READ: Ps. 80:1–19: … Shepherd of Israel … Cause Your face to shine … O God of hosts … You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it … it filled the land … it is burned with fire, it is cut down … Restore us … Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved.
This psalm is a prayer for the deliverance of the northern kingdom of the ten tribes (including Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph), which had been deported to Assyria(vv.1–2). The LORD is first addressed as the Shepherd of His sheep in order to appeal to the covenant blessing that God had bestowed through Jacob: ‘The God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day … will also continue to bless His people’ (Gen. 48:15–16); God promises that in Joseph’s line his bow will remain steady because of“the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel” (Gen. 49:24). God’s shepherding means that He continues to lead, protect, and care for His people.
The psalmist also appeals to God’s glory (vv.1–3): ‘You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth! Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up Your strength.’ Then follows an appeal to the divine blessing pronounced by Aaron and the priests (v.3): ‘Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved.’
Besides acknowledging God’s almighty power, the psalmist also expresses his complete dependence upon the LORD. Everything depends upon the Lord’s blessing. If the Lord does not go with us… The same plea is repeated in verses 7 and 19. It is joined to the address, ‘O God of hosts,’ emphasizing God’s almighty power.
Besides the picture of sheep that need a shepherd, the psalm also presents the picture of a vine that God brought out of Egypt and planted in the Promised Land. Before doing so, He drove out the heathen nations. That vine spread and flourished until God gave it over to those who passed by.
It is clear that the destruction of Israel was something directed by God Himself: as punishment He broke down the walls that protected Israel (vv.12–16). Now the vine has even been burned with fire and cut down: the people have been defeated and carried away into exile.
In pleading with the LORD to show mercy to His people once more, the psalmist points first to Israel as God’s son, but ultimately also to the great Son who would come forth from Israel, in whose Name salvation is found (vv.15,17; cf. Isa. 9:6; 49:3ff.).
Does this psalm also apply to the church today?
Sing: Ps. 80:5,9,10