Bible Commentaries
Psalms 79

Verses 1-13

Psalms 79:0

Introduction - Psalms 79:0, as in Psalms 74:0, makes reference to the captivity of Judah and the destruction of the Temple. If this considered is a post-exile psalm based upon the description of Psalms 79:1-4, then it was written by the sons of Asaph, or his school of composers. If it was written by Asaph himself, he is called a seer, or prophet (2 Chronicles 25:1-2; 2 Chronicles 29:30), and he would have written this psalm as a future prophecy, since this was the office and ministry of Asaph.

1 Chronicles 25:1, “Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph , and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals : and the number of the workmen according to their service was:

1 Chronicles 25:2, “Of the sons of Asaph ; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king.

2 Chronicles 29:30, “Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer . And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.”

Psalms 79:1 (A Psalm of Asaph.) O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.

Psalms 79:2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.

Psalms 79:2 Comments - The prophecy of Jeremiah 19:7 was fulfilled in Psalms 79:2.

Jeremiah 19:7, “And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth .”

Psalms 79:6 Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.

Psalms 79:6 Comments - Psalms 79:6 describes the fulfillment of the prophecy given in Jeremiah 10:25.

Jeremiah 10:25, “Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.”