Psalm 74

PSALM 74

An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.

A ^†Maskil of Asaph.

¹O God, why have You ^arejected us forever?

Why does Your anger ^bsmoke against the ^csheep of Your ¹pasture?

²Remember Your congregation, which You have ^apurchased of old,

Which You have ^bredeemed to be the ^ctribe of Your inheritance;

And this Mount ^dZion, where You have dwelt.

³¹Turn Your footsteps toward the ^aperpetual ruins;

The enemy ^bhas damaged everything within the sanctuary.

⁴Your adversaries have ^aroared in the midst of Your meeting place;

They have set up their ^bown ¹standards ^cfor signs.

⁵It seems as if one had lifted up

His ^1aaxe in a ²forest of trees.

⁶And now ¹all its ^acarved work

They smash with hatchet and ²hammers.

⁷They have ^1aburned Your sanctuary ²to the ground;

They have ^bdefiled the dwelling place of Your name.

⁸They ^asaid in their heart, “Let us ¹completely ²subdue them.”

They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

⁹We do not see our ^asigns;

There is ^bno longer any prophet,

Nor is there any among us who knows ^chow long.

¹⁰How long, O God, will the adversary ^arevile,

And the enemy ^bspurn Your name forever?

¹¹Why ^ado You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?

From within Your bosom, ^bdestroy them!

¹²Yet God is ^amy king from of old,

Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.

¹³¹You ^adivided the sea by Your strength;

You ^bbroke the heads of the ^csea monsters ²in the waters.

¹⁴¹You crushed the heads of ^2aLeviathan;

You gave him as food for the ³creatures ^bof the wilderness.

¹⁵¹You ^abroke open springs and torrents;

You ^bdried up ever-flowing streams.

¹⁶Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;

¹You have ^aprepared the ²light and the sun.

¹⁷¹You have ^aestablished all the boundaries of the earth;

You have ²made ^bsummer and winter.

¹⁸Remember this, ¹O Lord, that the enemy has ^areviled,

And a ^bfoolish people has spurned Your name.

¹⁹Do not deliver the soul of Your ^aturtledove to the wild beast;

^bDo not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

²⁰Consider the ^acovenant;

For the ^bdark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

²¹Let not the ^aoppressed return dishonored;

Let the ^bafflicted and needy praise Your name.

²²Arise, O God, and ^aplead Your own cause;

Remember ¹how the ^bfoolish man reproaches You all day long.

²³Do not forget the voice of Your ^aadversaries,

The ^buproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.