A charred cedar beam lies across fallen limestone blocks, one thin thread of smoke rising into a wide gray empty sky.

Lament · Asaph

Psalm 74

The temple is ash and heaven is quiet. What do you pray when the worst has already happened?

23 verses≈ 3 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

1–41Book IDavid's prayers: 'The LORD is my shepherd'
42–72Book II'As the deer pants'; the throne under pressure
73–89Book IIIAsaph and Korah: the kingdom fallsPsalm 74
90–106Book IVBack to Moses: the LORD reigns
107–150Book VSongs of ascents, and the last Hallelujah

Why Have You Rejected Us Forever?

A Maskil of Asaph.

Why have You rejected us forever, O God?

Why does Your anger smolder

against the sheep of Your pasture?

Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture

A gray morning long after: on the temple hill only a broad heap of tumbled, blackened limestone blocks and charred cedar beams, weeds in the cracks, while two travelers on the road below stop and stare, appalled.

Remember Your congregation,

which You purchased long ago

and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance—

Mount Zion, where You dwell.

Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins,

to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.

A cold clay lamp sits in a soot-black wall niche of a burned room, gray light falling from the broken roof.

They said in their hearts,

“We will crush them completely.”

They burned down every place

where God met us in the land.

There are no signs for us to see.

There is no longer any prophet.

And none of us knows how long this will last.

How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You?

Will the foe revile Your name forever?

Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand?

Stretch it out to destroy them!

0:25

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Reflect

When God seemed silent

“And none of us knows how long this will last.” Have you known a time like that? What did you do with the silence? Write down what you said to God, or what you couldn’t say.

A pale day moon still hangs over a Judean ridge in clear early light, the first sun on the hills opposite.

The day is Yours, and also the night;

You established the moon and the sun.

You set all the boundaries of the earth;

You made the summer and winter.

The day is Yours, and also the night

Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD,

how a foolish people has spurned Your name.

Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts;

do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.

Consider Your covenant,

for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame;

may the poor and needy praise Your name.

Rise up, O God; defend Your cause!

Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.

Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries,

the uproar of Your enemies that ascends continually.

Pray

Rise up, O God

Think of one thing that has gone wrong and has not been put right. Pray the words over it, and don’t rush to tidy it: “Rise up, O God; defend Your cause!”

You’ve experienced

Psalm 74

0 of 150 psalms read

A verse to carry with you

Yet God is my King from ancient times, working salvation on the earth.

Psalm 74:12

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