Psalms 74
74
A psalm#74:TITLE Hebrew maskil. This may be a literary or musical term. of Asaph.
1O God, why have you rejected us so long?
Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own pasture?
2Remember that we are the people you chose long ago,
the tribe you redeemed as your own special possession!
And remember Jerusalem,#74:2 Hebrew Mount Zion. your home here on earth.
3Walk through the awful ruins of the city;
see how the enemy has destroyed your sanctuary.
4There your enemies shouted their victorious battle cries;
there they set up their battle standards.
5They swung their axes
like woodcutters in a forest.
6With axes and picks,
they smashed the carved paneling.
7They burned your sanctuary to the ground.
They defiled the place that bears your name.
8Then they thought, “Let’s destroy everything!”
So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped.
9We no longer see your miraculous signs.
All the prophets are gone,
and no one can tell us when it will end.
10How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to insult you?
Will you let them dishonor your name forever?
11Why do you hold back your strong right hand?
Unleash your powerful fist and destroy them.
12You, O God, are my king from ages past,
bringing salvation to the earth.
13You split the sea by your strength
and smashed the heads of the sea monsters.
14You crushed the heads of Leviathan#74:14 The identification of Leviathan is disputed, ranging from an earthly creature to a mythical sea monster in ancient literature.
and let the desert animals eat him.
15You caused the springs and streams to gush forth,
and you dried up rivers that never run dry.
16Both day and night belong to you;
you made the starlight#74:16 Or moon; Hebrew reads light. and the sun.
17You set the boundaries of the earth,
and you made both summer and winter.
18See how these enemies insult you, Lord.
A foolish nation has dishonored your name.
19Don’t let these wild beasts destroy your turtledoves.
Don’t forget your suffering people forever.
20Remember your covenant promises,
for the land is full of darkness and violence!
21Don’t let the downtrodden be humiliated again.
Instead, let the poor and needy praise your name.
22Arise, O God, and defend your cause.
Remember how these fools insult you all day long.
23Don’t overlook what your enemies have said
or their growing uproar.
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Psalms 74: NLT
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Psalm 74
74
Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause
A Maskil#74:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term of #See Ps. 50, titleAsaph.
1O God, why do you #See Ps. 44:9 cast us off forever?
Why does your anger #Deut. 29:20; [Ps. 18:8] smoke against #Ps. 79:13; 100:3; Jer. 23:1; Ezek. 34:31; [Ps. 95:7]the sheep of your pasture?
2 # ver. 18, 22 Remember your congregation, which you have #Ex. 15:16; Deut. 32:6; [Ps. 78:54] purchased of old,
which you have #Ps. 77:15; Isa. 63:9 redeemed to be #Isa. 63:17; Jer. 10:16; 51:19 the tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, #Ps. 9:11where you have dwelt.
3Direct your steps to #[Isa. 61:4]the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4Your foes have #Lam. 2:6, 7 roared in the midst of your meeting place;
# [Matt. 24:15] they set up their #Num. 2:2 own signs for #[ver. 9]signs.
5They were like those who swing #[Jer. 46:22]axes
in a forest of trees.#74:5 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
6And all its #[1 Kgs. 6:18, 29, 32, 35]carved wood
they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7They #2 Kgs. 25:9; [Ps. 79:1] set your sanctuary on fire;
they #Ps. 89:39; [Lam. 2:2] profaned #[Ps. 26:8]the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it down to the ground.
8They #Ps. 83:4said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9We do not see our #[ver. 4] signs;
# [1 Sam. 3:1; Lam. 2:9; Ezek. 7:26; Amos 8:11] there is no longer any prophet,
and there is none among us who knows how long.
10How long, O God, #ver. 18, 22; Ps. 79:12; 89:51is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11Why #Lam. 2:3do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the fold of your garment#74:11 Hebrew from your bosom and destroy them!
12Yet #Ps. 44:4God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13You #Ex. 14:21 divided the sea by your might;
you #Isa. 51:9 broke the heads of #Isa. 27:1the sea monsters#74:13 Or the great sea creatures on the waters.
14You crushed the heads of #See Job 41:1Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15You #Ps. 78:15; 105:41; Ex. 17:5, 6; Num. 20:11; Isa. 48:21 split open springs and brooks;
you #Josh. 2:10; 4:23; Isa. 51:10; [Ps. 66:6]; See Ex. 14:21-25; Josh. 3:13-17dried up ever-flowing streams.
16Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you have established #Ps. 104:19; See Gen. 1:14-16the heavenly lights and the sun.
17You have #Deut. 32:8; [Acts 17:26] fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
you have made #Gen. 8:22summer and winter.
18 # ver. 2, 22; Ps. 89:50; Rev. 16:19; 18:5 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and #Ps. 39:8; Deut. 32:6a foolish people reviles your name.
19Do not deliver the soul of your #Song 2:14 dove to the wild beasts;
# [Ps. 68:10] do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20Have regard for #Ps. 106:45; Gen. 17:7, 8; Lev. 26:44, 45; Jer. 33:21 the covenant,
for #[Ps. 10:8]the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21Let not #Ps. 9:9; 10:18 the downtrodden #[Ps. 6:10] turn back in shame;
let #Ps. 86:1the poor and needy praise your name.
22Arise, O God, #[1 Sam. 24:15] defend your cause;
# ver. 2, 18 remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
23Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
# See Ps. 65:7 the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!
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