LORD, the God of my salvation, *
I weep before You day and night.
Let my prayer come before You, *
give Your ear to my cry.
For troubles have overwhelmed my soul, *
and my life is nearly lost to Sheol.
I have joined those descending to the pit, *
like one whose strength has failed.
Abandoned among the dead, *
like the slain lying in the grave,
those You no longer remember, *
excluded and cut off from Your hand.
You have put me in the deepest pit, *
into the darkness and the depths.
The weight of Your anger crushes me, *
and You overwhelm me with all Your waves.
You took everyone I knew from me. *
You made me repulsive to them.
I am locked up and cannot get out. *
My eyes are failing from grief.
LORD, I call upon You all day long, *
I stretch out my hands to You.
Will You work wonders for the dead? *
Will their spirits rise up and praise You?
Will Your love be spoken of in the grave? *
Your faithfulness in the place of the dead?
Will they know of Your wonders in the darkness? *
Your justice in the land of forgetfulness?
As for me, LORD, I cry out to You for help, *
from the morning, my prayer seeks You.
Why, LORD, do You reject my soul? *
Why do You hide Your face from me?
I have been miserable and near death since my youth; *
I can no longer endure Your terrors.
Your burning wrath has swept over me, *
Your terrors have reduced me to silence.
They surround me like a flood all day long, *
they close in on me from everywhere.
You have taken my lover and friends far from me, *
now, darkness is my closest friend.
Gloria
Glory to the Father, to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever.
Amen