Psalm 74:1
A Maskil of Asaph. Why have You rejected us forever, O God? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?
Psalm 74:2
Remember Your congregation, which You purchased long ago and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance—Mount Zion, where You dwell.
Psalm 74:3
Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins, to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.
Psalm 74:4
Your foes have roared within Your meeting place; they have unfurled their banners as signs,
Psalm 74:5
like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees
Psalm 74:6
and smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks.
Psalm 74:7
They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name.
Psalm 74:8
They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely.” They burned down every place where God met us in the land.
Psalm 74:9
There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last.
Psalm 74:10
How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?
Psalm 74:11
Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand? Stretch it out to destroy them!
Psalm 74:12
Yet God is my King from ancient times, working salvation on the earth.
Psalm 74:13
You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;
Psalm 74:14
You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.
Psalm 74:15
You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
Psalm 74:16
The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun.
Psalm 74:17
You set all the boundaries of the earth; You made the summer and winter.
Psalm 74:18
Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.
Psalm 74:19
Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts; do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.
Psalm 74:20
Consider Your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
Psalm 74:21
Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame; may the poor and needy praise Your name.
Psalm 74:22
Rise up, O God; defend Your cause! Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.
Psalm 74:23
Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries, the uproar of Your enemies that ascends continually.