26
Song of Trust in God’s Protection
1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
He sets up salvation as walls and ramparts.
2 “Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,
The one that remains faithful and trustworthy.
3 “You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character],
Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].
4 “Trust [confidently] in the Loʀᴅ forever [He is your fortress, your shield, your banner],
For the Loʀᴅ Goᴅ is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].
5 “For He has thrown down the [arrogant] ones who dwell on high, the lofty and inaccessible city;
He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He hurls it to the dust.
6 “The foot will trample it,
Even the feet of the suffering, and the steps of the helpless.”
7 The way of the righteous [those in right-standing with God—living in moral and spiritual integrity] is smooth and level;
O Upright One, make a level path for the just and righteous.
8 Indeed, in the path of Your judgments, O Loʀᴅ,
We have waited expectantly for You;
Your name, even Your memory, is the desire and deep longing of our souls.
9 In the night my soul longs for You [O Loʀᴅ],
Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;
For [only] when Your judgments are experienced on the earth
Will the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 Though the wicked is shown compassion and favor,
He does not learn righteousness;
In the land of uprightness he deals unjustly,
And refuses to see the majesty of the Loʀᴅ.
11 Though Your hand is lifted up [to strike], O Loʀᴅ, the wicked do not see it.
Let them see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame;
Indeed, let the fire reserved for Your enemies consume them.
12 Loʀᴅ, You will establish peace for us,
Since You have also performed for us all that we have done.
13 O Loʀᴅ our God, other masters besides You have ruled over us;
But through You alone we confess Your name.
14 The [wicked] dead will not live [again], the spirits of the dead will not rise and return;
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And You have wiped out every memory of them [every trace of them].
15 You have increased the nation, O Loʀᴅ;
You have increased the nation, You are glorified;
You have extended all the borders of the land.
16 O Loʀᴅ, they sought You in distress;
They managed only a prayerful whisper
When Your discipline was upon them.
17 As a woman with child approaches the time to give birth,
She is in pain and struggles and cries out in her labor,
So we were before You, O Loʀᴅ.
18 We have been with child, we have twisted and struggled in labor;
We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish salvation for the earth,
Nor were inhabitants of the world born.
19 Your dead will live;
Their dead bodies will rise.
You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy!
For your dew is a dew of [celestial] light [heavenly, supernatural],
And the earth will give birth to the spirits of the dead. [Ezek 37:11, 12]
20 Come, my people, enter your chambers
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide for a little while
Until the [Loʀᴅ’s] wrath is past.
21 Listen carefully, the Loʀᴅ is about to come out of His [heavenly] place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing];
The earth will reveal the [innocent] blood shed upon her
And will no longer cover her slain.