Wednesday Bible Study: False prophecy

Psalm 87 is rather opaque. What seems to be going on here is that Zion, i.e Jerusalem, is envisioned as essentially the capital of the world -- that is, the world as it was known to the ancient Judeans. Obviously that never happened. It's not clear when this was written or what the intent really is. "Rahab" apparently refers to a legendary monster supposedly slain by Yahweh, as mentioned later in Psalm 89, not the helpful brothel keeper of the Book of Joshua, and it is thought to be a metonym for Egypt, though I'm not sure why scholars think so. 

Regarding Psalm 88, nobody knows what Mahalath Leannoth means. Mahalath may be a musical instrument similar to a guitar, and Leannoth might be a tune or a type of poem, but that's just one speculation. Heman was the name of one of the worship leaders appointed by the Levites when the Ark was moved to Jerusalem, but if that's who this is supposedly attributed to, there is nothing in the history to explain why he would have been so bummed out. God doesn't seem to be any help to him.

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song.

87 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
²     the Lord loves the gates of Zion
    more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
³ Glorious things are spoken of you,
    O city of God.Selah

⁴ Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
    behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia—
    “This one was born there,” they say.
⁵ And of Zion it shall be said,
    “This one and that one were born in her”;
    for the Most High himself will establish her.
⁶ The Lord records as he registers the peoples,
    “This one was born there.”Selah

⁷ Singers and dancers alike say,
    “All my springs are in you.”

 

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

88 O Lord, my God, I call for help^[a] by day;
    I cry out in the night before thee.
² Let my prayer come before thee,
    incline thy ear to my cry!

³ For my soul is full of troubles,
    and my life draws near to Sheol.
⁴ I am reckoned among those who go down to the Pit;
    I am a man who has no strength,
⁵ like one forsaken among the dead,
    like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom thou dost remember no more,
    for they are cut off from thy hand.
⁶ Thou hast put me in the depths of the Pit,
    in the regions dark and deep.
⁷ Thy wrath lies heavy upon me,
    and thou dost overwhelm me with all thy waves.Selah
⁸ Thou hast caused my companions to shun me;
    thou hast made me a thing of horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
⁹     my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon thee, O Lord;
    I spread out my hands to thee.
¹⁰ Dost thou work wonders for the dead?
    Do the shades rise up to praise thee?Selah
¹¹ Is thy steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or thy faithfulness in Abaddon?
¹² Are thy wonders known in the darkness,
    or thy saving help in the land of forgetfulness?

¹³ But I, O Lord, cry to thee;
    in the morning my prayer comes before thee.
¹⁴ O Lord, why dost thou cast me off?
    Why dost thou hide thy face from me?
¹⁵ Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
    I suffer thy terrors; I am helpless.^[b]
16 Thy wrath has swept over me;
    thy dread assaults destroy me.
¹⁷ They surround me like a flood all day long;
    they close in upon me together.
¹⁸ Thou hast caused lover and friend to shun me;
    my companions are in darkness.

Footnotes

1. Psalm 88:1 Cn: Heb O Lord, God of my salvation
2. Psalm 88:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain