“O Lord, You misled me, and I allowed myself to be misled. You are stronger than I am, and You overpowered me. Now I am mocked every day; everyone laughs at me. When I speak, the words burst out. “Violence and destruction!’ I shout. So these messages from the Lord have med me a household joke. But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in His name, His words burn in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it! I have heart the many rumors about me. The call me, “The Man Who Lives in Terror.’ They threaten, ‘If you say anything, we will report it.’ Even my old friends are watching me, waiting for a fatal slip. ‘He will trap himself,’ they say, ‘ and then we will get our revenge on. him.’
But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before Him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, You test those who are righteous, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets. Let me see Your vengeance against them, for I have committed my cause to You. Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For though I was poor and needy, He rescued me from my oppressors.” (vv. 7-13, NLT)