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
A Lament in Time of National Defeat
A maskil of Asaph.#The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
1Why, O God, have you rejected us forever?
Why does your anger smoke
against the sheep of your pasture?
2Remember your congregation that you bought long ago,
when you redeemed the tribe of your inheritance.
Remember Mount Zion#Literally “the mountain of Zion” where you have dwelt.
3Lift your steps to the perpetual ruins,
to all that the enemy has ruined in the sanctuary.
4Your enemies have roared in the midst of your meeting place;
they have set up their signs for signs.
5They are#Hebrew “He is” known to be like those who wield#Literally “lift up”
axes in a thicket of trees.
6And now#According to the reading tradition (Qere) its#That is, the temple’s carved works altogether
they have smashed with axe and hammer.
7They have set fire to your sanctuary.
They have defiled to the ground,
the dwelling place for your name.
8They have said in their heart,
“We will completely#Hebrew “altogether” oppress them.”
They burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9We do not see our signs,
and there is no longer a prophet.
No one with us knows how long.
10How long, O God, will the adversary taunt?
Will the enemy treat your name with contempt forever?
11Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand?
Take it from your bosom;#According to the reading tradition (Qere) destroy them!
12But God has been my king from long ago,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13You split open the sea by your strength;
You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
14You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food to the desert dwelling creatures.
15You split open spring and wadi.#A seasonal stream that is often dry
You dried up ever-flowing rivers.
16Yours is the day, yours is the night also.
You established light and the sun.
17You defined#Or “set” all the boundaries of the earth;
Summer and winter—you formed them.
18O Yahweh, remember this: the enemy taunts,
and foolish people treat your name with contempt.
19Do not give to beasts the life of your dove;
do not ever forget the life of your afflicted ones.
20Have regard for the covenant,
because the dark places of the land are full of
the haunts of violence.
21Do not let the oppressed turn back humiliated;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22Rise up, O God, plead your cause;
remember the reproaching of you by the foolish all day long.#Literally “all the day”
23Do not forget the sound of your adversaries,
the roar of those rising up against you ascending continually.
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