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1WHY have You rejected us forever, O God?
Why does Your anger burn
against the sheep of Your pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation,
which You purchased long ago,
the tribe of Your inheritance,
whom You have redeemed—
Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.
3 Turn Your steps towards these perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting place;
they set up their own emblems there as signs.
5 They became like men lifting up axes
to hack through a thicket of trees.
6 They broke down all the carved wood
with their axes and picks.
7 They set Your sanctuary on fire,
they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name,
burning it to the ground.
8 They said in their hearts,
“Let us crush them completely!”
They burned down all the meeting places of God throughout the land.
9 We do not see our signs;
there is no longer any prophet;
no one among us knows for how long.
10 O God, how long will the enemy taunt?
Will the enemy revile Your name forever?
11 Why do You hold back Your hand, Your right hand?
Lift it off Your chest and destroy!
12 But God is my King from of old,
working salvation throughout the land.
13 You divided the sea by Your strength;
You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters;
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan,
and gave him as food to the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You opened up springs and torrents,
You dried up the ever-flowing streams.
16 The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;
You established the moon and the sun.
17 You have set all the boundaries of the earth;
You made both summer and winter.
18 Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O Lord,
how foolish people have reviled Your name.
19 Do not hand over the life of Your dove to wild beasts;
do not forget the lives of Your afflicted people forever.
20 Have regard for the covenant,
for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
21 Do not let the oppressed turn away in shame;
let the poor and needy praise Your name.
22 Rise up, O God, and defend Your cause;
remember how fools mock You all day long.
23 Do not forget the clamour of Your enemies,
the uproar of Your adversaries, which rises up continually.