There are several interesting and unusual features to this psalm.A Cry for Restoration – Psalm 80
There are several interesting and unusual features to this psalm.
We see the prominent mention of three tribes that are not often mentioned in the psalms. Ephraim and Manasseh are rarely mentioned. They were, however, the most prominent tribes of the northern kingdom. But how does Benjamin fit in if this is a psalm of the northern tribes?
Is it because Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh are the only three tribes who trace their beginning to Rachel? But what has that to do with the psalm? Is it because Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh were the three tribes immediately behind (West of) the ark in the wilderness marching instructions (Num 2:17-24). But what does that indicate? We just do not know.
Suggestions as to the original date range from before King Saul to after the exile. But the most common suggestion is just before 722, at the time of an Assyrian invasion. Perhaps this psalm is a plea to God to deliver his people from that invasion, which fell most heavily on these three tribes.
The psalm employs two striking figures of speech for their relationship with God. He is their shepherd.
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! (1-2).
The figure of God as our shepherd is a common one in scripture but is surprisingly uncommon in the psalms. It occurs only here and in psalm 23. Sheep are helpless animals. They need a shepherd, and these three tribes need a powerful one (one enthroned on the cherubim).
Israel is the Lord’s vine.
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. (8-11).
A similar figure is used by the prophets and adapted by Christ. It also is a striking figure. Vines require considerable care to be well established and to produce fruit. Israel has received such care from the Lord. But now he has removed their protection.
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. (12-13)
The psalm has a clear structure. A repeated refrain (3, 7, 19) divides the psalm into three parts, and makes the main theme unmistakable. The refrain is intensified with each repetition “God,” “God of Hosts,” “Lord God of Hosts.” The second and third sections also are intensifications or elaborations of the same basic idea presented in the first section.
The first request is, “Turn us, restore us, O God” (1-3). The only way for sheep who have strayed to be restored is to be turned (cf KJV, v 3). To ask restoration without a willingness to turn is to ask that which God will not do.
The second request is, “Turn us, restore us, O God of Hosts” (4-7). God has been in no mood to heed their prayers. They recognize this but perhaps do not yet recognize the reason for his rejection of their prayers (v 4, Isa 1:15; 59:1-2; Hosea 6:1-3, 4).
The third request is, “Turn us, restore us, O Lord God of Hosts” (8-19). Here their whole history is reviewed under the figure of a vine. The Lord brought the vine here from Egypt, cleared out other nations to plant it, and it prospered (8-11). But then the Lord broke down the protection walls so that people and even animals are destroying it (12-13). Now they ask God to turn toward them in compassion and to replant and protect his vine again (14-17). They want to be again what the name Benjamin implies, the son of God’s right hand (17).
A commitment is made, or is it? Verse 18 might indicate a recognition of their sin and their need to change their ways. For a few, there was a change of heart. But for most of the tribes named here, 722 BC was the end. They never turned to God, never really acknowledged their sin, and were wiped out.
For us, the real issue of this psalm is not who it was written by, or exactly when it was written. The relevant question is, “Do we sincerely pray this prayer?” Is ours the flippant prayer of Hosea 6, that expects an easy path to restoration? Or is ours the fervent acknowledgment of the tax collector (Lk 18)? Do we seek restoration without repentance, or restoration by means of being turned again to the ways of God? It is a serious question. It is a question each must answer for himself. It is a question we may find difficult to answer honestly.
This psalm does not model easy-believism. It does not call us to imagine we can be saved without repentance. Nor does it indicate legalistic self-salvation. It instructs us to cast ourselves fully and emphatically on the Lord.
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved! (19)
We see the prominent mention of three tribes that are not often mentioned in the psalms. Ephraim and Manasseh are rarely mentioned. They were, however, the most prominent tribes of the northern kingdom. But how does Benjamin fit in if this is a psalm of the northern tribes?
Is it because Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh are the only three tribes who trace their beginning to Rachel? But what has that to do with the psalm? Is it because Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh were the three tribes immediately behind (West of) the ark in the wilderness marching instructions (Num 2:17-24). But what does that indicate? We just do not know.
Suggestions as to the original date range from before King Saul to after the exile. But the most common suggestion is just before 722, at the time of an Assyrian invasion. Perhaps this psalm is a plea to God to deliver his people from that invasion, which fell most heavily on these three tribes.
The psalm employs two striking figures of speech for their relationship with God. He is their shepherd.
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! (1-2).
The figure of God as our shepherd is a common one in scripture but is surprisingly uncommon in the psalms. It occurs only here and in psalm 23. Sheep are helpless animals. They need a shepherd, and these three tribes need a powerful one (one enthroned on the cherubim).
Israel is the Lord’s vine.
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. (8-11).
A similar figure is used by the prophets and adapted by Christ. It also is a striking figure. Vines require considerable care to be well established and to produce fruit. Israel has received such care from the Lord. But now he has removed their protection.
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. (12-13)
The psalm has a clear structure. A repeated refrain (3, 7, 19) divides the psalm into three parts, and makes the main theme unmistakable. The refrain is intensified with each repetition “God,” “God of Hosts,” “Lord God of Hosts.” The second and third sections also are intensifications or elaborations of the same basic idea presented in the first section.
The first request is, “Turn us, restore us, O God” (1-3). The only way for sheep who have strayed to be restored is to be turned (cf KJV, v 3). To ask restoration without a willingness to turn is to ask that which God will not do.
The second request is, “Turn us, restore us, O God of Hosts” (4-7). God has been in no mood to heed their prayers. They recognize this but perhaps do not yet recognize the reason for his rejection of their prayers (v 4, Isa 1:15; 59:1-2; Hosea 6:1-3, 4).
The third request is, “Turn us, restore us, O Lord God of Hosts” (8-19). Here their whole history is reviewed under the figure of a vine. The Lord brought the vine here from Egypt, cleared out other nations to plant it, and it prospered (8-11). But then the Lord broke down the protection walls so that people and even animals are destroying it (12-13). Now they ask God to turn toward them in compassion and to replant and protect his vine again (14-17). They want to be again what the name Benjamin implies, the son of God’s right hand (17).
A commitment is made, or is it? Verse 18 might indicate a recognition of their sin and their need to change their ways. For a few, there was a change of heart. But for most of the tribes named here, 722 BC was the end. They never turned to God, never really acknowledged their sin, and were wiped out.
For us, the real issue of this psalm is not who it was written by, or exactly when it was written. The relevant question is, “Do we sincerely pray this prayer?” Is ours the flippant prayer of Hosea 6, that expects an easy path to restoration? Or is ours the fervent acknowledgment of the tax collector (Lk 18)? Do we seek restoration without repentance, or restoration by means of being turned again to the ways of God? It is a serious question. It is a question each must answer for himself. It is a question we may find difficult to answer honestly.
This psalm does not model easy-believism. It does not call us to imagine we can be saved without repentance. Nor does it indicate legalistic self-salvation. It instructs us to cast ourselves fully and emphatically on the Lord.
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved! (19)
Eswatini