[1] A Maskil of Asaph. [2] O God, why dost thou cast us off for ever? Why
does thy anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? [3] Remember thy
congregation, which thou hast gotten of old, which thou hast redeemed to be
the tribe of thy heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where thou hast dwelt. [4]
Direct thy steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything
in the sanctuary! [5] Thy foes have roared in the midst of thy holy place;
they set up their own signs for signs. [6] At the upper entrance they
hacked the wooden trellis with axes. [7] And then all its carved wood they
broke down with hatchets and hammers. [8] They set thy sanctuary on fire;
to the ground they desecrated the dwelling place of thy name. [9] They said
to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them"; they burned all the meeting
places of God in the land. [10] We do not see our signs; there is no longer
any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long. [11] How long,
O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile thy name for ever? [12]
Why dost thou hold back thy hand, why dost thou keep thy right hand in thy
bosom? [13] Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst
of the earth. [14] Thou didst divide the sea by thy might; thou didst break
the heads of the dragons on the waters. [15] Thou didst crush the heads of
Leviathan, thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
[16] Thou didst cleave open springs and brooks; thou didst dry up
ever-flowing streams. [17] Thine is the day, thine also the night; thou
hast established the luminaries and the sun. [18] Thou hast fixed all the
bounds of the earth; thou hast made summer and winter. [19] Remember this,
O LORD, how the enemy scoffs, and an impious people reviles thy name. [20]
Do not deliver the soul of thy dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the
life of thy poor for ever. [21] Have regard for thy covenant; for the dark
places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. [22] Let not
the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise thy name.
[23] Arise, O God, plead thy cause; remember how the impious scoff at thee
all the day! [ (Psalms 74:24) Do not forget the clamor of thy foes, the
uproar of thy adversaries which goes up continually! ]
