Poem - 15
Lord
our God, why have You finally rejected us,
Lord, Your
anger blazing against us, Your own flock that You pasture
Lord,
remember Your people, before Your fire consuming us,
Lord, You
gave us the Mount Zion where You lived
With
your own tribe, You redeemed since the beginning
Lord,
come to restore these endless ruins of Your Sanctuary
The enemy
has sacked everything in the sanctuary;
Lord,
your opponents made uproar in the place of assemblies,
Lord,
we are eaten up with zeal for Your house.
Lord,
they fixed their emblems over the entrance,
Their
axes slit deep in the wood of your own Cross,
As they
done with Your own flesh on the Cross in Calvary
They
battered Your Alter down with axe and pick;
They
were get rid of the panels, in front your Holy of Holies
They
set fire to Your sanctuary, profanely razed to the ground
They
mock Your Holy dwelling-place of Your Holy Name.
They
said to themselves, ‘Let us crush them at one stroke!’
They
burned down every sacred shrine in the land one by one.
We see
no signs, no prophet any more, and none of us knows how long it will last.
How
much longer, God, will the enemy blaspheme?
Is the
enemy to insult Your name forever?
Why
hold back Your hand, why keep your right hand hidden
Yet,
God, my king from the first, author of saving acts throughout the earth,
By Your
power you split the sea in two,
You
saved Your own people Israelites from Egyptians
You smashed
the heads of the monsters on the waters.
You
crushed Leviathan’s heads, gave him as food to the wild animals.
You
released the springs and brooks,
And You
turned the ancient rivers into dry land.
Yours
is the day and yours the night, you caused sun and light to exist,
You
fixed all the boundaries of the earth,
You
created summer, autumn, spring and winter.
Remember,
Yahweh, the enemy’s blasphemy against you
The foolish
people always insult Your Name
Do not
surrender Your turtledove to the beast;
Do not
forget forever the life of Your oppressed people
Lord,
have mercy on Your people of Syria
They
are in distress and mourning for Your help
The
enemy surrounded them and made them captives
Enemy
killed many of them, Your Priests, men, women and children
How
long, how long O’ Lord; we wait for justice on your people
Syria,
where Your Apostles and disciples lived and gathered in Your Name
You
gathered many Christians there and led them to your Sanctuary
But
Lord, we are very few now to proclaim Your Truth
Lord, Your
own people are oppressed by the enemy
All the
hiding-places of the land are full, haunts of violence
The
enemy is hiding even in the midst lambs
Syria,
where Your people were called Christians
Syria,
the cradle of Christianity, once Your beloved land
Where Your
servant Paul were converted and became your instrument
Where
many were martyred for their faith in you
Where Your
holy men and women St Takhla, St Ephraim,
St
Ignatius of Antioch, St Jerome, St John Chrysostom, St Polycarp,
St Simon
Stylite and courageous St John Damascene were lived
Lord,
look to Your Most Holy Covenant!
Remember
the cry of Your people in Egypt
One by
one the enemy eaten up Your people
Lord,
put Your infinite love in the heart of your people
Lord,
give them the strength to sustain in their faith
Lord,
hear our plea, our tears are dried up
No more
voices are coming from our mouth
Lord, You
made the Everlasting Covenant with us,
By
shedding Your own blood, and redeemed us
Do not
let Your downtrodden flocks retreat in confusion,
Give
the poor and needy cause to praise Your name.
Arise,
God, champion your own cause,
Remember
how fools blaspheme You all day long!
Do not
forget the shouting of Your enemies,
They
are countless and many are our persecutors
Lord
mercy on us for our countless sins
Lord,
forgive our sins and grant us Your salvation
MPI-CG
