64 Tear open the skies and come down to earth
so that the mountains will tremble before you.
2 Like a fire that burns twigs,
like a fire that makes water boil,
let your enemies know who you are.
Then all nations will shake with fear when they see you.
3 You have done amazing things we did not expect.
You came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
4 From long ago no one has ever heard of a God like you.
No one has ever seen a God besides you,
who helps the people who trust you.
5 You help those who enjoy doing good,
who remember how you want them to live.
But you were angry because we sinned.
For a long time we disobeyed,
so how can we be saved?
6 All of us are dirty with sin.
All the right things we have done are like filthy pieces of cloth.
All of us are like dead leaves,
and our sins, like the wind, have carried us away.
7 No one worships you
or even asks you to help us.
That is because you have turned away from us
and have let our sins destroy us.
8 But Lord, you are our father.
We are like clay, and you are the potter;
your hands made us all.
9 Lord, don’t continue to be angry with us;
don’t remember our sins forever.
Please, look at us,
because we are your people.
10 Your holy cities are empty like the desert.
Jerusalem is like a desert;
it is destroyed.
11 Our ancestors worshiped you
in our holy and wonderful Temple,
but now it has been burned with fire,
and all our precious things have been destroyed.
12 When you see these things, will you hold yourself back from helping us, Lord?
Will you be silent and punish us beyond what we can stand?
