PASSAGE: Psalm 80:1-19
COMMENT: In this psalm, Israel has suffered affliction and destruction and now seeks the help of God her Shepherd. Israel is as a vine which once filled the land in prosperity but has been burned and cut down. The psalmist pleas with God to visit this vine and cause His face to shine on them once again.
WHAT DOES IT SAY?
1. God is asked, How long wilt thou be angry against the _________ of thy people?
2. God had fed them with the bread of _________.
3. For the vine, God had prepared ________ before it and had caused it to take deep ________.
4. In His displeasure, God had broken down her ___________ so that all who pass by do __________ her.
5. “So will not we go back from thee: __________ us, and we will ________ upon thy name.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
1. The psalm begins, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel” (v.1). God is the shepherd of Israel (Psalm 23:1-2; Isaiah 40:11). Jesus Christ is also pictured as a shepherd (John 10:14; Hebrews 13:20; 1Peter 2:25; 5:4). Look at these passages and consider the work and duties of a shepherd. List a number of ways in which God is like a shepherd.
2. In verses 8-16, Israel is compared to a vine. Compare this with the same picture in Isaiah 5:1-7. Why do you think God used a vine to picture Israel? What are the aspects of a vine that compare to the nation? How is this different from the picture of Christ as the vine in John 15:1-7?
3. Verse 17 states, “Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.” To whom is this referring? Who is the man of God’s right hand (see Psalm 110:1; Ephesians 1:20)? How does the last half of this verse compare with the last half of verse 15 (see also Zechariah 6:12)? Who is “the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself” (see Matthew 28:18; John 17:2)?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ME?
1. Verses 3, 7, and 19 are identical except for the names used for God after the phrase, “turn us again.” At this point, verse 3 has “O God;” verse 7 has “O God of hosts;” and verse 19 has “O LORD God of hosts.” After God is addressed, each verse concludes, “and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.” What do these verses mean in context of the entire psalm? What is their spiritual application to our lives? How do these verses compare with Jeremiah 31:18 and Lamentations 5:21?
2. Verse 14 states, “Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine.” What is the meaning of this verse? How could we apply the teaching of this verse to our own lives?
SUGGESTED MEMORY VERSES: Psalm 80:1, 14, 19
TEXT: Psalm 80:1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.
3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
4 O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?
5 Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.
6 Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
8 Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.
9 Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.
10 The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.
11 She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.
12 Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?
13 The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.
14 Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;
15 And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
18 So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.
19 Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.