Again, we have a beautiful psalm by a descendant of Korah. This one centers on problems facing the Israelites that apply to people today. How do we react when we know God has forgiven our sins, yet we still feel as if we are suffering consequences of past failures?
In verses 1-3, the writer reminds God of how He had restored Israel in the past, forgiven their guilt, and covered their sins. Then, in verses 4-7, he asked God to do it again. Yes, Israel had failed in the wilderness, then failed again during the period of the Judges, they failed during the period of kings resulting in the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, and they finally failed during the period of restoration when they crucified Jesus, their promised Messiah.
We don’t know what provoked God’s judgment of the people this time, but something obviously had. How many times is God supposed to forgive His people? Today we know that as individuals there is no end to God’s forgiveness because of the sacrifice Christ made on the cross. John tells us, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1:8-9.
But what about nations? God forgave Israel each time they repented until they crucified Christ. The Jewish national relationship with God ended then as described by the seventieth set of seven years as written beginning at Daniel 9:24. Israel rebelled against Rome with an uprising beginning in 66 AD and ending in 73 AD with the Temple being destroyed in the middle (70 AD) and the sacrificial system no longer available to the people.
When God quit dealing with Israel as a nation, He made it possible for the gospel to spread throughout the world. When the majority of people in any nation along with their leaders turn to the Lord, God gives wonderful blessings. But, when the majority become complacent in their attitude and forget to worship God with true praise, consequences may come and endure for a long time. That appears to be what the writer was experiencing in his time.