Thursday, May 20, 2021

Psalm 74 - God will crush the enemies

Powerful Yahweh,

We worship you, with outstretched hands as our whole hearts erupt with praise!  We will tell everyone everywhere about your wonderful works!  We will be glad and shout in triumph, singing praise to your exalted name, O Most High.  You split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster and crushed the heads of dragons.  You opened up springs and streams and dried up the ever-flowing rivers.  You created the day, the night, the sun and moon; you set all the boundaries of the earth and the seasons. We are your very own people and, yet, in this day and age it can feel like you have abandoned us.  Remember the people you purchased by the blood of Christ so long ago.  Remember your beloved ones that you chose to bring out of slavery and bondage to sin.  Remember the ways in which you brought this nation into existence. Remember the many faithful people who wanted freedom to worship you in Spirit and in Truth, to live in relationship to you, and to create a just and honorable society based on your principles.  Remember your people who have served you and cried out in prayer, interceding for this nation through the generations. Do not leave us, God, or turn your back on those you love.  We are yours, your very own.  Your enemy - the enemy of our souls - seeks to crush us, your Church - to destroy us as a forest is chopped to the ground and destroyed.  Our enemy wants to eliminate every place where you have been present and worshipped - to eliminate your Goodness and Grace from every trace of the public and private sphere. But, you are our King and Conquerer!  You bring salvation and you give victory over evil.  Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord, how foolish people have reviled your name.  Do not hand over the life of your Church to evil beasts.   The darkness and violence haunt this land.  Rise up and defend your Name against the clamor of your adversaries.  With a blast of your rebuke, evil is destroyed and you obliterate their names forever and ever. You thunder and our enemies are cut off, vanished in everlasting ruins. All their strongholds are destroyed—but Yahweh, our mighty God, reigns forever!  In the powerful name of Christ we pray.  AMEN and AMEN!


Psalm 74: TPT

Are you really going to leave us, God?
    Would you turn your back on us, rejecting your people?
    We are yours, your very own.
    Will your anger smolder against us forever?
Don’t forget that we are your beloved ones.
    Wrap us back into your heart again, for you chose us.
    You brought us out of our slavery and bondage
    and made us your favored ones, your Zion-people,
    your home on earth.
Turn your steps toward this devastation.
    Come running to bring your restoring grace to these ruins,
    to what the enemy has done to devastate your Holy Place.
They have come into the very midst of your dwelling place,
    roaring like beasts, setting up their banners to flaunt their conquest.
Now everything is in shambles! They’ve totally destroyed it.
    Like a forest chopped down to the ground,
    there’s nothing left.
All of the beauty of the craftsmanship
    of the inner place has been ruined,
    smashed, broken, and shattered.
They’ve burned it all to the ground.
    They’ve violated your sanctuary,
    the very dwelling place of your glory and your name.
They boasted, “Let’s completely crush them!
    Let’s wipe out every trace of this God.
    Let’s burn up every sacred place where they worship this God.”
We don’t see any miraculous signs anymore.
    There’s no longer a prophet among us
    who can tell us how long this devastation will continue.
10 God, how much longer will you let this go on
    and allow these barbarians to blaspheme your name?
    Will you stand back and watch them get away with this forever?
11 Why don’t you do something?
    You have the power to break in,
    so why would you hide your great power from us?
    Don’t hold back! Unleash your might and give them a final blow.
12 You have always been, and always will be, my King.
    You are the mighty conqueror, working wonders all over the world.
13 It was you who split the sea in two by your glorious strength.
    You smashed the power of Tannin, the sea monster.
14 You crushed the might of Leviathan, the great dragon,
    then you took the crumbs and fed them to the sharks.
15 With your glory you opened up springs and fountains,
    then you spoke, and the ever-flowing springs of Jordan
    dried up so we could cross over.
16 You own the day and the night.
    Sunlight and starlight call you Creator.
17 The four corners of the earth were formed by your hands,
    and every changing season owes its beauty to you.
18 O Yahweh, don’t ever forget how these arrogant enemies,
    like fools, have mocked your name.
19 Lord, aren’t we your beloved dove that praises you?
    Protect us from these wild beasts who want to harm us.
    Don’t leave us as lambs among wolves!
    You can’t abandon us after all we’ve been through!
20 Remember your promises to us,
    for darkness covers the land,
    giving the violent ones a hiding place.
21 Don’t let these insults continue.
    Can’t you see that we are your downtrodden
    and oppressed people?
    Make the poor and needy into a choir of praise to you!
22 Don’t ignore these ignorant words, this continual mocking.
    Rise up, God; it’s time to defend yourself from all this.
23 Never forget what your adversaries are saying.
    For their rage and uproar rise continually against you.
    It’s time to stand up to them!


Psalm 74 NIV: 

O God, why have you rejected us forever?

    Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

Remember the nation you purchased long ago,

    the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—

    Mount Zion, where you dwelt.

Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,

    all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;

    they set up their standards as signs.

They behaved like men wielding axes

    to cut through a thicket of trees.

They smashed all the carved paneling

    with their axes and hatchets.

They burned your sanctuary to the ground;

    they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.

They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”

    They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.

We are given no signs from God;

    no prophets are left,

    and none of us knows how long this will be.

10 

How long will the enemy mock you, God?

    Will the foe revile your name forever?

11 

Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?

    Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

12 

But God is my King from long ago;

    he brings salvation on the earth.

13 

It was you who split open the sea by your power;

    you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.

14 

It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan

    and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.

15 

It was you who opened up springs and streams;

    you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.

16 

The day is yours, and yours also the night;

    you established the sun and moon.

17 

It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;

    you made both summer and winter.

18 

Remember how the enemy has mocked you, 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 your covenant,

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

21 

Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;

    may 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 ignore the clamor of your adversaries,

    the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually." 



Psalm 9:1-2, 5-7 TPT


I will worship you, Yahweh, with extended hands
    as my whole heart erupts with praise![b]
    I will tell everyone everywhere about your wonderful works!
I will be glad and shout in triumph.
    I will sing praise to your exalted name, O Most High. 

With a blast of your rebuke, nations are destroyed.
    You obliterated their names forever and ever.
The Lord thundered and our enemies have been cut off,
    vanished in everlasting ruins.
    All their cities have been destroyed—
    even the memory of them has been erased.

But Yahweh, our mighty God, reigns forever!