A Song of Praise to the Lord
25 Lord, you are my God.
I will honor you.
I will praise your name.
You have been perfectly faithful.
You have done wonderful things.
You had planned them long ago.
2 You have turned cities into piles of trash.
You have pulled down the high walls that were around them.
You have destroyed our enemies’ forts.
They will never be rebuilt.
3 Powerful nations will honor you.
Even sinful people from their cities will have respect for you.
4 Poor people have come to you for safety.
You have kept needy people safe when they were in trouble.
You have been a place to hide when storms came.
You have been a shade from the heat of the sun.
Evil people attack us.
They are like a storm beating against a wall.
5 They are like the heat of the desert.
You stopped the noisy shouts of our enemies.
You kept them from winning the battle over us and singing about it.
You are like the shadow of a cloud that cools the earth.
6 On Mount Zion the Lord who rules over all will prepare
a feast for all the nations.
The best and richest foods
and the finest aged wines will be served.
7 On that mountain the Lord will destroy
the veil of sadness that covers all the nations.
He will destroy the gloom that is spread over everyone.
8 He will swallow up death forever.
The Lord and King will wipe away the tears
from everyone’s face.
He will remove the shame of his people
from the whole earth.
The Lord has spoken.
9 At that time they will say,
“He is our God.
We trusted in him, and he saved us.
He is the Lord. We trusted in him.
Let us be filled with joy because he saved us.”
10 The Lord’s power will keep Mount Zion safe.
But the people of Moab will be crushed in their land.
They will be crushed just as straw is crushed in animal waste.
11 They will try to swim their way out of it.
They will spread out their hands in it,
just as swimmers spread out their hands to swim.
But God will bring down Moab’s pride.
None of their skill will help them.
12 He will pull down their high, strong walls.
He will bring them down to the ground.
He’ll bring them right down to the dust.