A Study by Scott Sperling   Psalm 79 - The Destruction of Jerusalem 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. As the inscription denotes, this is “A psalm of Asaph.”  This is the seventh of eleven straight Psalms which are attributed to “Asaph”. The man Asaph was a Levite who lived during the time of David (see I Chron. 15:16- 19). When a psalm is specified to be “of Asaph”, it is one which either Asaph himself wrote, or that one of the so-called “sons of Asaph” wrote. These were spiritual descendants of Asaph, who “presided over the music in the sanctuary” [Barnes, 309]. Since this psalm speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem, we can infer that one of the sons of Asaph wrote, and not Asaph himself. Most commentators believe that the occasion of which the psalm speaks is the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans (in 587 BC), after which the people of Israel were exiled to Babylon. In addition, the psalm may also point with a prophetic eye to later events. “The language might indeed be applicable to the desolation of the city by Antiochus Epiphanes (ca. 168 BC), and also to its destruction by the Romans (70 AD)” [Barnes, 310]. This psalm is closely related to Psalm 74, which also speaks of the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. “The Psalm before us proceeds on the supposition that the seventy-fourth had been previously composed, and supplements it” [Hengstenberg, 1]. The juxtaposition of the end of the previous psalm and this psalm presents a stark contrast. Psalm 78:69 speaks of the building of the Temple, and then speaks of the triumphant reign of David. Psalm 79 speaks of the destruction of the Temple, amidst the continued sin of the people of God. The psalmist begins: “O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble” (vs. 1). The psalmist speaks of the attack on Jerusalem as an attack on God Himself. The nations have invaded “your” inheritance; they have defiled “your” holy temple. It was a purposeful attack on the True and Living God. “Desecration was the first and chief affliction” [Cowles, 332]. “It is, as it were, ‘an inversion of the order of nature’ (Calvin) when God’s inheritance falls into the power of the heathen, and when men who know not God, nor honor His name, tread underfoot the sanctuary devoted to His worship and profane it, make the city of God a heap of stones, and give over to dishonor and death its inhabitants, who have been called to life and to a participation in the Divine glory” [Lange’s, 444]. It was also an attack on God’s people: “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. They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us” (vss. 2-4). It is not unusual for God’s people to suffer calamity. “Learn, in general, the Church of God may be brought low… Heavy and fearful are the judgments temporal, which may come upon God’s people” [Dickson, 224, 227]. This destruction was explicitly prophesied by Jeremiah: “And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them, their wives, their sons and their daughters. I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve” (Jer. 14:6). The psalmist understands that the affliction of God’s people was a result of the sin of God’s people: “How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?” (vs. 5). “Parched and exhausted, amidst the flames of persecution, we behold Sion panting for the comforts of redemption” [Horne, 288]. The psalmist asks, “How long, Lord?” “God's delays in sending relief often seem long and even tedious. But let us remember that such delays are doubtless needful, that God’s honor is of more importance than our ease, that God always sees in us just cause for every stroke he inflicts, that the wicked can go no further than infinite wisdom permits, that the least sin is a greater evil than any merely temporal calamity, and that one design of all our chastisements is to cure our foolish impatience” [Plumer, 766]. The psalmist points out that the source of God’s anger is his “jealousy”. This suggests that the affliction was a punishment for idolatry by God’s people. They turned to other, false gods, thus provoking the jealousy and wrath of the True and Living God. The psalmist prays that the wrath of God be turned against those who never acknowledged him as God: “Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name; for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland” (vs. 6-7). “We, it is true, have been unfaithful; but they never knew thy name, and are totally abandoned to idolatry” [Clarke, 472]. The psalmist here is using Jeremiah’s words of prophecy about this event: “Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure—not in your anger, or you will reduce me to nothing. Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the peoples who do not call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland” (Jer. 10:25). Vss. 8-13 – Appeal to God for Mercy 8  O God, 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. Affliction inspires reflection. The psalmist, by reflection, recognizes the sins of the people of Israel to be the ultimate cause of the affliction: “O God, Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need” (vs. 8). “Affliction hath then wrought its intended effect, when it hath convinced us of sin, and led us to repentance” [Horne, 288]. Note, the psalmist asks for deliverance, not on the basis of his own righteousness, but on basis of God’s mercy, and on the basis that God’s name be glorified. This is how we all must stand before God: we are sinners; anything good that we receive is received based on God’s mercy. God had delivered the children of Israel from danger, many times in the past, not because they deserved deliverance, but because God was merciful to his people. However, there comes a time when God’s mercy is no longer available, when our sins reach a breaking point. We know from history, that in this particular case, God did not deliver the children of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, and forced the children of Israel into exile in Babylon. Dear reader, seek God’s mercy while it may be found. Turn from your sins before they reach their end. The psalmist next seeks deliverance, in order that God’s name may be glorified: “Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake” (vs. 9). The work of God was so connected with the children of Israel that any harm that came to Israel detracted from God’s glory. In the same way, people of the world see the children of God as a sort of reflection of who God is. If we are upright, merciful, and charitable, this reflects well on God; His glory is enhanced in the sight of non-believers. On the other hand, if we sin openly, are backbiting and evil toward others, this reflects on God’s glory, and His name is dragged through the mud. “When God has so intertwined his name with that of his people, and his own honour so intimately interwoven with the history of his people, as in the case of Israel, does it not follow, that the destiny of his nation affects the honour of his name?” [Tholuck, 337]. The psalmist next appeals to God on the basis of the sins of the oppressors: “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. May the groans of the prisoners come before you; with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die. Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord” (vss. 10-12).  “The poet wishes in company with his contemporaries, as eye- witnesses, to experience what God has promised in the early times, viz. that He will avenge the blood of His servants” [Delitzsch, 380]. However, this time, due to the accumulated sin of the children of Israel, their blood will not be avenged. Rather, the ungodly oppressors were, in this case, being used by God to punish the children of Israel. The psalmist promises praise and honor to God, if He would deliver them: “Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise” (vs. 13). If only the children of Israel had honored God “from generation to generation” before this judgment came upon them, they could have avoided it. It is often the unbeliever’s way to make promises to God when he encounters affliction. We should rather praise and honor Him in times of peace, when there is no need for His deliverance. And even when affliction comes, we should praise God and rest in Him as we go through it. Our love for God should not be  contingent on miraculous deliverances, but should rather be a day-by-day, even minute-by- minute, honoring of God in our lives.  Bibliography and Suggested Reading Alexander, Joseph Addison. The Psalms Translated and Explained.  Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot, 1864.  Anonymous.  A Plain Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Philadelphia:  Henry Hooker and Co., 1857. Barnes, Albert.  Notes on the Book of Psalms.  New York:  Harper & Brothers Publishing, 1871. Bonar, Andrew. Christ and His Church in the Book of Psalms.  New York:  Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860. Calvin, John.  A Commentary on the Book of Psalms.  3 Vols.  Oxford: D. A. Talboys, 1840. (Originally published in Latin in 1557).  Clarke, Adam. The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes.  Vol. III.  London:  William Tegg & Co., 1854.  (Originally published in 1831).  Cowles, Henry.  The Psalms with Notes, Critical, Explanatory and Practical.  New York:  D. Appleton & Co., 1872. Darby, John Nelson.  Practical Reflections on the Psalms.  London:  Robert L. Allan, 1870. Delitzsch, Franz.  Biblical Commentary on the Psalms. Edinburgh:  T & T Clark, 1892. (Originally published in 1860). Dickson, David. An Explication of the Other Fifty Psalms, from Ps. 50 to Ps. 100. Cornhill, U.K.:  Ralph Smith, 1653.  Exell, Joseph S. and Henry Donald Spence-Jones, eds. The Pulpit Commentary. Vols. 17, 18, & 19. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1884.  Hengstenberg, F. W.  Commentary on the Psalms.  Edinburgh:  T & T Clark, 1864. Henry, Matthew.  An Exposition of All the Books of the Old and New Testament.  Vol. II.  London: W. Baynes, 1806. (Originally published in 1710). Horne, George. A Commentary on the Book of Psalms.  New York:  Robert Carter & Brothers, 1854. Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David.  A Commentary: Critical, Experimental, and Practical on the Old and New Testaments.  Glasgow:  William Collins, Queen’s Printer, 1863. Kidner, Derek. Psalms (in 2 Vols.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008 (first published in 1975). Kirkpatrick, A. F. The Book of Psalms with Introduction and Notes – Books II and III (from The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges). Cambridge, UK: University Press, 1895. Lange, John Peter, ed. and Philip Schaff, trans.  A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical.  New York:  Charles Scribner & Co., 1865.  Maclaren, Alexander. The Psalms (in 3 Vols., from The Expositor’s Bible, ed. by W. R. Nicoll). New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1901. Perowne, J. J. Stewart.  The Book of Psalms:  A New Translation with Explanatory Notes.  London:  George Bell & Sons, 1880. Plumer, William S.  Studies in the Book of Psalms.  Philadelphia:  J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1872. Scott, Thomas. Commentary on the Holy Bible, Vol. III. London: James Nisbet, 1866. Spurgeon, Charles.  The Treasury of David.  6 Vols.  London: Marshall Brothers, Ltd., 1885. Tholuck, Augustus.  A Translation and Commentary of the Book of Psalms.  Philadelphia:  Martien, 1858. Trapp, John.  A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments. Vol. II (Ezra to Psalms).  Edmonton, Canada: Still Waters Revival Books (www.PuritanDownloads.com). (Originally published c. 1660). VanGemeren, Willem A., (Gaebelein, Frank E., ed).  Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 5 – Psalms to Song of Songs.  Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan, 1991. -------- Many of these books (those in public domain) can be downloaded free of charge from:  http://www.ClassicChristianLibrary.com