Psalm 74 (73): “Why, O God, Have You Cast Us Off For Ever?” Catholic Text

Psalm 74 is a lament over the destruction of God’s house: “O God, why hast thou cast us off unto the end: why is thy wrath enkindled against the sheep of thy pasture?” The enemies have burned the sanctuary to the ground, yet the psalmist remembers that God is King “from of old” and creator of day and night: “Thine is the day, and thine is the night.” In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 73. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.

Psalm 74 in the Douay-Rheims Bible

Understanding for Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off unto the end: why is thy wrath enkindled against the sheep of thy pasture?
Remember thy congregation, which thou hast possessed from the beginning. The sceptre of thy inheritance which thou hast redeemed: mount Sion in which thou hast dwelt.
Lift up thy hands against their pride unto the end; see what things the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
And they that hate thee have made their boasts, in the midst of thy solemnity. They have set up their ensigns for signs,
And they knew not both in the going out and on the highest top. As with axes in a wood of trees,
They have cut down at once the gates thereof, with axe and hatchet they have brought it down.
They have set fire to thy sanctuary: they have defiled the dwelling place of thy name on the earth.
They said in their heart, the whole kindred of them together: Let us abolish all the festival days of God from the land.
Our signs we have not seen, there is now no prophet: and he will know us no more.
How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach: is the adversary to provoke thy name for ever?
Why dost thou turn away thy hand: and thy right hand out of the midst of thy bosom for ever?
But God is our king before ages: he hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.
Thou by thy strength didst make the sea firm: thou didst crush the heads of the dragons in the waters.
Thou hast broken the heads of the dragon: thou hast given him to be meat for the people of the Ethiopians.
Thou hast broken up the fountains and the torrents: thou hast dried up the Ethan rivers.
Thine is the day, and thine is the night: thou hast made the morning light and the sun.
Thou hast made all the borders of the earth: the summer and the spring were formed by thee.
Remember this, the enemy hath reproached the Lord: and a foolish people hath provoked thy name.
Deliver not up to beasts the souls that confess to thee: and forget not to the end the souls of thy poor.
Have regard to thy covenant: for they that are the obscure of the earth have been filled with dwellings of iniquity.
Let not the humble be turned away with confusion: the poor and needy shall praise thy name.
Arise, O God, judge thy own cause: remember thy reproaches with which the foolish man hath reproached thee all the day.
Forget not the voices of thy enemies: the pride of them that hate thee ascendeth continually.

Psalm 74 or Psalm 73?

The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 73 is Psalm 74 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Ut quid, Deus, repulisti in finem. See how many psalms are there?

What the psalm means

  • Grief for a ruined sanctuary: “they have set fire to thy sanctuary.”
  • No prophet left: the people feel abandoned and without guidance.
  • God the King of old: he divided the sea and crushed the monsters of chaos.
  • Creator of day and night: “Thine is the day, and thine is the night: thou hast made the morning light and the sun.”
  • Remember your covenant: “Arise, O God, judge thy own cause.”

How the Church uses Psalm 74

  • In the Liturgy of the Hours.
  • When churches are destroyed or desecrated, and in times of persecution, as a prayer for the Church.

A prayer with Psalm 74

Written for this page:

Lord, why have you cast us off? Remember your people, the flock you chose.
See the ruins of your sanctuary and the wounds of your Church.
Yours is the day and yours is the night; you are our King from of old.
Arise, O God, defend your cause, and do not forget the poor. Amen.

Frequently asked questions

What is Psalm 74 about?

A lament over the burning of the Temple by enemies, and a plea for God to remember his covenant and act.

Where is “Yours is the day, and yours is the night”?

Psalm 74:16 (73:16 in the Douay-Rheims).

More psalms and prayers

Texts and sources

  • Scripture: Psalm 73 (74), Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
  • The prayer was written for this page.