1A Maskil of Asaph. 2O God, why dost thou cast us off for ever? Why does thy anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? 3Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old, which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thy heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where thou hast dwelt. 4Direct thy steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary! 5Thy foes have roared in the midst of thy holy place; they set up their own signs for signs. 6At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes. 7And then all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers. 8They set thy sanctuary on fire; to the ground they desecrated the dwelling place of thy name. 9They said to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them"; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land. 10We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long. 11How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile thy name for ever? 12Why dost thou hold back thy hand, why dost thou keep thy right hand in thy bosom? 13Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 14Thou didst divide the sea by thy might; thou didst break the heads of the dragons on the waters. 15Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan, thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. 16Thou didst cleave open springs and brooks; thou didst dry up ever-flowing streams. 17Thine is the day, thine also the night; thou hast established the luminaries and the sun. 18Thou hast fixed all the bounds of the earth; thou hast made summer and winter. 19Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs, and an impious people reviles thy name. 20Do not deliver the soul of thy dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of thy poor for ever. 21Have regard for thy covenant; for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. 22Let not the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise thy name. 23Arise, O God, plead thy cause; remember how the impious scoff at thee all the day! [ (Psalms 74:24) Do not forget the clamor of thy foes, the uproar of thy adversaries which goes up continually! ]