This Psalm pictures God as a Shepherd (80:1), as a Warrior (80:4, 7, 14, 19), and God as a Gardener (80;8...).

80:1 God dwells above the cherubim- I Sam. 4:4; II Sam. 6:2; Ps. 99:1
80:3, 7, 19 Cause Your Face to shine- Num. 6:24-26; Ps. 67:1

This psalm contains lamentation (79:1-5), imprecation (or curses) (79:6-7, 10b, 12), pleas for mercy (79:8-10a, 11), and thanksgiving and praise (79:13).

The events of 587 BC were devastating to Jerusalem. Abraham was promised the land of Canaan and they were ripped off of it and taken into captivity.
David was promised a king from his line to sit upon his throne and this king was removed.
Solomon built the temple and the temple was destroyed.

The Psalm is very similar to Psalms 44, 74, and 137.
There is no darker time than this in the OT for God's people. However, remarkably the Psalm will end in praise. 

Jesus fulfills these words as we will point out at the end. 

This beautiful poetic psalm, Psalm 78, continues. It continues to tell the glory of God and sinfulness of His people, Israel. God in His mercy rescues them while the people forget Him time and time again. If this has a happy ending, it will be because of God's persistence. 

Psalm 78 is a historical psalm. It is similar to Psalms 105-106,
It tells the story of Israel's history much like Nehemiah 9; Ezekiel 16, 20, 23; and Acts 7.
It stresses the goodness of God to His people and His people's stubborn rebellion to Him.
It emphasizes both God's love and God's holiness and wrath and these attributes are seen against the picture of Israel's sin and rebellion.
78:1-8 The purpose of history
History teaches us not to forget God
History teaches us to put our trust in Him
History teaches us not to imitate bad examples

78:9-11 Ephraim's rebellion
 
78:12-16 God's goodness to Israel in Egypt and in the wilderness

78:17-20 The people continued to sin and rebel against God

78:21-33 God in His love provides for and in His wrath judges His people

78:34-39 God is gracious and compassionate and forgives the people

Jesus fulfills Psalm 78
78:2 He is a wisdom teacher greater than Solomon who speaks in parables- Matt. 13:34-35

78:19 He provides a table in the wilderness- Matt. 14:22-33; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14

78:23-25 Jesus is the true bread from heaven- John 6:26-59

This psalm moves from lament to praise.
There are no mentions of enemies in Psalm 77 and only a brief mention of troubles in vs. 2. However, his trials must have been intense for they lead him to question if God is who He revealed Himself to be. In vs. 7-9 what has happened to God's lovingkindness,  grace, and compassion. These are terms by which God reveals HImself in Exodus 34:6-7. The words of Exodus 34:6-7 are basically repeated in the Psalms in 86:5, 15; 103:8; 145:8. Is God who He said He was??

The exodus is the answer in vs. 11-20. The exodus is proof for all people of all time that God delivers those who trust HIm. 

Who can stand before God in His anger?
This is a question asked repeatedly in Scripture- Ezra 9:15; Psalm 130:3-4; Nahum 1:6; Malachi 3:2; Rev. 6:16-17. 
The Scriptures give us an answer- Rev. 7:13-14

76:10 The wrath of man praises God. 
How? Acts 2:23; 3:18; 4:27-28

Key words in the Psalm
The wicked- 75:4, 8, 10
Lifted up, on high, exaltation, exalts- 75:4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 10. These are from the same Hebrew word
Horn, horns- 75:4, 5, 10, 10

75:8 the cup is an image of judgment. Isaiah 51:17-23; Jer. 25:15-28; 49:12; 51:7; Ezek. 23:32-34; Hab. 2:15-16; Zech. 12:2; Rev. 14:10; 16:19; 18:5-6

Jesus fulfills this Psalm.

I am sorry for any background knowledge. 

Have you ever asked why or how long? Writers in the Bible did as well.

In this podcast we say a few more words of explanation on 74:12-17.

We make some vocabulary connections between Psalm 73 and Psalm 74
"sanctuary" in 73:17; 74:3, 7
"violence" in 73:6; 74:20
"right hand" in 73:23; 74:11
"ruins" in 73:18; 74:3

How does Jesus answer Psalm 73 and Psalm 74?
74:9 the words "signs" and "prophet"
74:10, 18 Jesus reviled and spurned
74:12 My King
74:2 Redeemed
These are some ways.

Why? How long? These questions did not begin to be asked but they have been asked continually throughout history. These question are asked even in God's book.  Psalm 74 is one example of this.

Psalm 74 is a national lament. Psalms 44, 79, 89, 137 show great similarities. The book of Lamentations contains many such laments. It is hard for us to imagine the grief of the people when the Babylonians invaded their land and killed some with the sword and starved others in a siege. The lost their land, their king, and their temple and many were asking why?

74:1-3 Will Your anger burn forever,  O God?

74:4-8 The horrible scene at the destruction of God's house

74:9-11 Why does God withhold His judgment when He could destroy His foe in a moment?

74:12-17 God is praised in that He performs mighty acts of power

74:18-23 Remember the wicked and do not forget Your people?

This opens book 3 of the Psalms.
The writer acknowledges that he almost lost his faith at the prosperity of the wicked.
73:1-14 The writer struggles to believe that God is good
73:2 But as for me- This phrase is actually a word in Hebrew that begins vs. 2, 22, 23, 28.
73:3 The Bible warns against being envious of the wicked- Ps. 37:1-2; Prov. 23:19
73:4-5 Their life seems care free and trouble free
73:8-9, 11 But they are defiant of God
73:6, 8 They mistreat others
73:13-14 What does it pay to serve God?

73:15-20 The Light breaks through as he turns to worship God
73:17 This is the turning point of Psalm 73 and some have described it as the turning point of the entire book.  
73:18-20 The wicked are not as secure as it might seem

73:21-28 He sees that he has a blessing that the wicked do not have. God Himself is the greatest blessing of all.
73:25-26 What blessing compares with God Himself??
73:28 Notice how the psalm ends much as it began- vs. 1.