WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
Psalm 79:1-13
Philippians 4:6-7

Fear Him, and keep
His commandments.

JERUSALEM THE FALLEN

As the events that happened to Jerusalem in Psalm 79 took place at its fall, Asaph’s connection with it (who lived in David’s time) could only be in his descendants. Spurgeon thinks Jeremiah could have written this Psalm. Whether Jeremiah wrote this Psalm or not, he has plenty of war experiences in Lamentations. We should thank God for peace and pray for the relief of war victims and refugees.

This Psalm describes briefly the fall of Jerusalem to the heathen. It tells of the defilement of the Temple and destruction of the city. To further desecrate the Holy City, the dead bodies of princes and priests were not allowed to be buried. They provided a feast to the carrion birds and beasts. Why has Jerusalem the Golden become Jerusalem the Fallen? This is the way of all flesh, as predicted by Moses: “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be … Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out” (Deut 28:15-19).

From this Psalm and Moses’ prediction we can find an explanation to the sad fortunes of the Jews through two thousand years, culminating with Hitler’s pogroms that exterminated six million of them during World War II. It is due to their rejecting Jesus their Messiah and rashly bringing the blood of Christ upon themselves and their children.

THOUGHT: “… thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.” (Ps 79:1)
PRAYER: “So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever …” (Ps 79:13)