Restore Us, O God




Psalm 80


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

These nationalistic psalms are always a challenge. But the beauty of God’s Word is that it is not specific only to the time it was written. Instead the Scriptures have the power to transcend time. What was true for ancient Israel is still true today. In fact, if you read these words with your nation in mind, you will probably find that the prayer is just as relevant for you as it was for them.

The repeated plea (or chorus – if you will) is one that we can all relate to; Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! In the United States we are deep into a long and embittered battle for the presidency of this nation that has done nothing but divide us. Truthfully, it is ugly on every side. Anyone who feels secure in their standing at this moment isn’t paying attention. It appears we are being turned over to our evil choices by God. There is a real sense of desperation on all sides. Read this psalm again from the perspective of a difficult election and suddenly its relevance becomes clear. That is why my mind and heart resonated with the words of the psalmist “chorus” Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! Right behind those words I breath a prayer of confession and repentance for the nation in which I live. We have not followed God and have instead decided to go our own way – and it is not good, or just, or righteous. Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! Lord have mercy, Christ, have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl
Read more