O God, The Nations Have Come Into Your Inheritance
Devotional
Companion to the Psalter
A Devotional Guide to the Psalms
Object:
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance,
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins ...
Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name
deliver us, and forgive our sins,
for your name's sake.
Why should the nations say,
"Where is their God?"
-- Psalm 79:1, 9-10a
Theme: Lament over the destruction of Jerusalem
Outline
1-4 -- Jerusalem is in ruins! The dead unburied; survivors are mocked!
5-7 -- Pour out your anger on the nations that don't know you.
8-13 -- Help us, forgive us, for your name's honor; we will ever thank you.
Notes
• Lament
• This is a prayer for vengeance and for justice: "Those heathen nations have got it coming, too!"
• This is a prayer for forgiveness and mercy.
For Reflection
• What are the reasons in verses 8-10 why the Lord should grant their prayer? God has permitted the worst to happen to the people of Jerusalem. What are the indications that the ones praying have not lost their faith?
• Will we still have faith in the Lord and pray if he permits destruction, sorrow, or tragedy to come our way?
Prayer
Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
-- Prayer of the prophet Habakkuk (3:17-18), a contemporary of the psalmist
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins ...
Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name
deliver us, and forgive our sins,
for your name's sake.
Why should the nations say,
"Where is their God?"
-- Psalm 79:1, 9-10a
Theme: Lament over the destruction of Jerusalem
Outline
1-4 -- Jerusalem is in ruins! The dead unburied; survivors are mocked!
5-7 -- Pour out your anger on the nations that don't know you.
8-13 -- Help us, forgive us, for your name's honor; we will ever thank you.
Notes
• Lament
• This is a prayer for vengeance and for justice: "Those heathen nations have got it coming, too!"
• This is a prayer for forgiveness and mercy.
For Reflection
• What are the reasons in verses 8-10 why the Lord should grant their prayer? God has permitted the worst to happen to the people of Jerusalem. What are the indications that the ones praying have not lost their faith?
• Will we still have faith in the Lord and pray if he permits destruction, sorrow, or tragedy to come our way?
Prayer
Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
-- Prayer of the prophet Habakkuk (3:17-18), a contemporary of the psalmist
