Psalms 80 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Psalm 80

Restore Us, O God

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm.

80:1   Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.
  You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
2     Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
  stir up your might
    and come to save us!
3   Restore us,¹ O God;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!
4   O LORD God of hosts,
    how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
5   You have fed them with the bread of tears
    and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6   You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
    and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7   Restore us, O God of hosts;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8   You brought a vine out of Egypt;
    you drove out the nations and planted it.
9   You cleared the ground for it;
    it took deep root and filled the land.
10   The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
11   It sent out its branches to the sea
    and its shoots to the River.²
12   Why then have you broken down its walls,
    so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13   The boar from the forest ravages it,
    and all that move in the field feed on it.
14   Turn again, O God of hosts!
    Look down from heaven, and see;
  have regard for this vine,
15     the stock that your right hand planted,
    and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
16   They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
    may they perish at the rebuke of your face!
17   But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
    the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18   Then we shall not turn back from you;
    give us life, and we will call upon your name!
19   Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
    Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Footnotes

[1] 80:3 Or Turn us again; also verses 7, 19
[2] 80:11 That is, the Euphrates

Commentary

Prayer in time of trouble for Israel.

v1-2: Opening prayer; 'Hear us, come and save us.' The Shepherd, the God of Israel, will bring deliverance to His own.

v3: Also v7,19, "Restore us, O God," for we cannot be restored unless He restores us; we rely upon His mercy along (Num 6.25).

v4-6: A time of trial, "How long?" (Ps 13.1; 79.5) Sometimes our trials do continue. We do not know why things become like this; faith trusts God when things are unknown.

The Psalmist uses the title 'Lord God Almighty; a number of times here. As we sing His praises, as we recall His blessings, as we look forward for His promises to be fulfilled, all is in the hands of the One who is Almighty.

v7: See v3.

v8-11: God's mighty power to deliver His people from Egypt; the vine was uprooted, and planted in Canaan.

Having defeated the Canaanite peoples the vine filled that land, and its influence extended from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, see 1 Kings 4.21.

v12-13: But now discouragement had come; the wall was broken down, allowing enemies in to steal fruit, and to damage the plant; and worse was to come.

v14-15: Prayer for the vine; we do bring God's people as a whole to Him in prayer; for His testimony is promoted through His people.

v16: The vine is cut down and burned; it is "your vine", for which the Lord himself is responsible; He is therefore 'obliged' to act, for His Name's sake.

v17: The man at His right hand, the son of man, the Lord Jesus Christ, the true vine.

v18: Restore and return and revive; as God works we are blessed.

v19: See v3. The prayer is brought with fresh vigour and confidence, as the psalmist has reviewed the situation, and reminded himself of God's power and mercy.