Restoring Ruins
Opening Prayer
Lord, revive us again, that we may rejoice in You (Psa. 85:6).
Read Psalm 80
1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
come and save us.
3 Restore us, O God;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
4 How long, Lord God Almighty,
will your anger smolder
against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.
7 Restore us, God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
8 You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River.
12 Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage it,
and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,
15 the root your right hand has planted,
the son you have raised up for yourself.
16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
at your rebuke your people perish.
17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, Lord God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What is a part of your life that has been broken down or left desolate? How might God restore that?This psalm is sister to Psalm 79. Psalm 79 chronicled the downfall of Judah, whereas Psalm 80 laments the plight of the exiled northern kingdom of Israel (1,2). Once again there is an appeal to the covenant nature of the relationship between God and his people as the psalmist likens Israel to a vine that God had planted and established (8–11). However, unlike Psalm 79, there is no acknowledgment or repentance for the sin that has broken the covenant relationship (Deut. 28:15–68). The psalm expresses the pain and bewilderment of
an exiled people who feel disconnected, abandoned, ruined (4–6,12–16).
The psalmist voices our own struggle to understand how God, who is omnipotent and good (1), the Shepherd-King, can allow his people to suffer (4,12). There are no answers to that particular conundrum here, but the psalm does signal a path through times of pain when we feel disconnected from God. The chorus (3,7,19) expresses an unwavering trust in God’s goodness as well as an understanding that
God is the only one who can restore the relationship. Verse 17 hints at the “son of man” who makes it possible for God’s face to shine on us (2 Cor. 4:6).
Apply
Pray verse 3 for yourself, your church and particularly for Christians who feel disconnected from God.
Closing prayer
“Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved” (19).
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.