Matthew Henry Commentary Psalms 79
Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalms 79
Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalms 79
"O God, the nations are come into thine inheritance; Thy holy temple have they defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be food unto the birds of the heavens, The flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; And there was none to bury them. We are become a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and derision to them that are round about us. How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou be angry for ever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?" — Psalms 79:1-5 (ASV)
God is complained to: where should children go but to a Father able and willing to help them? See what a change sin made in the holy city, when the heathen were allowed to pour in on them. God's own people defiled it by their sins; therefore, he allowed their enemies to defile it by their insolence.
They desired that God would be reconciled. Those who desire God's favour as better than life cannot help but dread his wrath as worse than death. In every affliction we should first implore the Lord to cleanse away the guilt of our sins; then he will visit us with his tender mercies.
"Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not, And upon the kingdoms that call not upon thy name. For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his habitation. Remember not against us the iniquities of our forefathers: Let thy tender mercies speedily meet us; For we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name; And deliver us, and forgive our sins, for thy name`s sake. 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. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee: According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to death; And render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord. So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture Will give thee thanks for ever: We will show forth thy praise to all generations. " — Psalms 79:6-13 (ASV)
Those who persist in ignorance of God and neglect of prayer are the ungodly. However unrighteous men were, the Lord was righteous in permitting them to do what they did. Deliverances from trouble are mercies indeed when grounded upon the pardon of sin; we should therefore be more earnest in prayer for the removal of our sins than for the removal of afflictions.
They had no hopes but from God's mercies, his tender mercies. They plead no merit, they pretend to none, but Help us for the glory of your name; pardon us for your name's sake. The Christian does not forget that he is often bound in the chain of his sins. The world to him is a prison; sentence of death is passed upon him, and he does not know how soon it may be executed.
How fervently should he at all times pray, O let the sighing of a prisoner come before you; according to the greatness of your power, do you preserve those that are appointed to die! How glorious will the day be, when, triumphant over sin and sorrow, the church beholds the adversary disarmed forever! while that church shall, from age to age, sing the praises of her great Shepherd and Bishop, her King and her God.
Jump to: