A wisdom psalm of Asaph.
74 1 O our Father, why have you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation, which you purchased long ago, which you redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance — Mount Zion, where you have dwelt. 3 Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all the destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.
4 Your foes have roared inside your meeting place; they set up their own banners as signs. 5 They were like men swinging axes high in a thicket of trees. 6 And now they smash all its carved work with hatchet and hammer. 7 They set your sanctuary on fire; they defiled the dwelling place of your name to the ground. 8 They said to themselves, "We will crush them all together." They burned every meeting place of our Father in the land.
9 We see no signs for us; there is no longer any prophet, and none among us knows how long. 10 How long, our Father, will the foe scoff? Will the enemy revile your name forever? 11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Draw it from the fold of your garment and make an end!
12 Yet our Father is my King from ages past, working salvation across the earth.
13 You divided the sea by your strength; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. 14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food to the creatures of the wilderness. 15 You split open springs and brooks; you dried up ever-flowing rivers. 16 Yours is the day, yours also the night; you established the moon and the sun. 17 You set all the boundaries of the earth; you made summer and winter.
18 Remember this — the enemy scoffs, our Father, and a foolish people reviles your name. 19 Do not give the life of your dove to the wild beasts; do not forget forever the life of your afflicted ones. a a v19 "Your dove" is a tender poetic image for God's people, Israel.
20 Look to the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence. 21 Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, our Father, defend your cause; remember how the fool scoffs at you all day long. 23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, growing louder all the time.