Psalm 80: 
“Please Revive Your Vine, O God” 
“It is burned with fire, it is cut down.”
Psalm 80 is probably not very familiar to us, but its theme is one of the most familiar in the Bible.  In Isaiah 5:1-7 and John 15:1-8, the Bible has two great lessons about the vine of God.  In Isaiah 5, the lesson is about the vineyard of the “well-beloved.”  The well- beloved is God, and the vineyard is His people under the old covenant.  In John 15, the lesson is about the vine and its branches.  The vine is Jesus, and the branches are Christians.  Both of these passages are full of lessons about the love of God and His Son for the chosen people of each testament.  And they are full of lessons about the responsibilities of the people of God.

Psalm 80 has three sections, and each one ends with an identical statement.  Verses 3, 7, and 19 say, “Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”  The three sections all have to do with the subject of spiritual restoration.  Section one is a cry for it, section two is the need for it, and section three is the source of it.

SECTION ONE: THE CRY FOR RESTORATION (80:1-3).
“Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth! 
Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your strength,
And come and save us! 
Restore us, O God;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!” (NKJ)

These verses identify the people in need as the tribes that were north of Judah, indicating that the trouble was due to the sins of the north in their rebellion against God.  In spite of the fact that the history of the north is almost totally a history of sin, there were some who were faithful, and in this text, there were some who saw the situation accurately.  Thus, the writer knew that salvation was only possible if they turned to God—and he knew that God would cause His face to shine on them if they did turn!  

SECTION TWO: THE NEED FOR RESTORATION (80:4-7).

“O LORD God of hosts,
How long will You be angry 
Against the prayer of Your people? 
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given them tears to drink in great measure. 
You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves. 
Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!” (NKJ)

In verses 4-7, the author gives three reasons to show that they need restoration.  In verse 4, the need can be understood by noting the fact that God is angry with them.  In the Bible, the anger of God against us is a sure sign that we have sinned.  In human life, anger is often displayed when it shouldn’t be.  But when God is angry, someone has sinned!  In verse 5, the need can be understood by noting that they have been punished because of their sins.  Tears—a symbol of their grief in the midst of their punishment—is the poet’s word to make this point for us.  In verse 6, the need can be understood from the description of the consequences of their punishment.  The consequences have given their neighbors cause for joy—“Israel is in pain, therefore we will rejoice!”  But the section does not end until the refrain of verse 3 is repeated in verse 7.  Hope exists because repentance can bring salvation.

SECTION THREE: THE SOURCE OF SALVATION (80:8-19).
 
You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the nations, and planted it. 
You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep root,
And it filled the land. 
The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the mighty cedars with its boughs. 
She sent out her boughs to the Sea,
And her branches to the River. 
Why have You broken down her hedges,
So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit? 
The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the field devours it. 
Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see, And visit this vine 
And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong for Yourself. 
It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. 
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. 
Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. 
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; 
Cause Your face to shine, 
And we shall be saved!  (NKJ)

This section of Psalm 80 gives God the credit for all of the blessings of Israel’s past.  The method that the poet uses is to describe Israel as a vine.  This vine had been rescued from Egypt.  It had been planted in a new land, where it took deep root and spread in all directions, with wonderful results.  But now it was broken down, and being abused by all who passed by.  Even the “wild beasts” did as they pleased to the vine of God.  In the middle of this section, another cry to the God of hosts goes up.  The vine needs to be “visited”—a sign of  renewed spiritual blessings (see Luke 1:68,78).  It was still God’s vine, and the people who were represented by the vine had a new desire for God’s hand of help and strength.  They even renewed a commitment to “not go back from thee” and to “call upon thy name” (v. 18).

Then, the psalm ends with the third use of the refrain from verses 3 and 7.  The sovereign God of hosts is also the covenant God Jehovah.  Both of these names and roles of God are needed if this restoration is to be accomplished.  As sovereign God of hosts, they need Him to exercise power over the land and its enemies.  As covenant God Jehovah, they need Him to exercise His power to forgive and restore their souls.

Let us all learn the lessons that this psalm has for us, including the implied warning against ever getting into such the spiritual condition of being backslidden.

    — Skip Andrews
 
 
 
 

Next Week: 
Psalm 81: 
How Does God Feel About Us?

Duluth Lectureship

May 19-23, 2001

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VOLUME 3:7                        April 8, 2001