Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out.
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might! Come to save us!
Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
Yahweh God of Armies, 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 large measure.
You make us a source of contention to our neighbors. Our enemies laugh among themselves.
Turn us again, God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it. It took deep root, and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shadow. Its boughs were like God’s cedars.
It sent out its branches to the sea, its shoots to the River.
Why have you broken down its walls, so that all those who pass by the way pluck it?
The boar out of the wood ravages it. The wild animals of the field feed on it.
Turn again, we beg you, God of Armies. Look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vine,
the stock which your right hand planted, the branch that you made strong for yourself.
It’s burned with fire. It’s cut down. They perish at your rebuke.
Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, on the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.
So we will not turn away from you. Revive us, and we will call on your name.
Turn us again, Yahweh God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 1 Hearken, O Shepherd of Israel! The prophet, previous…
1 Hearken, O Shepherd of Israel! The prophet, previous to his naming Manasseh and Ephraim, makes mention of Joseph; and why does he speak of Joseph rather than of Judah, but because it was his design to treat separately of the kingdom of Israel, the government of which was in the family and posterity of Joseph? Nor, since God sent special prophets among them, after he had stricken them with his rods, is there any inconsistency when, at the same time, the prayer is added, That God would gather together the remnant to himself. Moreover, that they might not delude themselves by trusting in their spurious worship, the prophet, by applying to God the appellation of Him who sitteth between the Cherubim, calls them back to the pure doctrine of the law. The mercy-seat was a pledge of the presence of God, where he had promised to be near his people to hear their prayers. This divinely instituted form, it was unlawful for men to change at their own pleasure. The Israelites, then, are admonished to return to their original state, if they would expect to find God gracious towards them. Besides, by the title which is here attributed to God, there is expressed his wonderful love towards men in humbling, and, so to speak, lowering himself in order to come down to them, and choose for himself a seat and habitation on the earth, that he might dwell in the midst of them. Properly speaking, God cannot be said to sit; nor is it to be supposed that it is possible for him, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, to be shut up in a certain place, (1 Kings 8:27.) But, in accommodation to the infirmity of men, he is represented as placed between the two Cherubim, that the faithful might not imagine him to be far from them; and, consequently, be perplexed with doubt and apprehension in approaching him. At the same time, the remark which I have previously made must be borne in mind, that the Israelites are here furnished with a rule for enabling them to pray in a right manner, that they might be withdrawn from the worship of the god fabricated and set up by themselves at Dan and Bethel, and that, rejecting all superstitions, they might yield themselves to be guided by the true light of faith, and follow the Word of God.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 This Psalm was made as a prayer for to…
This Psalm was made as a prayer for to desire God to be merciful to the ten tribes.
Move their hearts, that they may return to worship God aright: that is, in the place where thou hast appointed.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–19 Psa 80:1 « To the chief Musician upon Shoshannimeduth,…
Psa 80:1 « To the chief Musician upon Shoshannimeduth, A Psalm of Asaph. » Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest [between] the cherubims, shine forth.
Upon Shoshannim-Eduth] Which some render the lilies of the testimony, and interpret of the Jewish polity or commonwealth, called by Josephus θεοκρατεια, that is, a God-government. Kimchi saith that Shoshannim-Eduth is species toni nobis hodie ignota, a kind of musical strain not known to us today.
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Ver. 1. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel] Thou that feedest thy people, watchest over them, defendest, redeemest, reducest them; thou that handlest them, curest them, washest them, drivest them as they are able to go, carryest them in thy bosom, doest all the offices of a good shepherd for them. In calling upon God it is wisdom to make choice of fit appellations and attributes, such as may strengthen our faith and increase our fervour.
Thou that leadest Joseph] Joseph is named quia nobilis inter fratres, saith Austin; the first birthright was taken from Reuben, and given to Joseph, 1Ch 5:1, hence he is put for the whole people.
Thou that dwellest between (or sittest upon) the cherubims] Those winged creatures that covered the mercy seat, the ark, and the two tables of the law within it; and all, to set forth Christ covering the curses of the law, and graciously dwelling with the sons of men, to the admiration of angels.
Shine forth] Show thy power in saving thy people and punishing their enemies. Shine as the sun doth in his strength.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 Shoshannim-Eduth seems to be the name of a musical…
Shoshannim-Eduth seems to be the name of a musical instrument; though many separate the latter part of the word from the former, and expound Eduth, a testimony, or witness between God and his people, of his relation to them, and of their dependence upon him.
The psalmist bemoaneth the miseries and sad condition of the church, Psa 80:1-7; that God’s past manifold mercies are changed into desolating judgments, Psa 80:8-13. He prayeth for deliverance out of them, with a promise of that fulness, Psa 80:14-19.
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O Shepherd of Israel; thou who hast undertaken to feed and govern thy people of Israel, as a shepherd doth his flock, now perform thine office, and rescue thy flock from those grievous wolves which devour and destroy them.
That leadest; or didst lead formerly, though now thou hast forsaken them.
Joseph, i.e. the children of Joseph, or of Israel, as he now said, this clause being but a repetition, the former in other words. Compare Psa 77:15. And the name of Joseph, the most eminent of the patriarchs both for his dignity and piety, and the right of primogeniture transferred upon him from Reuben, 1Ch 5:1, is elsewhere put for all the ten tribes, as Eze 37:6,19 Am 5:6,15; 6:6; Zec 10:6; and for all the tribes, as Psa 81:5; Oba 1:18.
Between the cherubims; which were the mercy-seat above the ark; by which title he prudently and piously minds the ten tribes of their revolt from God, and of the vanity of their superstitious addresses to their calves at Dan and Beth-el, and of the necessity of their returning to the true worship of God before the ark at Jerusalem, if they desired or expected any relief from him. And by this title it seems more than probable that this Psalm was not made upon occasion of the Babylonish captivity, in and after which time there was no ark nor cherubims, nor do I remember that Daniel or any prophets did then apply themselves to God by that title. See Da 9. Shine forth out of the clouds, wherein thou seemest to hide thyself. Show forth thy power and goodness to and for thy poor oppressed people in the face of thine and their enemies.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 8 The psalmist here, in the name of the church,…
The psalmist here, in the name of the church, applies to God by prayer, with reference to the present afflicted state of Israel.
I. He entreats God's favour for them (Psa 80:1, Psa 80:2); that is all in all to the sanctuary when it is desolate, and is to be sought in the first place. Observe, 1. How he eyes God in his address as the Shepherd of Israel, whom he had called the sheep of his pasture (Psa 79:13), under whose guidance and care Israel was, as the sheep are under the care and conduct of the shepherd. Christ is the great and good Shepherd, to whom we may in faith commit the custody of his sheep that were given to him. He leads Joseph like a flock, to the best pastures, and out of the way of danger; if Joseph follow him not as obsequiously as the sheep do the shepherd, it is his own fault. He dwells between the cherubim, where he is ready to receive petitions and to give directions. The mercy-seat was between the cherubim; and it is very comfortable in prayer to look up to God as sitting on a throne of grace, and that it is so to us is owning to the great propitiation, for the mercy-seat was the propitiatory. 2. What he expects and desires from God, that he would give ear to the cry of their miseries and of their prayers, that he would shine forth both in his own glory and in favour and kindness to his people, that he would show himself and smile on them, that he would sir up his strength, that he would excite it and exert it. It had seemed to slumber: "Lord, awaken it." His cause met with great opposition and the enemies threatened to overpower it: "Lord, put forth thy strength so much the more, and come for salvation to us; be to thy people a powerful help and a present help; Lord, do this before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh," that is, "In the sight of all the tribes of Israel; let them see it to their satisfaction." Perhaps these three tribes are named because they were the tribes which formed that squadron of the camp of Israel that in their march through the wilderness followed next after the tabernacle; so that before them the ark of God's strength rose to scatter their enemies.
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II. He complains of God's displeasure against them. God was angry, and he dreads that more than any thing, Psa 80:4. 1. It was great anger. He apprehended that God was angry against the prayer of his people, not only that he was angry notwithstanding their prayers, by which they hoped to turn away his wrath from them, but that he was angry with their prayers, though they were his own people that prayed. That God should be angry at the sins of his people and at the prayers of his enemies is not strange; but that he should be angry at the prayers of his people is strange indeed. He not only delayed to answer them (that he often does in love), but he was displeased at them. If he be really angry at the prayers of his people, we may be sure it is because they ask amiss, Jam 4:3. They pray, but they do not wrestle in prayer; their ends are not right, or there is some secret sin harboured and indulged in them; they do not lift up pure hands, or they lift them up with wrath and doubting. But perhaps it is only in their own apprehension; he seems angry with their prayers when really he is not; for thus he will try their patience and perseverance in prayer, as Christ tried the woman of Canaan when he said, It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. 2. It was anger that had continued a great while: "How long wilt thou be angry? We have still continued praying and yet are still under thy frowns." Now the tokens of God's displeasure which they had been long under were both their sorrow and shame. (1.) Their sorrow (Psa 80:5): Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; they eat their meat from day to day in tears; this is the vinegar in which they dipped their morsel, Psa 42:3. They had tears given them to drink, not now and then a taste of that bitter cup, but in great measure. Note, There are many that spend their time in sorrow who yet shall spend their eternity in joy. (2.) It was their shame, Psa 80:6. God, by frowning upon them, made them a strife unto their neighbours; each strove which should expose them most, and such a cheap and easy prey were they made to them that all the strife was who should have the stripping and plundering of them. Their enemies laughed among themselves to see the frights they were in, the straits they were reduced to, and the disappointments they met with. When God is displeased with his people we must expect to see them in tears and their enemies in triumph.
III. He prays earnestly for converting grace in order to their acceptance with God, and their salvation: Turn us again, O God! Psa 80:3. Turn us again, O God of hosts! (Psa 80:7) and then cause thy face to shine and we shall be saved. It is the burden of the song, for we have it again, Psa 80:19. They are conscious to themselves that they have gone astray from God and their duty, and have turned aside into sinful ways, and that it was this that provoked God to hide his face from them and to give them up into the hand of their enemies; and therefore they desire to begin their work at the right end: "Lord, turn us to thee in a way of repentance and reformation, and then, no doubt, thou wilt return to us in a way of mercy and deliverance." Observe, 1. No salvation but from God's favour: "Cause thy face to shine, let us have thy love and the light of thy countenance, and then we shall be saved." 2. No obtaining favour with God unless we be converted to him. We must turn again to God from the world and the flesh, and then he will cause his face to shine upon us. 3. No conversion to God but by his own grace; we must frame our doings to turn to him (Hos 5:4) and then pray earnestly for his grace, Turn thou me, and I shall be turned, pleading that gracious promise (Pro 1:23), Burn you at my reproof; behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you. The prayer here is for a national conversion; in this method we must pray for national mercies, that what is amiss may be amended, and then our grievances would be soon redressed. National holiness would secure national happiness.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–18 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,.... The title of…
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,.... The title of a shepherd for the most part belongs to the Messiah, and who is expressly called the Shepherd and stone of Israel, as distinct from the God of Jacob, Gen 49:24 and may be so called because he was to be, and was of Israel, according to the flesh, and sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and appointed by his Father as a Shepherd over them; and it is on the mountains of Israel he provides a good fold, and pasture for his sheep, Rom 9:4 and it is for the spiritual Israel, his sheep, his elect, both among Jews and Gentiles, for whom he laid down his life; by which it appears that he is the good Shepherd, as he also is the great, the chief, the only one; though this character also may be given, and agrees unto God the Father, who rules, and governs, and feeds his people, his spiritual Israel, as a shepherd his flock; and who is addressed by his people, and is desired to "give ear" to their cries and prayers in their affliction and distress: God has an ear to hear his people's prayers, though sometimes they think he does not hear them; but he not only hears, but answers sooner or later, and in his own way; and the consideration of his character as a shepherd may be an encouragement to their faith, that he will hear, and will not withhold any good thing from them, Psa 23:1.
thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; the posterity of Joseph, the same with Israel, the spiritual Israel, who are like a flock of sheep, a separate people, distinguished by the grace of God, and purchased by the blood of Christ; and as there is but one Shepherd, so one fold, and one flock, and that but a little one neither; and which is sometimes called a flock of slaughter, because exposed to the rage and fury of men; yet a beautiful one in the eye of Christ, which he undertook to feed: and this he leads on gently and softly, gradually, and proportionate to their strength, or as they are able to bear; he leads in and out, and they find pasture; he leads them out of their former state and condition, in which he finds them, out of the pastures of sin and self-righteousness into the green pastures of his love, grace, word, and ordinances:
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thou that dwellest between the cherubim; which were over the mercy seat, and were either emblems of angels, among whom Jehovah dwells, and is surrounded by them; by whom Christ was ministered to on earth, and now in heaven, and among whom he was when he ascended thither, and where they are subject to him: or of the two Testaments, which look to Christ, the mercy seat, and agree with each other in their testimony of him, and in other things; and where these are truly opened and explained, there the Lord dwells: or rather of the saints of both dispensations, who look to Christ alone for salvation, and expect to be saved by his grace; are both partakers of it, as they will be of the same glory; and among these the Lord dwells as in his temple; though it seems best of all to consider them as emblems of Gospel ministers, since Ezekiel's four living creatures are the "cherubim", Eze 10:20, and these the same with John's four beasts, or living creatures, who were certainly men, being redeemed by the blood of Christ; and were ministers, being distinguished from the four and twenty elders, Rev 4:6 and among these the Lord dwells, and with them he has promised his presence shall be unto the end of the world:
shine forth; either God the Father, who dwelt between the cherubim, over the mercy seat, who sits upon a throne of grace, from whence he communes with his people and communicates to them; and then the request is, that he would shine forth in the perfections of his nature, as he has done in his Son, the brightness of his glory, and in redemption and salvation by him, where they are all illustriously displayed; and particularly in his lovingkindness through him, which has appeared and shone forth in the mission of Christ, and in giving him up for us all; and by granting his gracious presence unto his people in Zion, in his house and ordinances; see Psa 1:2, or the Messiah, the Shepherd of Israel, and the Leader of his flock, and under whom the living creatures and cherubim are, Eze 1:26, that he would shine forth in human nature; that this bright morning star would appear; that the dayspring from on high would visit men, and that the sun of righteousness would arise with healing in his wings; and that the glorious light of his Gospel would break forth, and the grace of God, the doctrine of it, appear and shine out unto all men, Jews and Gentiles.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18 This psalm was composed upon occasion of some calamity,…
This psalm was composed upon occasion of some calamity, which befel the tribes of Israel after their division into two kingdoms, and before the captivity of either of them. In which time all the evils mentioned herein did befall them, sometimes in one part, and sometimes in another. The psalmist prays for the tokens of God's presence, ver. 1-3. Complains of heavy distress, ver. 4-7. Illustrates this, by the comparison of a vine, ver. 8-16. Concludes with a prayer for mercy, ver. 17-19. To the chief musician upon Shoshannim Eduth, A psalm of Asaph. Title of the psalm. Shoshannim Eduth - It seems to be the name of a musical instrument.
Joseph - The children of Joseph or Israel. The name of Joseph, the most eminent of the patriarchs, is elsewhere put for all the tribes. Cherubim - Which were by the mercy seat above the ark.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19 A prayer for the captives, 1-3.
PSALM LXXX
A prayer for the captives, 1-3.
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A description of their miseries, 4-7.
Israel compared to a vineyard, 8-14.
Its desolate state, and a prayer for its restoration, 15-19.
NOTES ON PSALM LXXX
The title: see Ps 45:1; Ps 60:1; Ps 69:1, where every thing material is explained. This Psalm seems to have been written on the same occasion with the former. One ancient MS. in the public library in Cambridge writes the eightieth and the seventy-ninth all as one Psalm; the subject-matter is precisely the same-was made on the same occasion, and probably by the same author.
Verse 1. O Shepherd of Israel] The subject continued from the last verse of the preceding Psalm.
Leadest Joseph] Israel and Joseph mean here the whole of the Jewish tribes; all were at this time in captivity; all had been the people of the Lord; all, no doubt, made supplication unto him now that his chastening hand was upon them; and for all the psalmist makes supplication.
That dwellest between the cherubims] It was between the cherubim, over the cover of the ark, called the propitiatory or mercy-seat, that the glory of the Lord, or symbol of the Divine Presence, appeared. It is on this account that the Lord is so often said to dwell between the cherubim. Of these symbolical beings there is a long and painful account, or system of conjectures, in Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon, of about twenty quarto pages, under the word כרב carab.
Shine forth.] Restore thy worship; and give us such evidences of thy presence now, as our fathers had under the first tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple built by Solomon.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17 Psa 80:1. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel —…
Psa 80:1. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel — O thou who hast undertaken to feed and govern thy people of Israel, as a shepherd doth his flock, now perform thine office, and rescue thy flock from those grievous wolves which devour and destroy them; thou that leadest — Or, didst lead, formerly; Joseph — That is, the children of Joseph, or of Israel, as he now said. The name of Joseph, the most eminent of the patriarchs, for his dignity and piety, as well as the right of primogeniture, transferred upon him from Reuben, is frequently elsewhere put for all the ten tribes. Thou that dwellest between the cherubim — Those two sacred emblematical figures, which were set in the most holy place, upon the mercy-seat, before which the high-priest sprinkled the blood upon the great day of atonement. By this title the psalmist prudently and piously reminds the ten tribes of their revolt from God, and of the vanity of their superstitious addresses to their calves, at Beth-el and Dan, and of the necessity of their returning to the true worship of God before the ark, at Jerusalem, if they desired or expected any relief from him. And by this title it seems more than probable that this Psalm was not written, as some have supposed, upon occasion of the Babylonish captivity, in and after which time there was no ark, nor cherubim; nor does Daniel, or any of the prophets, then address God by that title. Shine forth — Out of the clouds, wherein thou seemest to hide thyself. Show forth thy power and goodness to, and for, thy poor oppressed people, in the face of thine and their enemies.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–19 Give ear - Incline the ear; as if the…
Give ear - Incline the ear; as if the ear of God was then turned away, or as if he was inattentive to what was occurring. See the notes at Psa 5:1. O Shepherd of Israel. See the notes at Psa 23:1.
Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock - Joseph, the father of Ephraim and Manasseh. See the notes at Psa 78:67. The name Joseph seems here to be used poetically to represent the whole people of Israel, as he was a man so prominent in their history, and especially as Egypt is mentioned as the country from which the vine had been transplanted - a country where Joseph had acted so important a part, and in connection with which his name would be so naturally associated. The meaning is, that God had led the tribes of the Hebrew people as a shepherd leads or conducts his flock.
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Thou that dwellest between the cherubims - See the notes at Psa 18:10. The allusion here is to God as dwelling, by a visible symbol - the Shechinah - on the mercy-seat, between the cherubims. Exo 25:18, Exo 25:22; Exo 37:7; 1Sa 4:4; 1Ki 6:25. See the notes at Isa 37:16; and notes at Heb 9:5. “Shine, forth.” Manifest thyself. Let light come from thy presence in the midst of our darkness and calamity.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 80
Psalms 80
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim-Eduth, A Psalm of Asaph
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2 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock;
Thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth.
3 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh
Stir up thy strength,
And come and save us.
4 Turn us again, O God,
And cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
5 O Lord God of hosts,
How long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?
6 Thou feedest them with the bread of tears;
And givest them tears to drink in great measure.
7 Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours:
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
8 Turn us again, O God of hosts,
And cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
9 Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt:
Thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.
10 Thou preparedst room before it,
And didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.
11 The hills were covered with the shadow of it,
And the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.
12 She sent out her boughs unto the sea,
And her branches unto the river.
13 Why hast thou then broken down her hedges,
So that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?
14 The boar out of the wood doth waste it,
And the wild beast of the field doth devour it.
15 Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts:
Look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;
16 And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted,
And the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
17 It is burned with fire, it is cut down:
They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
18 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand.
Upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
19 So will we not go back from thee:
Quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.
20 Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts,
Cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Contents and Composition.—On the superscription compare Introd. § 12, No. 13. The fundamental thought of the Psalm, the prayer for the restoration of the former relations to God, and for the help to be obtained thereby, is expressed in a refrain, which Psalm 80:4, 8, 15, 20 repeat, in such a manner that the prayer advances by successive additions to the names applied to God, and in Psa_80:15 presents a change of expression corresponding to the thought. The first time that this refrain appears, it is introduced in an invocation of God as the Helper; the second time, by a lamentation over the deplorable situation of the people caused by God’s anger; the third time by two strophes, the first of which represents the former prosperity of the people under the image of a vine planted and tended by God, while the second describes the present desolation by relentless foes; when it occurs for the fourth and last time, it is accompanied by a prayer for the destruction of the enemy, and for the protection of God’s chosen. Beyond all dispute the historical occasion of the origin of this Psalm was a season of oppression by foreign nations (Rosen-müller, De Wette). It remains to be determined whether the text furnishes grounds-for assuming it to be the Syrian (Olshausen, Hitzig) or the Chaldean (Geier and others), or the Assyrian (Calvin, Hengstenberg, and others) oppression, or whether it justifies us in going still further back to the period of the distresses occasioned by the Philistines (J. D. Michaelis). The Alex. version has in its superscription to this Psalm, which is in other parts somewhat absurd, an addition which alludes to the Philistines. With this best agrees the circumstance that here, after God is invoked as the Shepherd of Israel (compare the blessing of Joseph by Jacob, Gen_48:15; Gen_49:24) tribes are mentioned which are plainly northern, even if the kingdom of the ten tribes is not directly indicated. Benjamin, it is true, is in 1Ki_12:21 reckoned with the kingdom of Judah. The capital city Jerusalem, also, was within the limits of this tribe (Jos_15:18), and the land of Benjamin is (Jer_32:44; Jer_33:13) distinctly mentioned as a part of Judah. But several Benjamite cities (Bethel, Gilgal, Jericho) belonged to the northern kingdom, even if their possession was not undisputed, as was the case with Ramah, 1Ki_15:21; 2Ch_13:19. Benjamin is probably named here, therefore, for another reason than the fact that he and Joseph were children of the same mother. In that case how should he have been named between Ephraim and Manasseh? The boundaries of the kingdom were, as is well known, unsettled, (comp. Ewald, Geschichte des Volkes Israels, 3d edition, p. 439 ff. Hitzig, Geschichte, 1869, I, 168 ff.) It must not, however, be overlooked that sometimes Joseph, together with Israel, (Psa_81:5-6) or Jacob (Psa_77:16), denotes the whole nation, as in Oba_1:18, the house of Joseph, along with the house of Jacob, is contrasted with the house of Esau (Psa_80:10). More than this, in Amo_7:9; Amo_7:15, Isaac appears in place of the designations Jacob and Israel which are usual elsewhere. We may even perhaps assume that a preference for famous names of old influenced the choice of names (Ewald). It is scarcely a mere geographical mode of designating the northern, southern, and eastern country that is intended (Olshausen); and certainly not a mere random poetical selection of names (De Wette). The expression “restore us,” repeated in the refrain, could, if viewed by itself, certainly allude to the Babylonish exile. But it does not force us to such an hypothesis. It may also mean a restoration to a state of favor with God, and the change in Psa_80:15 leads to this conclusion. Moreover the expressions employed in Psa_80:7; Psa_80:13 f. allude to oppressions during the residence in the Promised Land.
[The review given above of the various opinions held as to the time when this Psalm was composed, will afford an idea of the difficulties which surround the subject. I would offer another attempt at approximation. It cannot have been composed so late as the destruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes, which is the period defended by Hengstenberg. The burden lying so heavily upon the Psalmist is evidently not the sufferings of any one portion of God’s people, but the desolation of the whole. All Israel (or Joseph,Psa_77:16; Psa_78:9) was conducted safely from Egypt, and planted like a goodly vine in Canaan, when it took root and filled the land. The nation then formed one flourishing vine. What was the cause of the sad change? The disunion of the tribes. The Psalmist evidently has the whole number of the tribes in their individual integrity before him. He prays that God may shine upon them all with His favor as He was wont to do of old, and mentions some of them by name. In this he seems to have chosen from the kingdom of Judah, the tribe of Benjamin, which contained Zion and the Temple, and which suffered more than did the tribe of Judah from the incursions of Syrian or Assyrian invaders, whom the discord among the tribes brought upon the land. For the last named reason also he mentioned Ephraim and Manasseh, taking also into consideration the favorite name Joseph, and the prophecies relating to them made in Egypt. It is natural to suppose also that greater prominence was given to the northern kingdom on account of its waywardness and rejection of God, and he prays that they too may behold His face shining from the Cherubim, and have His favor in their hearts. The contiguity of these three tribes to one another may also suggest another reason for the selection. The order in which they are named is strange at first sight. Perowne thinks that it was adopted because it was the order of march through the wilderness. This is too remote from the line of thought and imagination followed in the Psalm. I would venture to suggest a reason which seems to me more probable. The Psalmist having before him the tribes to be mentioned and yearning for their union as part of God’s own people, places Benjamin between the others, embraced, as it were, by these northern tribes, thus expressing his desire that such a union should be realized. Then, that most touching refrain, with its emotion intensified by each repetition, would also express a desire for re-union. “Restore us again to what we were once, when Thy face shone upon us; only so can we be saved.” This view of the origin of the Psalm gives to the latter a fulness and beauty of meaning of which it is otherwise shorn. If it is correct, we must assume that the composition took place between the reigns of Rehoboam and Hezekiah, and at some period when foreign foes, taking advantage of the distracted and unsettled state of the whole country, inflicted upon it those blows whose sad effects are presented in the poem. The reign of Ahaz before the captivity of the ten tribes furnishes a period when both Israel and Judah were harassed by both the Syrians and Assyrians whose devastations forcibly suggest to us the figurative language employed in the Psalm.—J. F. M.]
Psa_80:2-6. Appear, strictly: shine forth.—The expression refers to a Theophany (Psalms 1, 2). On the Cherubim see on Ps. 13:11. Psa_80:5. Until when [E. V., how long], with the præterite, must be explained either by an aposiopesis (Olsh.) or as being a combination of the question: how long wilt thou, etc.? with the complaint: how long hast thou, etc.?3 (Geier, Hupfeld). During the praying, that is: without heeding the prayer (Sept. and most) others: against the prayer; the incense of prayer (Psa_141:2; Rev_5:8; Rev_8:3) being overpowered by the smoke of wrath, instead of overpowering it, Num_16:13 (Calvin, Geier, J. H. Michaelis, Stier, Hengstenberg). But it is more correct to conceive the prayers as not being able to pierce through the smoking clouds of wrath with which God had enshrouded Himself.
Psa_80:6. Bread of tears means the bread which consists of tears, (Psa_42:4); not bread wet with tears. In accordance with this, the second member of the verse does not say that God gives to them the usual measure for drinking (literally: the third; the third part of a larger measure, Isa_40:12) filled with tears for them to drink (Lud. de Dieu, De Wette, Von Ortenberg), but that tears constitute their drink as well as their food. We must therefore render either: a measure full of tears (Hitzig), or: with tears by the measure; that, is, not in a threefold measure (Jerome, Rosenmüller) but: in great measure (Sept., Hengst., and others) since this one-third measure, however small it might be thought for other purposes, is a large one for tears. The accusative is therefore that of closer definition, (Gesenius, Olshausen, Hupfeld, Delitzsch).
Psa_80:7. A strife does not mean: object of contention, (most), or the object for which the neighboring nations contend with one another; but: the object against which they direct their upbraidings, taunts, and warlike efforts (Muntinghe, Hupfeld, Delitzsch). [It would better accord with the tone of the whole Psalm to understand this verse in the former sense. The country had been brought so low by fratricidal war and strife that the tribes around it were quarreling for its possession. The picture is thus made much more affecting. Besides, this is more in accordance with the primary meaning of מָדוֹן. It also agrees better with the second member of the verse. If the people were an object of rage and enmity of the heathen, the latter would hardly make merry over them, as in the other case they might do.—J. F. M.] These neighbors are the smaller tribes in their immediate vicinity (Geier, J. H. Michaelis, Hengstenberg, Hupfeld), rather than the great kingdom of the world (De Wette, Olshausen, Hitzig). The last word of Psa_80:7, לָמוֹ, is not to be changed into לָנוּ after Psa_22:8; Neh_2:19 (Baur), or with a like purpose to be explained as=over us. (The ancient translators, Clericus, Venema, and others); but is the so-called dat. commodi=for sport to themselves.
[Psa_80:10. Instead of “didst cause it to take deep root,” should be, “and it struck its roots deep.” In Psa_80:11 a literal rendering of the last words would be: “cedars of God.” Alexander: ‘Some interpreters suppose the southern range of mountains west of Jordan, sometimes called Mount Judah or the Highlands of Judah, to be here specifically meant and contrasted with the Cedars of Lebanon, the northern frontier of the Land of Promise, just as Lebanon and Kadesh are contrasted in Psa_29:5-8. That Lebanon, though not expressly mentioned, is referred to, appears probable from the analogy of Psa_29:5; Psa_92:13; Psa_104:16. The literal fact conveyed by all these figures is the one prophetically stated in Gen_28:14; Deu_11:24; Jos_1:4.” Delitzsch: “The ‘cedars of God’ are the cedars of Lebanon, as monuments of the creative power of God.”—J. F. M.]
The wild boar (Psa_80:14, comp. Jer_5:6), is regarded by many as an emblem of the Assyrian king, like the fly (Isa_7:18), or as the Nile-horse, sea-serpent, and crocodile are those of Egypt (Psa_68:31; Isa_30:6; Eze_29:3), and the eagle that of Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 17) This, however, is not certain. The Rabbins refer the expression to Seir-Edom, and the wild beast (or: stirring thing) of the field, to the Arabs dwelling in tents, according to Gen_16:12. The suspendedע in the word מִיַּעַר (out of the forest), is so explained by some Rabbins as to show another reading, namely מיאר=out of the river, comp. Jdg_18:30; but it belongs to the category of large and small letters, and according to tract. Kidduschin 30 a, is intended to mark the middle letter of the Psalter (Geier, Urschrift und Uebersetzungen der Bibel, 1857, p. 259) as in Lev_11:42, a ו marks the middle letter of the Pentateuch. But the Ayin suspensum may be merely the result of a later correction (Delitzsch), since a Phœnician inscription has יר = forest-wood (Levy, Phöniz. Wörterbuch, p. 22. Schröder, Die phöniz. Sprache, 1869, pp. 19, 98) and the כּ written large in Psa_80:16 appears to be the consequence of a necessary erasure. On the different mystical meanings attached to this suspended letter by the Jews, see Buxtorf, Tiberias, c. 16, p. 172.
Psa_80:16 ff. Protect what thy right has planted.—[E. V., The vineyard which thy right hand hath planted]. The Hebrew word כַּנָּה might be a noun (many old expositors, also Rosenmüller, Stier, Ewald, Hitzig) = its slip, twig, or better: its stem (Böttcher) depending upon the verb of the preceding verse. But if it be taken as an imperative (Sept., Luther, and others), then it is to be taken from a verb כנן, cognate with גּנז = to cover, protect (Hupf., Delitzsch). This is better than to take it from בון = to set upright, to uphold (Hengst.) since verbs of caring can be construed both with the accusative and with עַל (here with both).—The son [E. V., branch], Psa_80:16 b, is probably not the vegetable branch, as in Gen_49:22 (Kimchi, Ewald, and others), but as in Psa_80:18 the people of Israel, in the same sense as Exo_4:22; Hos_11:1. The transition from the figurative to the literal mode of designation is however, first prepared in this verse. In Psa_80:17, they are intermingled as is often the case in strongly emotional passages; for the term, participles refer back to גפן while in the second member of the verse, the Israelites, who in their totality constitute the vine, are mentioned in the plural, and that in an expression which describes their condition more literally than figuratively. Then in Psa_80:18 the foregoing circle of images is dropped. The people are first termed אִישׁ־יְמִינֶךָ in allusion to the name Benjamin, and then בֶּך־אָדָם as members of the helpless human race. The former designation may bear reference to God’s having with His right hand gained them for Himself, (Kimchi, Luther, Rosenmüller,) or planted and reared them (Calvin, Stier, De Wette, Hupfeld and others). But possibly it alludes to Israel’s standing at God’s right hand (Aben Ezra, Geier, J. H. Mich., Hengst., Del., Hitzig) as his favorite (Gen_44:20; Deu_33:8; Deu_33:12). [Alexander: “The man of thy right hand may either be, the man whom thy power has raised up or the man who occupies the post of honor at thy right hand. That the words were intended to suggest both ideas, is a supposition perfectly agreeable to Hebrew usage. A more doubtful question is that in reference to the first words of the sentence, let thy hand be upon him, whether this means in favor or in wrath. The only way in which both senses can be reconciled is by applying the words to the Messiah as the ground of the faith and hope expressed. Let thy hand fall not on us, but on our substitute. Compare the remarkably similar expressions in Act_5:31.”—J. F. M.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Even in the midst of the direst calamities we can trust ourselves to God’s guidance, and commit ourselves to him with full confidence as soon and as long as we are persuaded of His watchful love and faithfulness as our Shepherd, and of His supreme power exalted above all earthly and heavenly might. But it is above all important for the suffering and oppressed that God should manifest such a guidance by changing their condition which is so bitter and distressing. And he who belongs to God’s Church knows right well how much such a change is hindered by the sins of men, and how little the sinner is entitled to it. Accordingly the most urgent and important need is that of the shedding forth of God’s favor. Only by this can the true relation to Him be restored. And that may be gained by prayer.
2. The contemplation of the Divine nature helps us greatly in our strivings after greater delight and increased support in prayer. The abundant manifestations of that glory with the many comforting aspects of each can never be sufficiently kept before the soul. In this exercise there can be no tedious verbosity, no useless superfluity of words, no heathenish or childish babbling. “It is all-important in prayer, that God appear before the soul in the full glory of His nature. Only by pouring out into the bosom of such a God as this our complaints and entreaties, can requital be found.” (Hengstenberg).
3. Not less important and consoling is the reflection, that God is not disposed to destroy or abandon the work, begun out of mercy, in and with His Church, but remains ready to complete it, in so far as her welfare depends upon the manifestation of His favor, and according as she places herself penitently and believingly under the protection and care of God, whom she cannot cease to praise as her Founder and Preserver, but to whom she has ever cause to render thanks for what He has planted, reared, and blessed in her. Thus feeling and acting, she can, even in the troubled present, draw lively hope of future aid and fresh deliverances from the recollection of former experiences of blessing and seasons of mercy.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
If thou wouldst have God for thy Shepherd, keep close to His flock.—To crave God’s assistance and to strive against His will, are acts which do not agree.—He upon whom God’s face is to shine must turn himself towards it.—So long as men are without a reconciled God, the whole world cannot give them the least help.—Tears are not the worst food; let them only not be food for ever.—God has not only planted His vine; He protects it too, and makes it grow.
Starke: We can indeed thrust ourselves into misfortune, but it is not in our power to bring ourselves out. How good it is for us to have a God, who can and will bring us back to prayers of penitence!—It is ingratitude that we should have God near to us, as He is indeed near at all times and in all places, and that we do not implore His help.—If God appears to be angry with the prayer of His people, because He does not give heed to it at once, must He not be angry indeed with a prayer, which is offered without repentance or faith?—The violence of our enemies harasses us, but God strengthens us; affliction makes it dark for us but God’s mercy makes it bright; men destroy us, but through God’s goodness we are revived and preserved from despair.—From a vine, that we have planted, we expect not only leaves, but grapes; so it is not enough that Christians have the leaves of good works to show; God seeks also good fruits. O that He might find them in all!—So long as God keeps over a place His protecting hand all goes well: but, if for the sins of the inhabitants He draws it away only a little, then everything tends to ruin.—We live that we may worship God, and He who does not call upon His name is not worthy to live—If God did not perform the chief part in nurturing and perpetuating the vine, all the care of the husbandman would be in vain.—Arndt: The Shepherd of Israel—how we are to trust ourselves to His protection and presence, and worship Him in His holiness.—Frisch: Where the spiritual vineyard is preserved in bloom and luxuriance, there the temporal vineyard will flourish too.—Rieger: We are to mark with special care the names which are given to God in His word and by which we are to call upon Him in all our troubles.—Guenther: The Church of God has many more times of distress, than years of glory upon earth.—Diedrich: The ungodly do not ask for the help of God, but the righteous cannot live without it, and keep asking day and night: how long? how long?—Taube: Light, love, life, these are essential attributes of the Divine nature which mutually repose upon one another. When He comes forth clothed with them, and manifests Himself, it becomes bright, we feel His love, we live. But when He retires within Himself, it is night, we feel His wrath, we die.—Appuhn (At the Reformation festival): We observe today (1) a thanksgiving, for we call to mind the establishment, the prosperity and extension of our German Evangelical Lutheran Church, (2) a day of humiliation, for we have to recall forsaken confession, mournful divisions and lamentable insubordination; (3) a day of prayer, for we take our stand upon God’s honor, power, and mercy.
[Matt. Henry: (1) No salvation but from God’s favor, (2) no obtaining favor with God unless we are converted to Him, (3) no conversion to God but by His own grace.—We cannot call upon God’s name in a right manner, unless He quicken us; but it is He who puts life into our souls, who puts liveliness into our prayers.
Scott: The vine cannot be ruined nor any fruitful branch perish: but the unfruitful will be cut off and cast into the fire.
Bishop Horne: The end of our redemption is that we should serve Him who hath redeemed us and “go back” no more to our old sins. That soul which has been quickened and made alive by Christ, should live to His honor and glory; that mouth which hath been opened by Him, can do no less than show forth His praise, and “call upon” His saving “name.”—J. F. M.].
Footnotes:
[3][This method, generally adopted in all the cases where this phrase occurs, is grammatically incorrect. To give to the words the sense of an interjection would require that עַד should be treated as an adverb of quantity, which of course it cannot be. It is better to give the præterite the force of past time continuing through the present, whose termination is not seen.—J. F. M.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 1. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel— “The previous…
1. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel— “The previous psalm closed with ‘We thy people and sheep of thy pasture;’ and this begins with a cry to the ‘Shepherd of Israel.’”—Delitzsch.
Between the cherubim—The word “between” is not in the original, but is inserted on the authority of Exo_25:22; Num_7:89. But in Eze_1:4-26; Eze_10:1, the “cherubim” are represented as under the throne of God. So, also, in 2Sa_22:11; Psa_18:10. The explanation seems to be, that as the “cherubim” or “living creatures” are symbolic beings—not messengers, as angels, but emblems of God’s living agency, his knowledge, patience, strength, and swiftness in executing his purposes—so when Deity is represented as sitting on his throne, (as Rev_4:6,) or abiding in a local place, giving oracles, (as in the Hebrew tabernacle, Exo_25:22,) the “cherubim” stand “round about” him. But when he executes his judgments, the “cherubim” are represented as his “chariot” under the throne, moving “straight forward,” “running and returning as the appearance of a flash of lightning.” Eze_1:14. See notes on Psa_18:10; Psa_68:17. Compare Psalm 67:17; Deu_33:2; Dan_7:9. This latter sense may suit the text better. Delitzsch renders it, “Thou who sittest enthroned above the ‘cherubim,’ oh appear!”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 1. The Psalmist addresses God (1) as the Shepherd…
1. The Psalmist addresses God (1) as the Shepherd of Israel, a title which is the correlative of the words in Psa_79:13, thy people and the flock of thy pasture (cp. Psa_74:1), and appeals to their claim on His protecting care: (2) as thou that leddest Joseph like a flock, recalling His providential guidance of them through the wilderness (Psa_77:20; Psa_78:52): (3) as thou that sittest enthroned upon the Cherubim, words which suggest the double idea of the King enthroned in heaven and yet dwelling in the midst of His people (1Sa_4:4; 2Sa_6:2; 2Ki_19:15), and are here clearly intended to recall the Presence of God with His people in the wilderness manifested from the ‘mercy-seat’ above the Ark (Exo_25:22). Israel is the nation as a whole; Joseph represents the tribes of the Northern Kingdom, in which the Psalmist has a special interest. Cp. Jacob and Joseph, Psa_77:15. The use of the title Shepherd may allude to the use of the word in Jacob’s blessings of Joseph, Gen_48:15 (fed = shepherded), Gen_49:24.
shine forth] Manifest Thyself in power and glory for our deliverance. Cp. Psa_50:2; Psa_94:1; Deu_33:2.
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1–3. A prayer for the restoration of God’s favour to His people.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19 (1) The reference to the shepherd, so characteristic of…
(1) The reference to the shepherd, so characteristic of the Asaphic psalms, is, no doubt, here chosen especially in recollection of Gen_48:15; Gen_49:24. “Shepherd” and “Rock” were Jacob’s especial names for God, as the “Fear” was that of Isaac, and the “Mighty” that of Abraham; but in the blessing of Joseph the patriarch seems to have made more than usually solemn pronunciation of it. It is, therefore, very doubtful whether we must press the selection of Joseph here as a distinct and intended reference to the northern tribes or kingdom, in distinction to Judah or the southern kingdom.
Dwellest.—Rather, sittest (enthroned). (Comp. Psa_99:1.) That this is not a merely poetical idea drawn from clouds (as possibly in Psa_18:10), but is derived from the throne, upheld by the wings of the sculptured cherubim in the Temple, is proved by Exo_25:22. (Comp. Num_7:89. Comp. also “chariot of the cherubim,” 1Ch_28:18; Sir_49:8; also Isa_6:1; Isa_37:16; Eze_1:26.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–19 A PSALM in which the writer entreats God to…
A PSALM in which the writer entreats God to restore his favour once more to Israel, and especially to the ten tribes, who are in affliction, and in danger of perishing (vers. 1, 2, 15-17). The psalm is evidently written while the temple is standing (ver. 1), and while Israel still occupies the Holy Land (vers. 8-15), but in a time of deep suffering, when the nation has sustained a severe blow. It probably belongs to the period immediately preceding the final captivity of the ten tribes, when the kingdom of Israel was already tottering to its fall, and the carrying off of the population had begun. (2Ki_15:29) The psalm is "Asaphian," i.e. composed by a member of the Asaphian division of the temple choir, but certainly not by Asaph. It consists of two short strophes (vers. 1-3, 4-7) and one long one (vers. 819), each concluded with an almost identical refrain (vers. 3, 7, 19).
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel. The title, "Shepherd of Israel," is a new one; but it follows naturally from the metaphor, so often employed, (Psa_74:1 Psa_77:20 Psa_78:52 Psa_79:13) of Israel being God"s "flock." Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock. "Thou that leddest" (Cheyne). The mention of "Joseph" shows at once that the thoughts of the psalmist are fixed on the northern kingdom. Thou that dwellest between the cherubims. The two cherubim that overshadowed the mercy seat seem to be meant. Shine forth; i.e. "show thyself manifest thy might". (comp. Psa_50:2)
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HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY Ver. 1. The cherubim.
Who and what were they? We regard them as types of redeemed humanity, and designed to prefigure and promise that redemption. In proof, consider
I THE VARIOUS REFERENCES TO THEM IN THE SCRIPTURES.
1. In connection with the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. (Gen_3:24) This passage tells but little of the nature of these exalted beings, only that they were held fit to occupy the place where only perfect righteousness could dwell. But neither their form, number, nor service are revealed to us. But inasmuch as the word "place" signifies rather "to place in a tabernacle," it seems as if the spot (see Gen_4:14-16) where God had placed them had become a sort of local tabernacle, and was called "the presence of the Lord," and so for a long time remained, probably until the Deluge. Thus the idea of the cherubim seems to have become familiar to the Jews. Bezaleel, when he was bidden make cherubim for the ark of the covenant, knew exactly what he was to do. (Exo_31:2 Exo_25:18, etc.) There must, therefore, have been some tradition concerning these mysterious beings, though that tradition is almost entirely lost to us. But we cannot but believe that our unhappy first parents, as they looked upon the cherubim, must have had some idea as to what they meant, and, like the first promise made to the woman of her seed that should bruise the serpent"s head, so these mysterious beings would convey to their minds a gleam of bright, blessed hope, that restoration to what they had lost was destined for them, and that, though not now, yet in the future, they should again find themselves amid that favour and joy and righteousness from all which their sin had cast them out.
2. In the construction of the ark of testimony. (See Exo_25:18, etc.) Now, at first sight this seems as if it was a contradiction of the command not to "make any graven image, nor any likeness," etc. (Ex 20) But that command had reference to the making of such likenesses for the purpose of worship, as did the Egyptians, who paid to such things religious honour. But this Israel was not to do; nevertheless, they might and did make these cherubim, on the ark, woven in the curtains, and all about the tabernacle and temple. They were not representations of God, or of angels, or of anything upon earth, but, as we believe, of the spiritual character and condition of humanity when redeemed. Then: The cherubim are told of in Eze_1:10, and in Eze 10, where a description is given of them, but such as is impossible of pictorial representation. They were, when represented as in the tabernacle, but sacred hieroglyphs, symbols, not of earthly or heavenly bodies, but of spiritual realities. Then: In Re 4 the "four living ones" told of there (not "beasts," as our most unfortunate translation gives it) are again the cherubim.
II WHAT THEY REPRESENT. We have already said that we take them as symbols of redeemed man.
1. They represent humanity, not the elemental forces of nature. This has been affirmed from Psa_18:10 Psa_104:4, etc. Hence the air, fire, winds, have been regarded as the cherubim. But if so, how can they be called "living ones"? The blind forces of nature have no "life" in them. But the cherubim have. And it is the life of humanity.
2. The creature representation tells of character. The ox (see Ezekiel and Revelation) tells of patient meekness, readiness for sacrifice or for toil, accustomed to the yoke the character our Lord tells of, and exemplified, when he said, (Mt 11) "Take my yoke upon you." The lion, symbol of nobleness of nature, of courage and might. Hence Christ is "the Lion of the tribe of Judah." The eagle tells of the swift, strong, upward-soaring spirit that mounts heavenward, Godward. Man, the chief of all creatures, in whom all these excellences combine.
3. Of perfect man. For the cherubim are in the presence of God, but standing on the mercy seat; hence they tell of man redeemed by the blood of Christ, and ever there, abiding always. Amid such God loves to dwell.
III THEIR TEACHING FOR US.
1. The infinite compassion of God. See the depths of distress in which they were to whom these visions were given. But then God thus came to them with hope, and so with help. It is his blessed way.
2. We may be as the cherubim, shall be, if "in Christ." That is, we shall be perfect, holy, blessed, because dwelling forever in God"s presence. S.C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver. 1. Throned above the cherubim a conception of God.
Prayer book Version, "Thou that sittest upon the cherubim;" Perowne, "Thou that sittest (throned above) the cherubim;" Revised Version margin, "dwellest between." It is plain that this psalm was composed when Israel was groaning under some foreign oppression which it was powerless to resist. It is a plaintive cry for restoration to a state which should be indicative of the Divine favour. Two periods may be mentioned as times when Palestine became the battleground of rival powers (see ver. 6) when Assyria and Egypt fought in it; and in the post-Exilic period, when it was the apple of discord between the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae. There is evident poetical reference to the tabernacle of the wilderness, rather than to the temple at Jerusalem; for the poet was thinking of God as leading his people, and in vision saw the tribes in their camping and marching order. The cover, or mercy scat, of the ark was thought of as the throne of Jehovah. Above it rested the bright light, which was the symbol of the Divine presence; and the figures of the cherubim, with their wings extended and touching each other, formed the canopy of the throne. God"s presence there was the sign of his abiding presence, and close, helpful relations with his people. His shining out, or shining forth, was the sign of his specially acting in judgment on the rebellious, or in vindication of the Divine honour, as in the case of Korah. So the psalmist, in Psa_50:2, says, "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined." (The account of the cherubim is given in Exo_25:19-22) We inquire what thoughts of God are specially associated with his manifestations from between the cherubim.
I GOD IS EVER PRESENT WITH HIS PEOPLE. To the Jewish mind the symbol was always there between the cherubim, though not one of the people ever beheld it. It helped them to realize that their God was in their midst. No matter what might be the national calamities, at least they could be sure of this that symbol of the present God remained. There could be no overwhelming calamity while the Keeper of Israel was still between the cherubim.
II GOD MAY BE HIDING HIMSELF FROM HIS PEOPLE; or rather, he may seem to them to be hiding himself. This is the trouble of the psalmist Israel is in sore distress, and God seems to keep silence, to "dwell in the thick darkness," and hold aloof from the strife. God never is uninterested in his people"s cares; but his interest may sometimes best be shown in withholding his hand, and biding his time. His time is sure to come.
III GOD MAY BE ASKED TO MANIFEST HIMSELF TO HIS PEOPLE. It may be precisely for the attitude which expresses itself in asking that God may be waiting. He manifests himself by "stirring up his strength to help us, and by shining forth his glory to cheer us. R.T.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Vers. 1-19. God"s redemption.
"It is not a bringing back out of exile that is here prayed for, for the people are still on the soil of their own country; but in their present Feebleness they are no longer like themselves, but stand in need of Divine intervention, the shining forth of the hidden countenance of God, in order again to attain a condition that is in harmony with the promises." Suggests
I GOD HAS MADE A GLORIOUS REDEMPTION POSSIBLE FOR US. (Ver. 8) Has transplanted us from the darkness and slavery of Egypt into a glorious land of promise.
II BY THE ABUSE OF OUR PRIVILEGE WE MAY BRING OURSELVES INTO GREAT FEEBLENESS AND MISERY.
1. God may seem not to answer our prayers. (Ver. 4)
2. And to leave us to unavailing remorse. (Ver. 5)
3. Appetite and passion may destroy us by their ravages. (Ver.
13)
III GOD IS STILL NEAR TO HELP ALL WHO EARNESTLY DESIRE RESTORATION.
1. He goes before us as he went before the Israelites in the wilderness. (Ver. 1) As a Shepherd.
2. He has also the power to help us. Dwells between the cherubim, the symbol of his earthly power; and is Lord of hosts symbol of his heavenly power.
3. When we can see our duty and privilege in the light of God"s face, we shall repent and return. (Ver. 3) That is, we must see them in the very strongest light before we shall repent. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv1–19 To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim Eduth. For the…
To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim Eduth. For the fourth time we have a song upon Shoshannim, or the lilies; the former ones being Psalms 45, 60, and 69. Why this title is given it would be difficult to say in every case, but the delightfully poetical form of the present Psalm may well justify the charming title. Eduth signifies testimony. The Psalm is a testimony of the church as a "lily among thorns." Some interpreters understand the present title to refer to an instrument of six strings, and Schleusner translates the two words, "the hexachord of testimony." It may be that further research will open up to us these "dark sayings upon a harp." We shall be content to accept them as evidence that sacred song was not lightly esteemed in the days of old. A Psalm of Asaph. A latter Asaph we should suppose, who had the unhappiness to live, like the "last minstrel, "in evil times. If by the Asaph of David's day, this Psalm was written in the spirit of prophecy, for it sings of times unknown to David.
The Psalm divides itself naturally at the refrain which occurs three times: "Turn us again, O God, "etc. Ps 80:1-3 is an opening address to the Lord God of Israel; from Ps 80:4-7 is a lamentation over the national woe, and from Ps 80:8-19 the same complaint is repeated, the nation being represented in a beautiful allegory as a vine. It is a mournful Psalm, and its lilies are lilies of the valley.
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Ver. 1. "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel." Hear thou the bleatings of thy suffering flock. The name is full of tenderness, and hence is selected by the troubled psalmist: broken hearts delight in names of grace. Good old Jacob delighted to think of God as the Shepherd of Israel, and this verse may refer to his dying expression: "From thence is the Shepherd, the stone of Israel." We may be quite sure that he who deigns to be a shepherd to his people will not turn a deaf ear to their complaints. "Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock." The people are called here by the name of that renowned son who became a second father to the tribes, and kept them alive in Egypt; possibly they were known to the Egyptians under the name of "the family of Joseph, "and if so, it seems most natural to call them by that name in this place. The term may, however, refer to the ten tribes of which Manasseh was the acknowledged head. The Lord had of old in the wilderness led, guided, shepherded all the tribes; and, therefore, the appeal is made to him. The Lord's doings in the past are strong grounds for appeal and expectation as to the present and the future. "Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth." The Lord's especial presence was revealed upon the mercyseat between the cherubim, and in all our pleadings we should come to the Lord by this way: only upon the mercyseat will God reveal his grace, and only there can we hope to commune with him. Let us ever plead the name of Jesus, who is our true mercyseat, to whom we may come boldly, and through whom we may look for a display of the glory of the Lord on our behalf. Our greatest dread is the withdrawal of the Lord's presence, and our brightest hope is the prospect of his return. In the darkest times of Israel, the light of her Shepherd's countenance is all she needs.
Title. It is an Asaph prayer again, full of pleas in Israel's behalf. It is as if they had before them Isa 63:1, "Then he remembered the days of old." They call to his mind the days of Joseph, when (Ge 49:24) the Lord miraculously fed them in Egypt. And then the tabernacle days, when (first, since the days of Eden), the Lord was known to dwell between the cherubim, on the mercyseat. They call to his mind wilderness times (verse 2), when their march was gladdened by his presence, "Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh" looking on the Pillar of Glory as it rose before them, the guide and partner of their way (see Nu 10:32-34) "O God, bring us back again! Cause thy face to shine! and all shall be well again!" Andrew A. Bonar.
Ver. 1. The prophet does not nakedly begin his prayer, but mingles therewith certain titles, by which he most aptly addresses God, and urges his cause. He does not say, O you who sustain and govern all things which are in heaven and in earth, who hast placed thy dwelling place above the heaven of heavens; but, Thou who art the Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock, thou that dwellest between the cherubims. Those things which enhance the favour and providence of God revealed to Israel, he brings to remembrance that he might nourish and strengthen confidence in prayer...Let us learn from this example to feed and fortify our confidence in praying to God, with the marks of that divine and paternal kindness revealed to us in Christ our Shepherd and propitiation. Musculus.
Ver. 1. "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel." It is the part of the shepherd to give ear to the bleatings and cries of the sheep, to call them to mind, that he may readily run to their help. Venema.
Ver. 1. "O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock." Yon shepherd is about to lead his flock across the river; and, as our Lord says of the good shepherd, you observe that he goes before, and the sheep follow. Not all in the same manner, however. Some enter boldly, and come straight across. These are the loved ones of the flock, who keep hard by the footsteps of the shepherd, whether sauntering through green meadows, by the still waters, feeding upon the mountains, or resting at noon beneath the shadow of great rocks. And now others enter, but in doubt and alarm. Far from their guide, they miss the ford, and are carried down the river, some more, some less, and yet, one by one, they all struggle over and make good their landing. Notice those little lambs. They refuse to enter, and must be driven into the stream by the shepherd's dog, mentioned by Job in his "parable." Poor things! how they leap and plunge, and bleat in terror! That weak one yonder will be swept quite away, and perish in the sea. But, no; the shepherd himself leaps into the stream, lifts it into his bosom, and bears it trembling to the shore. All safely over, how happy they appear. The lambs frisk and gambol about in high spirits, while the older ones gather round their faithful guide, and look up to him in subdued but expressive thankfulness.
Now, can you watch such a scene, and not think of that Shepherd who leadeth Joseph like a flock, and of another river which all his sheep must cross? He too, goes before, and, as in the case of this flock, they who keep near him fear no evil. They hear his sweet voice saying, "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee." With eyes fastened on him, they scarcely see the stream, or feel its cold and threatening waves. The great majority, however, "linger, shivering on the brink, and fear to launch away." They lag behind, look down upon the dark river, and, like Peter on stormy Gennesaret, when faith failed, they begin to sink. Then they cry for help, and not in vain. The Good Shepherd hastens to their rescue, and none of all his flock can ever perish. Even the weakest lambkins are carries safely over. I once saw flocks crossing the Jordan "to Canaan's fair and happy land, "and there the scene was even more striking and impressive. The river was broader, the current stronger, and the flocks larger, while the shepherd's were more picturesque and Biblical. The catastrophe, too, with which many more sheep were threatenedof being swept down into that mysterious sea of death, which swallows up the Jordan itself, was more solemn and suggestive. W. M. Thomson, in "The Land and the Book."
Ver. 1. "Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock." Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock art considered by the unbelieving to have no thoughts for our affairs; therefore stretch forth thine hand for our assistance, that the mouth of them that speak iniquities may be shut. We seek not gold and riches, or the dignities of this world, but we long for thy light, we desire more ardently to know thee, therefore "shine forth." Savonarola.
Ver. 1. "Thou that dwellest between the cherubims." From this phrase the following ideas may be derived:
(1) That God is a King, sitting on his throne, and surrounded by his "ministers." His throne is the heavens, the symbol of which is the holy of holies, his "ministers" are "angels, "and are elsewhere distinguished by that name, as Genesis 3; Ps 18:11; (2) that God is the "King" of Israel, dwelling among them by the external symbol of his presence. His most illustrious ministers are depicted by the "Cherubims, "who comprehend his heavenly as well as earthly ministers; (3) that God is the covenant "King" of his people, and has fixed his dwelling place above the "ark of the covenant, "an argument that he will observe the covenant and fulfil its promises, that he will guard his people, and procure for them every felicity; (4) lastly, that God is willing to reveal to the people his grace and mercy through the covering of the ark, called the "mercyseat, "on which God sat.
Venema.
Ver. 1. In what respects the Lord acted as a Shepherd to Israel, as illustrative of his dealings with his Church.
Hieronymi Savonarolae Ferrariensis Meditationes in Psalmos MiserereIn Te Domine Speravi, et Qui Regis Israel (12mo. Leyden: 1633).
A Few Words on the Eightieth Psalm. By CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH.
1835.
Psalms 80:2*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 13, 17, 18, 19 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest…
Psa_80:1-19
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock.
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The Almighty in relation to erring man
I. As a shepherd (Psa_80:1).
1. His flock indicated. Joseph may stand for all Israel, and Israel as an illustration of the moral condition of men everywhere.
(1) Rebellious.
(2) Discontented.
(3) Pursuing a perilous journey.
2. His dwelling-place described. Dwelt in symbol on mercy-seat. Now, God is in Christ, reconciling the world.
3. His interposition invoked (Psa_80:2).
(1) The end. Save us.
(2) The means. Divine strength Divine turning. Divine favour.
II. As a character (Psa_80:4). Gods chastisements are--
1. Always deserved.
2. Often very painful. Physical anguish, moral distress, social bereavement, disappointment, persecution.
3. They sometimes stimulate prayer. However great our afflictions, if they but send us in prayer to God, they are blessings in disguise.
III. As a cultivator (Psa_80:8-13).
1. The work He does.
(1) He prepares the soil. There is only one moral soil in the universe in which dead souls can be quickened and be rightly developed, and that is the Gospel of Christ. Souls are seeds.
(2) He deposit the seed. God alone can bring the soul into the soil of Gospel truth and root it there.
(3) He trains the plant. The hills were covered with the shadow of it. The Jewish people became a grand nation under His training. So do human souls become under His spiritual training.
2. The evil He permits. Why hast thou then broken down her hedges? etc. He did not do it by His direct agency, only by permission. He could have prevented it. He could have crushed the invaders. But He did not. For wise and beneficent purposes, He permitted it. So it is in the department of spiritual culture. He permits evils.
IV. As the restorer (Psa_80:14-19).
1. He restores by special visitation. Look down from heaven, etc. Dead souls are restored to life because God visits the world. He bowed the heavens and came down. He appeared in Christ.
2. He restores from apparently the most hopeless condition (Psa_80:16). There is nothing too hard for the Lord. He is able of these stones to raise up children, etc. Can these dry bones live? you say. Yes, they can.
3. He restores by quickening the soul into devotion (Psa_80:18). (Homilist.)
The relative Deity
I. Here He is presented in His relative character. He is a Shepherd. As a Shepherd He has universal knowledge, self-sacrificing love, and almighty power.
II. Here He is presented in His relative agency. Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock. He leads us now by the dictates of moral reason, the events of His providence, the revelations of His book, and the influence of His Spirit.
(1) The insufficiency of human reason.
(2) The free agency of man;--He leads, not drives.
(3) The considerateness of His compassion.
III. Here He is presented in His relative posture. Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. Man, from his nature, requires a place for his God--some point in space where he may meet Him. Under the old dispensation this want was met by His appearing in the Shekinah over the mercy-seat. In the new it is met in Christ, of which the old manifestation was but the symbol. Christ is the Mercy Seat where man meets his God.
IV. Here He is presented in His relative light, Shine forth. We want Him to shine forth upon us through Christ. (Homilist.)
Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
The mercy-seat
The prayer in the text may be offered--
1. When we are seeking the pardon of our offences,--when our hearts are stricken with conviction,--when we understand and feel that it is an evil thing to sin against God.
2. When we are oppressed by spiritual adversaries.
3. When commending particular efforts for the advancement of the Saviours kingdom to the Divine regard.
4. When we contemplate the general condition and wants of mankind. (J. Parsons.)
The God that dwelleth between the cherubims
I. The character of God represented by this phrase.
1. A God of glory.
2. A God of holiness and justice.
3. A God of mercy, full of love and goodness.
4. A God of condescending intercourse. God might be approached with safety and success as He sat upon the mercy-seat sprinkled with blood (Exo_29:43-46).
II. The import of the prayer in the text. Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth, smile upon us with Thy heavenly favour; cast away all our transgressions from Thy sight; break in upon our darkened souls with the light of Thy truth, and cause us to see and know the truth with enlightened understandings; chase away with Thy bright beamings the gloom of sin and unbelief; and let Thy peace which passeth all understanding, and the joy of the Holy Ghost, dwell within us, to be our portion at all times. Guide us by Thy unerring counsel here, and receive us to Thy eternal glory hereafter. (J. S. Broad, M. A.)
The word God means the Shining One
Special reference is probably made to the Shekinah. God under the Old Testament was manifesting His presence in a cloud of dazzling light. The name, therefore, by which He was known was the Brilliant or Shining One. It was long supposed that God etymologically meant good. God, good--they were believed to be one and the same word. But further investigation seems to point out that the English God, the Latin Deus, the Greek Theos, the Welsh Duw--all come from an old Aryan root signifying to shine. Men thought of God, and to what could they compare Him? To nothing else than the shining splendour of the light. God is light, God means the Shining One. (Cynddylan Jones.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 80
Psalms 80
THIS psalm is a monument of some time of great national calamity; but its allusions do not enable us to reach certainty as to what that calamity was. Two striking features of it have been used as clues to its occasion-namely, the designation of the nation as "Joseph," and the mention, of the three tribes in Psa_80:2. Calvin, Delitzsch, Hengstenberg, and others are led thereby to regard it as a prayer by an inhabitant of Judah for the captive children of the northern kingdom; while others, as Cheyne, consider that only the Persian period explains the usage in question. The name of "Joseph" is applied to the whole nation in other Asaph psalms. {Psa_77:15; Psa_81:5} It is tempting to suppose, with Hupfeld, that this nomenclature indicates that the ancient antagonism of the kingdoms has passed away with the captivity of the Ten Tribes, and that the psalmist, a singer in Judah, looks wistfully to the ideal unity, yearns to see breaches healed, and the old associations of happier days, when "Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh" encamped side by side in the desert, and marched one after the other, renewed in a restored Israel. If this explanation of the mention of the tribes is adopted, the psalm falls in some period after the destruction of the northern kingdom, but prior to that of Judah. The prayer in the refrain "turn us" might, indeed, mean "bring us back from exile," but may as accurately be regarded as asking for restored prosperity-an explanation which accords better with the rest of the psalm. We take the whole, then, as a prayer, for the nation, conceived of in its original, long-broken unity. It looks back to the Divine purpose as expressed in ancient deeds of deliverance, and prays that it may be fulfilled, notwithstanding apparent thwarting. Closer definition of date is unattainable.
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The triple refrain in Psa_80:3, Psa_80:7, Psa_80:19, divides the psalm into three unequal parts. The last of these is disproportionately long, and may be further broken up into three parts, of which the first (Psa_80:8-11) describes the luxuriant growth of Israel under the parable of a vine, the second (Psa_80:12-14) brings to view the bitter contrast of present ruin, and, with an imperfect echo of the refrain, melts into the petitioning tone of the third (Psa_80:15-19). which is all prayer. In the first strophe "Shepherd of Israel" reminds us of Jacobs blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh in which he invoked "the God who shepherded me all my life long" to "bless the lads," and of the title in Gen_49:24, "the shepherd, the stone of Israel." The comparison of the nation to a flock is characteristic of the Asaph psalms, and here refers to the guidance of the people at the Exodus. Delitzsch regards the notions of the earthly and heavenly sanctuary as being blended in the designation of God as sitting throned on the cherubim, but it is better to take the reference as being to His dwelling in the Temple. The word rendered "shine forth" occurs in Psa_50:2, where it expresses His coming from "Zion," and so it does here. The same metaphor underlies the subsequent petition in Psa_80:3. In both God is thought of as light, and the manifestation of His delivering help is likened to the blazing out of the sun from behind a cloud.
In reference to the mention of the tribes in Psa_80:2, we need only add to what has been already said, that the petitions of Psa_80:1, which look back to the wilderness marches, when the Ark led the van, naturally suggested the mention of the three tribes who were together reckoned as the "camp of Ephraim," and who, in the removal of the encampment, "set forth third"-that is, immediately in the rear of the tabernacle. The order of march explains not only the collocation here, but the use of the word "Before." Joseph and Benjamin were children of the same mother, and the schism which parted their descendants is, to the psalmists faith, as transient as unnatural. Once again shall the old unity be seen, when the brothers sons shall again dwell and fight side by side, and God shall again go forth before them for victory.
The prayer of the refrain, "turn us," is not to be taken as for restoration from exile, which is negatived by the whole tone of the psalm, nor as for spiritual quickening, but simply asks for the return of the glories of ancient days. The petition that God would let His face shine upon the nation alludes to the priestly benediction, {Num_6:25} thus again carrying us back to the wilderness. Such a flashing forth is all that is needed to change blackest night into day. To be "saved" means here to be rescued from the assaults of hostile nations. The poet was sure that Israels sole defence was God, and that one gleam of His face would shrivel up the strongest foes, like unclean, slimy creatures which writhe and die in sunshine. The same conviction is valid in a higher sphere. Whatever elevation of meaning is given to "saved," the condition of it is always this-the manifestation of Gods face. That brings light into all dark hearts.To behold that light, and to walk in it, and to be transformed by beholding, as they are who lovingly and steadfastly gaze, is salvation.
A piteous tale of suffering is wailed forth in the second strophe. The peculiar accumulation of the Divine names in Psa_80:4, Psa_80:19, is found also in Psa_59:5; Psa_84:8. It is grammatically anomalous, as the word for God (Elohim) does not undergo the modification which would show that the next word is to be connected with it by "of." Hence, some have regarded "Tsbhaoth" (hosts) as being almost equivalent to a proper name of God, which it afterwards undoubtedly became; while others have explained the construction by supposing the phrase to be elliptical, requiring after "God" the supplement "God of." This accumulation of Divine names is by some taken as a sign of late date. Is it not a mark of the psalmists intensity rather than of his period? In accordance with the Elohistic character of the Asaph psalms, the common expression "Jehovah of Hosts" is expanded; but the hypothesis that the expansion was the work of a redactor is unnecessary. It may quite as well have been that of the author.
The urgent question "How long?" is not petulant impatience, but hope deferred, and, though sick at heart, still cleaving to God and remonstrating for long-protracted calamities. The bold imagery of Psa_80:4 b cannot well be reproduced in translation. The rendering "wilt Thou be angry?" is but a feeble reproduction of the vigorous original, which runs "wilt Thou smoke?" Other psalms {e.g., Psa_74:1} speak of Gods anger as smoking but here the figure is applied to God Himself. What a contrast it presents to the petition in the refrain! That "light" of Israel has become "as a flaming fire." A terrible possibility of darkening and consuming wrath lies in the Divine nature, and the very emblem of light suggests it. It is questionable whether the following words should be rendered "against the prayer of Thy people," or "while Thy people are praying" (Delitzsch). The former meaning is in accordance with the Hebrew, with other Scripture passages, and with the tone of the psalm, and is to be preferred, as more forcibly putting the anomaly of an unanswering God. Psa_80:5 presents the national sorrows under familiar figures. The peoples food and drink were tears. The words of a may either be rendered "bread of tears"-i.e. eaten with, or rather consisting of tears; or, as above, "tears [as] bread." The word rendered "in large measure" means "the third part"-"of some larger measure." It is found only in Isa_11:12. "The third part of an ephah is a puny measure for the dust of the earth [but] it is a large measure for tears" (Delitzsch, in loc.). Psa_80:6 adds one more touch to the picture-gleeful neighbours cynically rejoicing to their hearts content (lit., for themselves) over Israels calamities. Thus, in three verses, the psalmist points to an angry God, a weeping nation, and mocking foes, a trilogy of woe. On all he bases an urgent repetition of the refrain which is made more imploring by the expanded name under which God is invoked to help. Instead of the simple "God," as in Psa_80:3, he now says "God of Hosts." As sense of need increases, a true suppliant goes deeper into Gods revealed character.
From Psa_80:8 onwards the parable of the vine as representing Israel fills the singers mind. As has been already noticed this part of the psalm may be regarded as one long strophe, the parts of which follow in orderly sequence, and are held closely together, as shown by the recurrence of the refrain at the close only. Three stages are discernible in it-a picture of what has been, the contrast of what is now, and a prayer for speedy help.
The emblem of the vine, which has received so great development in the prophets, and has been hallowed forever by our Lords use of it, seems to have been suggested to the psalmist by the history of Joseph, to which he has already alluded. For, in Jacobs blessing, {Gen_49:22 seqq.} Joseph is likened to a fruitful bough. Other Old Testament writers have drawn out the manifold felicities of the emblem as applied to Israel. But these need not concern us here, where the point is rather Gods husbandry and the vines growth, both of which are in startling contrast with a doleful present. The figure is carried out with much beauty in detail. The Exodus was the vines transplanting; the destruction of the Canaanites was the grubbing up of weeds to clear the ground for it; the numerical increase of the people was its making roots and spreading far. In Psa_80:10 b the rendering may be either that adopted above, or "And the cedars of God [were covered with] its branches." The latter preserves the parallelism of clauses and the unity of representation in Psa_80:10-11, which will then deal throughout with the spreading growth of the vine. But the cedars would not have been called "of God,"-which implies their great size-unless their dimensions had been in point, which would not be the case if they were only thought of as espaliers for the vine. And the image of its running over the great trees of Lebanon is unnatural. The rendering as above is to be preferred even though it somewhat mars the unity of the picture. The extent of ground covered by the vine is described, in Psa_80:11, as stretching from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates. {Deu_11:24; 1Ki_4:24} Such had been the glories of the past; and they had all been the work of Gods hand.
In Psa_80:12 the miserable contrast of present desolation is spread before God, with the bold and yet submissive question "Why?" The vineyard wall is thrown down, and the vine lies exposed to every vagrant passenger, and to every destructive creature. Swine from the woods burrow at its roots, and "whatever moves on the plain" {Psa_50:11, the only other place where the expression occurs} feeds on it. The parallelism forbids the supposition that any particular enemy is meant by the wild boar. Hupfeld would transpose Psa_80:16 so as to stand after Psa_80:13, which he thinks improves the connection, and brings the last part of the psalm into symmetrical form, in three equal parts, containing four verses each. Cheyne would put Psa_80:14-15, before Psa_80:12-13, and thereby secures more coherence and sequence. But accuracy in these matters is not to be looked for in such highly emotional poetry, and perhaps a sympathetic ear may catch in the broken words a truer ring than in the more orderly arrangement of them by critics.
Psa_80:14 sounds like an imperfect echo of the refrain significantly modified, so as to beseech that God would "turn" Himself even as He had been implored to "turn" His people. The purpose of His turning is that He may "look and see" the condition of the desolated vineyard, and thence be moved to interfere for its restoration. The verse may be regarded as closing one of the imperfectly developed strophes of this last part; but it belongs in substance to the following petitions, though in form it is more closely connected with the preceding verses. The picture of Israels misery passes insensibly into prayer, and the burden of that prayer is, first, that God would behold the sad facts, as the preliminary to His acting in view of them.
The last part (Psa_80:15-19) is prayer for Gods help: into which forces itself one verse (Psa_80:16), recurring to the miseries of the nation. It bursts in like an outcrop of lava, revealing underground disturbance and fires. Surely that interruption is more pathetic and natural than is the result obtained by the suggested transpositions. The meaning of the word in Psa_80:15 rendered above "protect" is doubtful, and many commentators would translate it as a noun, and regard it as meaning "plant," or, as the A.V., "vineyard." The verse would then depend on the preceding verb in Psa_80:14, "visit." But this construction is opposed by the copula (and) preceding, and it is best to render "protect," with a slight change in the vocalisation. There may be an allusion to Jacobs blessing in Psa_80:15 b, for in it {Gen_49:22} Joseph is called a "fruitful bough"-lit., "son." If so, the figure of the vine is retained in Psa_80:15 b as well as in a.
The apparent interruption of the petitions by Psa_80:16 is accounted for by the sharp pang that shot into the psalmists heart, when he recalled, in his immediately preceding words, the past Divine acts, which seemed so contradicted now. But the bitterness, though it surges up, is overcome, and his petitions return to their former strain in Psa_80:17, which pathetically takes up, as it were, the broken thread, by repeating "right hand" from Psa_80:15 a, -and "whom Thou madest strong for Thyself" from Psa_80:15 b. Israel, not an individual, is the "man of Thy right hand," in which designation, coupled with "son," there may be an allusion to the name of Benjamin (Psa_80:2), the "son of the right hand." Human weakness and Divine strength clothing it are indicated in that designation for Israel "the son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself." The inmost purpose of Gods gifts is that their recipients may be "the secretaries of His praise." Israels sacred calling, its own weakness, and the strength of the God who endows it are all set forth, not now as lessons to it, but as pleas with Him, whose gifts are without repentance, and whose purposes cannot be foiled by mans unworthiness or opposition.
The psalm closes with a vow of grateful adhesion to God as the result of His renewed mercy. They who have learned how bitter a thing it is to turn away from God, and how blessed when He turns again to them, and turns back their miseries and their sins, have good reason for not again departing from Him. But if they are wise to remember their own weakness, they will not only humbly vow future faithfulness, but earnestly implore continual help; since only the constant communication of a Divine quickening will open their lips to call upon Gods name.
The refrain in its most expanded form closes the psalm. Growing intensity of desire and of realisation of the pleas and pledges hived in the name are expressed by its successive forms, -God; God of Hosts; Jehovah, God of Hosts. The faith that grasps all that is contained in that full-tone name already feels the light of Gods face shining upon it, and is sure that its prayer for salvation is not in vain.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 Superscription.—“To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim-Eduth.” On “Shoshannim” see…
INTRODUCTION
Superscription.—“To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim-Eduth.” On “Shoshannim” see Introduction to Psalms 45. Probably “Shoshannim—Eduth” denotes “the melody or air ‘after’ or ‘in the manner of’ which the Psalm was to be sung. As the words now stand they signify ‘lilies, a testimony,’ and the two are separated by a large distinctive accent. In themselves they have no meaning in the present text, and must therefore be regarded as probably a fragment of the beginning of an older Psalm with which the choir were familiar.”—Smith’s Dict. of the Bible.
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“A Psalm of Asaph”. See Introduction to Psalms 74. Perowne: “As in the case of most of the historical Psalms, so in the case of this, it is impossible to say with certainty at what period it was written. The allusions are never sufficiently definite to lead to any positive conclusion.… All that is certain is, that the time was a time of great disaster, that tea nation was trampled down under the foot of foreign invaders. The poet turns to God with the earnest and repeated prayer for deliverance, and bases his appeal on the past.”
THE DIVINE FAVOUR IMPLORED
(Psa_80:1-7.)
In these verses the poet complains of the sorrowful condition of the people, and prays for salvation from God. Their sad condition he regards as the result of the withdrawal of the favour of God, and he prays for their salvation by the renewal of that favour. The Psalmist represents the people as—
I. Sorely needing God’s favour. The sad condition of the people appears from—
1. The reproaches of their neighbours. “Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours; and our enemies laugh among themselves.” “The neighbours are always the petty tribes in the immediate neighbourhood of Israel, who continually availed themselves of those occasions when Israel was oppressed by more powerful nations, to give vent to their hatred.” These neighbours strove among themselves as to who should obtain most of the spoils of Israel, and who should be bitterest in their reproaches against them. When a people who have occupied a position of eminence and power are derided by petty neighbours they must have fallen very low, and great must be their sorrow as they realise the painful contrast between their present and their past. They who “laugh among themselves” over a fallen and suffering foe must have sunk very low in the scale of humanity. Yet their jeers may torment the sufferers to whom they are directed, may make their bitter drink more bitter, and their heavy burden more heavy.
2. The rejection of their prayer. “O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt Thou be angry against the prayer of Thy people?” The marginal reading gives a literal translation, “How long wilt Thou smoke against the prayer of Thy people?” The smoke of incense was a symbol of prayer amongst the Hebrews, “Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” According to the teaching of their Scriptures the smoke of the incense in prayer would propitiate God, and cause the smoke of His anger to cease. But instead of this the smoke of His anger opposes the smoke of the incense of their prayers. Such seems to be the poetic dress of the idea. The idea itself is that God rejected their prayer. If such were really the case there must have been something wrong in their prayers, or in the spirit in which they presented them. They must have “asked amiss.”
(1.) There might have been a lack of fervour and earnestness in their prayers. God does not regard cold, half-hearted petitions.
(2.) Or they might have supplicated Him from an impure or unworthy motive.
(3.) Or, while they sought Him in prayer, they might have cherished sin in their hearts. “If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not bear me.”
(4.) Or, probably, God only appeared as though He rejected their prayer. He delayed His response in order to increase His blessing. By making them wait He would test and increase their faith, and the fervour of their desires, and the earnestness of their prayers. But to them He seemed as though He rejected their prayers; and it was a sore trial to them. Men reproached them, and God rejected their entreaties. Earth greeted them with cruel persecution or scornful laughter, and heaven with stony-hearted indifference or stern rejection.
3. The greatness of their sorrow. “Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.” God dealt out sorrows to them as though they were their food and drink. Their grief was intense and constant. Tears were their daily portion. All their trials and sorrows they regarded as proceeding from God. “Thou feedest them with the bread of tears.” “Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours,” &c. In this they were certainly right thus far, that God had allowed these miseries to befall them. If He had not directly brought them upon them as a chastisement for their sins, He had withdrawn the shield of His protection from them because of their sin. He had hidden His face from them, and they were troubled. He had withdrawn His favour, and innumerable evils had compassed them about. Truly His favour was sorely needed by them.
II. Earnestly imploring God’s favour. In the prayer here recorded we have—
1. An implied confession of sin. “Turn us again, O God.” They are conscious of having turned aside into sinful ways. In them there had been an evil heart of unbelief, and they had departed from God, and were now feeling the bitter result. They had withdrawn their loyalty from Him before He withdrew His favour from them. And they humbly and repeatedly pray, “Turn us again, O God.” When sin is mourned over and confessed to God, and restoration to fidelity and righteousness is sought from Him, the return of His favour will not tarry long.
2. A recognition of the gracious relation of God to them.
(1.) God is addressed as their Shepherd. This relation is one of great intimacy and tenderness. It involves His guidance, protection, and provision. (See Hom. Com. on Psa_74:1.)
(2.) God is addressed as dwelling between the cherubim. The allusion is to the Shecinah, the visible symbol of the Divine presence, which was above the mercy-seat and between the cherubim. From the mercy-seat He communed with man and dispensed His favour. There He had manifested Himself to the Hebrews as He had to no other people. In this address to Him they remind Him of this special favour shown to them, and seek to encourage themselves thereby. Jesus Christ is the true Shecinah. He is “the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the express image of His person.”
3. An earnest entreaty for His salvation. “Give ear, shine forth, stir up Thy strength, and come and save us. Turn us again, O God, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”
(1.) They pray that God would attend to them. “Give ear.” He had seemed to disregard their cries to Him, and even to reject their prayers in His anger; and they entreat Him to lend an attentive ear to the voice of their supplications.
(2.) They pray that God would arouse His strength for their salvation. For a time it seemed as though His mighty saving arm had slumbered. They knew how mightily that arm had wrought salvation for their fathers in ancient days, and they cried, “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord.”
(3.) They pray that God would manifest His favour to them and so save them. “Cause Thy face to shine” is a poetical expression of, Show Thy favour. They felt that in His favour was their salvation. At the rebuke of His countenance they perished; in the shining of His countenance they lived and rejoiced. The idea is poetical and beautiful, and profoundly true. “In His favour is life.” Only as our being is illumined and warmed by the beams of His love do we live. His favour is the life-giving breath of souls.
In conclusion, Is this favour ours? Are we living in the smile of God? Then, let us never cause Him to avert His face from us. Let us yield to the mighty attraction of His love, and be transformed into His ineffable beauty. But if any have no consciousness of His favour, no saving acquaintance with Him, let them at once pray, “Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us.” “Turn us again, O God, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.” “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Rise through faith in Him into the conscious realisation of the favour of God, and so into the possession of a life spiritual, everlasting, blessed, and Divine.
THE SHEPHERD OF ISRAEL
Psa_80:1. “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest,” &c. To the great majority of devout souls, next to the revelation of God in Christ Jesus, the revelation of Him in His various offices and relationships is the most precious. Here He is set forth as the Shepherd of His people.
I. The relation which He sustains to His people. “Shepherd.” Certain relationships He sustains to all men. Creator, Sustainer, Sovereign, Judge. Certain other relationships He sustains only to those who confide in Him, relationships which involve trust and sympathy. Such is that of Shepherd. “Shepherd of Israel,” not of Philistia or Assyria. He is the Shepherd now of those who know Him, trust Him, follow Him. Very intimate and tender is the relation between Eastern shepherds and their flocks.
1. Each sheep is individually known. “He calleth His own sheep by name.”
2. Each sheep it individually cared for. “He shall gather the lambs with his arm,” &c.
3. Each sheep is individually protected. “The good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.”
4. Each sheep is individually provisioned. “The Lord will give grace and glory: no good will He withhold,” &c. And, in conjunction with this personal knowledge and care of the Shepherd for each individual member of His flock, there is unity of the whole. They constitute a flock.
II. The service which He renders to His people. “Leadest Joseph like a flock.” This is only a development of the previous clause The Eastern shepherd goes before his flock, and the sheep follow him. The Lord leads His people. By the exercise of their reason and conscience; by the openings and closings of His providence; by the teachings of His holy Word; and by the action of His holy Spirit upon the heart, He now leads all who trust in Him. Ponder what is involved in this.
1. That man is not competent to arrange his own course of life. “It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” “Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
2. That man is not compelled to yield to the Divine direction. The good Shepherd does not drive men before Him as unwilling disciples, but He goes before them, leads them, leaving them to follow Him or forsake Him as they choose.
3. That the Divine direction of human life is exercised in the most gracious manner. “I will go before thee and make the crooked places straight.” The Shepherd first encounters every difficulty or danger, then the sheep follow Him. This Divine guidance is a fact to-day, a blessed reality which we may each prove by committing our way unto the Lord.
III. The manifestation of Himself to His people. “Thou that dwellest between the cherubim.” “Thou who sittest enthroned upon the cherubim.” It has been thought that the prayer for help in the first part of the verse rests upon the shepherd care of God, and in this part on the omnipotence of Him who is enthroned upon the cherubim, and rulest over all. What the symbol of the Divine presence was to the Jews, the Lord Jesus Christ is to us. He is the Divine Representative, the Revealer of God. In Him we meet with God, and read His character, and see His mercy, and learn His grace. “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.” Through Him God dispenses His favours. “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name He will give it you.”
IV. The great Desire of His people from Him. “Shine forth.” “Turn us again, O God, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.” “Their own arm did not save them, but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance.” “Who will show us any good? Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us.” The idea is that in the manifestation of God’s favour, salvation and blessing are to be found.
So is it now and for us. Our great need is that God in Christ would shine forth unto us. To see God in Christ Jesus is a saving, spiritually transforming sight.
SALVATION IN GOD’S SMILE
(Psa_80:3.)
The thrice-uttered prayer, “Turn us again, O God,” seems to show that the Hebrews were sensible of departure from God, and desirous of being turned penitently to Him as a means of regaining His favour. There is, we fear, much backsliding of heart in the Church at this time. What we mean by backsliding. The loss of the intense consciousness of peace and joy which followed conversion, and of the burning enthusiasm and zeal, which things were then irregular and spasmodic, is not always to be regretted. If our consciousness of peace and joy have grown profounder and calmer, though less intense; if our enthusiasm and zeal have grown into a habit of regular, steady, and self-denying work for God, there is no matter for regret. We do not mourn the loss of the sapling in the oak, or of the little child in the man or woman. Such loss is really development and gain. But there are many signs of real spiritual decline in many persons in the great Church of Christ. Absorption in business has benumbed the zeal of many. Marriage and the cares of domestic life have taken the lofty aspiration out of many others, and ended their usefulness. Worldly prosperity has injured others. There are thousands in the Church the promise of whose early discipleship remains unfulfilled. They are members of the Church; but the zeal, enthusiasm, usefulness, consecration, and joy of their early Christian life—where are they? Ah, where? To such persons God very often sends trouble, in some form or other, as His messenger to recall them from their backslidings. Is He so sending to any of you? Or has He so sent to you? Then, be thankful that He is still seeking you; and make the prayer of the text your own. “Turn us again, O God, and cause Thy face to shine,” &c.
The Poet’s idea of salvation and its attainment is, that it is a something which springs out of the shining of God’s countenance, and which is to be sought by prayer. “Cause Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.… They perish at the rebuke of Thy countenance.” “In His favour is life.” Probably he was thinking of the shining of the sun. It gives life, light, warmth, exhilaration. Its absence means death; its presence, life and gladness. Taking this analogy, the view of salvation here set forth is that it consists in the life and growth of the soul under the favour of God. It is not mere deliverance from wrath or hell, as commonly understood. The poet’s idea of hell is given here—“The rebuke of Thy countenance.” He seeks salvation by seeking the blessing which is exactly antithetic to that evil, “The light of Thy countenance.” All spirits must sustain some relation to God. Spiritual existence in total separation from Him is an impossibility. But spirits are found in various and different relations to Him. Some are avowedly hostile to Him. Devils are of this class. They are sustained by Him, but they are bitterly antagonistic to Him. Many men too are “alienated and enemies in their mind by wicked works.” Hostile to Him actually, though not avowedly. In this state all true spiritual growth is impossible. Others are indifferent to Him, practically “without God in the world,” and have no desire to be otherwise. Such indifference involves indifference to their own spirit. There can be no true spiritual growth in such a state. Others have some sort of belief in His existence, but despair of obtaining His favour. They cannot grow spiritually, for hope is essential to growth. Others are trusting and loving Him. They regard Him as merciful and gracious, wise and beneficent, strong and kind; and so they trust Him and enjoy His favour. The position of the Psalmist I take to be this, that all in this state, or sustaining this attitude towards God, are being saved, and that by the growth of their souls under the influence of God’s favour. Under this influence, in what would souls grow?
1. In thoughtfulness. God is infinitely thoughtful. He frequently calls upon men to “consider,” “reason,” be “wise,” &c. Every soul that is fully open to His influence He quickens into holy thoughtfulness.
2. In holy principles. Living in the light of God’s countenance, the principles of the Divine administration and conduct become ours.
3. In spiritual strength to will and do and suffer. The sense of His loving presence makes the will imperial in the right, the hands strong for holy doing, and the heart calm and patient in suffering.
4. In reverence. “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (See also Isa_6:1-5.)
5. In spiritual beauty. “The beauty of the Lord our God upon us.” In one word, under God’s smile the soul grows into His image. According to our interpretation of the text, that is salvation. How philosophic! How true! How exalted! We may secure His favour by earnest, persistent prayer (see Psa_80:3; Psa_80:7; Psa_80:19). Mark the cumulation of names. Such prayer is the approach of the soul to God. Apply the subject—
1. To backsliders.
2. To the unconverted.
“The Lord bless thee and keep thee: the Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”
PASSAGES FROM THE HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH, WITH THEIR LESSONS TO THE MODERN CHURCH
(Psa_80:8-19.)
Israel is here compared to a vine, and under this figure some experiences of her history are referred to. A devout and thoughtful study of these verses will not fail in discovering teachings which are applicable to us to-day, without resorting to any fanciful or irreverent handling of the Book of God. The verses bring before us—
I. The Divine planting of the ancient Church. In respect to the ancient Jewish Church the Lord is represented here as—
1. Bringing them out of Egypt. “Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt.” Israel in Egypt was like a vine in an unfavourable situation, with an unsuitable soil and an ungenial clime. If it grew and bore fruit there, it was not by the aid of its circumstances, but in despite of them. So the Lord God of hosts brought forth His people from their uncongenial circumstances and surroundings, like a vine from an unfriendly soil and an inclement air.
2. Expelling the heathen from the promised land. He had chosen that land for His own people, and promised it to their fathers, and He fulfils His promise. He had long purposed to plant His vine in that goodly land. And, in order to the accomplishment of His purpose, He “cast out the heathen.” Seven nations were rooted out to make room for this vine which the Lord had chosen.
3. Firmly planting His people in a goodly situation. Having prepared room for it by the expulsion of the heathen, He “planted it, and caused it to take deep root.” In fertile soil, refreshed by “brooks of water, fountains, and depths that spring out of valleys and hills,” beneath translucent skies and amid genial airs, He planted His vine, and caused it firmly to strike its roots. Thus the ancient Jewish Church was emancipated from the bondage of Egypt, enabled to conquer the Canaanites, and to take secure possession of the land which God had promised to their fathers, entirely by means of His power. So much so that, with the strictest truth, He may be said to have delivered them from Egypt, vanquished their enemies, and planted them in Canaan. So now the Lord calls men out of the moral Egypt, with its bondage of evil habits, its degrading fleshly lusts, its oppressive burdens of guilt, and its cruel task-masters of lordly passions. At His girdle hangs the key which unlocks the doors of the prison in which the captives of sin are immured. He breaks the power of the oppressor. “The Lord looseth the prisoners.” He is the great Emancipator from the guilt and sovereignty of evil. All who listen to His call and accept His deliverance, He makes to rejoice in glad liberty. He not only calls men out of Egypt, but also plants in His own vineyard all those who obey His call. In what favourable circumstances the Lord has planted us! How many culturing agencies He is causing to operate upon us! What innumerable aids to growth and development, strength and maturity, fruitfulness and beauty, He is ever bestowing upon us! The Church of God in Britain to-day is “exalted to heaven” with privileges.
II. The great progress of the ancient Church. “It filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the goodly cedars with its boughs. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.” The hills or mountains which were shadowed by this vine were probably those in the extreme south of Canaan. And as the vine when planted in fertile soil runs up the trees and covers them, so the poet pictures this vine as running up and covering the great cedars of Lebanon. “The sea” is the Mediterranean, which bounded the Promised Land on one side; “the river” is the Euphrates, which bounded the land on the other side. The whole is a beautiful picture of the prosperity of the Hebrews in their best days. During the latter portion of the reign of David, and through almost the whole of that of Solomon, they occupied a proud position amongst neighbouring nations; their power was recognised and respected; their prosperity was great; their wealth also was great. So the Christian Church has spread, and is still spreading. Its institutions and literature are spreading and growing in almost every part of the known world. Rank and fashion, wealth and power, education and genius, are to be found in large proportions within her fold. Her financial resources for carrying on her work are greater than they ever were, and are still increasing. The greatest institutions are overshadowed by her. Her roots seem to be ever striking deeper; and her branches are spreading and growing in every direction.
III. The ruinous failure of the ancient Church. This vine rose to a great height, spread abroad its branches to a great extent, was well covered with foliage, so that it cast a great and deep shadow; but not a word is said of its fruit. It bore no fruit. It failed in its chief end. Of what use is a vine unless it bring forth fruit? If it fail in that it fails in the main thing. And it was in the main thing that the Hebrews failed. Israel was a fruitless vine. As their material prosperity increased, their religious faithfulness and zeal decreased. In the Holy Land idolatry was permitted by Solomon. He even allowed a part of one of the hills overlooking Jerusalem, and almost fronting the temple of God, to be consecrated to obscene and barbarous deities. Can we wonder that “clouds on all sides gathered about his declining day”? Is it surprising that he should “bequeath to his heir an insecure throne, a discontented people, formidable enemies on the frontiers,” and the probability of a contested succession? Let the Church of Christ to-day take warning from the ancient Jewish Church. God demands fruit of us, the fruit of personal holiness and social usefulness. Is the Church meeting that demand? Is she holy in herself? Is she abolishing the dishonesties of trade? Is her face set against human oppression? Is she striving to purify the land of the scandalous social corruptions? Is she waging war against drunkenness and gluttony? Is she leading the lost to the Saviour? O Church of Christ, examine thyself!
IV. The mournful devastation of the ancient Church. “Why hast Thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they that pass by the way do pluck her! The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.… It is burned with fire, it is cut down; they perish at the rebuke of Thy countenance.” We cannot determine what particular calamities are referred to in these verses. But notice—
1. God withdrew His defence from them. He “broke down her hedges.” They had lost their defence by reason of their sin. They had forsaken their Protector, and so exposed themselves to their foes. They had provoked God to anger, and He had left them like a vineyard with its fences demolished, open to the foot of every intruder.
2. Their enemies ravaged them. The picture of the havoc and ruin wrought is striking and powerful. Their enemies are represented as various, fierce, and strong. “They which pass by the way, the boar out of the wood, and the wild beast of the field.” They would waste the vineyard in different ways, and what one failed to destroy would speedily be ruined by the others. The devastation is represented as very great. They are being “plucked, wasted, devoured, burned,” and are “perishing.” Alas, poor vineyard! Desolation itself could scarce be more desolate; or ruin more ruinous. Their misery is represented as the result of the displeasure of God. “They perish at the rebuke of Thy countenance.” Conscience speaks here, and speaks truly. They were powerless and defenceless before their enemies, because they were conscious of having forsaken their Almighty Friend. The consciousness of sin led them to see a frowning God, and emptied their spirit of courage and their arm of strength.
3. They failed to understand fully the reason of their miseries. “Why hast Thou broken?” &c. One would have thought that they would not have needed to ask “why.” Did they think that, having shown so much favour to this vine, and bestowed upon it so much care, it was strange that He should leave it exposed to destroyers? But that very favour and that care only made its worthlessness the more manifest in bearing no fruit. God’s great mercies to the Jews made their sin and rebellion against Him the more heinous and aggravated. Instead of asking God why He had left them defenceless, they would have done well to have looked into their own life and conduct, and turned to Him in sincere penitence. Let the Christian Church heed the warning.
V. The earnest prayer of the ancient Church. The poet prays—
1. For the Divine presence and favour. “Return, we beseech Thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine.” That God would see and consider their sad case, that He would look upon them with favour, that He would visit them in mercy, is their appropriate desire.
2. For the Divine protection. “Guard what Thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that Thou madest strong for Thyself.” This is a prayer for the defence of God that they may not be utterly and entirely destroyed. The petition refers to His ancient kindness in their planting and increase, and pleads their relation to Him. The vine was planted by Him and for Him, and in its misery and desolation the poet commits it to Him.
3. For the Divine blessing on their leaders. “Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, upon the son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself.” The expositors differ in their interpretations of this verse. Some see with clearness, and assert with confidence, that there is “an outlook to the Messiah here;” while others are unable to see anything of the kind. “The man of Thy right hand” is the man who holds the place of honour. “The son of man,” we regard as a poetical variation from the term “man” in the first clause of the verse. “Whom Thou hast made strong for Thyself,” i.e., whom Thou hast raised to power for the carrying out of Thy purposes. So we regard it as a prayer on behalf of some leader or leaders of the people, that God’s hand may be upon him, or upon them, for good; and that through him, or them, He would bless the afflicted people.
4. For the Divine restoration or revival. “Quicken us.” Restore to us as a people vitality and power; our languishing and dying cause do Thou revive and strengthen. Such is the prayer of the ancient Church in its distress. And if any portion of the Lord’s vineyard today is lying desolate and distressed, Christians will do well to carry the case to God in prayer, and seek His interposition and salvation.
VI. The devout promise of the ancient Church. The poet on behalf of the people engages that if God granted their requests, their conduct towards Him should be marked by—
1. Perseverance. “So will not we go back from Thee.” They had backslidden from His ways many times; but now they vow that, if God will deliver them from their distresses, they will cleave with constancy to Him.
2. Praise. “We will call upon Thy name.” We will worship Thee faithfully. Such is their promise made in affliction. And we know with how deplorable a frequency such promises are forgotten when the affliction is removed. Such was the case repeatedly in the history of the Jews.
CONCLUSION.—
1. Let individual Christians and Christian churches take heed to this beacon. As individuals, “have we our fruit unto holiness”? In the ancient Jewish Church, we have a striking analogue of the planting, privileges, and progress of the Christian Church. Let us see to it that the analogy does not become true as regards fruitlessness; for, if it should, our defence will be gone, and we shall be wasted and destroyed by our enemies.
2. If any have backslidden from the ways of the Lord, let them seek Him at once in penitence and by prayer. “Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 Revival sought and restoration of the glory of God…
Revival sought and restoration of the glory of God through the Revived Branch, the Man of His right hand.
To the chief musician upon Shoshannim-Eduth: a psalm of Asaph.
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{Verses 1 & 2 ’leddest’ & ’sittest’: present participles in both cases -"leading," "sitting": but the reference is to the past.}
The outburst in the eightieth psalm is singularly beautiful. It is still a prayer, and as to much of it a lamentation, but Israel has caught sight of the way of blessing, and is proportionately expectant of the blessing itself. Even the Targum finds Messiah in it, and the title "upon Shoshannim-Eduth," or "concerning the lilies of testimony," reminds us of what we have had, with some variations, in the forty-fifth, sixtieth, and sixty-ninth psalms, already. Christ and His people are here together again; and their testimony, while so different as to the witnesses themselves, combines in absolute perfection in the final result, in which God does indeed, according to the burden of the repeated prayer, "shine forth," -and for more than Israel. Her revival -the turning of her heart to Him, -and the preparation of the Branch in and through which the nation alone revives, -are all of Him. He is the Saviour-God, the God and Father of Him in whom salvation is wrought out and comes into their possession; as into ours.
1. The psalm opens with a cry to the Divine Shepherd who of old led Joseph like a flock. The reference is to the wilderness journey to the promised land, and the mention of Joseph in this prominence has nothing to do with the divided kingdom of Israel long afterward, which by the fact of its division separated itself from the cherubic throne as here referred to. The true reason of Joseph’s prominence has been already shown in the seventy-eighth psalm. After Reuben’s loss of the birthright for his sin, it came naturally to Joseph, Rachel’s first-born; the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh being the two-fold witness of this, as well as the tabernacle in Shiloh in the land of Ephraim. This lasted till the captivity of the ark in Eli’s time, when Ichabod was written upon the nation; and out of this ruin emerged a new state of things, the prominence of Judah and the divine choice of Zion and David. It is no wonder, therefore, that Asaph, going back to the beginning of the nation; as he does, should make Joseph prominent. With the kingdom of the ten tribes, with which many would for this reason connect these psalms, Asaph had nothing to do.
It is natural for the psalmist to go back to the wilderness, when the tribes advancing under their Almighty Leader were preparing to take possession of their land. He is looking now to another possession of it, when the whole nation would come into line once more, following their great Shepherd. But for this He must take the throne as of old, and in the old relationship, as when the ark went before the tribes of Rachel’s offspring, its accustomed place. But for this they too must be turned to Him; and, (just because they are in fact turning, but in the consciousness of their own feebleness of will and waywardness, with their old history facing them -starting aside as a deceitful bow,) they ask, in the person of the psalmist, to be turned. God alone could make effective this desire of theirs. The work in them, as the work for them, must be His: the two, therefore, are joined together in the cry, "Turn us again, O God! cause Thy face to shine on us, and we shall be saved."
But with this comes also the consciousness of His present and long-continued anger. How long shall it continue to smoke against those who cry to Him? Their present circumstances are a sorrowful contrast to that glorious time to which they are looking back.
2. This leads to a sorrowful pleading of their condition. He who was once their Shepherd has fed them with the bread of tears, and given them in abundance tears to drink. And this breach has made them a matter of contention to their neighbors, a derision to those hostile to them. And again they utter their sad, yet expectant cry: "Turn us again; O God of hosts; and cause Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved."
3. This is, however, but a preface to a longer pleading, in which their case is set before God. They go back to the deliverance out of Egypt, in which He had separated them to Himself for fruit. The vine is good for nothing else but fruit, and with its trailing branches is the very image of dependence. The prophet Isaiah (Isa 5:1-30) uses the same figure in the same way, although speaking from the divine side, as the psalmist does from the human; and the brief appeal in Jeremiah (2: 21) is similar to Isaiah. Here the appeal is to God on the ground of what He had done for them, that that work should not be in vain.
He had brought a vine out of Egypt. -brought it out, as is implied, to yield Him fruit: shall it not yield Him fruit? He had dispossessed nations, to make way for it; and He having made room, it rooted itself and filled the land. Next, we see its glory: it rose, shadowing the mountains, with a growth as solid as the mighty cedars. Lastly, we have its extension to the sea and to the River (Euphrates), -in these directions its divinely-given boundaries.
4. But in spite of all this progress, ruin had followed where success seemed fully assured. The causes of this are shown in Isaiah to be moral and spiritual failure on the part of the people. It was not possible that the failure could be in God. He could appeal to themselves whether He could have done anything for His vineyard that He had not done. Yet when He looked for His vine to bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes. All His care and cultivation of it had gone for nothing in the result: why, then, should He go on with it? He tells them; therefore, what He will do in consequence of all this: "I will take away the hedge thereof," He says, "and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down; and I will lay it waste." It is this action of God which the psalmist sees, and which he laments. He says nothing directly of the moral causes: they are implied, no doubt, in the very need which they now have of Him; but his argument goes back of all this, to the Immutable God and His purposes. He leaves out the people, as if they were of no account. Certainly, when God took them up, He knew what was in man: He could not be deceived. He had brought this vine out of Egypt; He had taken abundance of pains with it. He had linked Himself openly, before the eyes of men; with this people of His choice. After all, could He be defeated? It is the argument of Moses in the wilderness, when God proposes to him that the people should be consumed as a stiff-necked people, and He would make of Moses himself a great nation. Nay, says Moses, "then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for Thou broughtest up this people in Thy might from among them,) and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land, . . . and the nations that have heard the fame of Thee will speak, saying, Because Jehovah was not able to bring this people into the land which He sware unto them, therefore He hath slain them in the wilderness" (Num 14:13-16).
Here is the same effectual argument, in which the sin of the people itself is omitted, to plead with God as to the undoing of His own acts, as if it were mutability in the Immutable, or powerlessness in the Omnipotent. "Why hast Thou broken down its enclosure, so that all who pass by the way may pluck it? The boar out of the wood doth ravage it, and the wild beasts of the field feed on it."
So he cries now to God as the all-powerful, "the God of hosts" ready at all times to execute His will, to return and visit this vine, which through His power alone had been all that it had ever been -"the stock which Thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that Thou madest strong for Thyself." It is here that the Targum renders," and upon the King Messiah, whom Thou hast established for Thyself." Literally it is "the son," but which in relation to a vine would be a branch, according to Hebrew usage. Delitzsch and Moll apply it still to the nation; as they do also the expressions in verse 18; the Christian here falling behind the Jewish expositor, and the point and power of the closing appeal being lost. The psalm thus becomes tame and colorless enough.
Doubtless, "the Son of man; whom Thou madest strong for Thyself," is intended to remind us of the previous "branch" or "son; whom Thou madest strong for Thyself": but the argument can work also the other way. God does, as we know, call Israel His son; and the first passage could in that way be explained of the nation; but the Son of man; and Man of God’s right hand, cannot be made so to apply according to Scripture, while the first title expressly and the second by the easiest possible inference apply to Christ: who is also as plainly the "Branch" which is strengthened of God for Himself. And here is Israel’s hope, as well as the hope of any. The place of the psalm in this series, and the numerical structure also, are in the fullest confirmation of this application, which alone gives worthy meaning to the whole.
Yet the "branch" of verse 15 may not be directly Christ, but David’s house,with the desolation of which the promise connected with it would seem in danger of being lost; and this interpretation preserves consistency throughout. With the seed of David the national hope is plainly identified; and Christ is, according to the flesh, the seed of David.
All seems to be over: "it is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of Thy countenance." God seems to be against Himself, undoing the work which He has done. But it is the sense of man’s ruin which, after all, enables the soul to rise to the conception of the divine thoughts, and the psalmist concludes with renewed confidence.
5. The number 5, in its essential significance of "man with God," breathes here, assuredly, the Name of Names, Immanuel." And it is with this that the fifth section begins. While the language is still that of prayer, yet faith has risen to clear sight of the answer. "The Man of Thy right hand" may connect itself with Benjamin; but only as Benjamin is connected typically with Christ. Benjamin speaks indeed, as we have elsewhere seen; of Christ in power upon earth, and God’s hand upon Him cannot surely be in wrath, as some have suggested, but to strengthen or put Hint in the place which is His due. The direct reference is to the 110th psalm; "Sit Thou on My right hand," for Christians a scripture easy enough to read in this connection, even if we had not the confirmation of the latter half of the verse.
"The Son of man" was, as we know, the title which the Lord most commonly assumed. It was that which proclaimed Him in wider sympathy than merely with the Jew, His nature truly human; and come into humanity by the lowly entrance by which other men come, though that for Him indeed implied a miracle. Thus He was fit to be also the Judge of men (Joh 5:27), and as such comes in the clouds of heaven to His kingdom. Here is One whom God has indeed "made strong for Himself"; and God’s hand setting Him in His place is the proclamation of the hour that strikes for Israel’s deliverance.
Thus all is in harmony. Power is in His hands for them, and in His hands only who has made atonement in the Manhood He has taken; and in Him, too, is security for the future which nothing else could give. Saved with so marvelous a salvation; they may now say without self-confidence, "So will we not go back from Thee"; and in recognition of the need of the Spirit’s work, -"quicken us, and we will call upon Thy Name."
Once more the cry, but with increased confidence to Him who has made the Son of man strong for Himself: -"Turn us again, Jehovah, God of hosts! make Thy face to shine on us, and we shall be saved."
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 This Ps. is an appeal to God to save…
This Ps. is an appeal to God to save His people from the adversities that have come upon them, and have made them the laughing stock of their enemies (Psa_80:1-7). Their past history is recalled under the figure of a vine, once flourishing, but now wasted by wild beasts and fire (Psa_80:8-16). Special prominence is given to the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin (Psa_80:2). The Ps. was probably written at least after the fall of the northern kingdom (721 b.c., 2Ki_17:5-6; 2Ki_18:9-11), if not during the Babylonian exile. The Psalmist either belonged to that kingdom or had a special sympathy with it in its misfortunes. After the kingdom of Israel came to an end its rivalry with Judah was largely forgotten, and the later prophets cherished the hope of a restoration which would embrace the whole nation (Jer_3:11-15; Jer_31:1-20; Eze_37:15-28).
Title.—Shoshannim-Eduth] see on Psalms 45, 60.
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1. O Shepherd of Israel] a representation of God characteristic of the Asaphic Pss. (see Intro, to Book 3). Joseph] the father of Ephraim and Manasseh. The name is applied to the kingdom of the Ten Tribes. Dwellest between, etc.] RV 'sittest upon the cherubim': see Exo_25:20-22; Eze_1:26; Eze_10:1.
2. Ephraim.. Ben jamin.. Manasseh] These three tribes were the descendants of Rachel. They encamped together in the wilderness, and followed immediately after the tabernacle when Israel was marching (Num_2:18-24). The Psalmist prays that they may be restored to their ancient place of favour.
3. This v. recurs as a refrain in Psa_80:7, Psa_80:19. Turn us again] bring us back from captivity. Cause thy face to shine] from Num_6:25.
8. For the vine as an emblem of Israel see Isa_5:1-7; Isa_27:2-6; Jer_2:21; Eze_17:1-10.
11. The sea] the Mediterranean on the W. The river] RV 'River': the Euphrates on the E. These were the ideal boundaries of Israel (Gen_15:18; Exo_23:31; Deu_11:24; Psa_72:8), which were reached, for the time in the days of Solomon (1Ki_4:24).
13. Boar.. wild beast (RV 'beasts')] Israel's enemies, especially, perhaps, the Assyrians.
15. Vineyard] RV 'stock'; another reading gives 'protect.'
16. They perish] The figure of the vine is dropped here.
17. Let thy hand be upon] to protect. The man of thy right hand] the nation of Israel personified, with a special allusion to the name Benjamin, which means' son of the right hand': see Psa_80:15. Son of man] another expression for the nation in its human weakness: cp. the use of the phrase in Ezekiel (Eze_2:1, etc.).
18. Quicken] make alive, revive.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v1 See title note; (See Scofield "Psa 45:1").
Shoshannim
See title note; (See Scofield "Psa 45:1").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 Psalm 80
Psalm 80
Looking to Heaven for Help Through the Man at His Right Hand
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1. Calling to the Shepherd (Psa 80:1-4)
2. The ruin of His inheritance (Psa 80:5-16)
3. The Man of the right hand (Psa 80:17-19)
This Psalm continues the same theme. They call now definitely to the Shepherd, He who is enthroned in glory between the Cherubim. They ask Him to “shine forth,” to manifest Himself in glory and power for their salvation, to answer their cries for help. Three times they plead, “Turn us again, O God, and cause Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.” Ancient Jewish comments on this verse say that the face which shines upon Israel is the Messiah. Even so when His face shines, when He is manifested in glory His earthly people will be saved. And they know Him. They speak of Him as “the Man of Thy right hand,” as “the Son of Man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself.” It is our Lord who sits at the right hand of God, waiting till His enemies are made the footstool of His feet (Psa 110:1-7). Criticism refuses to accept this. They say, “Of course Israel is meant” (Century Bible on the Psalms, p. 88).
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Prayer for the Deliverance of the Church.
Prayer for the Deliverance of the Church.
To the chief musician upon Shoshannim-Eduth, to be rendered in public worship according to the melody "Lilies a Testimony," a psalm of Asaph, the hymn referring to the testimony of Jehovah before His people and speaking in a prophetic strain of the tribulation and deliverance of the Church of God.
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v. 1. Give ear, lending His ear in the attitude of most careful attention. O Shepherd of Israel, Jehovah being the true Shepherd and Protector of the spiritual Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph, who here represents all believers, like a flock, Isa 40:11; Thou that dwellest between the cherubim, the place above the mercy-seat where God revealed Himself to His people, Exo 25:22; Num 7:89, shine forth, making known His glory.
v. 2. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, these three tribes, associated also Num 2:18-24, being named as representatives of Israel, in marching next to the Ark of the Covenant under the leadership of Jehovah, stir up Thy strength, which now seemed so sluggish, and come and save us, bringing assistance and salvation to His people.
v. 3. Turn us again, bringing them back, delivering them out of all the misery with which they were contending, O God, and cause Thy face to shine, in the glory of His loving-kindness and tender mercies; and we shall be saved, this being the refrain sung by the congregation of believers for their own consolation.
v. 4. O Lord God of hosts, the Ruler and General of all the heavenly forces, whom He freely used in His service, how long wilt Thou be angry, literally, "smoke," said of indignant snorting, against the prayer of Thy people? during their prayer, not heeding their prayer, their appeals not being able to penetrate the smoking clouds of wrath with which the Lord had surrounded Himself.
v. 5. Thou feedest them with the bread of tears, they were unable to eat, their tears were their only food, Psa 42:4; and givest them tears to drink in great measure, all this being Oriental imagery to emphasize the severity of their affliction.
v. 6. Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbors, the object of their taunts and attacks; and our enemies laugh among themselves, making mockery of Israel’s plight. Therefore the Church’s pleading cry sounds forth once more,
v. 7. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. The believers now bring additional arguments to stress the need of speedy assistance.
v. 8. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt, the congregation of the Lord; Thou hast cast out the heathen, expelling them out of Canaan, the land promised to Israel, and planted it, giving to His children the country where He expected them to live and flourish chiefly in their capacity as His Church.
v. 9. Thou preparedst room before it, providing sufficient space for physical expansion, and didst cause it to take deep root, Israel being established firmly also as a nation, with the idea of the Lord’s people foremost, and it filled the land.
v. 10. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars, Israel, as the Church of God, flourishing in its country, which is so largely mountainous, like the cedars of Lebanon.
v. 11. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, for the Israelites occupied the land down to the Mediterranean Sea in the West, and her branches unto the river, the northeastern boundary being the Euphrates.
v. 12. Why hast Thou, then, broken down her hedges, the picture of a vineyard with its sheltering hedge being retained, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? the hedge having been removed, any passer-by felt himself entitled to step in and rob.
v. 13. The boar out of the wood, one of the neighboring nations, doth waste it, cutting it down with his tusks, and the wild beast of the field, the reference here probably being to the nomad tribes of Arabia, doth devour it. The entire country was helpless before the inroads of the enemies, and the Church was the chief sufferer.
v. 14. Return, turning back His eyes which had been turned away in anger, we beseech Thee, O God of hosts, with His unlimited resources; look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine, once more taking an active interest in its welfare, supporting it in its present difficulty;
v. 15. and the vineyard, the garden of the Church, which Thy right hand, emblem of almighty power, hath planted, and the branch that Thou madest strong for Thyself, protecting its stem, the stock of the Church, which He had chosen for the honor of His name, for the spread of His glory.
v. 16. It is burned with fire, it is cut down, the reference being rather to the host of the enemy, which would be utterly destroyed by the avenging hand of the Lord; they perish at the rebuke of Thy countenance, this being the definite expectation of the believers.
v. 17. Let Thy hand, in favor and protection, be upon the man of Thy right hand, supported by God’s almighty power, upon the son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself, the reference being either to the Church as personified in each believer, or to the great Son of Man, the Messiah, Himself; for the prophetic character of the psalm is very marked.
v. 18. So will not we go back from Thee, never forsaking the Lord of their salvation. Quicken us, blessing them with new spiritual life, and we will call upon Thy name, proclaiming the Lord as He has revealed Himself in His Word. With this assurance, which must be found in every prayer, the believers send up their appeal for the third time:
v. 19. Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Such a prayer will bring to the believers the quickening grace, which enables them to persevere in the right worship.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 17, 19 General Information:
General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
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For the chief musician
"This is for the director of music to use in worship" See how this is translated in Psalms 4:1.
set to the Shoshannim
This may refer to a style of music. See how you translated this in Psalms 45:1.
A psalm of Asaph
"This is a psalm that Asaph wrote." See how this is translated in Psalms 50:1.
Shepherd of Israel
Asaph is referring to God as the one who leads and protects Israel. (See: Metaphor)
you who lead Joseph like a flock
The word "Joseph" refers to the nation of Israel. Asaph speaks of the people as if they were a flock of sheep that Yahweh, who is the shepherd, leads. AT: "you who lead the descendants of Joseph as though they were a flock of sheep" (See: Metaphor)
Joseph
Here Joseph represents the nation of Israel. (See: Metonymy)
you who sit above the cherubim
You may need to make explicit that the cherubim are those on the lid of the ark of the covenant. The biblical writers often spoke of the ark of the covenant as if it were Yahweh's footstool upon which he rested his feet as he sat on his throne in heaven above. AT: "you who sit on your throne above the cherubim on the ark of the covenant" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
shine on us
Asaph speaks of God as if he were the sun, giving light, a metaphor for moral goodness. AT: "give us light" or "show us the right way to live" (See: Metaphor)
stir up your power
The phrase "stir up" means to "put into action." (See: Idiom)
make your face shine on us
The writer speaks of Yahweh acting favorably towards them as if Yahweh's face shone a light on them. AT: "act favorably towards us" (See: Metaphor)
and we will be saved
This can be translated in active form. AT: "and please save us" or "so that you can save us" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
chief
psalm
Asaph
shepherd
Israel
Joseph (OT)
like
flocks
cherub
Ephraim
Benjamin
Manasseh
power
save
God
restore
face
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 4, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 Ps 80 This psalm of lament might originate with…
Ps 80 This psalm of lament might originate with the remnant of the northern kingdom after its fall in 722 BC. The people call on God as their Shepherd and as the God of Heaven’s Armies in the hope that he will return to them and restore them. They remember the Exodus and their special relationship with the Lord and conclude with an expression of renewed commitment to him (80:18).
80:title The tune “Lilies of the Covenant” is unknown today.
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80:1-3 The psalmist urgently calls upon the Lord to act.
80:1-2 God is the Shepherd of Israel: See also 23:1; 28:9; 78:52-53. • radiant glory . . . power: These expressions (145:11) refer to God’s manifest presence.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.