John Calvin Commentary Psalms 79:10

"Wherefore should the nations say, Where is their God? Let the avenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed Be known among the nations in our sight." — Psalms 79:10 (ASV)

Why should the heathen say, Where is their God? Here, the people of God, in urging His name as a plea at the throne of grace, do so in a different sense than that in which they had urged it before. He extends His compassion toward us for His own name’s sake. For, as He is merciful and will have our mouths stopped—so that He alone may be accounted righteous—He freely pardons our sins.

But here, the faithful beseech Him not to allow His sacred name to be exposed to the blasphemies and insults of the wicked. From this we are taught that we do not pray correctly unless a concern for our own salvation and zeal for the glory of God are inseparably joined together in our prayers.

From the second clause of the verse, the same question may be raised that we have recently answered. Although God declares that He will execute vengeance on our enemies, we are not permitted to thirst for revenge when we are injured. Let us remember that this form of prayer was not dictated for all people indiscriminately, for them to use whenever impelled by their own passions. Instead, it was given so that, under the guidance and instruction of the Holy Spirit, they might plead the common cause of the whole Church against the wicked.

Therefore, if we are to offer such a prayer to God correctly, first, our minds must be illuminated by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Second, our zeal—which is often corrupted by the murky desires of the flesh—must be pure and well-regulated. Then, with such a pure and well-balanced zeal, we may rightly entreat God to show us, by clear examples, how precious in His sight is the life of His servants, whose blood He avenges.

The faithful are not to be understood as expressing any desire to be morbidly satisfied by the sight of bloodshed, as if they greedily longed for it. They only desire that God would grant them some confirmation of their faith through the demonstration of His fatherly love, which is manifested when He avenges the wrongs done to His own people.

It is further to be noticed that the title the servants of God is given to those who, nevertheless, were justly punished for their sins. For although He may chastise us, He does not immediately cast us off. On the contrary, He thereby testifies that our salvation is His concern.

Again, we know that when God’s anger extends over the whole body of the Church—where the good and the bad are mingled together—the good are punished along with the bad, just as Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, and others were carried into captivity. It is true they were not altogether faultless, but it is certain that such a great calamity was not brought upon the Jews on their account. Rather, in their own lives, a spectacle was presented to the ungodly, so that these might be more deeply affected.