[1] Why have You rejected us forever, O God? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?
[2] Remember Your congregation, which You purchased long ago and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance— Mount Zion where You dwell.
[3] Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins, to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.
[4] Your foes have roared within Your meeting place; they have unfurled their banners as signs,
[5] like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees
[6] and smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks.
[7] They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name.
[8] They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely.” They burned down every place where God met us in the land.
[9] There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last.
[10] How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?
[11] Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand? Stretch it out to destroy them!
[12] Yet God is my King from ancient times, working salvation on the earth.
[13] You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;
[14] You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.
[15] You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
[16] The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun.
[17] You set all the boundaries of the earth; You made the summer and winter.
[18] Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.
[19] Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts; do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.
[20] Consider Your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
[21] Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame; may the poor and needy praise Your name.
[22] Rise up, O God; defend Your cause! Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.
[23] Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries, the uproar of Your enemies that ascends continually.