Chapter 74
1 God, why have you rejected us forever ? Why does your anger smoulder against the sheep of your pasture ?
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 .
3 Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins , all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary .
4 Your adversaries have roared in the middle of your assembly . They have set up their standards as signs.
5 They behaved like men wielding axes , cutting through a thicket of trees .
6 Now they break all its carved work down with hatchet and hammers .
7 They have burnt your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling place of your Name .
8 They said in their heart , " We will crush them completely ." They have burnt up all the places in the land where God was worshipped.
9 We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet , neither is there amongst us anyone who knows how long .
10 How long , God, shall the adversary reproach ? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever ?
11 Why do you draw back your hand , even your right hand ? Take it from your chest and consume them !
12 Yet God is my King of old , working salvation throughout the earth.
13 You divided the sea by your strength . You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters .
14 You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures .
15 You opened up spring and stream . You dried up mighty rivers .
16 The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun .
17 You have set all the boundaries of the earth. You have made summer and winter .
18 Remember this , that the enemy has mocked you , LORD . Foolish people have blasphemed your name .
19 Don’t deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts . Don’t forget the life of your poor forever .
20 Honour your covenant , for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth.
21 Don’t let the oppressed return ashamed . Let the poor and needy praise your name .
22 Arise , God! Plead your own cause . Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day .
23 Don’t forget the voice of your adversaries . The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually .