1 as wax melts before the fire ; and fire shall burn up the enemies, and thy name shall be manifest among the adversaries : at thy presence the nations shall be troubled,
2 whenever thou shalt work gloriously ; trembling from thee shall take hold upon the mountains.
3 From of old we have not heard, neither have our eyes seen a God beside thee, and thy works which thou wilt perform to them that wait for mercy. Notesn1 1 Cor. 2. 9.
4 For these blessings shall happen to them that work righteousness, and they shall remember thy ways : behold, thou wast angry and we have sinned ; therefore we have erred,
5 and we are all become as unclean, and all our righteousness as a filthy rag : and we have fallen as leaves because of our iniquities ; thus the wind shall carry us away. Notesn1 Heb. and Lit. flowed out.
6 And there is none that calls upon thy name, or that remembers to take hold on thee : for thou hast turned thy face away from us, and hast delivered us up because of our sins.
7 And now, O Lord, thou art our Father, and we are clay, all of us the work of thine hands.
8 Be not very wroth with us, and remember not our sins for ever ; but now look on us, for we are all thy people. Notesn1 The Gr. ἐν καιρῷ is a Hebraism.
9 The city of thy holiness has become desolate, Sion has become as a wilderness, Jerusalem a curse.
10 The house, our sanctuary, and the glory which our fathers blessed, has been burnt with fire : and all our glorious things have gone to ruin.
11 And for all these things thou, O Lord, hast withholden thyself, and been silent, and hast brought us very low.