1[A [maskil] by Asaph.] Why, O God, have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep in your care?

2Remember your congregation. Long ago you made it your own. You bought this tribe to be your possession. This tribe is Mount Zion, where you have made your home.

3Turn your steps toward these pathetic ruins. The enemy has destroyed everything in the holy temple.

4Your opponents have roared inside your meeting place. They have set up their own emblems as symbols.

5Starting from its entrance, they hacked away like a woodcutter in a forest.

6They smashed all its carved paneling with axes and hatchets.

7They burned your holy place to the ground. They dishonored the place where you live among us.

8They said to themselves, "We will crush them." They burned every meeting place of God in the land.

9We no longer see miraculous signs. There are no prophets anymore. No one knows how long this will last.

10How long, O God, will the enemy insult us? Will the enemy despise you forever?

11Why do you hold back your hand, especially your right hand? Take your hands out of your pockets. Destroy your enemies!

12And yet, from long ago God has been my king, the one who has been victorious throughout the earth.

13You stirred up the sea with your own strength. You smashed the heads of sea monsters in the water.

14You crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave them to the creatures of the desert for food.

15You opened the springs and brooks. You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.

16The day and the night are yours. You set the moon and the sun in their places.

17You determined all the boundaries of the earth. You created summer and winter.

18Remember how the enemy insulted you, O LORD. Remember how an entire nation of godless fools despised your name.

19Do not hand over the soul of your dove to wild animals. Do not forget the life of your oppressed people forever.

20Consider your promise because every dark corner of the land is filled with violence.

21Do not let oppressed people come back in disgrace. Let weak and needy people praise your name.

22Arise, O God! Fight for your own cause! Remember how godless fools insult you all day long.

23Do not forget the shouting of your opponents. Do not forget the uproar made by those who attack you.