In Psalm 78 Asaph is calling his people to give ear unto the Law and incline their ears to the words of his mouth. He speaks of how Israel has turned back and tempted God; yet God was faithful to forgive the great nation when they repented of their sins and turned to Him. Israel's history is seen in verses 1-55; and David receives grace from God in verses 65-72. Verse 41 says, "Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel." This verse has proven to be true through the entire history of Israel, even to the present day. In our every day living, when we do not give ourselves to the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we limit the joy and peace that come into our lives. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer, but the believer fails to grow and mature into Christian adulthood when he continually shuts the Holy Spirit out by not submitting his life to Him.
Psalm 79 is a prayer for judgment upon Jerusalem's enemies. Through this lament points to some great national calamity, the prophetic meaning will find fulfillment in Jerusalem under the false messiah when the cruelties of Antiochus Epiphanes will be repeated (Revelation 11:3-12).
