This Psalm is credited not to King David, but to Asaph. It talks about the importance of passing along from generation to generation what God has done, and how the people of Israel fell away when they weren’t reminded about how God delivered them. Asaph recounts how God delivered them from bondage in Egypt, and how He led them through the desert. How they quickly forgot their miraculous deliverance and worshipped false gods. And Asaph reminds the reader how God’s anger came against the people, and how His judgement against them was harsh. How he killed many of them. He recounts how time and again they provoked God. … And then Asaph tells how God chose David to lead his people, and how he did so with integrity.

I’d like to point out something that many people often forget when discussing “the God of the Old Testament”. Many think of the OT God as angry, violent and harsh. First of all, remember how the people repeatedly spat in His face, even after He would deliver them in a miraculous fashion. After a while, wouldn’t you become angry if someone you cared for repeatedly turned away from you? But here’s the thing, God always said, “If you will turn from your wicked ways, I will forgive you and bless you.” And this He did every single time. God loved His people, when they were so unfaithful. He always wooed them back, because of His great love for them.

And we know that He ultimately provided His only Son as a final sacrifice to cover, not just Israel’s sin, but the sin of every person who would accept that sacrifice and gift.

The God of the OT is the same as the God of the NT. A God of love. A righteous God, yes. A holy God, yes. But also a God of love.