Ps. 79; Intro. (77, 78 and 79; an interpretation)

O God / the nations have come / into your inheritance
they have defiled / your holy temple
they have reduced / Jerusalem / to ruins. 

In this reflection I want to address something we have noted before in many (but not all) of the psalms. That is, its seeming relation to other psalms either in its immediate context or in the overall structure of the psalter itself. This occurs much more frequently than I have been able to comment on. A psalm will end on a certain thematic note which will resurface again in the next psalm. It is simply too large of a contemplative effort on my part to draw out all of these moments. However, in this psalm something immediately struck me, probably because of the concluding note we struck in Psalm 78 and its relation to 77. To the point: it seems that Psalm 77 contains the exodus portion of Israel (it ends with Moses and Aaron); Psalm 78 contains the kingship (it ends with David); Psalm 79 the beginning of exile (the destruction of the Temple). Whether this continues into the following psalms I do not know although a cursory glance does seem that they relate to the exilic situation of despair/complaint. As to Psalm 79 what initiated this idea was the reference to “your inheritance”, “your holy temple” and “Jerusalem”. God’s inheritance is mentioned in 78.71 (almost at the end). Jerusalem and the holy temple seem implied at least by the reference to Zion in the concluding portion of 78. What I think we find here, then, is the exuberant confidence found in Zion and David at the conclusion of 78 is here contemplated under the historical situation of the exile. In a way, the horror of 79 is more fully understood when it is read alongside 78 and the incredible certainty found in Zion and David. Importantly, this certainty is not something abandoned in 79. Rather, it seems that the psalm concludes on the demand for restoration. It is no coincidence then (and how achingly appropriate) that this psalm is still recited at the Wailing Wall to this day.