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For who will say, "What have you done?" or will resist your judgment? Who will accuse you for the destruction of nations that you made? Or who will come before you to plead as an advocate for the unrighteous?
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For neither is there any god besides you, whose care is for all people, to whom you should prove that you have not judged unjustly;
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nor can any king or monarch confront you about those whom you have punished.
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You are righteous and you rule all things righteously, deeming it alien to your power to condemn anyone who does not deserve to be punished.
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For your strength is the source of righteousness, and your sovereignty over all causes you to spare all.
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For you show your strength when people doubt the completeness of your power, and you rebuke any insolence among those who know it.
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Although you are sovereign in strength, you judge with mildness, and with great forbearance you govern us; for you have power to act whenever you choose.
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Through such works you have taught your people that the righteous must be kind, and you have filled your children with good hope, because you give repentance for sins.
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For if you punished with such great care and indulgence the enemies of your servants and those deserving of death, granting them time and opportunity to give up their wickedness,
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with what strictness you have judged your children, to whose ancestors you gave oaths and covenants full of good promises!
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So while chastening us you scourge our enemies ten thousand times more, so that, when we judge, we may meditate upon your goodness, and when we are judged, we may expect mercy.