Psalm 79

Psalm 79

A Prayer in Time of Destruction

These verses refer to the

destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon

in about 586 B.C.

-

The  destruction included the Jewish Temple.

It was destroyed on the

Jewish calendar day 

the 9th of Av.

Two Jewish temples were built and both were destroyed.
The second Jewish Temple
was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.
And the calendar day was
the 9th of Av. 

Click to read about preparations for the Third Temple

The

Western Wall

is part of the retaining wall of the second temple.

This retaining wall is all that is left of the

Jewish temple

from 70 A.D.

See  it  LIVE  below.

Cut and paste this link to see it live.

https://www.webcamtaxi.com/en/israel/jerusalem/western-wall-plaza.html

Underneath the Live Cam is information on the Wall.

Psalm 79

is

A Prayer of Asaph

Note:

This Asaph

is not the same

Asaph that lived

during the time of David. 

Asaph

describes the devastation 

and the suffering.

Verse 1

New King James version

O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance;
Your holy temple they have defiled;
They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.

(in heaps = in ruins)

² The dead bodies of Your servants
They have given as food for the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.

³ Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem,
And there was no one to bury them.

Asaph is pointing out

the horrors of the attack.

He is highlighting the harshness of the Babylonians. 

He is recounting the terrible dishonor to the dead
of leaving
dead bodies unburied.

Verse 4

⁴ We have become a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and derision to those who are around us.

Asaph writes about the

mocking

the survivors endured.

Verse 5

⁵ How long, Lord?
Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy burn like fire?

These are hardship questions
asked by suffering people.

How long, Lord?

This is a normal and frequent question
of those who suffer.

We see it also being asked by psalmists in
Psalm 89:46 and Psalm 13:1-2.

And
Asaph asked the question in Psalm 74.
Psalm 74
is another
psalm of Asaph about the
Babylonian attack and destruction.

Asaph's second question is:

Will You be angry forever?

Another common question during suffering.

Sometimes we suffer because of

our sin

or

someone else's sin,

 - and - 

sometimes we suffer
because this life includes some suffering in it. 

In this case,
God's people have sinned and God is angry.

Asaph is a faithful man of God
who is suffering because of the sins of his people.

Asaph asks:

Will You be angry forever?

God

answers

that question

in

Psalm 103:9-11 TLB

The Psalm says:

He [God] never bears a grudge,

nor remains angry forever.

¹⁰ He has not punished us as we deserve

for all our sins,

¹¹ for his mercy toward those

who fear and honor him

is as great as the height of the heavens

above the earth.

Asaph's third question
is expressed in a very emotional and poetic way:

Will Your jealousy burn like fire?

 > Jealous <

It shocks some people who read the Bible

that God is a

Jealous

God.

It is usually because they do not understand

the biblical definition of "jealous"

in relation to God.

Today

we use the word "jealous" to mean

envious

or to describe

fear of losing someone in our life.

Usually

the word is associated with someone

terrified

of losing someone in his or her life.

The video below

is very helpful

in understanding 

the biblical definition of godly jealousy.

From
https://www.gotquestions.org/jealous-God.html

God created us and we are HIS.

We belong to him.

Godly Jealousy...

God is jealous when someone gives to another

something that rightly belongs to Him.

(Such as worship)

God talks about this in Deuteronomy 32:16-21. 

Verse 6-7

⁶ Pour out Your wrath on the nations
that do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.
⁷ For they have devoured Jacob,
And laid waste his dwelling place.

Note: Jeremiah 10:25 is a related verse. 

The cruel acts of the Babylonians
stir Asaph's emotions and turn his thoughts
to prayer
for their downfall.

Asaph
prays that God
will turn his focus on the Babylonians.

These attackers "appear" to be getting away with
terrible wickedness
while dishonoring the name of God
as they do their dirty deeds.

~ ~ ~

I remind us
that no one "gets away" with wickedness.
All sin will be dealt with by the Lord our God. 

In verse 7 we read,

For they have devoured Jacob,
And laid waste his dwelling place.

In the above verse,
God's people are given the name

Jacob
to represent them.

The name "Jacob" was used because
he is one of the pillars of their ancestry. 

Verse 8

⁸ Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us!
Let Your tender mercies
come speedily to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.

~ ~ ~

The word translated "former" may mean their ancestors' sins
or it may mean this current generation's sins. 
Both appear to me to be a possibility when I look at the
Hebrew word translated "former." 

A Copy and Paste Link:

https://biblehub.com/text/psalms/79-8.htm

However:

If this verse is only referring to their ancestors,

then note that 

verse 9 does refer to this current generation's sins.

Next,

I emphasize the word

"remember."

"Oh, do not remember former iniquities "

" Do not remember our sins " = " forget our sins. "

I am reminded of Psalm 103

where it says that...

"God removes our sins away from us

as far as

the east is from the west."

Asaph is wanting God

to "forget" their sins and

cover all the people with mercy and compassion.

To be clear

God never literally "forgets" our sins.

Come
let us reason together....

If God did literally forget our sins,
we would "know" more than God.

~

If God did literally forget our sins,
he could not
help us with our
addictions and our other weaknesses.

~

When we read that God "forgets" our sins,

it means that

God does not take our sins into account

when he is dealing with us.

It means

that our sins have been

forgiven.

And we today understand that our sins are forgiven
and
covered by the blood of Jesus.

When we repent and sincerely ask God
to forgive us of our sins,
God forgives us,
and
those sins
no longer separate us from our
Loving Heavenly Father.

Here is the beauty

of a right relationship with God.

Psalm 103:11-13 NLT

For his unfailing love
toward those who fear him
is as great
as the height of the heavens above the earth;

¹² He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west. 

¹³ The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate
to those
who fear him.

The following words of verse 8 are a picture of
humility and brokenness before God.

Let Your compassion come quickly to meet us,
For we have become very low.
NASB translation

Asaph is praying for himself and his nation.

He knew why they were suffering.

He knew that their sins were the reason.

He knew that they deserved punishment.

Asaph's heart
is broken for the sins of his nation.

He is praying to God
in a steadfast and faithful manner.

Asaph does not need punishment
to get him to be faithful.

But most of the others need punishment
(to be brought very low)
in order to
produce a heart change.

See our page - Fear of the Lord

Verse 9

⁹ Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of Your name;
And deliver us,
and provide atonement for our sins,
For Your name’s sake!

Asaph realizes that

there is no hope apart from God's mercies.

Asaph is a steadfastly dedicated man of God.

He doesn't let his emotions run his life.

His emotions and feelings

do not dictate

his steadfastness

to God. 

As my friend Carl often says,

Emotions should provide awareness,

but not necessarily direction.

Carl Smith 

Next, let's look at the words...

And deliver us,
and provide atonement for our sins,
for Your name’s sake!

You and I are blessed to live after Jesus came.

One consequence of that blessing is that

we understand "how" God atoned for our sins -

once and for all.

We look at this verse and understand atonement

more fully than Asaph did.

Verse 10

¹⁰ Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let there be known among the nations in our sight
the avenging of the blood of Your servants
which has been shed.

In this psalm, we see that

not only are

God's covenant people being mocked -

but God himself is being mocked

by the

Babylonians and the evil nations.

Verse 11

¹¹ Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power
Preserve those who are appointed to die;

Here is another call for compassion.

And included is a call to God to preserve life.

Verse 12

¹² And return to our neighbors sevenfold
into their bosom
Their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.

Asaph is praying that
God will
bring justice
for the sins of his enemies.

God is clear in his word

that he is dedicated to

justice.

Psalm 89:14 NKJV says,

Righteousness and justice
are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.

We know that God is a God of justice.

We are glad that he is also a God of Mercy.

Verse 13

¹³ So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture,
Will give You thanks forever;
We will show forth Your praise to all generations.

Asaph is solidifying his dedication to God.

Asaph is also proclaiming
the future
thankfulness and praise
from God's people
to God. 

Thank you for joining me for this page.

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