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 purchased of old ; the rod of thine inheritance , which thou hast redeemed ; this mount Zion , wherein thou hast dwelt . 3Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations ; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary .
Remembrance of God's Mighty Acts
4Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations ; they set up their ensigns for signs . 5A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees . 6But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers . 7They have cast fire into thy sanctuary , they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground . 8They said in their hearts , Let us destroy them together : 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
10O God , how long shall the adversary reproach ? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever ? 11Why withdrawest thou thy hand , even thy right hand ? pluck it out of thy bosom . 12For 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 dragons in the waters . 14Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness . 15Thou didst cleave the fountain and the 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 LORD , and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name . 19O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever . 20Have respect unto the covenant : for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty . 21O 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 daily . 23Forget not the voice of thine enemies : the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually .