A Maskil of Asaph.

     1O God, why hast Thou rejected us forever?
            Why does Thine anger smoke against the sheep of Thy pasture?

     2Remember Thy congregation, which Thou hast purchased of old,
            Which Thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of Thine inheritance;
            And this Mount Zion, where Thou hast dwelt.

     3Turn Thy footsteps toward the perpetual ruins;
            The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.

     4Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of Thy meeting place;
            They have set up their own standards for signs.

     5It seems as if one had lifted up
            His axe in a forest of trees.

     6And now all its carved work
            They smash with hatchet and hammers.

     7They have burned Thy sanctuary to the ground;
            They have defiled the dwelling place of Thy name.

     8They said in their heart, “Let us completely subdue them.”
            They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

     9We do not see our signs;
            There is no longer any prophet,
            Nor is there any among us who knows how long.

     10How long, O God, will the adversary revile,
            And the enemy spurn Thy name forever?

     11Why dost Thou withdraw Thy hand, even Thy right hand?
            From within Thy bosom, destroy them!

     12Yet God is my king from of old,
            Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.

     13Thou didst divide the sea by Thy strength;
            Thou didst break the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

     14Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan;
            Thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

     15Thou didst break open springs and torrents;
            Thou didst dry up ever-flowing streams.

     16Thine is the day, Thine also is the night;
            Thou hast prepared the light and the sun.

     17Thou hast established all the boundaries of the earth;
            Thou hast made summer and winter.

     18Remember this, O LORD, that the enemy has reviled;
            And a foolish people has spurned Thy name.

     19Do not deliver the soul of Thy turtledove to the wild beast;
            Do not forget the life of Thine afflicted forever.

     20Consider the covenant;
            For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

     21Let not the oppressed return dishonored;
            Let the afflicted and needy praise Thy name.

     22Do arise, O God, and plead Thine own cause;
            Remember how the foolish man reproaches Thee all day long.

     23Do not forget the voice of Thine adversaries,
            The uproar of those who rise against Thee which ascends continually.