A Cry for God’s Intervention Amid Destruction

Psalm 74 is a communal lament that cries out to God amid devastation, destruction, and the apparent withdrawal of divine presence. The psalmist describes the ruin of God’s sanctuary and the mocking triumph of the enemies, questioning why God seems silent. Yet the chapter turns from despair to remembrance, recalling God’s mighty acts as Creator and Deliverer in history. It appeals to God’s covenant faithfulness and His concern for His own name and people. The psalm teaches that even in desolation, prayer must cling to God’s sovereignty and past faithfulness.

Psalms 74:1 – 74:23

  1 Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast [us] off for ever? [why] doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
  2 Remember thy congregation, [which] thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, [which] thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
  3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; [even] all [that] the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
  4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns [for] signs.
  5 [A man] was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
  6 But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
  7 They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled [by casting down] the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.
  8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
  9 We see not our signs: [there is] no more any prophet: neither [is there] among us any that knoweth how long.
  10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
  11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck [it] out of thy bosom.
  12 For God [is] my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
  13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
  14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, [and] gavest him [to be] meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
  15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
  16 The day [is] thine, the night also [is] thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
  17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
  18 Remember this, [that] the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and [that] the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
  19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude [of the wicked]: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
  20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
  21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
  22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
  23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.