All the psalms are arranged in a very good sequence. This sequence is either according to history or according to doctrine. In the divine arrangement, the psalms that we will cover in this message—Psalms 77 through 83—form a cluster that may be according to both history and doctrine. These psalms cover the devastation of three holy things—the holy temple, the holy city, and the holy people. In particular, these psalms reveal the way of restoration, showing us that the way to be restored is to exalt Christ. The more Christ is exalted, the more restoration there will be.
These seven psalms were written by Asaph, a Levite who had served in the temple. The fact that these psalms speak of the desolation of the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and the people indicates that they were written after the children of Israel had been taken captive to Babylon.
According to the history recorded in these psalms, the ark of God was captured once and was probably lost eventually. First, it was captured before the temple was built. Psalm 78:60 and 61 refer to this: "He forsook the tabernacle in Shiloh,/The tent that He had established among men;/And He gave over His strength [His ark] into captivity,/And His glory into the hand of the adversary." The ark had been in the tabernacle at Shiloh. One day, when the people of Israel went out to fight against the Philistines, they brought with them the ark of the covenant (1 Sam. 4:1-5). In that battle the people of Israel were defeated, and the ark of God was captured by the Philistines (v. 11). God, however, came in to protect the ark, and it was returned (1 Sam. 5—6). Eventually, David defeated the enemies of Israel and prepared both the site and the materials for the building of the temple, even giving the design of the temple to his son Solomon. Under Solomon the temple was built, and the ark was placed in it. That temple remained about four hundred years until it was destroyed by the Babylonians in 606 B.C. At that time the ark was lost without a trace. This is part of the history recorded in these psalms, which we will now consider one by one.