My God, my God, why have you deserted me? Why do you seem so far away when I need you to save me? Why do you seem so far away that you can’t hear my groans?
You are Israel’s only hope. You save us when we’re in trouble. Why are you like a stranger to us? Why are you like a traveler who stays for only one night?
But I was afraid their enemies would make fun of that. I was afraid their attackers would not understand. I was sure they would say, ‘We’re the ones who’ve beaten them! The Lord isn’t the one who did it.’ ”
The Canaanites will hear about it. So will everyone else in the country. They will surround us. They’ll erase any mention of our name from the face of the earth. Then what will you do when people don’t honor your great name anymore?”