I love the psalms and have prayed from them for years. I also love the psalms of Asaph, as my heart so agrees with his. I very much look forward to meeting him in Heaven! But, I must admit, it rather amuses me in Ps 79 how, for the first seven verses, he complains to the Lord (and justifiably so) about how horrifically Jerusalem has been treated by the nations and implores the Lord to avenge them, then turns around in verse 8 and asks Him, 'Do not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us' and in verse 12, 'And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom The reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.' Now, there's nothing wrong with him asking for the Lord to be avenged for the reproach brought on His Great Name, but I believe there's still much desire for vengeance for him and the Israelites as much, as if not more, than for the Lord's Name.

You might wonder why this amuses me. Again, because I'm so much like Asaph! Oh, yes, I strongly desire that He pour out His wrath on those who are evil, but when it comes to ME, my prayers are just like Asaph's...'Pour out Your mercy on ME, oh, Lord, but as for my enemies, GO GET'M!'

Groan...it's still so hard for me to even WANT to love my enemies, let alone pray for them. Unless, of course, I can pray things like 'And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom The reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.' That way, it sounds like I'm praying that way for HIS interests instead of my own. (and I really DO care about reproach brought upon His Name, but there is admixture)

Now maybe I'm just projecting onto dear Asaph. He had good reason to pray the way he did and maybe he was purer in his prayer motivation than I am. And maybe you are, too. But, I think we do more 'game-playing' with the Lord than we often realize. We 'couch' things in prayer that we think will appeal to Him and His interests, when we have an underlying yearning of our own that is our REAL motivation! (hmmm...maybe it's just me...do YOU ever do this?) :)

Ah, well, this is getting rather lengthy. But, the other aspect of this prayer is that, once again, the nations HAD invaded Jerusalem BECAUSE they had turned away from the Lord. Oh, that we would realize the depth and length of the consequences of our sin BEFORE we commit it, then NOT commit it! I fear we often (silently, or 'in the back of our mind') think, 'Oh, He'll forgive me and all will be well. I'll just give in to this ugly sin this one time.' And, of course, at THAT point in time, we glibly forget His Word which tells us if we sow to the wind, we'll reap the whirlwind! We love the sin, but then moan and whine when we start reaping the consequences...may we be more diligent to remember His Word...at the right time!