“Because of the violence the helpless have suffered, and because of the groans of the poor, I will rise up to defend them,” says the Lord. “I will give them the protection they have been longing for.”
Please hear my prayer, Lord! Listen to my cry for help! Don't be deaf to my weeping. Please treat me as your guest, passing through, just like my forefathers.
I am crushed as I remember how I walked with the crowds, leading them in a procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and songs of thanks among the worshipers at the festival.
Years later, the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites were still groaning under their hard labor. Their cries for help because of their hardship reached God.
Jesus, while he was here in human form, prayed and appealed with loud cries and tears to God, the one who was able to save him from death. Jesus was heard because of his respect for God.
“Around this time tomorrow I'm going to send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him as ruler over my people Israel, and he will rescue them from the Philistines. I have seen what's happening to my people and I have heard their cry for help.”
