Psalms 79 WBT
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. O God, the heathen have come into thy inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.
2The dead bodies of thy servants have they given [to be] food to the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints, to the beasts of the earth.
3Their blood have they shed like water around Jerusalem; and [there was] none to bury [them].
4We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are around us.
5How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?
6Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.
7For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling-place.
8O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily succor us: for we are brought very low.
9Help 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.
10Why should the heathen say, Where [is] their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight [by] avenging the blood of thy servants [which is] shed.
11Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;
12And render to our neighbors seven-fold into their bosom their reproach, with which they have reproached thee, O Lord.
13So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will show forth thy praise to all generations.
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