The Psalms (WEB)

Psalm 74

A contemplation by Asaph.

 ^74:1God, why have you rejected us forever?
      Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

 ^74:2Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old,
      Which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance;
      Mount Zion, in which you have lived.

 ^74:3Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins,
      All the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.

 ^74:4Your adversaries have roared in the midst of your assembly.
      They have set up their standards as signs.

 ^74:5They behaved like men wielding axes,
      Cutting through a thicket of trees.

 ^74:6Now all its carved work
      They break down with hatchet and hammers.

 ^74:7They have burned your sanctuary to the ground.
      They have profaned the dwelling-place of your Name.

 ^74:8They said in their heart, "We will crush them completely."
      They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped.

 ^74:9We see no miraculous signs.
      There is no longer any prophet,
      Neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.

 ^74:10How long, God, shall the adversary reproach?
      Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?

 ^74:11Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand?
      Take it out of your pocket and consume them!

 ^74:12Yet God is my King of old,
      Working salvation in the midst of the earth.

 ^74:13You divided the sea by your strength.
      You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

 ^74:14You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces.
      You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.

 ^74:15You opened up spring and stream.
      You dried up mighty rivers.

 ^74:16The day is yours, the night is also yours.
      You have prepared the light and the sun.

 ^74:17You have set all the boundaries of the earth.
      You have made summer and winter.

  ^74:18Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, Yahweh.
      Foolish people have blasphemed your name.

 ^74:19Don't deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts.
      Don't forget the life of your poor forever.

 ^74:20Honor your covenant,
      For haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth.

 ^74:21Don't let the oppressed return ashamed.
      Let the poor and needy praise your name.

 ^74:22Arise, God! Plead your own cause.
      Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day.

 ^74:23Don't forget the voice of your adversaries.
      The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.

World English Bible