1: God, God... my God! Why did you dump me miles from nowhere?
2: Doubled up with pain, I call to God all the day long. No answer. Nothing. I keep at it all night, tossing and turning.
3: And you! Are you indifferent, above it all, leaning back on the cushions of Israel's praise?
4: We know you were there for our parents:
5: they cried for your help and you gave it; they trusted and lived a good life.
6: And here I am, a nothing--an earthworm, something to step on, to squash.
7: Everyone pokes fun at me; they make faces at me, they shake their heads:
8: "Let's see how GOD handles this one; since God likes him so much, let him help him!"
9: And to think you were midwife at my birth, setting me at my mother's breasts!
10: When I left the womb you cradled me; since the moment of birth you've been my God.
11: Then you moved far away and trouble moved in next-door. I need a neighbor.
12: Herds of bulls come at me, the raging bulls stampede,
13: Horns lowered, nostrils flaring, like a herd of buffalo on the move.
14: I'm a bucket kicked over and spilled, every joint in my body has been pulled apart. My heart is a blob of melted wax in my gut.
15: I'm dry as a bone, my tongue black and swollen. They have laid me out for burial in the dirt.
16: Now packs of wild dogs come at me; thugs gang up on me. They pin me down hand and foot,
17: and lock me in a cage--a bag Of bones in a cage, stared at by every passerby.
18: They take my wallet and the shirt off my back, and then throw dice for my clothes.
19: You, GOD-don't put off my rescue! Hurry and help me!
20: Don't let them cut my throat; don't let those mongrels devour me.
21: If you don't show up soon, I'm done for--gored by the bulls, meat for the lions.
22: Here's the story I'll tell my friends when they come to worship, and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:
23: Shout Hallelujah, you God--worshipers; give glory, you sons of Jacob; adore him, you daughters of Israel.
24: He has never let you down, never looked the other way when you were being kicked around. He has never wandered off to do his own thing; he has been right there, listening.
25: Here in this great gathering for worship I have discovered this praise--life. And I'll do what I promised right here in front of the God--worshipers.
26: Down-and-outers sit at GOD's table and eat their fill. Everyone on the hunt for God is here, praising him. "Live it up, from head to toe. Don't ever quit!"
27: From the four corners of the earth people are coming to their senses, are running back to GOD. Long-lost families are falling on their faces before him.
28: GOD has taken charge; from now on he has the last word.
29: All the power-mongers are before him -worshiping! All the poor and powerless, too -worshiping! Along with those who never got it together -worshiping!
30: Our children and their children will get in on this As the word is passed along from parent to child.
31: Babies not yet conceived will hear the good news--that God does what he says.