NOTES for Psa 79
The pagans defiled the temple and destroyed everything they could. Even while grieving over the calamities that befell the people and asking the Lord to pour out His wrath upon their enemies, Asaph does not forget that the calamities were deserved and that their severity corresponds to the gravity of the sins for which he asks forgiveness. He does not present past merits as grounds for forgiveness, but asks the Lord for help for His Name’s sake, that is, for His own sake. Asaph also asks for vengeance on the pagans, but is a desire for revenge the only thing driving this request? Why should we not suppose that it is no less important to him that the pagans should see the Lord’s greatness, realize whose temple they have laid waste, and bow before Him?
Asaph asks the Lord for mercy not only in hope of His faithfulness, but also with the understanding that faithfulness must not be one-sided. It is risky to answer for others, all the more for an entire people, but the psalmist himself intends to remain faithful.