Psalms 79
Psalms 79:1-13 (NLT)
1 A psalm of Asaph. O God, pagan nations have conquered your land, your special possession. They have defiled your holy Temple and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
2 They have left the bodies of your servants as food for the birds of heaven. The flesh of your godly ones has become food for the wild animals.
3 Blood has flowed like water all around Jerusalem; no one is left to bury the dead.
4 We are mocked by our neighbors, an object of scorn and derision to those around us.
5 O LORD, how long will you be angry with us? Forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you—on kingdoms that do not call upon your name.
7 For they have devoured your people Israel, making the land a desolate wilderness.
8 Do not hold us guilty for the sins of our ancestors! Let your compassion quickly meet our needs, for we are on the brink of despair.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation! Help us for the glory of your name. Save us and forgive our sins for the honor of your name.
10 Why should pagan nations be allowed to scoff, asking, “Where is their God?” Show us your vengeance against the nations, for they have spilled the blood of your servants.
11 Listen to the moaning of the prisoners. Demonstrate your great power by saving those condemned to die.
12 O Lord, pay back our neighbors seven times for the scorn they have hurled at you.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever and ever, praising your greatness from generation to generation.
In the cry to God for deliverance from enemy dominance, there is first of all acknowledgment that the lands, the Temple, and the people are His, that the onslaught of the enemies is not only against the nation but against God Himself. Though there is frustration with the reality of this invasion, there is yet praise for the One who will deliver them again. His greatness and power are called upon from a repentant heart with a commitment to endless praise.
In those moments when the effects of an evil world may be imposing hardship and difficulty, we’ve been given direct access to the throne of grace where praise can surround the petitions for deliverance. Rather than remaining in the telling of the trials, there is praise that will exalt the Answer above the enemy and make way for the complete deliverance already provided.