Psalm 74

Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause

A Maskil#74:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term of #See Ps. 50, titleAsaph.

1 O God, why do you *See Ps. 44:9cast 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, 22Remember your congregation, which you have *Ex. 15:16;Deut. 32:6;[Ps. 78:54] purchased of old,

which you have *Ps. 77:15;Isa. 63:9redeemed to be *Isa. 63:17;Jer. 10:16;51:19the tribe of your heritage!

Remember Mount Zion, *Ps. 9:11where you have dwelt.

3 Direct your steps to *[Isa. 61:4]the perpetual ruins;

the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

4 Your foes have *Lam. 2:6,7roared in the midst of your meeting place;

*[Matt. 24:15] they set up their *Num. 2:2own signs for *[ver. 9]signs.

5 They were like those who swing *[Jer. 46:22]axes

in a forest of trees.*74:5 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

6 And all its *[1 Kgs. 6:18,29,32,35]carved wood

they broke down with hatchets and hammers.

7 They *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.

8 They *Ps. 83:4said to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them";

they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

9 We 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.

10 How long, O God, *ver. 18, 22;Ps. 79:12;89:51is the foe to scoff?

Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

11 Why *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!

12 Yet *Ps. 44:4God my King is from of old,

working salvation in the midst of the earth.

13 You *Ex. 14:21divided the sea by your might;

you *Isa. 51:9broke the heads of *Isa. 27:1the sea monsters*74:13 Or the great sea creatures on the waters.

14 You crushed the heads of *See Job 41:1Leviathan;

you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

15 You *Ps. 78:15;105:41;Ex. 17:5,6;Num. 20:11;Isa. 48:21split 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.

16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;

you have established *Ps. 104:19;See Gen. 1:14-16the heavenly lights and the sun.

17 You 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;18:5Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,

and *Ps. 39:8;Deut. 32:6a foolish people reviles your name.

19 Do not deliver the soul of your *Song 2:14dove to the wild beasts;

*[Ps. 68:10]do not forget the life of your poor forever.

20 Have regard for *Ps. 106:45;Gen. 17:7,8;Lev. 26:44,45;Jer. 33:21the covenant,

for *[Ps. 10:8]the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

21 Let not *Ps. 9:9;10:18the downtrodden *[Ps. 6:10] turn back in shame;

let *Ps. 86:1the poor and needy praise your name.

22 Arise, O God, *[1 Sam. 24:15] defend your cause;

*ver. 2, 18remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!

23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,

*See Ps. 65:7the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!