1 I raise my eyes to fix my gaze on You,
    for Your throne resides in the heavens.
2 Just as the eyes of servants
    closely watch the hand of their masters,
Just as a maid carefully observes
    the slightest gesture of her mistress,
In the same way we look to You, Eternal One,
    waiting for our God to pour out His mercy upon us.

3 O Eternal One, show us Your mercy. We beg You.
    We are not strangers to contempt and pain.
4 We have suffered more than our share
    of ridicule and contempt from self-appointed critics who live easy lives
    and pompously display their own importance.