Psalm Chapter 79

A Psalm of Asaph.

Psalm 79:1 O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.
2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.
4 We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

There is no peace in Jerusalem. We are to pray for that peace to return. They are surrounded by enemies that do not recognize their right to exist. It seems like many writers of the Psalms are crying out for peace and deliverance from their enemies. Israel was special to God. He chose the tribe of Judah to bring forth His own begotten Son to save His people from their sins.

Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Israel was allowed to go through trials and bondage to other nations so that they would repent and turn to God. This has been hard for them. This is also why they missed the first coming of Jesus and did not believe Him to be their Messiah. They were looking for a conquering warrior, not a savior from sin. It's hard for proud people to see themselves as sinners in need for God's salvation. Not recognizing ourselves as sinners is the biggest hindrance for salvation. We can't repent of sin if we do not see ourselves as sinners.

This is why our society lives in a dangerous time. In this feel good about yourselves politically correct society, it's hard to get people to see that they are sinners. People think of sin as being politically incorrect, not accepting someone's lifestyle even if the bible says its wrong, or warning against abortion. They worry more about the environment than our eternal souls. The sin mentioned in God's word is not a sin to them.

If they tried to return prayer and bible reading in public schools, we would see an outrage. Yet to ignore God in our society is to ask God to leave us alone and remove His hand of protection away from our borders. That leaves us vulnerable to any enemy that comes against us. I believe that is what 9/11 was about.

They tell the sexual permissive person that they are natural. They try to find genetic causes for sin. That way they can't repent and be saved because they excuse their sin. Actually the genetic bondage to sin is in our genes. It came down through our first parents, Adam and Eve. Some of us are born with a weakness toward different types of sin but according to the law of God, it is sin. We have all broken God's laws and need a savior from sin. This is why God loved us so much that He sent Jesus.

Here is what comes when we believe and receive Jesus Christ:

Forgiveness of Sin after we show a willingness to repent of sin. Repent means to be sorry for and turn from sin.
Saved from sin. God sends His Holy Spirit to give us power over sin. We can resist this power and return to sin because we still are free moral agents but we now have God's Spirit to help us to get victory over the sin that separates us from God.
The promise of eternal life.
The indwelling Holy Spirit.

When we are saved by the grace of God, we are actually "born again" by the Spirit of God.

Psalm 79:5 How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

Israel saw the miracles, feeding in the wilderness by the hand of God, and had God's presence with them. They hurt God when they wanted to be like other nations and worship the gods of other nations and turned from their own God.

Psalm 79:6 Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.

Even though God used wicked nations to judge Israel, the wicked nations also were judged severely by God and most of them were destroyed forever.

Psalm 79:7 For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place.
8 O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.

All any of us ever have to do was repent and turn back to God and He would forgive our sin and restore our right relationship with Him.

Psalm 79:9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake.

This prayer was answered with the coming of Jesus the Messiah, the savior from sin.

Psalm 79:10 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.

If anyone sheds the blood of the innocent, they will bear the judgment of God if they do not sincerely repent and turn from their sin. Whether they murder Jews, Christians, or anyone who did not commit a capital crime worthy of a death penalty, they will face the judgment of God. This will include the innocent unborn children that are purposely aborted by a mother who does not want them. This is the murder of innocent human life.

Psalm 79:11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;
12 And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.
13 So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.

God surely does, has and will in the future judge all nations that reject God and try to destroy His people. Whether those people are believers in Jesus Christ or the Jewish people chosen of God to bring forth the Messiah, those that hurt God's people will be judged by God.

Even though most of the Jewish people have not yet receive Jesus Christ, that does not mean that they are without hope. They are still God's chosen people and will find out the Jesus is the Messiah in the future. God will still hold the world accountable if they persecute the Jewish people. True believers in Jesus Christ are God's people by adoption. Here is the way Paul describes it:

Romans 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.

If the natural branches (The Jews) were broken off because of unbelief and refusal to accept the Messiah, Jesus the Son of God, then we can also be broken off because of unbelief resulting in turning back to the sin we were saved from.

We are warned not to boast against the Jewish people and think we are better or higher than they. They are to be reconciled to God in the latter days. I believe those days are upon us. We are saved by faith in the Jewish Messiah, Jesus. They also can be saved if they turn to their own Messiah as a savior from sin. Jesus came to save from sin first. He will return a second time as a conquering warrior.

One has to receive Him as savior before becoming part of His Kingdom that will conquer the earth and bring in a reign of righteousness. To all both Jew and Gentile, we must repent of sin in order to be saved from sin. Sin cannot enter that eternal kingdom of righteousness. Jesus is the savior God sent to us to save us from our sin but to receive this free gift, we must receive Jesus as our savior, Messiah and Lord.

The salvation from God that comes through faith in Jesus is not just for the Jews. It is for all who repent of sin and believe in this wonderful gift of God. Repent and be "born again" today. DC

Psalm 80

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