1 A psalm of Asaph. O God, nations are come into thine inheritance, the temple of thy holiness have they defiled, they have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
2 They have given the dead bodies of thy servants for meat to the birds of the heavens, the flesh of thy saints to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have shed their blood, as the waters, round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury.
4 We are become a reproach to our neighbors, a mockery and derision to those round about us.
5 How long, Jehovah? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out thy fury upon the nations that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that called not on thy name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.
8 Remember not against (for) us iniquities of forefathers; let thy tender mercies speedily come to meet us, for we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the sake of the glory of thy name and deliver us, and forgive our sins because of thy name.
10 Why should the nations say, Where [is] their God? Let there be known among the nations in our sight (eyes) avenging of thy servants’ blood that is shed.
11 Let the prisoner’s sighing come before thee; according to the greatness of thine arm, preserve the sons of death;
12 And render to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.
13 And we, thy people and sheep of thy pasture, will give thee thanks for ever; we will show forth thy praise from generation to generation.
Notes on Psalm 79
It is “A psalm of Asaph.” Here we have the desolating ruin of the city and the sanctuary, when the overwhelming scourge falls on Jerusalem as in Isaiah 10, 28, Zechariah 14:1, 2, and other scriptures. It sets before us the feelings and prayers of the righteous Israelites, after the first Gentile siege which is partially successful, and before their leader, the king of the north, comes up a second time for his and their total destruction, Daniel 8, 11, &c.