Psalm 74:1-8

New Living Translation

¹ O God, why have you rejected us so long?
    Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own pasture?
² Remember that we are the people you chose long ago,
    the tribe you redeemed as your own special possession!
    And remember Jerusalem,^[b] your home here on earth.
³ Walk through the awful ruins of the city;
    see how the enemy has destroyed your sanctuary.

⁴ There your enemies shouted their victorious battle cries;
    there they set up their battle standards.
⁵ They swung their axes
    like woodcutters in a forest.
⁶ With axes and picks,
    they smashed the carved paneling.
⁷ They burned your sanctuary to the ground.
    They defiled the place that bears your name.
⁸ Then they thought, “Let’s destroy everything!”
    So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped.