A CRY-OUT OVER A DEFEAT BEFORE THE GENTILES There was a controversy among scholars concerning the identity of the author of this psalm and the date of its writing; whether it is a prophecy of the desolation to come upon Jerusalem and the temple by the Gentiles or it is a record written after it has already taken place. Some believe that the author is the prophet Jeremiah, because it includes a lamentation like those written by Jeremiah amid the desolation that came upon Jerusalem beloved by him. The author portrays the holy city and the temple – the Sanctuary of God, treaded over by the Gentiles, the streams of blood of the innocent running around Jerusalem, and the survivors becoming a derision and disgrace before the Gentiles. Its divisions: 1- A complaint by the Psalmist 1 – 4 2- A prayer by the Psalmist 5 – 12 3- A praise to God by the Psalmist 13 1- A COMPAINT BY THE PSALMIST: A dirge and a prayer for Israel, destroyed by enemies. A psalm of Asaph “O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps” (1) The Psalmist pours his complaint before the Lord. Amid the desolation and the disgrace that came upon him, he found his refuge in God – his Mighty Father. The holy city and the temple of God, used to have a special place in the hearts and minds of the believers, for they were the inheritance of the Lord, and not that of the Psalmist, nor of the believers. The Psalmist was terrified because of the defilement that came upon the divine sanctuaries by the heathen Gentiles; and of the city of God that turned into heaps of ruins. As that desolation did not happen in the time of Asaph, this psalm could be a prophecy of what will happen to Jerusalem in the days of Nebuchadnezar, in those of Antichus Epiphanes, or by the hands of Titus, the Roman commander. The defilement that happened by the Gentiles was because the defilement done by the Jews themselves to the holy city and the holy temple. that the Lord God said by the prophet Ezekiel: “’Therefore, as I live’, says the Lord God, ‘surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things, and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you. My eyes will not spare, nor will I have any pity’” (Ezekiel 5: 11). The promised land, and the city of Jerusalem in particular, has been the inheritance of God, on account of that in it Solomon built the temple of God, and in it the statutes of His law were practiced. (Father Onesimus of Jerusalem) https://coptic-treasures.com/ 2 The dead bodies of Your servants, they have given as food for the birds of the heaven, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth” (2) Because of the multitude of dead bodies, and no one to bury them, they were food for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth. It was such a horrible scene and a sorrowful situation! When Goliath, the Philistine warrior intended to deride young David, he said to him: “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field” (1 Samuel 17: 44); to which David responded by saying: “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field, that all the earth will know that there is a God of Israel” (1 Samuel 17: 46). Most of the Gentiles and the Christians count the burial of the dead as a holy task. Rejecting the enjoyment of the word of God, the heavenly food, the people themselves became food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. “Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them” (3) Like it was said by the prophet Jeremiah: “And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them – them nor their wives, their sons, nor their daughters – for I will pour their wickedness on them” (Jeremiah 14: 16). A bitter portrait of the blood of those killed turning into a river all around Jerusalem, the city of God; conforming to a portrait of the believer who apostates back to evil, and offers no repentance; who would become a disgrace, shame, and defilement, and would not enjoy the forgiveness and purity. According to St. Augustine, if we take here the word ‘Jerusalem’ as being the earthly city of Jerusalem, we shall understand the shedding of their blood around it in a literal sense. And we may also take it as being the church, extending, bearing the fruit, and growing on the level of the whole world. As against her, the persecution is so violent everywhere that the blood of martyrs, representing a heavenly treasure, is shed like rivers1. “We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to those who are around us” (4)’ The book of Obadiah prophesied about Edom who rejoiced over the people of God on the day of their affliction; when they derided them, and cut off those who escaped and delivered them to their enemies. And in the psalms it came: “Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom, the day of Jerusalem, who said, ‘Raze it, raze it, to its very foundation’” (Psalm 137: 7). According to St. Augustine,the neighbors of the earthly Jerusalem are the nations around it who rejoiced on its calamity. Whereas the neighbors of the free Jerusalem – our mother – are the enemies of the church allover the world2. 2- A PRAYER BY THE PSALMIST: 1 Cf. Ps. 77 (78). 2 Cf. Ps. 78 (79) https://coptic-treasures.com/ 3 “How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?” (5) With bitterness, the psalmist admonishes God, feeling that the cruel chastisements that came upon the people are without limits, and that the divine mercy is no more! He beseeches God to spare His people from being burned by the fire of His divine jealousy. You are my Lord, O Jesus! “Lord, where are Your former loving kindness?” (Psalm 89: 49); How long, O Lord? Will be angry forever? I beseech You; have mercy on me “Do not hide Your face from me” (Psalm 27: 9). You, whom they scourged, and on whom they spat! I confess that I have sinned, transgressed, and am worthy of judgment! My remorse is not enough to atone for my sins. Yet Your mercies surpass all my iniquities. God’s anger and jealousy are not like human reactions, as the followers of Many think! But, under the term ‘anger’, is understood displeasure on evil; and under that of ‘jealousy’, (chastity) or (holiness) are meant; so that the soul does not disregard the law of her God, and perishes by practicing adultery behind His back. While anger and jealousy by humans are violently practiced, they are calmly done by God; about whom it is said: “Although You are sovereign in strength, You judge with mildness” (Wisdom 12: 18). But it is obvious enough from these words that because of sins, troubles come over men, even though the glory of the martyrs glitter by their perseverance, and they endure the yoke of chastisement with piety, as stripes by the Lord1. (St. Augustine) St. Jacob El-Serougy talks often about God’s wrath, as being in essence, mercy and love for man, giving several examples of that. God’s command to the prophet Jonah, was to go to bring the Gentiles back to repentance. He sent him to proclaim to the people of Nineveh that, unless they forsake evil they would lose all their prosperity. He said to him: Go and talk in the ears of the people of Nineveh the preaching which I tell you. If God’s intention was to strike Nineveh because of the multitude of their iniquities, He would not send a prophet to warn them. If He sets His face on harming them, He would, all of a sudden, strike them with His wrath.. But He sent Jonah to them to reconsider their situation, and to seek His mercy to be saved. After raising His hand to strike and destroy the sleepy city, He called and waked her up to spare her being stricken while sleeping. Jealousy surpassing justice against that miserable city; He sent her His grace to wake her up to repent. 1 On Ps. 78 (79). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 4 Although God’s wrath came out to destroy the city, Compassion proceeded to shut her gates before it. If not for those mercies, what would be the need to send a preacher?! He sent him to that location to forsake evil, so that by repentance t may have rest, and avoid corruption. Once they knew that wrath is coming down from the Most High, they resorted to repentance to be spared. When the king inquired from the prophet, the later did not flatter him, and gave no heed to his threats. He asked him to seek from His angry Lord on their behalf, to tell them what they should do to make him spare them of His wrath. By fasting, men, women, and even the little children, everyone according to his or her capacity, stood in line to confront the divine wrath. … A great fast made void the great wrath; … the whole population, together with their beasts put on sackcloth. By fervent prayer it was befitting of the king to adorn himself with dust; And weeping for him was the gold to pay back all the debts. Now, wise man, stands up, and rejoices with us; Change your sackcloth, because the divine wrath is no more! Get up from the dust, for the Lord is pleased by our response. End your supplication, for the city is already covered with mercies. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You, and on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name” (6) The psalmist here seeks the intervention of God against the heathen nations, used by God as a tool to chasten His people, for they abused God’s assignment, and came to reproach and deride God Himself. If God chastens His people who know Him; the nations – the tool of chastisement -- who do not know God; are in turn, worthy of chastisement for blaspheming God, and for destroying His people beyond all limits. Those nations indeed, worshipped idols, and denied the existence of the true God; yet on another aspect, Israel, even though they know God and worshipped Him, yet they often mixed His worship with idol worship, defiled His temple, broke His commandment, and were not faithful to His covenant. The psalmist wonders how God could allow for his people to be chastened by the heathen nations with such violence and cruelty; and leave those nations unpunished! According to St. Augustine, this verse is a prophecy to be realized concerning the nations, opponent to God, rather than a wish by the psalmist. He does not utter it as a curse out of grudge, but as a prophecy he saw by the Spirit; the same way he prophesied about the evils to come over Judas the traitor, that sounded, as well, like a wish by the prophet1. “For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place” (7) Here, the psalmist shows the horrible crimes committed by the nations. If God said that whoever touches His people, touches the apple of His eyes, those nations, not only touched the people of God, but they devoured them, and then laid waste their 1 On Ps. 78 (79). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 5 dwelling place. They knew no mercy, and sought desolation, even though they got no benefit out of it. To fall in the hands of God is far better than to fall in the hands of man, who in his evil, knows no limit for his violence, and in whose heart mercy has no place. According to St. Augustine, the dwelling place of Jacob here, is that city where the temple of God is, where He commanded the assembly to offer the sacrifices, to practice the rites of worship, and to celebrate the feast of the Passover1. “Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us! Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us, for we have been brought very low” (8) Does God punish man for the sin done by his ancestors? “The word of the Lord came to me again, saying: ‘what do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”? ‘As I live”, says the Lord God, ‘you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are Mine, the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die’” (Ezekiel 18: 1- 4). Yet, in case the son persists on the evil of his ancestors, and even surpassed them, God will remind him of their sins, on the day of his chastisement. Here, the psalmist confesses that they are sinners after their fathers and grandfathers, and are worthy of every chastisement; yet He seeks from His God to visit them speedily with His mercies; for the chastisement has come to be so intense that they are in humiliation; and he fears that, through falling into despair of God’s mercies, they would be destroyed. Because, in His love for His believers, God wants them to remind Him of His divine mercies, as a sign of their trust in Him; and in His compassion, the psalmist says: “Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindness; for they have been from old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgression; According to Your mercy, remember me” (Psalm 25: 6-7). Saying: “We have been greatly impoverished”, instead of “we have been brought very low”, Father Onesimus of Jerusalem, comments: [this way shows that sins drive away the true richness, that is the love of God]. Bt saying “We are greatly impoverished”, he wishes for God to visit us with His mercies, for the sake of our poverty, namely our weakness; by which we come to keep His commandments, to avoid falling under judgment2. (St. Augustine) “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” (9) Here, the psalmist does not justify himself, nor his people, but confesses that all need salvation, not out of any good work or worthiness on their part, but for the sake of the glory of God’s name, He who loves His believers, and forgives their sins. The believer has nothing to offer to God to enjoy His mercies, except the glory of the name of 1 St. Augustine: On Ps. 78 (79). 2 On Ps. 78 (79). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 6 the Lord Himself. Here, the psalmist seeks to approach God, the Lover of mankind; and to reach Him; By this He glorifies the name of God. St. Augustine interprets the expression “God of our salvation”, the Healer, by saying: [Having been greatly impoverished, we became very ill, and are in need of the divine Healer]. Wishing to get help, the psalmist does not deny the grace, nor the free will. By adding: “For the glory of Your name, O Lord, deliver us”, he means to say that man is not glorified in himself, but “It is God who is glorified” . He says: “Provide atonement for our sins, for Your name’s sake”, and not for our sake; For what do our sins deserve but punishment? … As sin is iniquity; If You deal with us according to our iniquities, who could abide1? (St. Augustine) “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” (10) The nations deride the divine Hand that allowed them to chasten the believers; and they even denied the existence of God Himself. On another aspect, even if His people sinned, God will not be silent on the innocent blood shed by the nations. The prophet Moses pleaded with the Lord his God on behalf of his people, saying: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with a great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say: He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people” (Exodus 32: 11-12). Lest the nations would reach an evil ending through despair, assuming that the true God does not exist, or that He does not care, nor is merciful toward His own2. (St. Augustine) “Let the groaning of the (captive) come before You; according to the greatness of Your power preserve those doomed to die” (11) Amid their captivity, Your people could not offer You praise; as their life turned into bitter groaning, heard by no one except by Him who searches the heart and mind. They are groans by those whose life became closer to death than to life. No one can bring them back from this death but the mighty arm of the Grantor of life. The psalmist calls those in captivity: “those doomed to die”. “And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom, their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord” (12) According to father Onesimus of Jerusalem, the neighbors here are not men of the surrounding nations, but rather the demons who would not cease to oppose them and provoke them to commit sins. As to saying: “into their bosom”, he believes that the reproach to return to them, comes, not from outside, but is within them and would never 1 On Ps. 78 (79). 2 On Ps. 78 (79). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 7 forsake them. It is as though God reveals their own corruption, disgrace, and shame, which are within them and in their bosom. 3- A PRAISE TO GOD BY THE PSALMIST: “So we, Your people, and sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever. We will show forth Your praise in all generations” (12) By faith, the psalmist saw the divine intervention, by which the groans of the heart turned into praises of thanks to God; and by which those doomed to death became like heavenly creatures, perpetually praising God. Daringly, he says to the Lord: “We, Your people, and sheep of Your pasture”. His care could never be interpreted; His compassion be perceived; His goodness be limited; and His love be examined1. (St. John Chrysostom) Your words strike me strongly in my chest; and encompass me on all sides2. (St. Augustine) He is such a wise Craftsman! Who is He, who prepared the womb to receive the fetus? Who is He, who grants life to the lifeless things within you? Who is He who provides us with muscles, and bones; and covers us with flesh and skin? Who is He, who, once the baby is born, milk will flow from the breast of his mother? How could the child grow to become a toddler, a young man, and a man; then proceed to old age; without the possibility of such precise transformation to be noticed from day to day3? (St. Cyril of Jerusalem) 1 العنایة الإلھیة 5 :84 (ترجمة عایدة حنا بسطا). 2 Confessions, 8: 1: 1. 3 Catechetical Lectures, 9: 15. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 8 AN INSPIRATION FROM PSALM 79 TURN THE GROANING OF MY HEART INTO AN UNCEASING PRAISE TO YOU My Lord, my soul groans inside me; You intend to set it as a sanctuary for You; To turn it into a heavenly Jerusalem; But the enemy will always attempt to defile it; To turn it into a defiled place for him to dwell; You wish to set out of it an exultant heaven; And he wishes to set a grave out of it! He intends to kill my depths; To turn it into a lifeless corpse He exults to see the birds of prey pick it up! And the beasts of the field devour it. You wish to set Your fruitful paradise inside me; And he intends to make it a stinking pool of blood. Do not forsake me; as I am helpless! Take Your wrath away from me; Shine Your grace on me; For Your name’s sake, proclaim Your mercy on me; Take away the reproach and disgrace from me; Restore in me the gladness of Your salvation; Set me free from the captivity of the enemy; For You are my Savior and glory, who lift my head up. To You are the glory, the honor, and the praise; From generation to generation, forever, Amen.
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