LORD! Help your servant Israel!
He has fallen in vanity
And in his shame!
He cannot get up without Your help!
LORD abide by him, through all troubles
And help his soul find pasture by the still waters.
LORD, bring him no shame
But bring him the cup of salvation
And let the springs of mercy well up in his soul.
LORD, how long shall they kill the prophets?
How long shall they make a name for themselves
In vanity?
LORD, I had sinned, but not unto death.
I do not deserve this punishment
Yet they lay it upon my head
All of the sins of the Heathen
Which I had not saved
Nor given commandment to save.
LORD, how long shall they speak in vanity?
Had I not performed my vows unto the congregations of the good?
Had I not gone down into the grave
And rose, and yet what is this nation unto me?
It is a nation of chaff who drew close with its lips
But as for service, it had not given me even the slightest drink
Of sweetness.
It, as its greatest work, had sounded a trumpet
Before me, with pomp and splendor,
Only to not find me.
He had only searched, LORD
Because I had searched.
Yes, he had suggested it
But had I not gone with him
He would have been like a duck
Wandering around a lake
Not knowing to which its bread came.
No, LORD, for I came
And found You.
There You were, with Your little bag
Which the Prophet had provided you with
And your good foods.
Yet, with great splendor this nation
Haughtily presented You with delicacies.
You took a little, but only enough.
The prophet saw with your little bag
The provisions he had spent.
LORD! Where has this nation gone?
They do a work, but do so with pomp and splendor
To sound the trumpets and declare, “I have done this good!
“Look upon me, as I walk with my chalice in my hand
“And my splendid array of delicacies!”
Had he not just given the man a shekel?
Would it not be a greater sacrifice?
So if he buys a little wine for his stomach?
What is it to you, oh foolish nation?
B. K. Neifert 