15Gaze down from the heavens and see,
from your holy and beautiful dwelling place.
Where are your zeal and your might?
The feelings of your heart and your compassion
are withheld from me.
16But you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
though Israel does not acknowledge us.
You, the Lord, are our Father.
Our Redeemer from everlasting is your name.
17Why do you cause us to wander from your ways, Lord?
Why do you harden our heart so that we do not fear you?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes that are your heritage.
18For a short time your holy people possessed the land.
Now our adversaries have trampled your sanctuary.
19We have been your people from ancient times,
but you have not ruled over the other nations.
They were not called by your name.[] 641Oh, that you would rip open the heavens and come down.
Mountains then would quake because of your presence.[] 2As fire ignites stubble and as fire makes water boil,
make your name known to your adversaries.
Then nations would quake in your presence.
3You did amazing things that we did not expect.
You came down. Mountains quaked because of your presence.
4From ancient times no one has heard.
No ear has understood.
No eye has seen any god except you,
who goes into action for the one who waits for him.
5You meet anyone who joyfully practices righteousness,
who remembers you by walking in your ways!
But you were angry because we sinned.
We have remained in our sins for a long time.
Can we still be saved?
6All of us have become like something unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like a filthy cloth.[] All of us have withered like a leaf,
and our guilt carries us away like the wind.
7There is no one who calls on your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you.
So you hid your face from us.
You made us melt by the power of our guilt.
8But now, Lord, you are our father.
We are the clay, and you are our potter.
All of us are the work of your hand.
9Do not be angry, Lord, without limit.
Do not remember our guilt forever.
Please look closely.
All of us are your people.
Isaiah's Lament
10Your holy cities have become a wilderness.
Zion has become a wilderness.
Jerusalem is a desolation.
11Our holy and glorious house, where our fathers praised you,
has been burned by fire,
and everything we desired has become a ruin.
12Since this is so, how can you hold back, O Lord?
How can you remain silent and afflict us without limit?
The Lord's Response
651I was available to those who did not ask.
I let myself be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name.
2I reached out my hands all day to a stubborn people,
who are walking in a way that is not good,
who follow their own ideas.
