Study 63 From the Book of
Psalms is: Psalms 79 and 80
These two psalms are
national prayers in times of national disaster. In Jewish synagogue worship Ps.
79 was prescribed for use in commemoration of the destruction of the Temple in
586 BC and in AD 70. Try to recapture the sense of desolation which pervaded
the nation (79: 1-4, 7, 11; 80:12, 13), together with the feeling that exile
brought dishonour to the Lord’s name (79:10; cf. Ezk. 36:20).
1.
Ps.
79. Note here the plea for vengeance, coupled with prayer for forgiveness and
deliverance. Cf. Is. 35:4; 59:16-19; 63:3, 4. The new Testament is no less
concerned for God’s glory, but its spirit is different Cf., e.g., Mk. 11:25;
Rom. 12:19-21. How do you account for this difference?
2.
Ps.
80. What do the Israelites here confess concerning god’s attitude toward them
and His treatment of them? Where does their only hope of salvation lie? What ought
we to learn from this?
Notes
1.
79:3.
‘there was none to bury them’: a disgrace threatened in Dt. 28:26; and
repeatedly predicted by Jeremiah (7:33; 8:2; 9:22).
2.
80:1,
2. The three tribes here mentioned camped west of the tabernacle in the
wilderness, and immediately followed the ark when the people were on the march.
See Nu. 2:17-24.
3.
80:17.
This verse point forward to the Messiah.
