Psalm 74

A maskil of Asaph.

¹O God, why have you rejected us forever?

Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

²Remember the nation you purchased long ago,

the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—

Mount Zion, where you dwelt.

³Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,

all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

⁴Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;

they set up their standards as signs.

⁵They behaved like men wielding axes

to cut through a thicket of trees.

⁶They smashed all the carved paneling

with their axes and hatchets.

⁷They burned your sanctuary to the ground;

they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.

⁸They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”

They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.

⁹We are given no signs from God;

no prophets are left,

and none of us knows how long this will be.

¹⁰How long will the enemy mock you, God?

Will the foe revile your name forever?

¹¹Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?

Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

¹²But God is my King from long ago;

he brings salvation on the earth.

¹³It was you who split open the sea by your power;

you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.

¹⁴It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan

and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.

¹⁵It was you who opened up springs and streams;

you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.

¹⁶The day is yours, and yours also the night;

you established the sun and moon.

¹⁷It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;

you made both summer and winter.

¹⁸Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,

how foolish people have reviled your name.

¹⁹Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;

do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.

²⁰Have regard for your covenant,

because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

²¹Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;

may the poor and needy praise your name.

²²Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;

remember how fools mock you all day long.

²³Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries,

the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.