79 A Psalm of Asaph.
79:1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the heavens for food,
the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
mocked and derided by those around us.
5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations
that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that do not call upon your name!
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and laid waste his habitation.
8 Do not remember against us our former iniquities;1
let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
for we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and atone for our sins,
for your name’s sake!
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes!
11 Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;
according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!
12 Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors
the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
13 But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
Section Overview
Psalm 79 is a community lament occasioned by a great disaster that fell upon Jerusalem (e.g., the Babylonian destruction); it bears many similarities to Psalm 74. The psalm recounts the violence and impiety of the Gentile conquerors and asks God how long he intends to put up with such. Running through the psalm is a recognition that, just as by reason of the covenant Israel expects God to treat her differently than he treats the other nations, so too Israel should live faithfully to that covenant. The disaster came because Israel did not embrace the covenant in true faith; the psalm confesses this, asks for forgiveness, and pledges new faithfulness. The factor of Israel’s unfaithfulness as the acknowledged reason behind the distress comes much more to the fore than it does in, say, Psalm 74 or 77, though it is not absent in those places (cf. Section Overview of Psalm 77).
The flow of thought is quite simple. Psalm 79 begins with a plain statement of the problem (vv. 1–4), followed by an impassioned plea for God’s help to come soon (vv. 5–7). Then the worshipers confess their faults and ask forgiveness (vv. 8–10) before repeating the request for deliverance and anticipating the public giving of thanks (vv. 11–13).
Section Outline
I. The Nations Have Defiled Your Holy Temple and Slain Your People (79:1–4)
II. How Long, O Lord, Will You Let This Go On? (79:5–7)
III. Forgive Us, Help Us, and Let the Nations Know about It! (79:8–10)
IV. Preserve Us, Return Their Taunts, and We Will Praise You (79:11–13)
Response
The psalm may well have originated during the exile, while the temple lay in ruins, but it has been preserved for later generations to use as well. Perhaps the purpose is for the worshipers to commemorate the events by imagining themselves as the generation of the exile in order to rehearse their experience (and God’s marvelous answer to their prayers)—much as Christians do when they sing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” imagining themselves as faithful Jews before Jesus’ birth, yearning for the messianic redemption.537
At the same time the words are general enough that they can be used for other occasions of desperate need as well. A wise priest planning worship would choose between, say, Psalms 44; 74; and 79 based on his perception of the worshipers’ need to confess their corporate unfaithfulness.
Singing this psalm would enable the congregation to identify with its sentiments: the special place God’s people have in his plan, the need for a faithful corporate life among the people, their complete dependence upon God’s kindness, and the reliably benevolent stance God takes toward his penitent and prayerful people, even when they have strayed severely.
As with Psalm 78, Christians will want to sing this in order to remember the story of God’s preservation of his ancient people, never having lost sight of his ultimate purpose to bring blessing to all the world, to believing Jews and Gentiles. Further, to identify with the anguish of generations of Jewish faithful and to own the psalm’s values will shape them into greater faithfulness. In addition, one can readily imagine the leadership of a Christian body recognizing that its own troubles stem from unfaithfulness, which would lead to repentance and renewal.Psalm 79
Psalm 80