I will say to God my Rock,
(A)“Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

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I say to God my Rock,(A)
    “Why have you forgotten(B) me?
Why must I go about mourning,(C)
    oppressed(D) by the enemy?”(E)

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I am [a]troubled, I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 38:6 Lit. bent down

I am bowed down(A) and brought very low;
    all day long I go about mourning.(B)

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For You are the God of my strength;
Why do You cast me off?
(A)Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

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You are God my stronghold.
    Why have you rejected(A) me?
Why must I go about mourning,(B)
    oppressed by the enemy?(C)

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The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my [a]strength, (A)in whom I will trust;
My shield and the [b]horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 18:2 Lit. rock
  2. Psalm 18:2 Strength

The Lord is my rock,(A) my fortress(B) and my deliverer;(C)
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,(D)
    my shield[a](E) and the horn[b] of my salvation,(F) my stronghold.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 18:2 Or sovereign
  2. Psalm 18:2 Horn here symbolizes strength.

Prayer for Restoration

Remember, (A)O Lord, what has come upon us;
Look, and behold (B)our reproach!
(C)Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens,
And our houses to foreigners.
We have become orphans and waifs,
Our mothers are like (D)widows.

We pay for the water we drink,
And our wood comes at a price.
(E)They pursue at our [a]heels;
We labor and have no rest.
(F)We have given our hand (G)to the Egyptians
And the (H)Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.

(I)Our fathers sinned and are no more,
But we bear their iniquities.
Servants rule over us;
There is none to deliver us from their hand.
We get our bread at the risk of our lives,
Because of the sword in the wilderness.

10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
Because of the fever of famine.
11 They (J)ravished the women in Zion,
The maidens in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes were hung up by their hands,
And elders were not respected.
13 Young men (K)ground at the millstones;
Boys staggered under loads of wood.
14 The elders have ceased gathering at the gate,
And the young men from their (L)music.

15 The joy of our heart has ceased;
Our dance has turned into (M)mourning.
16 (N)The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!

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Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 5:5 Lit. necks

Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;
    look, and see our disgrace.(A)
Our inheritance(B) has been turned over to strangers,(C)
    our homes(D) to foreigners.(E)
We have become fatherless,
    our mothers are widows.(F)
We must buy the water we drink;(G)
    our wood can be had only at a price.(H)
Those who pursue us are at our heels;
    we are weary(I) and find no rest.(J)
We submitted to Egypt and Assyria(K)
    to get enough bread.
Our ancestors(L) sinned and are no more,
    and we bear their punishment.(M)
Slaves(N) rule over us,
    and there is no one to free us from their hands.(O)
We get our bread at the risk of our lives
    because of the sword in the desert.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
    feverish from hunger.(P)
11 Women have been violated(Q) in Zion,
    and virgins in the towns of Judah.
12 Princes have been hung up by their hands;
    elders(R) are shown no respect.(S)
13 Young men toil at the millstones;
    boys stagger under loads of wood.
14 The elders are gone from the city gate;
    the young men have stopped their music.(T)
15 Joy is gone from our hearts;
    our dancing has turned to mourning.(U)
16 The crown(V) has fallen from our head.(W)
    Woe to us, for we have sinned!(X)

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27 (A)Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?

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27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
    Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
    my cause is disregarded by my God”?(A)

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He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my [a]defense;
I shall not be greatly (A)moved.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 62:2 strong tower
  2. Psalm 62:2 shaken

Truly he is my rock(A) and my salvation;(B)
    he is my fortress,(C) I will never be shaken.(D)

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23 (A)Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord?
Arise! Do not cast us off forever.
24 (B)Why do You hide Your face,
And forget our affliction and our oppression?

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23 Awake,(A) Lord! Why do you sleep?(B)
    Rouse yourself!(C) Do not reject us forever.(D)
24 Why do you hide your face(E)
    and forget(F) our misery and oppression?(G)

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Rejoicing in Answered Prayer

A Psalm of David.

28 To You I will cry, O Lord my Rock:
(A)Do not be silent to me,
(B)Lest, if You are silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.

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Psalm 28

Of David.

To you, Lord, I call;
    you are my Rock,
    do not turn a deaf ear(A) to me.
For if you remain silent,(B)
    I will be like those who go down to the pit.(C)

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15 “Can(A) a woman forget her nursing child,
[a]And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
(B)Yet I will not forget you.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 49:15 Lit. From having compassion

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child(A) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!(B)

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The Uselessness of Selfish Toil

Then I returned and considered all the (A)oppression that is done under the sun:

And look! The tears of the oppressed,
But they have no comforter—
[a]On the side of their oppressors there is power,
But they have no comforter.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 4:1 Lit. At the hand

Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness

Again I looked and saw all the oppression(A) that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—
    and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
    and they have no comforter.(B)

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My eye wastes away because of affliction.

(A)Lord, I have called daily upon You;
I have stretched out my hands to You.

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    my eyes(A) are dim with grief.

I call(B) to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands(C) to you.

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35 Then they remembered that (A)God was their rock,
And the Most High God (B)their Redeemer.

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35 They remembered that God was their Rock,(A)
    that God Most High was their Redeemer.(B)

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