the nations that do not know You, And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his dwelling place. Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us.
seph: “And you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
As the centuries passed, Asaph’s words would be fulfilled when Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon desecrated and finally destroyed the temple. Persia would allow them to rebuild it, but it would be damaged and defiled again by the Greeks, the Ptolemies, and the Seleucids.
More light shines on this as Asaph says He will “provide atonement for our sins.”
Rome would rebuild and remodel it, especially under Herod the Great, but that work was hardly finished when Rome desecrated, then destroyed it. Almost 2,000 years later, it remains as the Roman army left it in A.D. 70. “Our iniquities,” says Asaph as he catalogues how we suffer because of the sin of the world around us as well as our own. Yet God’s people are not left without hope. A transition begins in verse 8… Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us! Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us, For we have been brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, For Your name’s sake! Confessing our “former iniquities,” Asaph admits that these things are the consequence of “our sins.” He pleads God to forget, “do not remember.” Do not hold them in Your heart, O Lord. God’s “tender mercies” are appealed to, compassion that originates from deep within the person. Twice in verse nine, we hear that God’s name is the cause, the occasion, for the help we need.
“Jesus” means “Savior,” and in these verses, the Lord Himself is called “God of our salvation.”
“Provide atonement” means “purge, cover, forgive.” Psalm 79 calls on God to mercifully rescue, not remember iniquities, and cover sins for the sake of His own name. Convinced of his own forgiveness and deliverance and atonement, Asaph now says: Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let there be known among the nations in our sight The avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed. Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; According to the greatness of Your power Preserve those who are appointed to die; And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord (10-12). God Bless Our Native Land is a prayer for our nation. In Psalm 79, the Church prays for His protection and deliverance. Those imprisoned pray for release. Those slated for execution look to Him for help. Nations like ours rise and fall. Buildings, even temples, crumble. The Church’s confidence is eternal. Remember the cause for the Church’s confidence: So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations (79:13).
Matthew 1:21 shines the clearest light on God’s name. There the angel Gabriel says this to Jo-
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