Psalms 79:1

PSALM LXXIX

The psalmist complains of the cruelty of his enemies and the

desolations of Jerusalem, and prays against them, 1-7.

He prays for the pardon and restoration of his people, and

promises gratitude and obedience, 8-13.

NOTES ON PSALM LXXIX

The title, A Psalm of Asaph, must be understood as either applying to a person of the name of Asaph who lived under the captivity; or else to the family of Asaph; or to a band of singers still bearing the name of that Asaph who flourished in the days of David; for most undoubtedly the Psalm was composed during the Babylonish captivity, when the city of Jerusalem lay in heaps, the temple was defiled, and the people were in a state of captivity. David could not be its author. Some think it was composed by Jeremiah; and it is certain that the sixth and seventh verses are exactly the same with 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."

Verse Psalms 79:1. The heathen are come into thine inheritance] Thou didst cast them out, and take thy people in; they have cast us out, and now taken possession of the land that belongs to thee. They have defiled the temple, and reduced Jerusalem to a heap of ruins; and made a general slaughter of thy people.