Psalm 74
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 74
Prayer for Israel
A Maskil of Asaph.(A)
1 Why have You rejected us forever, God?
Why does Your anger burn
against the sheep of Your pasture?(B)
2 Remember Your congregation,
which You purchased long ago
and redeemed as the tribe for Your own possession.(C)
Remember Mount Zion where You dwell.(D)
3 Make Your way[a] to the everlasting ruins,
to all that the enemy has destroyed in the sanctuary.(E)
4 Your adversaries roared in the meeting place
where You met with us.[b]
They set up their emblems as signs.(F)
5 It was like men in a thicket of trees,
wielding axes,(G)
6 then smashing all the carvings
with hatchets and picks.(H)
7 They set Your sanctuary on fire;
they utterly[c] desecrated
the dwelling place of Your name.(I)
8 They said in their hearts,
“Let us oppress them relentlessly.”
They burned down every place throughout the land
where God met with us.[d](J)
9 There are no signs for us to see.
There is no longer a prophet.
And none of us knows how long this will last.(K)
10 God, how long will the enemy mock?
Will the foe insult Your name forever?(L)
11 Why do You hold back Your hand?
Stretch out[e] Your right hand and destroy them!(M)
12 God my King is from ancient times,
performing saving acts on the earth.(N)
13 You divided the sea with Your strength;
You smashed the heads of the sea monsters in the waters;(O)
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
You fed him to the creatures of the desert.(P)
15 You opened up springs and streams;(Q)
You dried up ever-flowing rivers.(R)
16 The day is Yours, also the night;
You established the moon and the sun.(S)
17 You set all the boundaries of the earth;
You made summer and winter.(T)
18 Remember this: the enemy has mocked Yahweh,
and a foolish people has insulted Your name.(U)
19 Do not give the life of Your dove to beasts;[f]
do not forget the lives of Your poor people forever.(V)
20 Consider the covenant,(W)
for the dark places of the land are full of violence.(X)
21 Do not let the oppressed turn away in shame;
let the poor and needy praise Your name.(Y)
22 Rise up, God, defend Your cause!(Z)
Remember the insults
that fools bring against You all day long.(AA)
23 Do not forget the clamor of Your adversaries,
the tumult of Your opponents that goes up constantly.(AB)
Footnotes
- Psalm 74:3 Lit Lift up Your steps
- Psalm 74:4 Lit in Your meeting place
- Psalm 74:7 Lit they to the ground
- Psalm 74:8 Lit every meeting place of God in the land
- Psalm 74:11 Lit From Your bosom
- Psalm 74:19 One Hb ms, LXX, Syr read Do not hand over to beasts a soul that praises You
Psalm 74
1599 Geneva Bible
74 1 The faithful complain of the destruction of the Church and true religion, 2 Under the Name of Zion, and the Temple destroyed: 11 and trusting in the might and free mercies of God, 20 by his covenant , 21 they require help and succor for the glory of God’s holy Name, for the salvation of his poor afflicted servants, 23 and the confusion of his proud enemies.
A Psalm to give instruction, committed to Asaph.
1 O God, [a]why hast thou put us away forever? why is thy wrath kindled against the sheep of thy pasture?
2 Think upon the congregation, which thou hast possessed of old, and on the [b]rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed, and on this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
3 Lift up thy [c]strokes, that thou mayest forever destroy every enemy that doeth evil to the Sanctuary.
4 Thine adversaries roar in the midst of thy congregation, and [d]set up their banners for signs.
5 He that [e]lifted the axes upon the thick trees, was renowned as one that brought a thing to perfection:
6 But now they break down the carved work thereof with axes and hammers.
7 They have cast thy Sanctuary into the fire, and razed it to the ground, and have defiled the dwelling place of thy Name.
8 They said in their [f]hearts, Let us destroy them altogether: they have burnt all the Synagogues of God in the land.
9 We see not our signs: there is not one Prophet more, nor any with us that knoweth [g]how long.
10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach thee? shall the enemy blaspheme thy Name forever?
11 Why withdrawest thou thine hand, even thy right hand? draw it out of thy bosom, and [h]consume them.
12 Even God is my king of old, working salvation [i]in the midst of the earth.
13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy power: thou brakest the heads of the [j]dragons in the waters.
14 Thou brakest the head of [k]Leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be [l]meat for the people in wilderness.
15 Thou brakest up the fountain and river: thou driest up mighty rivers.
16 The [m]day is thine, and the night is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made Summer and Winter.
18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached the Lord, and the foolish people hath blasphemed thy Name.
19 Give not the soul of thy [n]turtle dove unto the beast, and forget not the Congregation of thy poor forever.
20 Consider thy covenant: for [o]the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of the cruel.
21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed, but let the poor and needy praise thy Name.
22 Arise, O God: maintain thy [p]own cause: remember thy daily reproach by the foolish man.
23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: for the tumult of them that rise against thee, [q]ascendeth continually.
Footnotes
- Psalm 74:1 The Church of God being oppressed by the tyranny, either of the Babylonians or of Antiochus, prayeth to God by whose hand this yoke was laid upon them for their sins.
- Psalm 74:2 Which inheritance thou hast measured out for thyself as with a line or rod.
- Psalm 74:3 Or, feet.
- Psalm 74:4 They have destroyed thy true religion, and spread their banners in sign of defiance.
- Psalm 74:5 He commendeth the temple for the costly matter, the excellent workmanship, and beauty thereof, which notwithstanding the enemies did destroy.
- Psalm 74:8 They encouraged one another to cruelty, that not only God’s people might be destroyed, but also his religion utterly in all places suppressed.
- Psalm 74:9 They lament that they have no Prophet among them to show them how long their misery should endure.
- Psalm 74:11 They join their deliverance with God’s glory and power, knowing that the punishment of the enemy should be their deliverance.
- Psalm 74:12 Meaning, in the sight of all the world.
- Psalm 74:13 To wit, Pharaoh’s army.
- Psalm 74:14 Which was a great monster of the sea, or whale, meaning, Pharaoh.
- Psalm 74:14 His destruction did rejoice them as meat refresheth the body.
- Psalm 74:16 Seeing that God by his providence governeth and disposeth all things, he gathereth that he will take care chiefly for his children.
- Psalm 74:19 He meaneth the Church of God, which is exposed as a prey to the wicked.
- Psalm 74:20 That is, all places where thy word shineth not, there reigneth tyranny and ambition.
- Psalm 74:22 He showeth that God cannot suffer his Church to be oppressed, except he loose his own right.
- Psalm 74:23 Or, increaseth more and more.
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