Psalms 79:8

79:6-13 Those who persist in ignorance of God, and neglect of prayer, are the ungodly. How unrighteous soever men were, the Lord was righteous in permitting them to do what they did. Deliverances from trouble are mercies indeed, when grounded upon the pardon of sin; we should therefore be more earnest in prayer for the removal of our sins than for the removal of afflictions. They had no hopes but from God's mercies, his tender mercies. They plead no merit, they pretend to none, but, Help us for the glory of thy name; pardon us for thy name's sake. The Christian forgets not that he is often bound in the chain of his sins. The world to him is a prison; sentence of death is passed upon him, and he knows not how soon it may be executed. How fervently should he at all times pray, O let the sighing of a prisoner come before thee, according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die! How glorious will the day be, when, triumphant over sin and sorrow, the church beholds the adversary disarmed for ever! while that church shall, from age to age, sing the praises of her great Shepherd and Bishop, her King and her God.

Or, "our ancient iniquities", as the Septuagint; the most ancient sin of all is that of our first parents, in which we are involved, and by which we are made sinners; and for which judgment comes upon all men; and from thence flows the corruption of nature, or that original sin of our nature in which we are all conceived and born, and so are transgressors from the womb; or iniquities of former times, of our youth, as Kimchi, sins done of old, committed long ago, in the youthful age, see Psalm 25:7 , or the sins of former persons, of our fathers, as Aben Ezra, which the Lord visits sometimes upon the children: some think reference is had to the sin of their forefathers in making and worshipping the golden calf; the Jews (e) have a saying, that there is no punishment happens to Israel, but there is an ounce in it for the sin of the calf; their meaning is, that this is always remembered and visited, according to Exodus 32:34 , the phrase may take in all the sins of former persons, their ancestors, and of former times, from age to age, they had continued in, which had brought ruin upon them; and all their own sins, of nature and of youth, all past ones, to the present time: and it is desired that God would not "remember these against them"; that is, that he would not chastise or punish them for them, but that he would pardon them; for forgiveness of sin is sometimes expressed by a non-remembrance of it, Isaiah 43:25 , or that he would not "remember unto" (f) them; that is, put th

Psalm 79:8 . Remember not against us former iniquities — The sins committed by our forefathers, and by us who have filled up the measure of their sins, for which we confess thou hast most righteously brought this desolating judgment upon us. Let thy tender mercies — Upon which all our confidence is fixed; for merit and righteousness we have none; see Daniel 9:7 ; Daniel 9:9 . Speedily prevent us — Prevent our utter extirpation, which we have deserved, and have great reason to expect; for we are brought very low — Past the hopes of all human help, and therefore the glory of our deliverance will be wholly thine.

Verse 8. - O remember not against us former iniquities; or, the iniquities of our forefathers (so Professor Cheyne and the Revised Version); comp. Leviticus 26:45 , "I will remember to them the covenant of their ancestors" - where the same word ( רִאשֹׁגִים ) is used. Let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us; or, come to meet us (Kay, Cheyne). For we are brought very low (comp. Psalm 111:6 ; Psalm 142:6 ). Psalm 79:8

Former iniquities; the sins committed by our forefathers, and by us, who have filled up the measure of their sins, for which we confess thou hast most righteously brought this desolating judgment upon us. Thy tender mercies; upon which all our confidence is fixed; for merit and righteousness we have none. See Daniel 9:7,9 . Prevent us; prevent our utter extirpation, which we have deserved, and have great reason to expect. Brought very low; past the hopes of all human help, and therefore the glory of our deliverance will be wholly thine.

8 . Remember not against us the iniquities of our forefathers (R.V.). For these sins Israel in the Exile knew that it was suffering ( Lamentations 5:7 ), in accordance with the warnings of the law ( Exodus 20:5 ). For the phrase cp. Jeremiah 11:10 . But the next verse shews that the Psalmist does not claim that his own generation is innocent. Cp. Leviticus 26:39-40 . prevent us ] Come to meet us. See on Psalm 59:10 . It is an appeal to the fundamental revelation of God as a merciful God ( Exodus 34:6 ).

O remember not against us forrmer iniquities - Margin, The iniquities of them that were before us. The Hebrew may mean either former times, or former generations. The allusion, however, is substantially the same. It is not their own iniquities which are particularly referred to, but the iniquity of the nation as committed in former times; and the prayer is, that God would not visit them with the results of the sins of former generations, though their own ancestors. The language is derived from the idea so constantly affirmed in the Scripture, and so often illustrated in fact, that the effects of sin pass over from one generation to the next, and involve it in calamity. See Exodus 20:5 ; Exodus 34:7 ; Leviticus 20:5 ; Leviticus 26:39-40 ; Numbers 14:18 , Numbers 14:33 ; compare the notes at Romans 5:12 , et seg. Let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us - literally, "Hasten; let thy tender mercies anticipate us." The word prevent here, as elsewhere in the Scriptures, does not mean to hinder, as with us, but to go before; to anticipate. See Job 3:12, note; Psalm 17:13, note; Psalm 21:3, note; Isaiah 21:14, note; Matthew 17:25, note; 1 Thessalonians 4:15, note. The prayer here is, that God, in his tender mercy or compassion, would anticipate their ruin; would interpose before matters had gone so far as to make their destruction inevitable.

For we are brought very low - The idea in the original word is that of being pendulous, or hanging down - as vines do, or as anything does that is wilted, or withered, or as the hands do when one is weak, faint, or sick. Then it refers to a failure or exhaustion of strength; and the idea here is that their strength as a nation was exhausted.