Psalms 79:10

10 Don't let the heathen get by with their sneers: "Where's your God? Is he out to lunch?" Go public and show the godless world that they can't kill your servants and get by with it.

Psalms 79:10 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 79:10

Wherefore should the Heathen say, where is their God?
&c.] They boast of, and put their confidence in, and expect salvation from? he does not appear for them, he is not with them; he has forsaken them, and will not help them; than which nothing can be more afflicting and distressing to the Lord's people; see ( Psalms 42:3 ) ,

let him be known among the Heathen in our sight;
in his holiness and justice, as a God of power, and to whom vengeance belongs; let him be known by his judgments executed upon the Heathen, openly and publicly in our sight, and in the view of the whole world; see ( Psalms 9:16 ) , so it follows,

by the revenging of the blood of thy servants, which is shed;
as in ( Psalms 79:3 ) , which blood God will revenge according to the request of his people, and give them blood to drink by way of retaliation; by which means his vindictive justice will be known, and it will be seen where the God of his people is, that he is with them, and maintains their cause; see ( Revelation 6:9 ) ( Revelation 16:6 Revelation 16:7 ) ( 19:2 ) . The words may be rendered in connection with the preceding clause thus; "let it be known among the Heathen in our sight, even the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed"; though Kimchi supplies the words as we do, "by a revenging"

Psalms 79:10 In-Context

8 Don't blame us for the sins of our parents. Hurry up and help us; we're at the end of our rope.
9 You're famous for helping; God, give us a break. Your reputation is on the line. Pull us out of this mess, forgive us our sins - do what you're famous for doing!
10 Don't let the heathen get by with their sneers: "Where's your God? Is he out to lunch?" Go public and show the godless world that they can't kill your servants and get by with it.
11 Give groaning prisoners a hearing; pardon those on death row from their doom - you can do it!
12 Give our jeering neighbors what they've got coming to them; let their God-taunts boomerang and knock them flat.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.