Psalm 74–76

A Prayer for National Deliverance^h

74 Why have you abandoned us like this, O God?

Will you be angry with your own people for ever?

²Remember your people,

whom you chose for yourself long ago, whom you brought out of slavery to be your own tribe.

Remember Mount Zion, where once you lived.

³Walk over these total ruins;

our enemies have destroyed everything in the Temple.

⁴Your enemies have shouted in triumph in your Temple;

they have placed their flags there as signs of victory.

⁵They looked like woodmen

cutting down trees

with their axes.ⁱ

⁶They smashed all the wooden panels with their axes and sledgehammers.

⁷They wrecked your Temple and set it on fire;

they desecrated the place where you are worshipped.

⁸They wanted to crush us completely;

they burnt down every holy place in the land.

⁹All our sacred symbols are gone;

there are no prophets left,

and no one knows how long this will last.

¹⁰How long, O God, will our enemies laugh at you?

Will they insult your name for ever?

¹¹Why have you refused to help us?

Why do you keep your hands behind you?^j

¹²But you have been our king from the beginning, O God;

you have saved us many times.

^13*With your mighty strength you divided the sea

and smashed the heads of the sea monsters;

^14*you crushed the heads of the monster Leviathan^k

and fed his body to desert animals.^l

¹⁵You made springs and fountains flow;

you dried up large rivers.

¹⁶You created the day and the night;

you set the sun and the moon in their places;

¹⁷you set the limits of the earth;

you made summer and winter.

¹⁸But remember, O Lord, that your enemies laugh at you,

that they are godless and despise you.

¹⁹Don’t abandon your helpless people to their cruel enemies;

don’t forget your persecuted people!

²⁰Remember the covenant you made with us.

There is violence in every dark corner of the land.

²¹Don’t let the oppressed be put to shame;

let those poor and needy people praise you.

²²Rouse yourself, God, and defend your cause!

Remember that godless people laugh at you all day long.

²³Don’t forget the angry shouts of your enemies,

the continuous noise made by your foes.

God the Judge^m

75 We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks to you!

We proclaim how great you are

and tell ofⁿ the wonderful things you have done.

²“I have set a time for judgement,” says God,

“and I will judge with fairness.

³Though every living creature tremble

and the earth itself be shaken,

I will keep its foundations firm.

⁴I tell the wicked not to be arrogant;

⁵I tell them to stop their boasting.”

⁶Judgement does not come from the east or from the west,

from the north or from the south;^o

⁷it is God who is the judge,

condemning some and acquitting others.

⁸The Lord holds a cup in his hand,

filled with the strong wine of his anger.

He pours it out, and all the wicked drink it;

they drink it down to the last drop.

⁹But I will never stop speaking of the God of Jacob

or singing praises to him.

¹⁰He will break the power of the wicked,

but the power of the righteous will be increased.

God the Victor^p

76 God is known in Judah;

his name is honoured in Israel.

²He has his home in Jerusalem;

he lives on Mount Zion.

³There he broke the arrows of the enemy,

their shields and swords, yes, all their weapons.

⁴How glorious you are, O God!

How majestic, as you return from the mountains

where you defeated your foes.

⁵Their brave soldiers have been stripped of all they had

and now are sleeping the sleep of death;

all their strength and skill was useless.

⁶When you threatened them, O God of Jacob,

the horses and their riders fell dead.

⁷But you, Lord, are feared by all.

No one can stand in your presence when you are angry.

⁸You made your judgement known from heaven;

the world was afraid and kept silent,

⁹when you rose up to pronounce judgement,

to save all the oppressed on earth.

¹⁰Human anger only results in more praise for you;

those who survive the wars will keep your festivals.^q

¹¹Give the Lord your God what you promised him;

bring gifts to him, all you nearby nations.

God makes everyone fear him;

¹²he humbles proud princes

and terrifies great kings.