Psalm 79

We find the Psalmist in the most difficult of positions.  What is described is most certainly the time of the Babylonian captivity.  The people of Israel are in shame.  Not only have the Babylonians treated them terribly; other nations, particularly Edom, took advantage of the situation to try to take Israel’s land for themselves.  The once proud nation is now a nation in exile.

But this is not actually what you hear the Psalmist saying.  What he says is …

§     The nations have come into YOUR inheritance … YOUR holy temple.

§     The dead bodies of YOUR servants …the flesh of YOUR saints.

§     For the glory of YOUR name … for YOUR name’s sake.

§     YOUR people, the sheep of YOUR pasture will give YOU thanks and show forth YOUR praise!

Furthermore, we also see that the Psalmist is not blind to the fact that the terrible situation in which they find themselves is of their own making.  He acknowledges former iniquities (v8) and sins (v9), pleading for God to make atonement so that He can forget them and turn from His anger.

The point is that we are seeing what we always see in the prayers of this great Hymnbook: the cry and concern of the saint is focused on His God!  Understand what we are saying: his life is consumed with difficulty and it drives him to His God.  But the one thing he desires is that His God be exalted.  He recognizes that he and his people would be nothing apart from God.  They are, in fact, His sheep living in His pasture.  The real problem is not that Israel is shamed; it is that Israel’s Shepherd is shamed (v10).

Let us, the people of God living in the AD era of history, see that nothing has changed in this regard.  God invites us to come into His very throne room with our sorrows (Heb. 4:16).  He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).  He longs to hear your supplications (Phil. 4:6-7).

But when you enter His presence do you not come to a place of great glory, where He is high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple (Isa. 6:1)?  You are in the place where all cry out glory, where the musical theme is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8).  The One on the throne is alone worthy to receive glory and honor and power for He created all things and by (His) will they exist and were created (Rev. 4:11).

So when we come, as He bids us do, with our pain and shame, let us humble ourselves (1 Peter 5:6).  Let us come in Jesus’ name.  Let us speak of ourselves in truth, as HIS purchased possession (Eph. 1:14), HIS own special people (Titus 2:14).  May our prayer be to the praise of HIS glory (Eph. 1:6,12,14).