Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 79:12

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 79:12. Sevenfold into their bosom — That is, Let them get in this world what they deserve for the cruelties they have inflicted on us. Let them suffer in captivity, who now have us in bondage. Probably this is a prediction.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 79-80 Cries from a conquered people

Like a previous psalm of Asaph, Psalms 79:0 is from the time of Jerusalem’s destruction and the taking of the people into captivity. (For an outline of events see introductory notes to Psalms 74:0.) The historical setting for Psalms 80:0 is not clear. Both psalms, 79 and 80, are cries to God for salvation after Israel has suffered defeat and desolation.

The scene around Jerusalem is one of horror. The temple has been destroyed, the city is in ruins, and the army is a mass of decaying corpses providing food for wild birds and animals. Shame is added to sorrow through the insults heaped on Israel by its neighbours (79:1-4).
True, the destruction of Jerusalem has been a judgment sent by God on the nation because of its sin, but, ask the people, is not that enough? Will not God now reverse his judgment and punish those who eat up his people (5-7)? They pray that God will forgive their sins and restore them to their land. In this way he will silence those nations who mock him as being powerless to save (8-10). God’s captive people cry out to him to rescue them and punish those who insult him (11-13).
Again the people cry to God for some decisive action that will save them from their present plight (80:1-3). They are weighed down with grief. God has apparently forgotten them and their enemies cruelly mock them (4-7).
When they think of the nation’s past glory they wonder why they must suffer such shame. Israel was like a vine transplanted from Egypt into Canaan, where it grew and spread. It covered the mountains, burst its boundaries, and reached to the Lebanon Ranges and the Euphrates River (8-11). Why then does God allow the wild beasts of the forest to plunder and destroy his vineyard? Why does he allow enemy nations to crush Israel (12-13)?
The people pray that God will rescue the suffering nation, that he will save the damaged vine and restore it to healthy growth (14-16). They pray that he will give back to Israel the strength it once had as his specially chosen nation (17-19).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"And render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord."

Most of the commentators have softened this imprecation by interpreting it to mean, not actually sevenfold, but, "`Complete or full' vengeance; seven is one of the perfect numbers, and is used to denote `many.'"Albert Barnes, op. cit., p. 312. "The expression does not mean `seven times as much as they have done,' but `completeness of retaliation.'"H. C. Leupold, p. 577. Well, maybe so; but there is also the possibility that Dahood had it right when he declared that, "This is a demand for vengeance of the most thorough-going kind, in the spirit of Lamech, who in Genesis 4:24 assures his wives Adah and Zillah that, `If Cain is avenged seven times over, then Lamech seventy times seven.'"Mitchell Dahood in The Anchor Bible, Vol. II, p. 253.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

And render unto our neighbors - That is, the neighbors who had reproached them; the surrounding people who had seen these calamities come upon them, and who had regarded these calamities as proof that their God was unable to protect them, or that they were suffering under his displeasure. See the notes at Psalms 79:4. “Sevenfold.” Seven times the amount of reproach which they have heaped upon us. The word seven is often used to denote many, as seven was one of the perfect numbers. The idea is that of complete or full vengeance. Compare Genesis 4:15, Genesis 4:24; Proverbs 6:31; Isaiah 30:26; Matthew 18:21-22; Luke 17:4.

Into their bosom ... - Perhaps the allusion here is to the custom of carrying things in the bosom of the flowing dress as it was girded around the loins. “Let them be made to carry with them seven times the amount of reproach which they have endeavored to heap on us.”

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

12And render to our neighbors sevenfold. We have already said enough on the subject of vengeance; and here the faithful show still more clearly, that they are not so much moved by the injuries done to themselves personally, as inflamed with a holy zeal when they see the sacred name of God blasphemed, and, as it were, torn in pieces by the wicked. If this affection reign in our hearts, it will easily moderate the ungovernableness of our flesh, and if the wisdom of the Spirit is added to it, our prayers will be in strict accordance with the just judgment of God.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 79:1-13

O God, heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps ( Psalms 78:1 ).

So this goes out to the future to the time when the temple was laid waste, perhaps under the reign of Rehoboam by the Egyptians.

The dead bodies of thy servants have given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of the saints, the beast of the earth. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was no one to bury them. We are become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and a derision to them around about us. How long, O LORD? will you be angry forever? shall your jealously burn like fire? Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name. For they have devoured Jacob, laid waste his dwelling place. O remember not against us former iniquities: let the tender mercies speedily prevent us; for we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away all our sins, for thy name's sake. Why should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in thy sight in the revenging of blood of thy servants which is shed. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die; and render to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord. And so we thy people, the sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: and will show forth thy praise to all generations ( Psalms 79:2-13 ).

And so it begins, of course, with speaking of the desolation that was brought by their enemies upon the temple, upon the people, and asking God to take vengeance upon those that had wrought the destruction upon the nation Israel. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 79

In this national (communal) lament psalm: Asaph mourned Jerusalem’s destruction and pleaded with God to have mercy on His people, despite their sins, for His name’s sake (cf. Psalms 74). This Asaph may have lived after the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. The writer’s viewpoint seems to be that of the survivors left in Jerusalem, rather than that of the deportees, which Psalms 137 reflects.

"This psalm repeats the themes of Psalms 74, but seemingly with more venom. The situation is the same: the temple is destroyed, Israel is bereft, and the conquering enemy gloats. Yahweh cannot afford to be a disinterested party. Appeal is made to the partisan holiness of God which works beyond visible religiosity. Israel here presses Yahweh to decide what counts with him." [Note: Brueggemann, p 71.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. A plea for deliverance 79:5-12

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Asaph continued to appeal for physical salvation on the basis of God’s honor. He asked for vengeance against the enemy that had slain many of God’s elect. He urged God to answer the prayers of the prisoners who appealed to Him for deliverance. He wanted a thorough repayment of the reproach the enemy had heaped on Yahweh’s name because the Lord had not given Israel victory.

"Such a prayer may trouble us, and we would not think to pray that way very often, but it is thoroughly biblical. The speaker is honest enough to know that yearning, and the speaker is faithful enough to submit the yearning to "God." [Note: Brueggemann, p. 72.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And render unto our neighbours seven fold into their bosom, ec.] Not seven fold for one, as the Targum paraphrases it, or a seven fold punishment for one sin; but that he would recompense their sins, or punish for them, and take vengeance on them, largely, abundantly, though not beyond measure, or exceeding the rules of justice; see Genesis 4:15,

the reproach with which they have reproached thee, O Lord; by denying his being, or calling in question his perfections of power, truth, and goodness, to help his people; speaking ill of his providence, despising his word and ordinances, and even reproaching his people in reproaching him, Psalms 89:50, and this is what a righteous recompence is desired for; see Lamentations 3:64.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      6 Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.   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.   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.   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.   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 show forth thy praise to all generations.

      The petitions here put up to God are very suitable to the present distresses of the church, and they have pleas to enforce them, interwoven with them, taken mostly from God's honour.

      I. They pray that God would so turn away his anger from them as to turn it upon those that persecuted and abused them (Psalms 79:6; Psalms 79:6): "Pour out thy wrath, the full vials of it, upon the heathen; let them wring out the dregs of it, and drink them." This prayer is in effect a prophecy, in which the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Observe here, 1. The character of those he prays against; they are such as have not known God, nor called upon his name. The reason why men do not call upon God is because they do not know him, how able and willing he is to help them. Those that persist in ignorance of God, and neglect of prayer, are the ungodly, who live without God in the world. There are kingdoms that know not God and obey not the gospel, but neither their multitude nor their force united will secure them from his just judgments. 2. Their crime: They have devoured Jacob,Psalms 79:7; Psalms 79:7. That is crime enough in the account of him who reckons that those who touch his people touch the apple of his eye. They have not only disturbed, but devoured, Jacob, not only encroached upon his dwelling place, the land of Canaan, but laid it waste by plundering and depopulating it. (3.) Their condemnation: "Pour out thy wrath upon them; do not only restrain them from doing further mischief, but reckon with them for the mischief they have done."

      II. They pray for the pardon of sin, which they own to be the procuring cause of all their calamities. How unrighteous soever men were, God was righteous in permitting them to do what they did. They pray, 1. That God would not remember against them their former iniquities (Psalms 79:8; Psalms 79:8), either their own former iniquities, that now, when they were old, they might not be made to possess the iniquities of their youth, or the former iniquities of their people, the sins of their ancestors. In the captivity of Babylon former iniquities were brought to account; but God promises not again to do so (Jeremiah 31:29; Jeremiah 31:30), and so they pray, "Remember not against us our first sins," which some make to look as far back as the golden calf, because God said, In the day when I visit I will visit for this sin of theirs upon them,Exodus 32:34. If the children by repentance and reformation cut off the entail of the parents' sin, they may in faith pray that God will not remember them against them. When God pardons sin he blots it out and remembers it no more. 2. That he would purge away the sins they had been lately guilty of, by the guilt of which their minds and consciences had been defiled: Deliver us, and purge away our sins,Psalms 79:9; Psalms 79:9. Then deliverances from trouble are granted in love, and are mercies indeed, when they are grounded upon the pardon of sin and flow from that; we should therefore be more earnest with God in prayer for the removal of our sins than for the removal of our afflictions, and the pardon of them is the foundation and sweetness of our deliverances.

      III. They pray that God would work deliverance for them, and bring their troubles to a good end and that speedily: Let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us,Psalms 79:8; Psalms 79:8. They had no hopes but from God's mercies, his tender mercies; their case was so deplorable that they looked upon themselves as the proper objects of divine compassion, and so near to desperate that, unless divine mercy did speedily interpose to prevent their ruin, they were undone. This whets their importunity: "Lord, help us; Lord, deliver us; help us under our troubles, that we may bear them well; help us out of our troubles, that the spirit may not fail. Deliver us from sin, from sinking." Three things they plead:-- 1. The great distress they were reduced to: "We are brought very low, and, being low, shall be lost if thou help us not." The lower we are brought the more need we have of help from heaven and the more will divine power be magnified in raising us up. 2. Their dependence upon him: "Thou art the God of our salvation, who alone canst help. Salvation belongs to the Lord, from whom we expect help; for in the Lord alone is the salvation of his people." Those who make God the God of their salvation shall find him so. 3. The interest of his own honour in their case. They plead no merit of theirs; they pretend to none; but, "Help us for the glory of thy name; pardon us for thy name's sake." The best encouragements in prayer are those that are taken from God only, and those things whereby he has made himself known. Two things are insinuated in this plea:-- (1.) That God's name and honour would be greatly injured if he did not deliver them; for those that derided them blasphemed God, as if he were weak and could not help them, or had withdrawn and would not; therefore they plead (Psalms 79:10; Psalms 79:10), "Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? He has forsaken them, and forgotten them; and this they get by worshipping a God whom they cannot see." (Nil præter nubes et cœli numen adorant. Juv.--They adore no other divinity than the clouds and the sky.) That which was their praise (that they served a God that is every where) was now turned to their reproach and his too, as if they served a God that is nowhere. "Lord," say they, "Make it to appear that thou art by making it to appear that thou art with us and for us, that when we are asked, Where is your God? we may be able to say, He is nigh unto us in all that which we call upon him for, and you see he is so by what he does for us." (2.) That God's name and honour would be greatly advanced if he did deliver them; his mercy would be glorified in delivering those that were so miserable and helpless. By making bare his everlasting arm on their behalf he would make unto himself an everlasting name; and their deliverance would be a type and figure of the great salvation, which in the fulness of time Messiah the Prince would work out, to the glory of God's name.

      IV. They pray that God would avenge them on their adversaries, 1. For their cruelty and barbarity (Psalms 79:10; Psalms 79:10): "Let the avenging of our blood" (according to the ancient law, Genesis 9:6) "be known among the heathen; let them be made sensible that what judgments are brought upon them are punishments of the wrong they have done to us; let this be in our sight, and by this means let God be known among the heathen as the God to whom vengeance belongs (Psalms 94:1) and the God that espouses his people's cause." Those that have intoxicated themselves with the blood of the saints shall have blood given them to drink, for they are worthy. 2. For their insolence and scorn (Psalms 79:12; Psalms 79:12): "Render to them their reproach. The indignities which by word and deed they have done to the people of God himself and his name let them be repaid to them with interest." The reproach wherewith men have reproached us only we must leave it to God whether he will render to them or no, and must pray that he would for give them; but the reproach wherewith they have blasphemed God himself we may in faith pray that God would render seven-fold into their bosoms, so as to strike at their hearts, to humble them, and bring them to repentance. This prayer is a prophecy, of the same import with that of Enoch, that God will convince sinners of all their hard speeches which they have spoken against him (Jude 1:15) and will return them into their own bosoms by everlasting terrors at the remembrance of them.

      V. They pray that God would find out a way for the rescue of his poor prisoners, especially the condemned prisoners, Psalms 79:11; Psalms 79:11. The case of their brethren who had fallen into the hands of the enemy was very sad; they were kept close prisoners, and, because they durst not be heard to bemoan themselves, they vented their griefs in deep and silent sighs. All their breathing was sighing, and so was their praying. They were appointed to die, as sheep for the slaughter, and had received the sentence of death within themselves. This deplorable case the psalmist recommends, 1. To the divine pity: "Let their sighs come up before thee, and be thou pleased to take cognizance of their moans." 2. To the divine power: "According to the greatness of thy arm, which no creature can contest with, preserve thou those that are appointed to die from the death to which they are appointed." Man's extremity is God's opportunity to appear for his people. See 2 Corinthians 1:8-10.

      Lastly, They promise the returns of praise for the answers of prayer (Psalms 79:13; Psalms 79:13): So we will give thee thanks for ever. Observe, 1. How they please themselves with their relation to God. "Though we are oppressed and brought low, yet we are the sheep of thy pasture, not disowned and cast off by thee for all this: We are thine; save us." 2. How they promise themselves an opportunity of praising God for their deliverance, which they therefore desired, and would bid welcome, because it would furnish them with matter for thanksgiving and put their hearts in tune for that excellent work, the work of heaven. 3. How they oblige themselves not only to give God thanks at present, but to show forth his praise unto all generations, that is, to do all they could both to perpetuate the remembrance of God's favours to them and to engage their posterity to keep up the work of praise. 4. How they plead this with God: "Lord, appear for us against our enemies; for, if they get the better, they will blaspheme thee (Psalms 79:12; Psalms 79:12); but, if we be delivered, we will praise thee. Lord, we are that people of thine which thou hast formed for thyself, to show forth thy praise; if we be cut off, whence shall that rent, that tribute, be raised?" Note, Those lives that are entirely devoted to God's praise are assuredly taken under his protection.