Psalms Reading – 3.16.2022
Psalm 79
A psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
2 They have left the dead bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the sky,
the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.
3 They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead.
4 We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.
5 How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name;
7 for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.
8 Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.
9 Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.
10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Before our eyes, make known among the nations
that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times
the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will praise you forever; from generation to generation, we will proclaim your praise.
This lament begins with a description of the conditions in which God’s people find themselves. The temple has been defiled, and Jerusalem has been reduced to rubble. The dead are lying all around the city because there is no one to bury them. Neighboring nations ridicule Israel and their God. It is a very dark time in their history. The setting appears to be the Babylonian exile that occurred in 586 BC.
The traditional questions of a lament are asked, How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? Then the psalmist turns to his requests. He asks that God would judge the nations that have devastated His people. He asks that God will pay back 7 times the amount of dishonor they have poured out upon the Lord. He trusts God to do the avenging because that is the Lord’s work, not ours.
He also asks that God would not hold against them the sins of those generations who have gone before them but instead would forgive their sins. He prays that the Lord would come quickly to help them for they are in desperate need. He asks this for the glory of God’s name to be elevated to its rightful place. All answers to prayers should not only benefit us but bring glory to God’s holy name.
The psalmist promises that when the answers come, they will praise God into future generations. Such praise is the ultimate goal of prayer. Yes, we need and want answers to our problems. We daily need God’s help, but may we never forget to give God the glory that He is due at all times.
Memory Verse: Psalm 80:3, Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.
Question(s) to Consider: Are your prayers just focused on your need? Or do you desire God to be highly honored through them? How do you make sure God gets the glory He is due?