Prayer in Time of Discipline.
1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, Nor discipline me in Your burning anger.
2 For Your arrows have sunk into me and penetrate deeply, And Your hand has pressed down on me and greatly disciplined me.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation; There is no health in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head [like the waves of a flood]; As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My wounds are loathsome and foul Because of my foolishness.
6 I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go about mourning all day long.
7 For my sides are filled with burning, And there is no health in my flesh.
8 I am numb and greatly bruised [deadly cold and completely worn out]; I groan because of the disquiet and moaning of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs violently, my strength fails me; And as for the light of my eyes, even that has also gone from me.
11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague; And my neighbors stand far away. [Luke 23:49]
12 Those who seek my life lay snares for me, And those who seek to injure me threaten mischievous things and destruction; They devise treachery all the day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; I am like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear, In whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I pray, “May they not rejoice over me, Who, when my foot slips, would boast against me.”
17 For I am ready to fall; My sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I do confess my guilt and iniquity; I am filled with anxiety because of my sin. [2 Cor 7:9, 10]
19 But my [numerous] enemies are vigorous and strong, And those who hate me without cause are many.
20 They repay evil for good, they attack and try to kill me, Because I follow what is good.
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord; O my God, do not be far from me.
22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my Salvation.