Introduction: Psalm 78:69 seems like all is right with the world. And then comes Psalm 79. What happened? 400 years after the joy of Psalm 78 we find the devastation of Psalm 79. Note that this is a community psalm (we, us, ours), not an individual psalm (I, me, mine). It is similar to Psalm 74 that focuses more on the destruction of the Temple.
Desperate situations are a real possibility—79:1-5 1) The immediate human cause of Israel's desperation—79:1-4 (they) a) Desecration—79:1 b) Savage slaughter—79:2-3 (cf. Jeremiah 7:33-34; 16:3-4) 2) The ultimate Divine cause of Israel's desperation—79:4-5 (shift to we, our, us)
Prayer requests to God are appropriate in our desperation—79:6-12 1) Godward wrath toward the immediate cause—79:6-7 (they) a) The nations do what they do based on their theology—79:6 b) The nations are responsible for their behavior—79:7 c) NB the parallel thoughts in Jeremiah 10:25 2) Godward forgiveness toward His people—79:8-9 (shift to our, us) a) Concerning the past—79:8 b) Concerning the future—79:9 3) A legitimate question for God—79:10a 4) Vengeance toward the nations—79:10b 5) Godward mercy toward His people—70:11 6) Godward justice toward the nations—79:12 a) May they receive from others what they have done to God. b) The defeat of a nation was believed to be a defeat of its God.
A determination to worship—19:13 1) They are not independent of God 2) They are not the last in their line
Take-home truth: We make God's name known to the world when we live faithfully, pray earnestly, and praise God publicly for His nature and His works.
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By God's amazing grace alone, Phil was drawn to salvation in Jesus Christ as a college freshman. He began his pastoral ministry as an assistant pastor (working specifically with youth and music) in 1983 while in seminary. He became the senior pastor here at Calvary in December...
