The 78th Psalm looks like a marathon, with 72 verses in it, but it reads rather quickly. Asaph addresses the people of Israel, who at the point that he wrote it, were a people in disarray. They were people given to rebellion, not just against God, but against whoever may be leading them at the time.
Asaph establishes the fact that Israel's trust and relationship with God is a cyclical one.
God saves them.
They love God.
They start to fade.
They are introduced to foreign gods or women or other distractions.
They are conquered or antagonized by (or willingly cave in to) other nations.
God withholds his blessings and mercy and protection.
The people are crushed.
They turn back to God.
God saves them.
God could have destroyed them completely, but held back. All the times God wanted to just smash his palm down onto the nation of Israel, and he didn't, are numerous.
Whenever the people whined and complained, God gave them everything they needed, and even more a couple times just to make a point. When Israel needed saving, God saved them. When they needed mercy, God was merciful. When they demanded a king, God said, "sure, why not."
Israel's history was a verbal one, meant to be handed down. Obviously, there were some crossed or cut wires along the way.
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