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O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the heavens for food, the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth. They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem (vv. 1-3, ESV).
It’s a difficult Psalm; Jerusalem is destroyed, and the Israelites are slaughtered. How could this happen? A professor* explained this Psalm to a class I attended by saying, “Everything that God creates has two potential faults — laws and free will. When free will breaks God’s laws, there’s a penalty.”
He then went on to say, “The Israelites thought they could get away with following other gods, immorality, and even sacrificing their babies in pagan worship. Though God’s grace held off judgment for decades, eventually His mercy receded, and judgment came through the Babylonians.”
We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us. How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire? (vv. 4-5).
The professor continued, “Remember, we all have the free will to break God’s laws, but should we complain about receiving judgment after breaking those laws? If we jump off a building, do we ask God why it breaks bones (or worse) when we hit the ground? If we eat fat and carbs all day long with an eventual heart attack, can God be blamed?
God’s laws, combined with our disobedience, bring judgment.
Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake! (vv. 8-9)
It was a great lecture, and the professor continued, “Fortunately, God did restore the Jews to Jerusalem, and intertwined within the description of the devastating consequences of sin, we find a phrase that’s the hope for Israel then, Israel now, and for all generations. This phrase is found in verse 8.”
Atone for our sins, for your name’s sake! (v. 9b)
Time’s up! The lecture was over, but before we left the classroom, the professor concluded, “I can’t help but think of John 3:16 and 18 every time I read of the consequences of sin described in Psalm 79, and this chapter’s one line of hope.”
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life … Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Let’s remember God’s law and our free will. We all have a decision to make about Jesus.
As Psalm 70 concludes. . .
But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise (v. 13).
Amen. Peace out!
*The “professor” is an amalgamation of three professors whom I listened to in seminary.
Writing a Psalm on Saturday about each of the 150 Psalms, I’m almost through the Psalms, but have been avoiding Psalm 79. Why?
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the heavens for food, the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth. They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem (vv. 1-3, ESV).
It’s a difficult Psalm; Jerusalem is destroyed, and the Israelites are slaughtered. How could this happen? A professor* explained this Psalm to a class I attended by saying, “Everything that God creates has two potential faults — laws and free will. When free will breaks God’s laws, there’s a penalty.”
He then went on to say, “The Israelites thought they could get away with following other gods, immorality, and even sacrificing their babies in pagan worship. Though God’s grace held off judgment for decades, eventually His mercy receded, and judgment came through the Babylonians.”
We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us. How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire? (vv. 4-5).
The professor continued, “Remember, we all have the free will to break God’s laws, but should we complain about receiving judgment after breaking those laws? If we jump off a building, do we ask God why it breaks bones (or worse) when we hit the ground? If we eat fat and carbs all day long with an eventual heart attack, can God be blamed?
God’s laws, combined with our disobedience, bring judgment.
Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake! (vv. 8-9)
It was a great lecture, and the professor continued, “Fortunately, God did restore the Jews to Jerusalem, and intertwined within the description of the devastating consequences of sin, we find a phrase that’s the hope for Israel then, Israel now, and for all generations. This phrase is found in verse 8.”
Atone for our sins, for your name’s sake! (v. 9b)
Time’s up! The lecture was over, but before we left the classroom, the professor concluded, “I can’t help but think of John 3:16 and 18 every time I read of the consequences of sin described in Psalm 79, and this chapter’s one line of hope.”
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life … Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Let’s remember God’s law and our free will. We all have a decision to make about Jesus.
As Psalm 70 concludes. . .
But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise (v. 13).
Amen. Peace out!
*The “professor” is an amalgamation of three professors whom I listened to in seminary.