The Sufferer: Feeling God’s Anger (vv. 5-8). The question “How long?” is found often in Scripture (see 6:3). God is not jealous of anyone or anything, for He is wholly self-sufficient and needs nothing; but He is jealous over His land and His people. (See 78:58; Ex. 20:5; Deut. 4:24; 6:15-16; 29:20.) He is jealous for His name (Ezek. 39:25), His land (Joel 2:18), and His inheritance (Zech. 1:14). Asaph doesn’t deny that he and the people deserve chastening (v. 9), but if the Jews are guilty, then how much guiltier the heathen nations are that have attacked the Jews! He asked God to pour out His anger on the invaders because of what they have done to the land, the city, and the temple (vv. 6-7).

As the kingdom of Judah declined, their kings and leaders became less and less devoted to the Lord. There were a few godly kings, such as Asa, Josiah, Joash, and Hezekiah; but foreign alliances, idolatry, and unbelief combined to weaken the kingdom and ripen it for judgment. The sins of the fathers accumulated until God could hold back His wrath no longer (Gen. 15:16; Matt. 23:32-33; 1 Thess. 2:13-16). We are guilty before God for only our own sins (Deut. 24:16; Jer. 31:29-30; Ezek. 18), but we may suffer because of the sins of our ancestors (Ex. 20:5; 34:7; 2 Kings 17:7ff.; 23:26-27; 24:3-4; Lam. 5:7; Dan. 9:4-14).