How Long, O Lord?
A Psalm of yAsaph.
1 O God, zthe nations have come into your ainheritance;
they have defiled your bholy temple;
they have claid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given dthe bodies of your servants
to the birds of the heavens for food,
the flesh of your efaithful to fthe beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was gno one to bury them.
4 We have become ha taunt to our neighbors,
hmocked and derided by those around us.
5 iHow long, O Lord? Will you be angry jforever?
Will your kjealousy lburn like fire?
6 mPour out your anger on the nations
that ndo not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that odo not call upon your name!
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and laid waste his habitation.
8 pDo not remember against us qour former iniquities;1
let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
for we are rbrought very low.
9 sHelp us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and tatone for our sins,
for your uname’s sake!
10 vWhy should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let wthe avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes!
11 Let xthe groans of the prisoners come before you;
according to your great power, preserve those ydoomed to die!
12 Return zsevenfold into the alap of our neighbors
the btaunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
13 But we your people, the csheep of your pasture,
will dgive thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause
A Maskil1 of rAsaph.
1 O God, why do you scast us off forever?
Why does your anger tsmoke against uthe sheep of your pasture?
2 vRemember your congregation, which you have wpurchased of old,
which you have xredeemed to be ythe tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, zwhere you have dwelt.
3 Direct your steps to athe perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4 Your foes have broared in the midst of your meeting place;
cthey set up their down signs for esigns.
5 They were like those who swing faxes
in a forest of trees.2
6 And all its gcarved wood
they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7 They hset your sanctuary on fire;
they iprofaned jthe dwelling place of your name,
bringing it down to the ground.
8 They ksaid to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our lsigns;
mthere is no longer any prophet,
and there is none among us who knows how long.
10 How long, O God, nis the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11 Why odo you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the fold of your garment3 and destroy them!
12 Yet pGod my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You qdivided the sea by your might;
you rbroke the heads of sthe sea monsters4 on the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of tLeviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You usplit open springs and brooks;
you vdried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you have established wthe heavenly lights and the sun.
17 You have xfixed all the boundaries of the earth;
you have made ysummer and winter.
18 zRemember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and aa foolish people reviles your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of your bdove to the wild beasts;
cdo not forget the life of your poor forever.
20 Have regard for dthe covenant,
for ethe dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not fthe downtrodden gturn back in shame;
let hthe poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, O God, idefend your cause;
jremember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
kthe uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!
In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord
To the choirmaster: according to yJeduthun. A Psalm of zAsaph.
1 I acry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 bIn the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in cthe night my dhand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul erefuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I fmoan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
4 You hold my eyelids open;
I am so gtroubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider hthe days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said,1 “Let me remember my isong in the night;
let me jmeditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord kspurn forever,
and never again lbe favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his mpromises at an end for all time?
9 nHas God forgotten to be gracious?
oHas he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will qremember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your rwork,
and meditate on your smighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is tholy.
uWhat god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who vworks wonders;
you have wmade known your might among the peoples.
15 You xwith your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 When ythe waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies zgave forth thunder;
your aarrows flashed on every side.
18 bThe crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
cyour lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth dtrembled and shook.
19 Your eway was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints fwere unseen.3
20 You gled your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song?
1 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows1 there
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 sHow shall we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
tlet my right hand forget its skill!
6 Let my utongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy!
7 Remember, O Lord, against the vEdomites
wthe day of Jerusalem,
how they said, x“Lay it bare, lay it bare,
down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, ydoomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who zrepays you
with what you have done to us!
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and adashes them against the rock!