77:71. To feed Jacob his servant and Israel his inheritance.
77:72. And he fed them in the innocence of his heart: and conducted them by the skilfulness of his hands.
Psalms Chapter 78
Deus, venerunt gentes.
The church in time of persecution prayeth for relief. It seems to belong to the time of the Machabees.
78:1. A psalm for Asaph. O God, the heathens are come into thy inheritance, they have defiled thy holy temple: they have made Jerusalem as a place to keep fruit.
78:2. They have given the dead bodies of thy servants to be meat for the fowls of the air: the flesh of thy saints for the beasts of the earth.
78:3. They have poured out their blood as water, round about Jerusalem and there was none to bury them.
78:4. We are become a reproach to our neighbours: a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.
78:5. How long, O Lord, wilt thou be angry for ever: shall thy zeal be kindled like a fire?