Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.

¹O Lord , do not rebuke or punish me in Your anger,

Nor discipline me in Your wrath.

²Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord , for I am weak (faint, frail);

Heal me, O Lord , for my bones are dismayed and anguished.

³My soul [as well as my body] is greatly dismayed.

But as for You, O Lord —how long [until You act on my behalf]?

⁴¶Return, O Lord , rescue my soul;

Save me because of Your [unfailing] steadfast love and mercy.

⁵For in death there is no mention of You;

In Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) who will praise You and give You thanks?

⁶¶I am weary with my groaning;

Every night I soak my bed with tears,

I drench my couch with my weeping.

⁷My eye grows dim with grief;

It grows old because of all my enemies.

⁸¶Depart from me, all you who do evil,

For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. [Matt 7:23; Luke 13:27]

⁹The Lord has heard my supplication [my plea for grace];

The Lord receives my prayer.

¹⁰Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly horrified;

Let them turn back, let them suddenly be ashamed [of what they have done].