74
A Plea for Relief from Oppressors
A Contemplation of Asaph.
1O God, why have You cast us off forever?
Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?
2Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old,
The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed—
This Mount Zion where You have dwelt.
3Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations.
The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary.
4⚓Your enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place;
⚓They set up their banners for signs.
5They seem like men who lift up
Axes among the thick trees.
6And now they break down its carved work, all at once,
With axes and hammers.
7They have set fire to Your sanctuary;
They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name to the ground.
8⚓They said in their hearts,
“Let us destroy them altogether.”
They have burned up all the meeting places of God in the land.
9We do not see our signs;
⚓There is no longer any prophet;
Nor is there any among us who knows how long.
10O God, how long will the adversary reproach?
Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?
11⚓Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
Take it out of Your bosom and destroy them.
12For ⚓God is my King from of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13⚓You divided the sea by Your strength;
You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters.
14You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces,
And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
15⚓You broke open the fountain and the flood;
⚓You dried up mighty rivers.
16The day is Yours, the night also is⚓Yours;
⚓You have prepared the light and the sun.
17You have ⚓set all the borders of the earth;
⚓You have made summer and winter.
18Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O Lord,
And that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name.
19Oh, do not deliver the life of Your turtledove to the wild beast!
Do not forget the life of Your poor forever.
20⚓Have respect to the covenant;
For the dark places of the earth are full of the haunts of cruelty.
21Oh, do not let the oppressed return ashamed!
Let the poor and needy praise Your name.
22Arise, O God, plead Your own cause;
Remember how the foolish man reproaches You daily.
23Do not forget the voice of Your enemies;
The tumult of those who rise up against You increases continually.
1O God, why have you rejected us forever?
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
2Remember the nation you purchased long ago,
the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—
Mount Zion, where you dwelt.
3Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,
all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.
4Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;
they set up their standards as signs.
5They behaved like men wielding axes
to cut through a thicket of trees.
6They smashed all the carved paneling
with their axes and hatchets.
7They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.
8They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”
They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.
9We are given no signs from God;
no prophets are left,
and none of us knows how long this will be.
10How long will the enemy mock you, God?
Will the foe revile your name forever?
11Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!
12But God is my King from long ago;
he brings salvation on the earth.
13It was you who split open the sea by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
14It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.
15It was you who opened up springs and streams;
you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
16The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.
17It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;
you made both summer and winter.
18Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
how foolish people have reviled your name.
19Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;
do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.
20Have regard for your covenant,
because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
21Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy praise your name.
22Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;
remember how fools mock you all day long.
23Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries,
the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.