The Lord Will Not Forsake His People

1 O LORD, God of 1vengeance, O God of vengeance, 2shine forth!
2 3Rise up, O 4judge of the earth; repay to the 5proud what they deserve!
3 O LORD, 6how long shall the wicked, how long shall 7the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their 8arrogant words; all 9the evildoers boast.
5 They 10crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill 11the widow and the sojourner, and murder 12the fatherless;
7 13and they say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive."
8 14Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise?
9 15He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who 16disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who 17teaches man knowledge--
11 18the LORD--knows the thoughts of man, that they are 19but a breath.a
12 20Blessed is the man whom you 21discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him 22rest from 23days of trouble, until 24a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 25For the LORD will not forsake his 26people; he will not abandon his 27heritage;
15 for 28justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will 29follow it.
16 30Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 31If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of 32silence.
18 When I thought, 33"My foot slips," your steadfast love, O LORD, 34held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can 35wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by 36statute?
21 They 37band together against the life of the righteous and condemn 38the innocent to death.b
22 But the LORD has become my 39stronghold, and my God 40the rock of my 41refuge.
23 He will bring back on them 42their iniquity and 43wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out.