Psalms · Chapter 79

Verse 1. The heathen are come into thine inheritance] Thou didst cast them out, and take thy people in; they have cast us out, and now taken possession of the land that belongs to thee. They have defiled the temple, and reduced Jerusalem to a heap of ruins; and made a general slaughter of thy people.

Verse 1. O God, the heathen are come — As invaders and conquerors; into thine inheritance — Into Canaan and Judea, which thou didst choose for thine inheritance. Thy holy temple have they defiled — By entering into it, and touching and carrying away its holy vessels, and shedding blood in it, and burning of it; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps — Made of the ruins of those goodly houses which they have burned and thrown down. Thus, in this verse, the psalmist enumerates three deplorable calamities which were come upon God’s people: “the alienation of God’s inheritance, the profanation of his sanctuary, and the desolation of the beloved city.”

Verse 1. Oh God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance. Shishak with twelve hundred chariots, seventy thousand horsemen, and a countless army of infantry; took the fenced cities, and it would seem, without much resistance, till he reached Jerusalem, where blood was shed like water. Jerusalem also opened her gates; the Egyptians entered the temple, the palace, the arsenal, and carried away all the treasures of Solomon, leaving Jerusalem desolate without, and naked within.

Verses 1-4 are a rehearsal of the sufferings of the Israelites and of the ruin of their country. Verses 5-12 are a mingled prayer for deliverance and imprecation of judgment on their enemies. The last verse is a sweet expression of confidence and praise, and speaks from the heart of the nation in its consciousness of covenant union with God.

1. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance—True to his Hebrew heart, the religious aspects of the desolation first meet his eye. The phrase, “The heathen are come into thine inheritance,” means, they have possessed themselves of what belonged to God, namely, the land and the people of the covenant. This unveiled at once the greatness of their calamity, the severest point of which was, they had defiled the temple of his holiness—a desecration implying utter demolition. as in Psalm 74:7. They have laid Jerusalem on heaps—Instead of the idea of waste masses thrown together, the Septuagint reads, “They have made Jerusalem a storehouse of fruits;” and the Vulgate has followed, in pomorum custodian: as if the idea were, that of heaps of guarded commissary stores. But this, says Furst, is by an incorrect reading of the Hebrew.

Verse 2. The dead bodies of thy servants] It appears that in the destruction of Jerusalem the Chaldeans did not bury the bodies of the slain, but left them to be devoured by birds and beasts of prey. This was the grossest inhumanity.

Verses 2, 3. The dead bodies of thy servants — Either, 1st, Of thy faithful and holy servants, whom they used as cruelly as the worst of the people. Or, 2d, Of the Jews in general, whom, though most of them were wicked, he calls God’s servants and saints, because they were such by profession; and some of them were really such; and the Chaldeans neither knew nor regarded those that were so, but promiscuously destroyed all that came in their way; have they given to be meat to the fowls, &c. — By casting them out, like dung upon the earth, and not suffering any to bury them. This is the fourth of those calamities which are bewailed in this Psalm: and a dreadful one it is. For “to behold, or even imagine,” as Dr. Horne observes, “the heaps of slaughtered bodies lying unburied, and exposed to birds and beasts of prey, is inexpressibly shocking to humanity.” Their blood they shed like water — Plentifully and contemptuously, valuing it no more than common water; and there was none to bury them — Because their friends, who should have done it, were either slain or fled, or were not permitted, or durst not undertake to perform that office to them.

2. Dead bodies—The slaughter was so great that the bodies were left unburied, (verse 3,) to become food for birds and wild beasts. Even the flesh of the saints, or truly pious, was given… unto the beasts of the earth. In national or public calamities the righteous suffer with the wicked, and because of the wicked.

Verse 3. There was none to bury them.] The Chaldeans would not; and the Jews who were not slain were carried into captivity.

Verses 2, 3. The dead bodies of thy servants — Either, 1st, Of thy faithful and holy servants, whom they used as cruelly as the worst of the people. Or, 2d, Of the Jews in general, whom, though most of them were wicked, he calls God’s servants and saints, because they were such by profession; and some of them were really such; and the Chaldeans neither knew nor regarded those that were so, but promiscuously destroyed all that came in their way; have they given to be meat to the fowls, &c. — By casting them out, like dung upon the earth, and not suffering any to bury them. This is the fourth of those calamities which are bewailed in this Psalm: and a dreadful one it is. For “to behold, or even imagine,” as Dr. Horne observes, “the heaps of slaughtered bodies lying unburied, and exposed to birds and beasts of prey, is inexpressibly shocking to humanity.” Their blood they shed like water — Plentifully and contemptuously, valuing it no more than common water; and there was none to bury them — Because their friends, who should have done it, were either slain or fled, or were not permitted, or durst not undertake to perform that office to them.

Verses 1-4 are a rehearsal of the sufferings of the Israelites and of the ruin of their country. Verses 5-12 are a mingled prayer for deliverance and imprecation of judgment on their enemies. The last verse is a sweet expression of confidence and praise, and speaks from the heart of the nation in its consciousness of covenant union with God.

1. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance—True to his Hebrew heart, the religious aspects of the desolation first meet his eye. The phrase, “The heathen are come into thine inheritance,” means, they have possessed themselves of what belonged to God, namely, the land and the people of the covenant. This unveiled at once the greatness of their calamity, the severest point of which was, they had defiled the temple of his holiness—a desecration implying utter demolition. as in Psalm 74:7. They have laid Jerusalem on heaps—Instead of the idea of waste masses thrown together, the Septuagint reads, “They have made Jerusalem a storehouse of fruits;” and the Vulgate has followed, in pomorum custodian: as if the idea were, that of heaps of guarded commissary stores. But this, says Furst, is by an incorrect reading of the Hebrew.

Verse 4. We are become a reproach to our neighbours] The Idumeans, Philistines, Phœnicians, Ammonites, and Moabites, all gloried in the subjugation of this people; and their insults to them were mixed with blasphemies against God.

Verse 4. We are become a reproach, &c. — We, who were the terror of our neighbours, and whom they stood in awe of, and were afraid to offend, are now neither feared nor pitied, but are become the objects of their scoffs and reproaches. For they study to abuse us and load us with contempt, upbraiding us with our sins and sufferings, and giving the lie to our relation to God, and expectations from him. If God’s professing people degenerate from what themselves and their fathers were, they must expect to be told of it; and it is well if a just reproach will help to bring them to a true repentance. But it has been the lot of the gospel Israel to be unjustly made a reproach and derision. The apostles and evangelists themselves, who were the wisest and best men that ever lived, and the greatest friends and benefactors of the human race, were counted as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things.

4. We are become a reproach… scorn… derision—This is not the least ingredient in the punishment of sin, (see Psalm 44:12-16,) and is here urged to induce God to interfere in mercy, as the reproach was also on his name.

Verse 5. How long, Lord?] Wilt thou continue thine anger against us, and suffer us to be insulted, and thyself blasphemed?

5. How long, Lord—The “how long” and for ever would here seem to imply that the affliction had now been of long duration. Time dragged heavily under this trying dispensation of wrath.

Verse 6. Pour out thy wrath] Bad as we are, we are yet less wicked than they. We, it is true, have been unfaithful; but they never knew thy name, and are totally abandoned to idolatry.

Verses 6, 7. Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen — Though we confess that we have deserved thy wrath, yet the heathen, by whom thou hast scourged us, have deserved it much more, as being guilty of far greater impieties than we, living in gross ignorance and contempt of thee and thy worship. And, therefore, we pray thee to transfer thy wrath from us to them. But the prayer is rather to be considered as a prophecy, in which the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. For they have devoured Jacob — The posterity of Jacob, whom thou didst love, and with whom, and his seed, thou madest a sure and everlasting covenant; whereby thou didst engage thyself to be an enemy to their enemies, Exodus 23:22. Besides, thou hatest cruelty, especially when the wicked devour those that are more righteous than themselves, Habakkuk 1:13.

6. Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen—All such imprecations must be viewed from the standpoint of justice between nation and nation, and the rights of God in the land and people of his covenant as against the acts of hostile kings who invade them. The rights of peace and virtue in the earth cry to God against the perpetrators of crime and the authors of oppression. Humanly speaking, the invasion of Palestine by Nebuchadnezzar was without cause, and his treatment of the Jewish religion without parallel of impiety. Justice would seem to reverse this strange order of things. The kingdoms referred to in this verse were such as were subject to and assisted Nebuchadnezzar in his wars. Verses 6 and 7 seem borrowed from Jeremiah 10:25.

Verse 7. Laid waste his dwelling-place.] The Chaldee understands this of the temple. This, by way of eminence, was Jacob’s place. I have already remarked that these two verses are almost similar to Jeremiah 10:25, which has led many to believe that Jeremiah was the author of this Psalm.

Verses 6, 7. Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen — Though we confess that we have deserved thy wrath, yet the heathen, by whom thou hast scourged us, have deserved it much more, as being guilty of far greater impieties than we, living in gross ignorance and contempt of thee and thy worship. And, therefore, we pray thee to transfer thy wrath from us to them. But the prayer is rather to be considered as a prophecy, in which the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. For they have devoured Jacob — The posterity of Jacob, whom thou didst love, and with whom, and his seed, thou madest a sure and everlasting covenant; whereby thou didst engage thyself to be an enemy to their enemies, Exodus 23:22. Besides, thou hatest cruelty, especially when the wicked devour those that are more righteous than themselves, Habakkuk 1:13.

V. 8. Prevent-Prevent our utter extirpation.

Verse 8. Remember not against us former iniquities] Visit us not for the sins of our forefathers.

Speedily prevent us] Let them go before us, and turn us out of the path of destruction; for there is no help for us but in thee.

We are brought very low.] Literally, “We are greatly thinned.” Few of us remain.

Verse 8. Remember not against us former iniquities — The sins committed by our forefathers, and by us who have filled up the measure of their sins, for which we confess thou hast most righteously brought this desolating judgment upon us. Let thy tender mercies — Upon which all our confidence is fixed; for merit and righteousness we have none; see Daniel 9:7, 9. Speedily prevent us — Prevent our utter extirpation, which we have deserved, and have great reason to expect; for we are brought very low — Past the hopes of all human help, and therefore the glory of our deliverance will be wholly thine.

8. Remember not against us former iniquities—Make us not answerable for the sins of our forefathers, or of “former” generations; a deprecation of the judgment threatened Exodus 20:5, “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children,” etc. So Leviticus 26:39.

Verse 9. Purge away our sins] rpk capper, be propitiated, or receive an atonement (wnytacj l[ al chattotheynu) on account of our sins.

Verses 9, 10. Help us, O God of our salvation — From whom we have often received, and from whom alone we now expect salvation, that is, deliverance, or protection; for the glory of thy name — Which is now obscured by the insolence and blasphemy of thine enemies, who ascribe their conquest to their idols, and triumph over thee, no less than over thy people, as one unable to deliver them out of their hands: see Daniel 3:15. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God — He whom they served, and of whom they boasted? He is lost and gone, or grown impotent or idle. Let him be known among the heathen — By the execution of his judgments upon them, according to Psalm 9:16; in our sight — That we may live to see it, and praise thy name for it; by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed — Or, rather, Let the vengeance (Hebrew, µd tnqn, nikmath dam) of thy servants’ blood which is shed be known among the heathen that are in our sight. “It is for the glory of God’s name to deliver his church; because, while she is in trouble, that name is blasphemed by the enemy, as if he wanted either power or will to prevent or remove the calamities of his servants. Prayer is therefore here made by the faithful, that God, not to gratify any vindictive spirit of theirs, but to vindicate his own attributes, would break the teeth of the oppressor, and work a public and glorious salvation for his chosen; at beholding which the very adversaries themselves might possibly be converted.” — Horne.

9. Help us, O God of our salvation—This divine title was the ground of their theocracy. They had forgotten it in their sins and idol worship, but recall it now in their affliction and reproach. For the glory of thy name— A fundamental reason governing all the acts of God, and which is now urged as cause of immediate action; (Exodus 9:16; Numbers 14:21;) for “wherefore should the heathen say among the people, Where is their God?” Verse 10; Joel 2:17. Purge away our sins—A confession that there could be no political restoration without a spiritual cleansing of the nation.

Verse 10. Where is their God?] Show where thou art by rising up for our redemption, and the infliction of deserved punishment upon our enemies.

Verses 9, 10. Help us, O God of our salvation — From whom we have often received, and from whom alone we now expect salvation, that is, deliverance, or protection; for the glory of thy name — Which is now obscured by the insolence and blasphemy of thine enemies, who ascribe their conquest to their idols, and triumph over thee, no less than over thy people, as one unable to deliver them out of their hands: see Daniel 3:15. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God — He whom they served, and of whom they boasted? He is lost and gone, or grown impotent or idle. Let him be known among the heathen — By the execution of his judgments upon them, according to Psalm 9:16; in our sight — That we may live to see it, and praise thy name for it; by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed — Or, rather, Let the vengeance (Hebrew, µd tnqn, nikmath dam) of thy servants’ blood which is shed be known among the heathen that are in our sight. “It is for the glory of God’s name to deliver his church; because, while she is in trouble, that name is blasphemed by the enemy, as if he wanted either power or will to prevent or remove the calamities of his servants. Prayer is therefore here made by the faithful, that God, not to gratify any vindictive spirit of theirs, but to vindicate his own attributes, would break the teeth of the oppressor, and work a public and glorious salvation for his chosen; at beholding which the very adversaries themselves might possibly be converted.” — Horne.

V. 11. The prisoner-Of thy poor people now in captivity.

Verse 11. The sighing of the prisoner] The poor captive Israelites in Babylon, who sigh and cry because of their bondage.

Those that are appointed to die] htwmt ynb beney themuthah, “sons of death.” Either those who were condemned to death because of their crimes, or condemned to be destroyed by their oppressors. Both these senses apply to the Israelites: they were sons of death, i.e., worthy of death because of their sins against God; they were condemned to death or utter destruction, by their Babylonish enemies.

Verses 11, 12. Let the sighing of the prisoner — Of thy poor people now in prison, or, at least, in captivity; come before thee — Be taken cognizance of by thee, and be as prevalent with thee as these prayers; according to the greatness of thy power — Hebrew, Ë[wrz, zerognacha, of thine arm; with which no creature can contend; preserve thou those that are appointed to die — Hebrew, htwmt ynb, benee temutha, the children of death, that is, which were either designed for death, or were in manifest danger of it, as being wholly in the power of their cruel and barbarous enemies. Thus, “next to those who had been slain, the case of such as groaned in captivity, lying bound in chains and fetters, under sentence of death, to be inflicted at the will of their cruel and insulting conquerors, is recommended to God.” And render unto our neighbours sevenfold — That is, either, 1st, Abundantly, as this phrase signifies, Isaiah 65:6, 7; Jeremiah 32:18; Luke 6:38. Or, 2d, Sensibly, so that it may come home to them, and fall heavily upon them in their own persons. The reproach wherewith they have reproached thee — As impotent, or unfaithful, or unmerciful to thy people. As if he had said, “As they have reproached thee with weakness, so manifest to others their weakness, who are but sinful dust and ashes; as they have endeavoured to make thee contemptible, so let the world have just cause to despise them, who have thus presumptuously offended; according as it is written, Them that honour me, I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed,” 1 Samuel 2:30. And be assured, reader, however different the appearance of things may now be, this will certainly be found true in every instance at the last day.

Ver. 11. Preserve thou those that are appointed to die. The reading of the LXX relieves the text. “Preserve thou the children of those that have been slain.” Let the stock survive the fall of the tree. So here; Judah acquired strength, and flourished again.

11. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee—The psalmist had urged the honour and attributes of God, the covenant relation of his people, the equity of the case as between Israel and his enemies, and now carries his appeal directly to the divine pity and compassion: how can he fail here? If we accept the verbs in this and the former verse in the future, as they stand in the original, we have an expression of confidence as well as petition: “He [God] shall be known among the heathen.” “The sighing of the prisoner shall come before thee.” Preserve thou those that are appointed to die—Hebrew, the sons of death; those of the captives who are under death-sentence, or those who, by the hardships of the long march and exile, must soon succumb to death. The most literal sense, here, is the most probable. The captives, especially those of them who had distinguished themselves by resistance of the besieging army, were treated with great rigour.

Verse 12. Sevenfold into their bosom] That is, Let them get in this world what they deserve for the cruelties they have inflicted on us. Let them suffer in captivity, who now have us in bondage. Probably this is a prediction.

Verses 11, 12. Let the sighing of the prisoner — Of thy poor people now in prison, or, at least, in captivity; come before thee — Be taken cognizance of by thee, and be as prevalent with thee as these prayers; according to the greatness of thy power — Hebrew, Ë[wrz, zerognacha, of thine arm; with which no creature can contend; preserve thou those that are appointed to die — Hebrew, htwmt ynb, benee temutha, the children of death, that is, which were either designed for death, or were in manifest danger of it, as being wholly in the power of their cruel and barbarous enemies. Thus, “next to those who had been slain, the case of such as groaned in captivity, lying bound in chains and fetters, under sentence of death, to be inflicted at the will of their cruel and insulting conquerors, is recommended to God.” And render unto our neighbours sevenfold — That is, either, 1st, Abundantly, as this phrase signifies, Isaiah 65:6, 7; Jeremiah 32:18; Luke 6:38. Or, 2d, Sensibly, so that it may come home to them, and fall heavily upon them in their own persons. The reproach wherewith they have reproached thee — As impotent, or unfaithful, or unmerciful to thy people. As if he had said, “As they have reproached thee with weakness, so manifest to others their weakness, who are but sinful dust and ashes; as they have endeavoured to make thee contemptible, so let the world have just cause to despise them, who have thus presumptuously offended; according as it is written, Them that honour me, I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed,” 1 Samuel 2:30. And be assured, reader, however different the appearance of things may now be, this will certainly be found true in every instance at the last day.

12. And render unto our neighbours—Comp, verse 6. These “neighbours” were the nations lying around Jerusalem, as the Tyrians, Syrians, Moabites, Edomites, who either helped the army of Nebuchadnezzar or exulted in the downfall of the Hebrew nation. See Psalm 137:7; Ezekiel 26:2. Sevenfold—That is, a full and complete recompense: seven is the number of fulness. Into their bosom—The orientals were accustomed to place valuable articles in a fold in the “bosom” of their long, loose garments, for convenient carriage. See Luke 6:38; Isaiah 40:11. The same custom prevails now. It is formed by or above the wide girdle which encircles the waist. Instead of these valuables should now be the recompense of justice. Reproached thee—This reproach of God’s covenant people was a reproach to the name of God. It was his cause, and he is importuned to see to it. The Chaldaeans hereby inferred the inferiority of Jehovah to their patron god, Bel, or Belus, and thus boasted, as later tests show. See Daniel 3:15, and 4:25, 35, 37, and 5:21, 23.

Sweet is the closing breath of the faith and thanksgiving of this mournful psalm:—

So we thy people and the sheep of thy pasture

Will give thanks unto thee for ever;

We will declare thy praise to generation and generation.

Verse 13. We thy people] Whom thou hast chosen from among all the people of the earth.

And sheep of thy pasture] Of whom thou thyself art the Shepherd. Let us not be destroyed by those who are thy enemies; and we, in all our generations, will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Verse 13. So we thy people will give thanks for ever — “Such is the resolution of a church under persecution; and such ought to be the practice of every church when delivered out of it, and restored to the favour and protection of her God. The same is the duty of every soul with regard to afflictions and mercies of a private kind. But how glorious will be the day, when, triumphant over sin and sorrow, over every thing that exalteth itself, the church universal shall behold the adversary disarmed for ever.” When the Lord God, having swallowed up death in victory, will wipe away tears from off all faces, and take away the rebuke of his people from off all the earth: when it shall be said, Lo! this is our God, we have waited for him, and he hath saved us: this is Jehovah; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation, Isaiah 25:8, 9.