Psalm 79

Faith amid Confusion

A psalm of * Asaph. w

1 God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance,

desecrated Your holy temple,

and turned Jerusalem into ruins. x

2 They gave the corpses of Your servants

to the birds of the sky for food,

the flesh of Your godly ones

to the beasts of the earth. y

3 They poured out their blood

like water all around Jerusalem,

and there was no one to bury them. z

4 We have become an object of reproach

to our neighbors,

a source of mockery and ridicule

to those around us. a

5 How long, * Yahweh? Will You be angry forever?

Will Your jealousy keep burning like fire? b

6 Pour out Your wrath on the nations

that don’t acknowledge You,

on the kingdoms that don’t call on Your name, c

7 for they have devoured Jacob

and devastated his homeland. d

8 Do not hold past sins e against us;

let Your compassion come to us quickly,

for we have become weak. f

9 God of our salvation, help us g—

for the glory of Your name.

Deliver us and * atone for h our sins,

because of Your name. i

10 Why should the nations ask,

“Where is their God?” j

Before our eyes,

let vengeance for the shed blood of Your servants

be known among the nations. k

11 Let the groans of the prisoners reach You;

according to Your great power,

preserve those condemned to die. l

12 Pay back sevenfold to our neighbors m

the reproach they have hurled at You, Lord. n

13 Then we, Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, o

will thank You forever;

we will declare Your praise

to generation after generation. p