The Lament of Zion

By Benjamin Thompson
(Zion-above Speaks)
Lo! How Long oh Zion will you sit in the dust!
How long will you look to the earth!
Lo, Zion above looks down below,
Waiting to receive you with open arms.
Look up, oh Zion,
Shake off the dust from off your garments.
Put on your beautiful robes, fine white linen.
Look up to Zion above!
When Zion below looks to Zion above,
Zion above will come down below,
And Zion above will be one with Zion below.
(Zion-below)
Oh Zion above arrayed in shining light,
What must I do to look up above?
How can I shake the dust off my garments?
How can I rise from my slumber?
My robes are tattered and my children are scattered,
What must I do to look to Zion above?
(Zion-above Speaks)
Oh Zion below, who sits in the dust,
Whose garments are tattered,
Whose children are scattered.
Whose cry I have heard weeping in the earth.
I will tell you how to look to Zion above.
When your children who are abroad the earth,
Learn to keep all the commandments of the Lord,
Then will you look upward to Zion above.
(Zion-below)
Oh my children, who are scattered abroad.
Who toil in slavery,
Whose garments are rags,
What have you done?
And, to whom have you listened?
That you ignore the commandments of the Lord?
For this reason, we are left alone,
When you keep his commandments,
Then we will be one with Zion above.
(The Children)

Oh mother, my mother,
What is this that you teach?
We have all his commandments,
And a few prophets that speak.
All is well in Zion, and God will not forsake her.
(Zion-below)
Oh children, my children,
You do not know what you speak.
We sit in the dust,
And our garments are rags,
You children are scattered,
Surely you do not keep all the commandments of God.
These things would not be if you had.
(Satan speaks)
Oh foolish woman, what is this that you preach?
It is I who teach your children what they must do to reach upward:
Buy and sell some merchandise,
Go back to your fields,
The Torah is outdated,
There is nothing to see,
For Jesus has done away with it,
Zion prospers and all is well!
(Zion-below)
Who are you who speaks?
By what right do you teach?
(Satan speaks)
I am the God of this earth,
I own the world abroad,
And all that is there,
For a bit of money,
I will tell you some more.
(Zion-below)
If you be that God,
Then teach my children the Law,
That they might keep it,
And we might be one with Zion above.
(Satan Speaks)
I teach well enough into the hearts of men,
I whisper my truth into each of their ears.
It is I who has taught them all that they do.

I lull them to sleep with my sweet lullabies,

I whisper into their ears,
Zion prospers, just close your eyes!
Gently I chain them so that they wont awake,
By the time they realize it,
It will be too late.
I bring darkness and death,
And I fill the world with hate.
But the best work I have done,
There is no one else to blame,
Is to make the Law old-fashioned,
So no one remembers its name.
(Zion-below)
You are a deceiver,
Not the God of this earth!
I must warn my children,
They have been deceived since birth!
(Satan speaks)
Well youve seen through my guise,
But your children are mine,
Ill hold onto them tight,
I will not relinquish them,
It is hopeless to fight,
They are all safe while they sleep,
I distract them with pleasure,
All is well in Zion,
And Zion prospers.
I will chain them to hell,
I have bound them up fast,
Now I will destroy them,
You will be left bereaved of your children!
(Zion-below)
Woe is me!
I am undone!
My children are sleeping,
I cannot wake them.
(The Children)
Oh mother, my mother,
Look at me,
Not all are sleeping,
But us few have awoken.
We see we have not kept the Law of the Lord.

We seek to repent and follow his Torah,

We are learning all that we can.
We are shaking the dust,
And putting on fine white linen.
We look upward to Zion above.
(Zion-below)
Oh my children,
You are so very few.
I do not know if you will be enough.
(The Children)
Oh mother, my mother,
Who has taught us all that we know,
Wait for a season for we must still grow,
But because we broke the Torah,
Three judgments must come:
Of war, of famine, and devastating disease,
The Lord will make us clean,
And then we will grow.
(Zion-below)
Oh my children, my children,
I cannot watch the horror that has come,
The fire that burns,
The cries of the women,
The death of the men,
All this has come because you ignored the Torah.
(The Children)
Oh mother, my mother,
Open your eyes,
Though we have suffered these horrors,
The Lord has guided our lives,
He kept us,
And guarded us,
Safe home to you,
Through the wars,
And the famine,
He healed our plague,
Look,
We are no longer scattered,
We are one with you.
(The Lord speaks)
Oh Zion below,

Be not afraid,
It is I who has saved you,
I have engraved you on my palms,
Because you broke my Torah,
I have left you alone,
For a small moment I have hidden my face,
I left you to repent,
That you might learn my true ways,
I have made you clean of your sin,
No more will I leave,
You are mine forever.
I will bring down Zion above,
We will be one with you below.
(Zion-below)
Oh children, my children,
Please hear my voice,
I wait for this day that we might be saved,
If you will but learn the Torah,
If you will but learn his ways,
Then will you be given power from heaven above,
He will gather you and keep you till that great day.
Then together, when we have achieved,
Zion above will come down to Zion below.
Then will we embrace and kiss each others face.
Then I will be a shining light to the world.
But for now you still sleep,
Caught up in devilish dreams,
The chain of pleasure is strong.
Nothing but desolation will break those bonds.
So I leave you to ponder the state you are in.
I will wait for you and pray for you,
Even all my children.