Psalms — Chapter 74

A maskil of Asaph.Why, O God, do You forever reject us,do You fume in anger at the flock that You tend?

Remember the community You made Yours long ago,Your very own tribe that You redeemed,Mount Zion, where You dwell.

Bestir YourselfaBestir Yourself Lit. “Lift up Your feet.” because of the perpetual tumult,bperpetual tumult Meaning of Heb. uncertain. all the outrages of the enemy in the sanctuary.

Your foes roar inside Your meeting-place;they take their signs for true signs.

It is like those who wield axesagainst a gnarled tree;

with hatchet and pikethey hacked away at its carved work.cIt is like … carved work Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

They made Your sanctuary go up in flames;they brought low in dishonor the dwelling-place of Your presence.

They resolved, “Let us destroy them altogether!”They burned all God’s tabernacles in the land.

No signs appear for us;there is no longer any prophet;no one among us knows for how long.

Till when, O God, will the foe blaspheme,will the enemy forever revile Your name?

Why do You hold back Your hand, Your right hand?Draw it out of Your bosom!dDraw it out of Your bosom Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

O God, my Sovereign from of old,who brings deliverance throughout the land;

it was You who drove back the sea with Your might,who smashed the heads of the monsters in the waters;

it was You who crushed the heads of Leviathan,who left it as food for the denizens of the desert;ethe denizens of the desert Or “seafaring peoples”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.

it was You who released springs and torrents,who made mighty rivers run dry;

the day is Yours, the night also;it was You who set in place the orb of the sun;

You fixed all the boundaries of the earth;summer and winter—You made them.

Be mindful of how the enemy blasphemes GOD,how base people revile Your name.

Do not deliver Your dove to the wild beast;do not ignore forever the band of Your lowly ones.

Look to the covenant!For the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of lawlessness.

Let not the downtrodden turn away disappointed;let the poor and needy praise Your name.

Rise, O God, champion Your cause;be mindful that You are blasphemed by scoundrels all day long.

Do not ignore the shouts of Your foes,the din of Your adversaries that ascends all the time.