26Though my flesh and my heart should waste away, *
God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
27Truly, those who forsake you will perish; *
you destroy all who are unfaithful.
28But it is good for me to be near God; *
I have made the Lord God my refuge.
29I will speak of all your works *
in the gates of the city of Zion.
74Ut quid, Deus?
1O God, why have you utterly cast us off? *
why is your wrath so hot against the sheep of your pasture?
2Remember your congregation that you purchased long ago, *
the tribe you redeemed to be your inheritance,
and Mount Zion where you dwell.
3Turn your steps toward the endless ruins; *
the enemy has laid waste everything in your sanctuary.
4Your adversaries roared in your holy place; *
they set up their banners as tokens of victory.
5They were like men coming up with axes to a grove of trees; *
they broke down all your carved work with hatchets and hammers.
6They set fire to your holy place; *
they defiled the dwelling‑place of your Name
and razed it to the ground.
7They said to themselves, “Let us destroy them altogether.” *
They burned down all the meeting‑places of God in the land.
