Psalms 79:1 - Exposition

O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance (comp. Psalms 74:2 ; Psalms 78:62 ). Israel—alike the people and the land—is "God's inheritance." Thy holy temple have they defiled . The Babylonians defiled the temple by breaking into it, seizing its treasures and ornaments ( Jeremiah 52:17-23 ), and finally setting fire to it ( Jeremiah 52:13 ). They have laid Jerusalem on heaps. This was certainly not done either by Shishak or by Antiochus Epiphanes; but was done, as prophesied ( Jeremiah 9:11 ; Jeremiah 26:18 ; Micah 3:12 ), by the Babylonians.