Psalms Reading – 3.17.2022
Psalm 80
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.
1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might; come and save us.
3 Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.
4 How long, Lord God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors, and our enemies mock us.
7 Restore us, God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.
8 You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea, its shoots as far as the River.
12 Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,
15 the root your right hand has planted,
the son you have raised up for yourself.
16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish.
17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.
Like Psalm 79, Psalm 80 urgently petitions God to deliver and restore his people out of their distressing exile. It speaks of God as the Shepherd of Israel and asks Him to shine forth His mercy and power upon them.
We are given the refrain three times in verses 3, 7, and 19, “Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.” Each time the name of God becomes more descriptive.
They need God’s restoring work to be done among them. They desperately plead for God’s face, His favor, to once again shine upon them so they can be saved from their exile.
He remembers what God had done to transplant Israel out of Egypt into Canaan. God cleared the way, and they took root and grew into a massive nation, but now they are cut down because of their rebellion against God. The psalmist pleads with God that they will be restored to where they once were.
Maybe, this is our situation today. Our circumstances may be a result of sin, or, more than likely, they are because we live in a broken world where we need God’s restoring work in the midst of a loss, a broken relationship, impaired health, or some other challenging circumstance. The repeated prayer can be our prayer and is the reason for it to be our memory verse for the week.
Memory Verse: Psalm 80:3, Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.
Question(s) to Consider: What is broken or cut down in your life? How are you asking God to restore you today?