Psalm 74

A maskil of Asaph.

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

2Remember your community, which you acquired long ago, which you redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance—Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

3Turn your steps toward the endless ruins, all the destruction the enemy has done in the sanctuary.

4Your foes have roared in the place where you met with us; they have set up their own signs as signs.

5They looked like men lifting axes against a thicket of trees.

6And now all its carved work they smash with hatchets and hammers.

7They have set your sanctuary on fire; they have defiled the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground.

8They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely.” They burned every meeting place of God in the land.

9We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and none of us knows how long.

10How long, God, will the foe mock? Will the enemy despise your name forever?

11Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Draw it out from your chest and destroy them!

12Yet God is my king from ancient times, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

13You split the sea by your strength; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.

14You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food to the creatures of the desert.

15You broke open springs and streams; you dried up ever-flowing rivers.

16The day is yours, and the night is yours as well; you established the moon and the sun.

17You set all the boundaries of the earth; you made summer and winter.

18Remember this, Yahweh: the enemy mocks, and a foolish people despises your name.

19Do not hand over the life of your dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of your afflicted ones forever.

20Look to the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.

21Do not let the oppressed turn back in disgrace; let the afflicted and the needy praise your name.

22Rise up, God, and plead your own case; remember how fools mock you all day long.

23Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually.