Sunday Sermonette: The dark book

As I explained last time, the Book of Psalms is a compilation and Psalm 72 is evidently the conclusion of one of the component books. The next ten are attributed to Asaph, who was one of king David ' s chief musicians, but that doesn ' t really make sense because they seem to refer to a time when the kingdom was in dire straits, quite unlike the triumphalist tone of the depiction of David ' s reign. Psalm 73, which is used in both Jewish and Christian liturgy and has been set to music, asserts continued faith even while the wicked prosper. The psalm predicts the downfall of the wicked, although as we know that doesn ' t necessarily happen.Psalm 74 is quite explicit that it depicts a time of national humiliation, which is in fact how the RSV translators title it. Again, despite the ascription to Asaph, this doesn ' t really correspond to David ' s rule and it is much more plausible that this was written during the Babylonian exile. Apologists explain this by saying that it was written by one of Asaph ' s descendants, but I explain it by saying that most of this was created during the exile and the attributions, whether to David or Asaph, are made up.A Psalm of Asaph.73 Truly God is good to the upright,    to those who are pure in heart.[a]2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,    my steps had well nigh slipped.3 For I was envious of the arrogant,    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.4 ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs