Psalms 74
1 A Psalme to give instruction, committed to Asaph. O God, why hast thou put vs away for euer? why is thy wrath kindled against the sheepe of thy pasture?
[A Psalm] of instruction for Asaph. Therefore have you rejected [us], O God, for ever? [therefore] is your wrath kindled against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Thinke vpon thy Congregation, which thou hast possessed of olde, and on the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed, and on this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
Remember your congregation which you have purchased from the beginning; you did ransom the rod of your inheritance; this mount Sion wherein you have lived.
3 Lift vp thy strokes, that thou mayest for euer destroy euery enemie that doeth euill to the Sanctuarie.
Lift up your hands against their pride continually; [because of] all that the enemy has done wickedly in your holy places.
4 Thine aduersaries roare in the middes of thy Congregation, and set vp their banners for signes.
And they that hate you have boasted in the midst of your feast; they have set up their standards for signs,
5 He that lifted the axes vpon the thicke trees, was renowmed, as one, that brought a thing to perfection:
ignorantly as it were in the entrance above;
6 But nowe they breake downe the carued worke thereof with axes and hammers.
they cut down its doors at once with axes as in a wood of trees; they have broken it down with hatchet and stone cutter.
7 They haue cast thy Sanctuarie into the fire, and rased it to the grounde, and haue defiled the dwelling place of thy Name.
They have burnt your sanctuary with fire to the ground; they have profaned the habitation of your name.
8 They saide in their hearts, Let vs destroy them altogether: they haue burnt all the Synagogues of God in the land.
They have said in their heart, [even] all their kindred together, Come, let us abolish the feasts of the Lord from the earth.
9 We see not our signes: there is not one Prophet more, nor any with vs that knoweth howe long.
We have not seen our signs; there is no longer a prophet; and [God] will not know us any more.
10 O God, howe long shall the aduersarie reproche thee? shall the enemie blaspheme thy Name for euer?
How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach? shall the enemy provoke your name forever?
11 Why withdrawest thou thine hand, euen thy right hand? drawe it out of thy bosome, and consume them.
Therefore turn you away your hand, and your right hand from the midst of your bosom for ever?
12 Euen God is my King of olde, working saluation in the middes of the earth.
But God is our King of old; he has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 Thou didest deuide the sea by thy power: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
You did establish the sea, in your might, you did break to pieces the heads of the dragons in the water.
14 Thou brakest the head of Liuiathan in pieces, and gauest him to be meate for the people in wildernesse.
You did break to pieces the heads of the dragon; you did give him [for] meat to the Ethiopian nations.
15 Thou brakest vp the fountaine and riuer: thou dryedst vp mightie riuers.
You did cleave fountains and torrents; you dried up mighty rivers.
16 The day is thine, and the night is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sunne.
The day is your, and the night is your; you have prepared the sun and the moon.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
You have made all the borders of the earth; you have made summer and spring.
18 Remember this, that the enemie hath reproched the Lord, and the foolish people hath blasphemed thy Name.
Remember this your creation: an enemy has reproached the Lord, and a foolish people has provoked your name.
19 Giue not the soule of thy turtle doue vnto the beast, and forget not the Congregation of thy poore for euer.
Deliver not to the wild beasts a soul that gives praise to you: forget not for ever the souls of your poor.
20 Consider thy couenant: for the darke places of the earth are full of the habitations of the cruell.
Look upon your covenant: for the dark [places] of the earth are filled with the habitations of iniquity.
21 Oh let not the oppressed returne ashamed, but let the poore and needie prayse thy Name.
let not the afflicted and shamed one be rejected: the poor and needy shall praise your name.
22 Arise, O God: mainteine thine owne cause: remember thy dayly reproche by the foolish man.
Arise, O God, plead your cause: remember your reproaches that come from the foolish one all the day.
23 Forget not the voyce of thine enemies: for the tumult of them, that rise against thee, ascendeth continually.
Forget not the voice of your suppliants: let the pride of them that hate you continually ascend before you.
