A contemplation by Asaph.

74:1 God, why have you rejected us forever?

Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

74:2 Remember 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.

74:3 Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins,

all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.

74:4 Your adversaries have roared in the midst of your assembly.

They have set up their standards as signs.

74:5 They behaved like men wielding axes,

cutting through a thicket of trees.

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

74:7 They have burned your sanctuary to the ground.

They have profaned the dwelling place of your Name.

74:8 They said in their heart, "We will crush them completely."

They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped.

74:9 We see no miraculous signs.

There is no longer any prophet,

neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.

74:10 How long, God, shall the adversary reproach?

Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?

74:11 Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand?

Take it out of your pocket and consume them!

74:12 Yet God is my King of old,

working salvation in the midst of the earth.

74:13 You divided the sea by your strength.

You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

74:14 You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces.

You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.

74:15 You opened up spring and stream.

You dried up mighty rivers.

74:16 The day is yours, the night is also yours.

You have prepared the light and the sun.

74:17 You have set all the boundaries of the earth.

You have made summer and winter.

74:18 Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, Yahweh.

Foolish people have blasphemed your name.

74:19 Don't deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts.

Don't forget the life of your poor forever.

74:20 Honor your covenant,

for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth.

74:21 Don't let the oppressed return ashamed.

Let the poor and needy praise your name.

74:22 Arise, God! Plead your own cause.

Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day.

74:23 Don't forget the voice of your adversaries.

The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.