Whereas the previous psalm was a personal crisis of faith this psalm is a collective outcrying of desperation by the community faced by a national crisis. It is widely thought that this psalm was written after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Babylonians in 586 BC. In the first 11 verses Asaph bemoans the catastrophic destruction... "everlasting ruins... smashed all the carved panelling... burned the sanctuary to the ground... no prophets are left... how long will the enemy mock you O God?" Then in verses 12-17 Asaph recalls God's mighty works of the past breaking the heads of sea monsters, crushing the heads of the Leviathan and controlling day, night, sun and moon. So if God can do all this he can certainly restore Mount Zion! Then in the final verses Asaph cries to God to react and restore city and temple. He says "Rise up, O God! and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long!
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