Asaph mourns the destruction that has come upon Jerusalem. He pleads for God to have compassion, to deliver them and destroy their enemies. He compares Israel to a vine that was once tended and kept by God, but now its protection is broken down, ravaged by animals and burned with fire.
These psalms are full of Asaph’s despair at the current state of Israel, but that despair doesn’t prevent him from appealing to God for deliverance and atonement. Even in this broken, ruined state, Israel was not without hope.
I think this hope is equally applicable to our lives. Whatever state we’re in, no matter how much the world has taken over our life, we can trust in God to help turn things around. Jesus says “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”