Psalms 79 DBY
Summary: A communal lament of Asaph mourning Jerusalem's destruction: "O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled... Jerusalem in heaps" (v. 1), with the dead left unburied and given "to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven" (v. 2). The psalmist begs God not to remember past iniquities and to pour out wrath instead on the surrounding nations that devoured Jacob, pleading for mercy "for we are brought very low" (v. 8). It closes with a vow that the rescued flock will thank God forever, alongside a raw request for sevenfold vengeance on the neighboring peoples who reproached him.
1A Psalm of Asaph. OGod, the nations are come into thine inheritance: thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
2The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowl of the heavens, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth:
3Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury [them].
4We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a mockery and a derision to them that are round about us.
5How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou be angry for ever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?
6Pour out thy fury upon the nations that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that call not upon thy name:
7For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his habitation.
8Remember not against us the iniquities of [our] forefathers; let thy tender mercies speedily come to meet us: for we are brought very low.
9Help us, OGod of our salvation, because of the glory of thy name; and deliver us, and forgive our sins, for thy name's sake.
10Wherefore should the nations say, Where is theirGod? Let the avenging of the blood of thy servants that is shed be known among the nations in our sight.
11Let the groaning of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thine arm, preserve those that are appointed to die;
12And render unto our neighbours, sevenfold into their bosom, their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.
13And we, thy people and the sheep of thy pasture, will give thanks unto thee for ever; we will shew forth thy praise from generation to generation.
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