Psalms 74
74
PSALM 74
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
Maschil of Asaph.
1O God, why hast thou cast us off?
is it for evermore?
Against thy pasture-sheep why doth
thine anger smoke so sore?
2O call to thy rememberance
thy congregation,
Which thou hast purchased of old;
still think the same upon:
The rod of thine inheritance,
which thou redeemed hast,
This Sion hill, wherein thou hadst
thy dwelling in times past.
3To these long desolations
thy feet lift, do not tarry;
For all the ills thy foes have done
within thy sanctuary.
4Amidst thy congregations
thine enemies do roar:
Their ensigns they set up for signs
of triumph thee before.
5A man was famous, and was had
in estimation,
According as he lifted up
his axe thick trees upon.
6But all at once with axes now
and hammers they go to,
And down the carved work thereof
they break, and quite undo.
7They fired have thy sanctuary,
and have defil'd the same,
By casting down unto the ground
the place where dwelt thy name.
8Thus said they in their hearts, Let us
destroy them out of hand:
They burnt up all the synagogues
of God within the land.
9Our signs we do not now behold;
there is not us among
A prophet more, nor any one
that knows the time how long.
10How long, Lord, shall the enemy
thus in reproach exclaim?
And shall the adversary thus
always blaspheme thy name?
11Thy hand, ev'n thy right hand of might,
why dost thou thus draw back?
O from thy bosom pluck it out
for our deliv'rance sake.
12For certainly God is my King,
ev'n from the times of old,
Working in midst of all the earth
salvation manifold.
13The sea, by thy great pow'r, to part
asunder thou didst make;
And thou the dragons' heads, O Lord,
within the waters brake.
14The leviathan's head thou brak'st
in pieces, and didst give
Him to be meat unto the folk
in wilderness that live.
15Thou clav'st the fountain and the flood,
which did with streams abound:
Thou dry'dst the mighty waters up
unto the very ground.
16Thine only is the day, O Lord,
thine also is the night;
And thou alone prepared hast
the sun and shining light.
17By thee the borders of the earth
were settled ev'ry where:
The summer and the winter both
by thee created were.
18That th' enemy reproached hath,
O keep it in record;
And that the foolish people have
blasphem'd thy name, O Lord.
19Unto the multitude do not
thy turtle's soul deliver:
The congregation of thy poor
do not forget for ever.
20Unto thy cov'nant have respect;
for earth's dark places be
Full of the habitations
of horrid cruelty.
21O let not those that be oppress'd
return again with shame:
Let those that poor and needy are
give praise unto thy name.
22Do thou, O God, arise and plead
the cause that is thine own:
Remember how thou art reproach'd
still by the foolish one.
23Do not forget the voice of those
that are thine enemies:
Of those the tumult ever grows
that do against thee rise.
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Psalms 74: MP1650
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 74
74
Psalm 74
This is a special song that Asaph wrote.
A prayer for our nation #74:1 In 586 BC, the army of Babylon destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. The writer of this psalm asks God why he has let this happen to his people, the Israelites.
1God, have you turned against us for ever?
Why are you so angry with us?
We belong to you, so please take care of us,
like a shepherd takes care of his sheep.
2Remember that we are your people.
Long ago you chose us for yourself.
You rescued us from being slaves,
so that we could be your special nation of people. #74:2 This is when God led the Israelites out of Egypt where they had been slaves.
So please think about us,
as well as your home on Mount Zion.
3Come and look at our buildings!
Your enemies have completely destroyed them.
They have also destroyed everything that is in your temple.
4Your enemies shout battle cries
inside your special meeting place.
They have put up their own flags there.
5They used axes to cut the temple into pieces,
like people who cut down trees!
6They used their hammers and axes
to break the wooden boards with pictures on them.
7They completely burned your temple.
They knocked it down to the ground!
They caused your special place to become useless!
8They said to themselves,
‘We will completely destroy them all.’
So they burned down every place in the land
where people meet to worship God.
9We no longer see any signs that God is with us.
There are no more prophets among us.
Nobody can tell us how long this will continue.
10God, how long will our enemies laugh at you?
Will they insult your name for ever?
11Why do you do nothing to help us?
Use your power now to punish them!
12God, you have been my king from the beginning.
You have done great things to rescue us
all over the earth.
13You broke the sea into separate pieces,
because you are so strong. #74:13 These verses (13-15) may describe the time when God made the world and everything in it. Or they may describe how God took his people out of Egypt. He led them across the Red Sea on dry land, and he gave them water and food in the desert.
You broke the heads of the monsters
in the waters of the sea.#74:13 When God broke the heads of the monsters in the water, that may describe when the Egyptian army drowned in the Red Sea.
14You broke the heads of Leviathan. #74:14 Leviathan is the old name of a sea monster.
You gave his body as food
for the animals that live in the desert.
15You caused springs and streams of water to appear.
And you made large rivers become dry! #74:15 God made the Jordan River become dry so that his people could walk across into Canaan.
16Days and nights both belong to you.
You put the moon and the sun in their places.
17You said where the land must be among the seas.
You made both summer and winter. #74:17 These verses describe the time when God made the universe. See Genesis 1:1-31.
18 Lord, think about your enemies.
They are always laughing at you.
Foolish people are insulting your name.
19We, your people, are like your own special dove.
Do not let wild animals destroy us!
We are weak and poor,
so do not forget about us!
20Remember what you have promised to do for us.
There are dark places everywhere,
where cruel people hide.
21We are weak, and people want to hurt us.
Do not let us become ashamed.
Instead, let the poor, weak people praise your name!
22Do something, God!
Show everyone that you are good.
Think how fools are laughing at you all the time.
23Do not forget what your enemies are saying.
They shout things against you all the time!
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