Psalm

God lifts up the oppressed,

God defends the weak.

The powerful rely on their own strength.

They are proud and haughty.

They boast in their wickedness.

They steal houses from widows and take food from the poor.

They prosper for a moment, then fail.

Their power is overthrown.

Their riches are scattered.

They are remembered only for the evil they have done,

And their legacy is a curse.

But God listens to the cries of the hopeless.

God comforts them in their despair.

God weeps with them and offers them a new vision.

God will be their consolation and their hope will never fail.

God protects the lovers,

God rejoices in those who embrace each other.

The self-righteous live in fear.

Their holiness is full of deceit.

They seek the destruction of the gentle and kind.

They teach hate in the name of love and confuse those who trust them.

Their voices are harsh.

They show no pity.

Their words offer no hope.

They set themselves in the place of God.

And their own laws consume them.

But God seeks out those who are rejected.

God opens a road for them in the wilderness.

God hovers over them and sets watch around them.

God will not forget them or abandon them to their foes.