Psalm 79 is a communal lament written after the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar had attacked Jerusalem in 587 or 586 BC, looting and destroying Solomon's Temple and taking captives. These events were a shock to many in Jerusalem. Even though the possibility of exile had been prophesied by Moses (e.g., in Deut 28) and others, God had been so merciful for so long. Surely he wouldn't allow the Temple where he was present in the midst of his people to be destroyed, they reasoned.
Those who survived the Babylonian attack were fortunate, but they then had to face what had happened. Bodies had not received proper burials, creating ritual impurity that reflected Israel's moral impurity. Other nations, like their relatives the Edomites, were taunting them (vv 1-4).
In the tradition of Moses (32, e.g.), the psalm asks God, for the sake of his reputation, to deal with the pagans who had attacked Jerusalem. Acknowledging the nation's sin, the psalm asks for mercy.
"Let the groans of the prisoners come before you," verse 11 says. This verse reminds us Exodus 2:4; 6:5, where the groans of the Israelites in Egyptian slavery were heard by God. The psalm asks for a new exodus and looks forward to a time when the people will praise God for more of his wondrous works on their behalf (v 13).
This psalm has been used in liturgy for the 9th of Ab, the annual fast mourning the destruction(s) of Jerusalem. Language like that of Psalm 79 is used to speak of future judgment (Luke 21:20-24; Rev 11:2,8; 16:6).
Rev 6:9-10 pictures holy martyrs praying as in Psalm 79. "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
In the case of Psalm 79, we know an answer to the "how long" question in verse 5. Seventy years after the destruction of the Temple, in 516 BC, the Second Temple was completed. For the martyrs, we do not know "how long," but we do know that they have a great reward ahead of them (Rev 20:4).
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