John Gill Commentary Psalms 79

O God, the Heathen are come into your inheritance
The land of Canaan, divided among the children of Israel by lot and line for an inheritance, out of which the Heathen were cast, to make room for them; but now would come into it again; see (Psalms 89:35) . And this is called the Lord's inheritance, because he gave it as such to the people of Israel, and dwelt in it himself; and the rather this is observed as something marvellous, that he should suffer Heathens to possess his own inheritance; or the city of Jerusalem, which was the place the Lord chose to put his name in; or the temple, where he had his residence, called the mountain of his inheritance, (Exodus 15:17) , and into which it was always accounted a profanation for Heathens to enter; see (Acts 21:28Acts 21:29) .

Into each of these places the Heathen came; the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar; the Syrians under Antiochus, as in the Apocrypha:

``Insomuch that the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of them: whereupon the city was made an habitation of strangers, and became strange to those that were born in her; and her own children left her.''

``Now Jerusalem lay void as a wilderness, there was none of her children that went in or out: the sanctuary also was trodden down, and aliens kept the strong hold; the heathen had their habitation in that place; and joy was taken from Jacob, and the pipe with the harp ceased.''

The Romans under Pompey, Vespasian, and Titus; and the Papists have since entered among the people of God, who are his heritage or inheritance, and have lorded it over them, and made havoc of them, and who are called Heathens and Gentiles, (Psalms 10:16) (Revelation 11:2Revelation 11:18) .

your holy temple have they defiled :
This was done in the times of Antiochus, by entering into it, taking away the holy vessels out of it, shedding innocent blood in it, and setting up the abomination of desolation on the altar, and sacrificing to it, as in the Apocrypha:

``Every bridegroom took up lamentation, and she that sat in the marriage chamber was in heaviness,''

``Thus they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled it:''

``And pollute the sanctuary and holy people:''

``And whoever was found with any book of the testament, or whoever committed themselves to the law, the king's commandment was, that they should put him to death.''

``For your sanctuary is trodden down and profaned, and your priests are in heaviness, and brought low.''

``And they called upon the Lord, that he would look upon the people who were trodden down by all; and also pity the temple profaned by ungodly men;''

And by burning it in the times of Nebuchadnezzar and Titus; see (Psalms 74:7) . And the church, which is the holy temple of God, has been defiled by antichrist sitting in it, and showing himself there as if he was God, by his dreadful blasphemies, idolatrous worship, and false doctrines, (2 Thessalonians 2:4) .

they have laid Jerusalem on heaps ;
The walls and buildings being pulled down, and made a heap of stones and rubbish: in the times of Antiochus and of the Maccabees, it was set on fire, and the houses and the walls pulled down on every side, and was greatly defaced, and threatened to be laid level with the ground, as in the Apocrypha:

``And when he had taken the spoils of the city, he set it on fire, and pulled down its houses and walls on every side.''

``And that he would have compassion upon the city, sore defaced, and ready to be made even with the ground; and hear the blood that cried unto him,''

``That the holy city (to which he was going in haste to lay it even with the ground, and to make it a common burying place,) he would set at liberty:''

And this was thoroughly done in the times of Nebuchadnezzar and Titus, when the city was broke up and burnt with fire, and laid utterly desolate; so the Targum renders the word for "desolation"; it sometimes signifies a grave; see (Job 30:24) , and the sense may be here, that the city of Jerusalem was made graves to many; and multitudes were buried under the ruins of it.

Aben Ezra interprets it, low places which were dug to find hidden things; the Septuagint translate it "a watch", or cottage "for apple orchards", and so the versions that follow it; signifying to what a low condition the city was reduced. Jarchi and Kimchi interpret the word as we do, "heaps": this, as it is true of Jerusalem, which has been trodden under foot by the Gentiles, and remains so to this day, (Luke 21:24) , so likewise of mystical Jerusalem, the holy city, given to the Gentiles or Papists, to be trodden down for the space of forty and two months, the exact time of the reign of antichrist, (Revelation 11:2) .

The dead bodies of your servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven For such there were, both at the time of the Babylonish captivity, and in the times of Antiochus, who were good men, and served the Lord, and yet suffered in the common calamity. Nicanor, a general of Demetrius, in the time of the Maccabees, seems to have been guilty of such a fact as this, since, when he was slain, his tongue was given in pieces to the fowls, and the reward of his madness was hung up before the temple, as in the Apocrypha:

``And when he had cut out the tongue of that ungodly Nicanor, he commanded that they should give it by pieces unto the fowls, and hang up the reward of his madness before the temple.''

the flesh of your saints unto the beasts of the earth ; this clause and the following verse are applied to a case in the times of the Maccabees, when sixty men of the Assideans were slain, religious, devout, and holy men, so called from the very word here translated "saints";

``Now the Assideans were the first among the children of Israel that sought peace of them:'' ``The flesh of your saints have they cast out, and their blood have they shed round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them.''

Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem ,
&c.] Without any concern of mind, or remorse of conscience; without any fear of God or man; as if it had been so much water only; and this they shed in great abundance: from the Apocrypha:

``And when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly.'' ``And spake peaceable words unto them, but all was deceit: for when they had given him credence, he fell suddenly upon the city, and smote it very sore, and destroyed much people of Israel.'' ``Thus they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled it:'' ``So they rose up against them in battle on the sabbath, and they slew them, with their wives and children and their cattle, to the number of a thousand people.''

In like manner the blood of the saints has been shed by the antichristian beast of Rome, for which he and his followers will be righteously retaliated, (Revelation 17:6) (18:24) (16:6).

and there was none to bury them :
Either the number of the slain was so great, that there were not left enough to bury the dead, or they that did remain were not suffered to do it; this will be the case of the two witnesses, when slain, (Revelation 11:7–9).

We are become a reproach to our neighbours That is, those that remained; so the Jews were to the Edomites, especially at the time of the Babylonish captivity, (Psalms 137:7) ,

a scorn and derision to them that are round about us ; as the Christians in all ages have been to the men of the world, and especially will be insulted and triumphed over when the witnesses are slain, (Revelation 11:10) .

How long, Lord, will you be angry? for ever ?
&c.] That is, how long will you be angry? shall it be for ever? see (Psalms 85:4Psalms 85:5) , for though what was done, or to be done, as before related, was or will be done by the enemies of the Lord's people, yet by his permission, and as a token of his anger and displeasure against them: at least it might be so understood, both by them and by their enemies; and hence this expostulation,

shall your jealousy burn like fire ?
so jealousy does; its coals are coals of fire, (Song of Solomon 8:6) , there were, at the times referred to, such among the people, who did evil things, and provoked the Lord to jealousy and wrath: see the Apocrypha:``And there was very great wrath upon Israel.'' ``When this was done, and they had made a common supplication, they besought the merciful Lord to be reconciled with his servants for ever.''