A Hymn of Praise
1LORD, you are my God;
I will honour you and praise your name.
You have done amazing things;
you have faithfully carried out
the plans you made long ago.
2You have turned cities into ruins
and destroyed their fortifications.
The palaces which our enemies built
are gone for ever.
3The people of powerful nations will praise you;
you will be feared in the cities of cruel nations.
4The poor and the helpless have fled to you
and have been safe in times of trouble.
You give them shelter from storms
and shade from the burning heat.
Cruel enemies attack like a winter storm,
5like drought in a dry land.
But you, LORD, have silenced our enemies;
you silence the shouts of cruel people,
as a cloud cools a hot day.
God Prepares a Banquet
6Here on Mount Zion the LORD Almighty will prepare a banquet for all the nations of the world — a banquet of the richest food and the finest wine. 7Here he will suddenly remove the cloud of sorrow that has been hanging over all the nations. 8The Sovereign LORD will destroy death for ever! He will wipe away the tears from everyone's eyes and take away the disgrace his people have suffered throughout the world. The LORD himself has spoken!
9When it happens, everyone will say, “He is our God! We have put our trust in him, and he has rescued us. He is the LORD! We have put our trust in him, and now we are happy and joyful because he has saved us.”
