1O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever ? Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture ? 2Remember thy congregation , which thou hast gotten of old , Which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thine inheritance ; And mount Zion , wherein thou hast dwelt . 3Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual ruins , All the evil that the enemy hath done in the sanctuary .
Remembrance of God's Mighty Acts
4Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of thine assembly ; They have set up their ensigns for signs. 5They seemed as men that lifted up Axes upon a thicket of trees . 6And now all the carved work thereof They break down with hatchet and hammers . 7They have set thy sanctuary on fire; They have profaned the dwelling-place of thy name by casting it to the ground. 8They said in their heart , Let us make havoc of them altogether : They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. 9We see not our signs: There is no more any prophet ; Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long .
Call for Divine Action
10How long , O God, shall the adversary reproach ? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever ? 11Why drawest thou back thy hand , even thy right hand ? Pluck it out of thy bosom and consume them . 12Yet God is my King of old , Working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength : Thou brakest the heads of the sea-monsters in the waters . 14Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces; Thou gavest him to be food to the people inhabiting the wilderness . 15Thou didst cleave fountain and flood : Thou driedst up mighty rivers . 16The day is thine , the night also is thine : Thou hast prepared the light and the sun . 17Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: Thou hast made summer and winter .
Affirmation of God's Sovereignty
18Remember this , that the enemy hath reproached , O Jehovah , And that a foolish people hath blasphemed thy name . 19Oh deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast : Forget not the life of thy poor for ever . 20Have respect unto the covenant ; For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of violence . 21Oh let not the oppressed return ashamed : Let the poor and needy praise thy name . 22Arise , O God, plead thine own cause : Remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee all the day . 23Forget not the voice of thine adversaries : The tumult of those that rise up against thee ascendeth continually .