URC Daily Devotion 28th April 2019

1 O LORD, the God of vengeance,
O righteous God, shine forth!
2 Arise, condemn the haughty,
O Judge of all the earth.

3 How long will evildoers,
O LORD, be jubilant?
4 They pour out wicked boasting;
their words are arrogant.

5 O LORD, they crush your people,
oppress your heritage;
6 The widow, stranger, orphan
they murder in their rage.

7 They say, “God does not notice;
the LORD has closed his eyes.”
8 Take heed, you senseless people;
fools, when will you be wise?

9 Do you think the Creator,
who gave mankind the ear
And made the eye for seeing,
can neither see nor hear?

10 Does he who guides the nations
not punish them for wrong?
To him who gives instruction
does knowledge not belong?

11 All human thoughts are futile;
to you, LORD, they are known.
12 You bless those with correction
to whom your law is shown.

13 In troubled times you grant them
relief from their distress,
Until a pit is opened
to punish wickedness.

14 The LORD will not abandon
the folk who are his own;
His heritage, his chosen,
he never will disown.

15 For justice will be founded
once more on righteousness,
And all right-hearted people
approval will express.

16 Who will arise to help me
against the wicked one?
Who will stand up to aid me
when other help has gone?

17 Unless the LORD had helped me,
I’d soon have passed away
To dwell in death’s dark silence
far from the light of day.

18 When I said, “LORD, I’m slipping,”
your love came to my aid;
19 Your help gave joy and comfort
when I was so afraid.

20 Can God accept a tyrant
who issues harsh decrees,
And brings upon his subjects
oppressive miseries?

21 Against the righteous people
the evildoers plot;
To execute the guiltless,
such is their wicked thought.

22 But as for me, my refuge
is in the LORD Most High;
God has become my fortress
and on him I rely.

23 God will repay the wicked
the evil they have done;
The LORD our God will surely
destroy them every one.

You can hear this sung to the tune Coleshill here.