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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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 74
74
A maskil of Asaph.
1God, why have you turned away from us for so long?
Why are you still angry with us, your own flock?
2Remember the people you bought so long ago.
You saved us, and we belong to you.
And remember Mount Zion, the place where you lived.
3God, come walk through these ancient ruins.
Come back to the Holy Place that the enemy destroyed.
4The enemy shouted their war cries in the Temple.
They put up their flags there to show they had won the war.
5Their soldiers attacked the doors,
like workmen chopping down trees.
6Using axes and hatchets,
they smashed the carved panels inside.
7They burned down your Holy Place.
It was built to honor your name,
but they pulled it down to the ground.
8The enemy decided to crush us completely.
They burned every holy place#74:8 holy place Or “El meeting place.” This means every place where people went to meet with God. in the country.
9We do not see any of our signs.#74:9 signs These were probably signal fires that people burned as a way of passing messages from one town to the next. In war, this was a way people showed other towns that the enemy had not yet destroyed their own town.
There are no more prophets.
And no one knows how long this will last.
10God, how much longer will the enemy make fun of us?
Will you let them insult your name forever?
11Why won’t you help us?
Use your power to defeat our enemies!
12God, you have been our King for a long time.
You have saved us many times on this earth.
13With your great power you split open the sea
and broke the heads of the sea monster.
14Yes, you smashed the heads of Leviathan#74:13-14 sea monster … Leviathan These were creatures from ancient stories. People believed that they kept the world from being a safe, orderly place. So this verse means that God controls every part of the world and everything in it.
and left his body for animals to eat.
15You make the springs and rivers flow,
and you make the rivers dry up.
16You control the day and the night.
You made the sun and the moon.
17You set the limits for everything on earth.
And you created summer and winter.
18Lord, remember, the enemy insulted you!
Those foolish people hate your name!
19Don’t give us like a helpless dove to those wild animals.
Never forget your poor, suffering people.
20Remember the agreement you gave us,
because violence fills every dark place in this land.
21Your people were treated badly.
Don’t let them be hurt anymore.
Let your poor, helpless people praise you.
22God, get up and defend yourself!
Remember, those fools challenged you.
23Don’t forget the shouts of your enemies.
They insulted you again and again.
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