Rise up, O God; defend Your cause!
God is urged to rise and defend his own cause against constant mockery.
This verse gathers the psalm's argument into one final imperative.
1A Maskil of Asaph. 2Remember Your congregation, 3Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins, 4Your foes have roared within Your meeting place; 5like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees 6and smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks. 7They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; 8They said in their hearts, 9There are no signs for us to see. 10How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? 11Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand? 12Yet God is my King from ancient times, 13You divided the sea by Your strength; 14You crushed the heads of Leviathan; 15You broke open the fountain and the flood; 16The day is Yours, and also the night; 17You set all the boundaries of the earth; 18Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, 19Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts; 20Consider Your covenant, 21Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame; 22Rise up, O God; defend Your cause! 23Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries,