Psalm 79
1 O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.
2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, 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 neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.
5 How long, Lord? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place.
8 O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent 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 purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake.
10 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.
11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;
12 And render unto our neighbours 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 shew forth thy praise to all generations.
Psalm 79 Commentary
Chapter Overview
Psalm 79 is a communal lament from the ruins of Jerusalem. Foreign armies have entered the land, defiled the temple, reduced the city to heaps, killed God’s servants, and left bodies unburied. Israel’s disaster is physical, spiritual, and public: sacred places are profaned, the dead are dishonored, and neighboring nations treat the tragedy as evidence that Israel’s God is absent.
The psalm does not identify the invaders. Its language most naturally fits a catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem, especially the Babylonian conquest, but the prayer remains useful whenever God’s people face desecration, persecution, captivity, or public disgrace.
The prayer moves from devastation in verses 1–4 to the question “How long?” in verse 5. Verses 6–12 combine confession with appeals to mercy, God’s name, justice, and power. Verse 13 closes with confidence that the sheep of God’s pasture will yet praise him through future generations.
Key Themes
“O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance” begins with covenant language. The land is not merely Israel’s possession; it belongs finally to the Lord. The invaders have violated something entrusted to his people.
The temple is called “thy holy temple.” Its defilement is more than architectural damage. A place set apart for worship has been treated as common spoil, making the conquerors’ victory appear to be a defeat of the Lord himself.
“They have laid Jerusalem on heaps” describes the collapse of a whole social world. Homes, defenses, worship, leadership, and ordinary life have been shattered. Biblical lament names concrete loss rather than hiding grief beneath general religious language.
Verses 2–3 intensify the horror. Bodies are left for birds and beasts, while blood is poured out like water. Denial of burial deepened defeat with public shame and showed how completely ordinary dignity and community order had collapsed.
“Saints” does not mean people who never sinned. It refers to those set apart as God’s covenant people. The same community can be called his servants and still confess its iniquities in verses 8–9.
Verse 4 adds ridicule to ruin. Israel has become “a reproach,” “a scorn,” and “derision.” The surrounding peoples do not merely observe suffering; they interpret it as proof that Israel’s faith is empty.
“How long, Lord?” is not unbelief disguised as prayer. It assumes that God can act and that his anger has a purpose. The question asks for severe discipline not to become endless abandonment.
“Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?” recognizes that Israel’s unfaithfulness lies behind the judgment. Divine jealousy is not insecurity but the holy response of the covenant Lord when his people give worship and loyalty to rivals.
Verses 6–7 ask God to judge nations that do not know or call upon him. The request is not based merely on ethnicity. These kingdoms have devoured Jacob, devastated his dwelling, and acted with cruelty and contempt.
God may permit one nation to discipline another, but permission does not make greed, desecration, or bloodshed righteous. An instrument of judgment remains accountable to the Judge.
Verse 8 turns toward confession: “remember not against us former iniquities.” The community does not defend itself as guiltless. It asks God not to keep charging earlier sins—or perhaps the accumulated sins of previous generations—against a people already brought very low.
“Let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us” uses “prevent” in an older sense. The plea is for compassion to come before them, meet them quickly, and reach them before destruction is complete.
Verse 9 gathers the central petitions: “Help us,” “deliver us,” and “purge away our sins.” The people need rescue from enemies and cleansing from guilt. Changed circumstances without reconciliation to God would be incomplete.
“For the glory of thy name” is not flattery. God’s name represents his revealed character and reputation. The worshipers appeal to his holiness, mercy, covenant faithfulness, and saving power rather than to their own deserving.
Verse 10 returns to the nations’ taunt: “Where is their God?” The deepest reproach is directed beyond Israel toward the Lord. The prayer asks him to make justice visible so that delayed action is not mistaken for weakness.
The appeal for “the revenging of the blood” places judgment in God’s hands. The slain cannot defend themselves, and the survivors ask the righteous Judge to answer bloodshed rather than claiming the final right of vengeance personally.
Verse 11 remembers prisoners and those “appointed to die.” Their sighing may be quiet and hidden from rulers, but the prayer asks that it come directly before God. Hope rests on “the greatness” of his power, not Israel’s remaining strength.
“Render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom” asks for full and fitting justice. Sevenfold expresses completeness, not a mathematical command for retaliation. “Into their bosom” pictures consequences returning personally to those who reproached God.
The psalm ends with identity: “we thy people and sheep of thy pasture.” The city may be ruined and the flock scattered, but the covenant relationship has not been erased. God remains Shepherd even when his people experience discipline and danger.
“We will give thee thanks for ever” is promised before visible restoration. Faith expects lament not to have the final word. The rescued community will turn remembered suffering and mercy into praise for generations still unborn.
Important Verses and Questions
Who wrote Psalm 79 if the original Asaph lived in David’s time? The heading may connect the psalm with the Asaphite guild or worship tradition rather than requiring the first Asaph personally to have witnessed the destruction. Later temple singers could bear the name of their founding ancestor.
Which destruction of Jerusalem is described? The attackers are unnamed. The ruined city, defiled temple, mass death, and captivity strongly resemble the Babylonian destruction, though the prayer intentionally speaks beyond one dated crisis.
Why ask for wrath after confessing Israel’s sin? Confession does not make oppression righteous. Israel admits that discipline is deserved, yet the nations remain responsible for cruelty and contempt. God can judge his people’s sin and also judge those who attack them wickedly.
What are “former iniquities”? The phrase can describe earlier sins of the present people or sins of preceding generations whose consequences still burden the community. Either way, Israel acknowledges a long history of guilt and asks mercy to interrupt it.
What does “purge away our sins” mean? The request concerns atonement, forgiveness, and removal of guilt. The people seek more than political recovery; they seek restored fellowship with the God whose covenant they violated.
Is sevenfold repayment excessive? Seven commonly expresses fullness. The psalm entrusts both guilt and measure to God. It asks for a complete divine answer to bloodshed and reproach, not permission for private revenge.
Practical Applications
Psalm 79 gives communities language for catastrophe. Faith does not require massacre, persecution, ruined homes, or desecrated churches to be described in softened terms. Honest lament names what happened while addressing God as the source of help.
Repentance and protest can belong in the same prayer. Believers may confess their community’s sins while opposing injustice against it. Humility must not excuse abusers, and concern for justice must not eliminate self-examination.
When God seems absent, prayer should appeal to his character rather than human worthiness. “For thy name’s sake” directs attention from the weakness of sufferers to the holiness, mercy, and faithfulness of the Savior.
Christians should place vengeance in God’s hands. This does not forbid protection of the vulnerable, truthful testimony, or lawful justice. It forbids hatred and personal retaliation while trusting the righteous Judge to expose evil and defend victims.
The groaning of prisoners calls believers to notice suffering hidden from ordinary view. Prayer should remember captives, persecuted Christians, displaced families, and people under threat—not only crises visible to the local worshiping community.
Verse 13 also gives survivors a responsibility. Deliverance should become testimony. Later generations should learn what was lost, how sin was confronted, where mercy appeared, and why God remains worthy of praise.
Connections to Other Scripture
Psalm 74 also laments a devastated sanctuary, while Psalm 78 remembers Israel’s unbelief and God’s compassion. Psalm 79 follows naturally: rebellion has reached terrible consequences, yet the people still appeal to the compassion celebrated in the previous psalm.
Second Kings 25 and Jeremiah 39 describe Jerusalem’s fall, the burning of the temple and houses, broken walls, slaughter, and exile. Lamentations gives a fuller poetic voice to the grief, shame, and theological confusion produced by such ruin.
Psalm 79:6–7 closely parallels Jeremiah 10:25, where the prophet asks God to judge nations that do not call upon his name and have devoured Jacob. Both passages place Israel’s suffering within God’s justice among nations.
Exodus 34:6–7 reveals the Lord as merciful and gracious while refusing to treat guilt as unimportant. Psalm 79 prays within that tension: the people seek tender mercy and cleansing while acknowledging that divine anger is not groundless.
The taunt “Where is their God?” appears elsewhere in the Psalms when enemies interpret suffering as evidence against the Lord. Scripture answers by insisting that delayed action is not absence and that God’s reputation will finally be vindicated.
Revelation 6:9–11 portrays slain servants asking how long until God judges and avenges their blood. The answer includes patience and divine timing, reinforcing the pattern of bringing the demand for justice before God.
Jesus commands love for enemies, and the New Testament forbids personal vengeance. These teachings do not erase Psalm 79. They direct believers to pray for repentance, protect victims, pursue just remedies, and leave ultimate judgment to God.
Conclusion
Psalm 79 stands amid blood, rubble, shame, and captivity, yet it still says “O God,” “thy inheritance,” and “we thy people.” Disaster has shaken every visible security but has not erased the relationship on which prayer depends.
The people confess sin, ask for cleansing, remember prisoners, and entrust violent enemies to divine justice. They believe the Shepherd can gather his flock from ruins and turn one generation’s lament into the praise of generations to come.