The effect of the final form is to suggest that Book III has been decisively shaped by the experience of exile and dispersion. The most direct reflection of the experience of exile is found, of course, in the community laments such as Psalms 74, 79, 80, 83, 85:1–8 and 89:39–52, which describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, frankly confront rejection and defeat and plead for restoration. The experience of exile and dispersion, however, was not only a time for lamenting but also a time