Psalm 79 - Past Generations

Psalm 79:1-2, 5-6, 8-9, 12-13 NIV

O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;

 they have defiled your holy temple,

 they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble. 

They have left the dead bodies of your servants

 as food for the birds of the sky,

 the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild. 

How long, Lord ? Will you be angry forever? 

How long will your jealousy burn like fire?

Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you,

 on the kingdoms that do not call on your name;

Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;

 may your mercy come quickly to meet us,

 for we are in desperate need. 

Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name;

 deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake. 

Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times

 the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord. 

Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,

 will praise you forever;

 from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise.

Psalm 79 is another prayer from an exiled people. The southern kingdom of Judah is decimated. The temple in Jerusalem lies in ruins. The bodies of the dead line the streets. There is no one to bury them. Israel has become a sign to other nations as to what happens when you defy the power of Babylon.

The psalm depicts the tragedy and then calls to God, asking if He will be angry forever. The prayer asks for God's wrath to turn away from Israel and toward their enemy. They call upon God to act for His own reputation, for His chosen people are in disgrace. They seek forgiveness.

I find interesting the phrase, "Do not hold against us the sins of past generations." Have you considered how your life is affected by the actions of past generations?

I think of war and national debt. The Great Depression and World War 2 in many ways shadows over this nation even today. Though the war ended in 1945, the effects of the war can be seen in each following generation. The boomers rebelled against a generation that wanted to give them the things they couldn't have. The boomers went off to find themselves and tried to create a new world founded on their own values. The Gen-Xers were raised by Boomer parents who were still trying to find themselves. Economic shifts, inflation, social revolutions, all point to the Boomer response to the previous generation. The Gen-Xers grew up as the first set of latch key kids. Disenchanted with the world they were receiving, a depression and cynicism drove them. Their children, the Millennials, are also responding to the cynicism of their forebears by trying to create a better world for their children.

There  is a succession of events one can see like falling dominoes. You may not agree with my simplistic interpretation, and that is to be expected, but surely you'll find that succeeding generations inherit problems handed down from previous generations. The alcoholic family remains sick in dysfunction until someone has the courage to stop the cycle.

The Bible says the sins of the fathers visit their children up to the fourth generation. (Exodus 34:7) Sin has communal consequences. The failure of Israel is connected to the sins of the king and the citizens who followed his lead. They worshiped false gods and followed the customs of neighboring peoples. They did not keep the holy commands of the One who delivered them from slavery and gave them the land promised to Abraham and his descendants. The following generations live in ruin and exile.

The good news is that God hears true repentance. God is moved in His heart by our cries for mercy. When a new generation of Hebrews was refined in exile, the Lord brought them out of exile and back to Judea to rebuild. The Lord sent Persia to defeat Babylonia. He certainly paid them back for their violence against the Hebrews.

I seek mercy for my sins and I seek release from the burden of the sins of my forebears. I know our God hears every prayer from a repentant heart. May we all be set free to join the everlasting praise God deserves.