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Psalms 79

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Jerusalem and Temple Desecrated 1–4

1
O God, the nations are come into thine inheritance; Thy holy temple have they defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. ​
2
The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be food unto the birds of the heavens, The flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. ​
3
Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; And there was none to bury them. ​
4
We are become a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and derision to them that are round about us. ​

How Long, O Lord? 5–7

5
How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou be angry for ever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire? ​
6
Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not, And upon the kingdoms that call not upon thy name. ​
7
For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his habitation.

Plea for Mercy and Divine Vindication 8–13

8
Remember not against us the iniquities of our forefathers: Let thy tender mercies speedily meet us; For we are brought very low. ​
9
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name; And deliver us, and forgive our sins, for thy name’s sake. ​
10
Wherefore should the nations say, Where is their God? Let the avenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed Be known among the nations in our sight. ​
11
Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee: According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to death; ​
12
And render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord. ​
13
So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture Will give thee thanks for ever: We will show forth thy praise to all generations. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 79

Verse 1

the heathen are come into thine inheritance — 'Heathen' is goyim, the nations; the 'inheritance' (nachalah) is the land and people the LORD gave Israel. The temple is 'defiled' (tame, made unclean), and Jerusalem laid 'on heaps', the ruin Micah announced: 'Jerusalem shall become heaps' (Mic 3:12). Compare 'they burnt the house of God' (2 Chr 36:19).

Verse 2

meat unto the fowls of the heaven — Moses had named this among the curses for breaking the covenant: 'thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth' (Deut 28:26). Jeremiah uses the same words of Judah (Jer 7:33). The dead are called 'servants' (ebed) and 'saints' (chasid, the faithful ones).

Verse 3

shed like water — The verb shaphak, to pour out, returns in v.6 ('Pour out thy wrath') and v.10 ('shed'). The unburied dead recall Jeremiah's word of the coming siege, that 'they shall have none to bury them' (Jer 14:16). The slaughter was 'round about Jerusalem'.

Verse 4

a reproach to our neighbours — Cherpah is taunting, with 'scorn' (la'ag) and 'derision' (qeles) added. The line is nearly identical to Ps 44:13, 'a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us', and Ps 80:6 has its first part, 'a strife unto our neighbours'. The neighbours are the nations that sit next to Israel's land.

Verse 5

shall thy jealousy burn like fire? — 'Jealousy' is qinah, the LORD's claim on a people who are his alone: 'the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God' (Deut 4:24). 'How long, LORD?' is the cry of Ps 6:3 and Ps 89:46, where 'wrath' stands in place of jealousy. The martyrs under the altar ask it again in Rev 6:10.

Verse 6

Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen — The wording is nearly Jeremiah's: 'Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name' (Jer 10:25), where the reason is that 'they have eaten up Jacob'. The nations are those that 'have not known thee' (yada) and 'have not called upon thy name' (qara).

Verse 8

tender mercies speedily prevent us — 'Tender mercies' is rachamim, compassions. 'Prevent' is the KJV's older sense of go before, from qadam, as in 'thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness' (Ps 21:3). 'Brought very low' is dalal, the word of 'I was brought low, and he helped me' (Ps 116:6). The people ask not to have former iniquities held against them.

Verse 9

purge away our sins — Kaphar is the verb of atonement, to cover: 'the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you' (Lev 16:30). The same word is 'purge' in Ps 65:3. The plea rests on God's name twice over, 'for the glory of thy name' and 'for thy name's sake', as in Ezek 20:14, 'I wrought for my name's sake'.

Verse 10

Where is their God? — The nations' taunt is also in Ps 42:10 and Joel 2:17, where the priests pray, 'Spare thy people… wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?' The prayer asks that God be 'known' (yada) by the 'revenging' (neqamah) of blood, as Moses sang, 'he will avenge the blood of his servants' (Deut 32:43).

Verse 11

the sighing of the prisoner — Anaqah is groaning; Ps 102:20 has the same pair of petitions, 'the groaning of the prisoner… those that are appointed to death'. 'Appointed to die' is literally 'sons of death' (temuthah, dying). 'Power' is zeroa, the arm, as in Ex 15:16, 'the greatness of thine arm'.

Verse 12

sevenfold into their bosom — Shibathayim, sevenfold, is the word of Gen 4:15 ('vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold') and Prov 6:31. The 'reproach' is the cherpah of v.4, handed back 'into their bosom' (cheyq). The ground given is that the neighbours 'have reproached thee, O Lord', so the insult is to him.

Verse 13

sheep of thy pasture — 'We thy people and sheep of thy pasture' is Asaph's image for Israel, as in Ps 74:1 ('the sheep of thy pasture') and Ps 95:7 and 100:3. 'Shew forth thy praise' echoes Isa 43:21, 'This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.' Thanks is yadah.