Psa 79:8-13 | KingComments | STEP | The exclamation “how long, O LORD?” is an exclamation of faith made in despair ( ). It is not the language of impatience, but of fear. It is not a complaint, but one of amazement. They ask the LORD: “Will You be angry forever?” The psalmist here uses the covenant name of God: LORD, Yahweh. In doing so, he is appealing to the faithfulness of God to His covenant. The question of “how long” is an expression of their faith that the anger of God is coming to an end. What the enemies have done, they rightly see as an expression of God’s anger on their sins. Therefore, they do not ask ‘why’. They know that they have aroused His “jealousy” by their idolatry, which is unfaithfulness to Him. His jealousy burns like fire, but how long will it still last? The God-fearing then ask God to pour out His “wrath upon the nations which do not know You and upon the kingdoms which do not call upon Your name” ( ; cf. ; ). The nations do not cry to God, but to their self-made idols. The request for God to pour out His wrath is not an expression of vindictiveness, but the request for the exercise of justice. The righteous one does not do it himself, but leaves it to God (cf. ). Justice must be done, because the nations ignore God and act according to their own will. The fact that God uses them as a disciplinary rod for His people (cf. ) does not mean that He approves of the conduct of those nations. God can use man’s sinful actions to fulfill His plans. They deserve God’s judgment, “for they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation”, that is God’s habitation in their midst ( ). Jacob is the name for the people as the object of God’s discipline. In that people is also the “habitation” of Jacob. God’s own land He has given Jacob to dwell in. In the dwellings of Jacob He dwells among them (cf. ; ). The God-fearing acknowledges that the destruction of the city and temple are the result of the sins of the people ( ). They ask God not to remember “the iniquities of [our] forefathers against us”. Those iniquities are there, they realize. Their asking God not to remember them is a humble request for forgiveness, by which God removes these iniquities from His remembrance. Past iniquities – that is, the transgressions against the covenant – means the iniquities done by their ancestors. These iniquities are the cause of the judgment of God on them. In fact, the psalmist acknowledges that God’s judgment on them was righteous. This is the first step to restoration. Now they appeal to God to hurry and come to their aid with His compassion. This appeal they make because they are “brought very low”. There is no strength left in them. They are exhausted. Their appeal to God’s compassion is the only appropriate appeal they can make. A person needs compassion when he is in miserable circumstances, as is the case with them.

‏ Psalms 79:8-13

How Long?

The exclamation “how long, O LORD?” is an exclamation of faith made in despair (Psa 79:5). It is not the language of impatience, but of fear. It is not a complaint, but one of amazement. They ask the LORD: “Will You be angry forever?” The psalmist here uses the covenant name of God: LORD, Yahweh. In doing so, he is appealing to the faithfulness of God to His covenant.

The question of “how long” is an expression of their faith that the anger of God is coming to an end. What the enemies have done, they rightly see as an expression of God’s anger on their sins. Therefore, they do not ask ‘why’. They know that they have aroused His “jealousy” by their idolatry, which is unfaithfulness to Him. His jealousy burns like fire, but how long will it still last?

The God-fearing then ask God to pour out His “wrath upon the nations which do not know You and upon the kingdoms which do not call upon Your name” (Psa 79:6; cf. 2Thes 1:8; Jer 10:25). The nations do not cry to God, but to their self-made idols. The request for God to pour out His wrath is not an expression of vindictiveness, but the request for the exercise of justice. The righteous one does not do it himself, but leaves it to God (cf. 2Tim 4:14).

Justice must be done, because the nations ignore God and act according to their own will. The fact that God uses them as a disciplinary rod for His people (cf. Isa 10:5) does not mean that He approves of the conduct of those nations. God can use man’s sinful actions to fulfill His plans.

They deserve God’s judgment, “for they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation”, that is God’s habitation in their midst (Psa 79:7). Jacob is the name for the people as the object of God’s discipline. In that people is also the “habitation” of Jacob. God’s own land He has given Jacob to dwell in. In the dwellings of Jacob He dwells among them (cf. Num 24:5; Psa 83:12).

The God-fearing acknowledges that the destruction of the city and temple are the result of the sins of the people (Psa 79:8). They ask God not to remember “the iniquities of [our] forefathers against us”. Those iniquities are there, they realize. Their asking God not to remember them is a humble request for forgiveness, by which God removes these iniquities from His remembrance.

Past iniquities – that is, the transgressions against the covenant – means the iniquities done by their ancestors. These iniquities are the cause of the judgment of God on them. In fact, the psalmist acknowledges that God’s judgment on them was righteous. This is the first step to restoration.

Now they appeal to God to hurry and come to their aid with His compassion. This appeal they make because they are “brought very low”. There is no strength left in them. They are exhausted. Their appeal to God’s compassion is the only appropriate appeal they can make. A person needs compassion when he is in miserable circumstances, as is the case with them.

Call for Salvation and Retribution

Their prayer for help is addressed to the “God of our salvation” (Psa 79:9). They see in God their Savior, their Deliverer. As a ground for their request for help they point – not to the fact that they are His people, but – to “the glory of Your name” (cf. Rom 2:24; Mt 6:9b; Eze 36:20-23). They think first and foremost of God’s glory. God has been dishonored. The glory of His Name is connected to His promise to be faithful to His covenant with them and to the promises He has made, even though man is unfaithful.

They have forfeited the right to His promises by not being faithful to His covenant. They are aware of that. They have broken the covenant by their sins. Therefore they need redemption through forgiveness of their sins. The only way to do this is for Him to forgive their sins or atone for their sins. Atonement for sins means the covering of sins by the blood of the Lamb. As the basis for this request, they refer – not to their need, but – to “Your name’s sake” (cf. Num 14:13-19).

Now that their question regarding their sins is settled, the remnant returns in their prayer to the nations (Psa 79:10). The nations keep saying: “Where is their God?” (cf. Joel 2:17). The righteous ask God to answer that question once and for all by revealing Himself in vengeance to those nations.

God must be known in the execution of “vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed” (cf. Lk 11:51; Rev 17:6 ; Rev 18:24). This must happen “among the nations in our sight”. When they see God’s vengeance, they will know that He is for them and not against them. All the mocking claims of the enemies will be belied by this.

Their demand for vengeance is not born of hatred or bitterness. They ask for it because they are in need and want to be released from their distress. That deliverance lies in the judgment on their enemies, who deserve it because they have violated God’s servants.

God must let “the groaning of the prisoner” come before Him (Psa 79:11; cf. Exo 2:24 ; Exo 6:4-5; Zec 14:2). The God-fearing ask God to take personally to heart the suffering of those who have been taken away as prisoners. These prisoners “are doomed to die”. If God intervenes “according to the greatness of” His “power [literally: arm]”, they will “preserve” their lives. Moses also uses the phrase “the greatness of Your arm” (Exo 15:16). God’s arm represents His power. That power is fully manifested in the Lord Jesus (Isa 53:1; 1Cor 1:24).

The prayer for retribution is because of what the neighboring peoples have done to the “Lord” (Psa 79:12). They mocked God for not being able to protect His inheritance. He could not save His own city and sanctuary from destruction. After all, He did not prevent or punish it, did He?

God can remove this reproach by repaying the enemies “sevenfold”, or completely – seven is the number of completion – “in their bosom”, for the evil they have committed against Him. What someone has in his bosom, no one sees. It is a place where you hide things. It refers to man’s inner self, where people can hide their transgressions (cf. Job 31:33). God knows the inner life of every human being through and through. Therefore He is also able to repay the inner evil.

Vow to Praise God

The faithful remnant makes a vow to God. They do so as “Your people and the sheep of Your pasture”. With this the psalmist returns to the conclusion of Psalm 78 (Psa 78:71). God is King of His people and Shepherd of the sheep that pasture in His land. He does not yet make Himself known in this way, but this will happen (Eze 37:22 ; 24). This is how they see themselves, although they have now been taken away from their land by force. They are now ‘Lo-Ammi’, which is ‘not God’s people’ (Hos 1:9) and are outside God’s ‘pasture’.

When God takes vengeance and brings retribution on the enemies, they “will give thanks to” Him “forever”. They emphasize that they, “we”, will do that. “To all generations” they “will tell of” His “praise”. They want to pass on the glory of God, that is to say His faithfulness and compassion that they experienced in their redemption. This happened by recording it in the Scriptures and will happen in the future by giving thanks to the LORD for all His deeds. To all generations they will tell of the praise of God.