to whom you teach your law!
13You give them rest from days of trouble
until a pit is dug to trap the wicked.
14The Lord will not abandon his people;
he will not desert those who belong to him.
15Justice will again be found in the courts,
and all righteous people will support it.
16Who stood up for me against the wicked?
Who took my side against the evildoers?
17If the Lord had not helped me,
I would have gone quickly to the land of silence.
18I said, “I am falling”;
but your constant love, O Lord, held me up.
19Whenever I am anxious and worried,
you comfort me and make me glad.
20You have nothing to do with corrupt judges,
who make injustice legal,
21who plot against good people
and sentence the innocent to death.
22But the Lord defends me;
my God protects me.
23He will punish them for their wickedness
and destroy them for their sins;
the Lord our God will destroy them.