Psalms 79

Plea for Mercy for Jerusalem

¹God, the nations have come into your inheritance. They have defiled your holy temple. They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.

²They have given the dead bodies of your servants to be food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of your saints to the animals of the earth.

³They have shed their blood like water around Jerusalem. There was no one to bury them.

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

⁵How long, LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?

⁶Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, on the kingdoms that don’t call on your name,

⁷for they have devoured Jacob, and destroyed his homeland.

⁸Don’t hold the iniquities of our forefathers against us. Let your tender mercies speedily meet us, for we are in desperate need.

⁹Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of your name. Deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake.

¹⁰Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let it be known among the nations, before our eyes, that vengeance for your servants’ blood is being poured out.

¹¹Let the sighing of the prisoner come before you. According to the greatness of your power, preserve those who are sentenced to death.

¹²Pay back to our neighbors seven times into their bosom their reproach with which they have reproached you, Lord.

¹³So we, your people and sheep of your pasture, will give you thanks forever. We will praise you forever, to all generations.

Previous Psalms 78

Next Psalms 80

Psalm 79 is a communal lament responding to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, likely composed during or after the Babylonian exile. The psalmist cries out to God over the defilement of the holy city, the slaughter of God's people, and the mockery of surrounding nations. The psalm moves from anguish and plea for divine intervention to a promise of eternal praise, reflecting Israel's faith that God will ultimately vindicate His people and restore His honor among the nations.

Context

This psalm continues the themes of national crisis found in several preceding psalms, reflecting the traumatic period of Jerusalem's destruction and exile.

Key Themes

Outline

1-4
Lament over Jerusalem's Destruction The psalmist describes the devastation of the temple, city, and people by foreign nations.
5-7
Appeal for God's Wrath Against Enemies A plea for God to redirect His anger from Israel to the nations that don't acknowledge Him.
8-10
Prayer for Mercy and Deliverance Request for forgiveness of ancestral sins and salvation for God's name's sake.
11-12
Petition for Justice and Vengeance Appeal for God to preserve the condemned and repay Israel's enemies sevenfold.
13
Promise of Eternal Praise Commitment to give thanks and praise to God forever as His covenant people.

Plea for Mercy for Jerusalem

79:1–79:13

poetry lament mournful

A communal lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, pleading for God's mercy and deliverance while asking for vengeance against Israel's enemies.

theme_rarity

Psalm 79 uniquely balances pleas for divine vengeance against Israel's enemies (v. 6, 12) with requests for God's forgiveness of Israel's sins (v. 9).

Insight Rare Theme

Psalm 79 uniquely balances pleas for divine vengeance against Israel's enemies (v. 6, 12) with requests for God's forgiveness of Israel's sins (v. 9).