Psalms 80
FBMeyerPsalms 80:1-7
“ Turn Us Again, O God” Psalms 80:1-7 The ten tribes were in captivity, and the hearts of their brethren, still living at Jerusalem under the reign of David’ s line, seem to have turned with great longing toward them. This psalm is full of intercession on their behalf. Three times, at the turning-points of the psalm, the refrain is repeated that God would turn them again and cause them to be saved, Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7; Psalms 80:19. Note the ascending climax: God; God of Hosts; Jehovah, God of Hosts. In Jacob’ s blessing of Joseph, God is appealed to as Shepherd, Genesis 48:15; Genesis 49:24. To sit enthroned above the cherubim is an emblem of omnipotence. Notice how the gentleness of the Shepherd blends with His almightiness. In the Wilderness march the three great tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh immediately followed the Ark, which was borne by the priests. This ancient litany surely befits the present condition of the Church, when she is rent by internal divisions, or infected with a spirit of skepticism and unable to exorcise the demons that possess society. Let us plead with God to enlighten us by His face and quicken us by His Spirit.’ God must defend His cause, else there is no help for it.
A vine out of Egypt Under the figure of a vine injured by a wild beast (Psalms 80:8-13) the Psalmist laments the degradation of the ten tribes. The house of Joseph always represents Israel as distinct from Judah (Obadiah 1:18; Amos 6:6). The mention of Benjamin (Psalms 80:2) does not militate against this view. Though the southern part of the tribe clung to the fortunes of Judah, it is probable that the bulk of the northern portion followed those of the ten tribes to whom they were bound by many ties (Genesis 43:29). These three tribes marched together (Numbers 10:22-24). The title of the Psalm reminds us of 45 and 69. “Lilies” are an emblem of what is lovely and hereof the lovely salvation of God.
The division is clearly marked by the recurrence of the refrain (Turn), Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7; Psalms 80:14; Psalms 80:19 (R.V.). The name of God being on an ascending scale: God (Psalms 80:3); God of Hosts (Psalms 80:7; Psalms 80:14); Jehovah, God of Hosts (Psalms 80:19).
Psalms 80:1. Shepherd of Israel In Jacob’s blessing of Joseph, this title is specially given to God (Genesis 49:24). To sit enthroned upon the cherubim (see R.V.) is an emblem of omnipotence for they represent all creatures. Thus the gentleness of a shepherd and the almighty power of God blend in this verse.
Psalms 80:2.Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh, i.e., at their head, as the pillar of cloud and fire led the wilderness march.
Psalms 80:3. Turn us again What a prayer for a backslider! (Jeremiah 31:18). When God restores us He puts us back into the very place which we occupied before we fell.
Psalms 80:4.How long wilt Thou be angry? (smoke, R.V.) Not the fire of God consuming the sacrifice of God, but burning against the backslider (Psalms 74:1).
Psalms 80:5. Bread of tears Bread composed of tears (Psalms 42:3).
Psalms 80:8. A vine out of Egypt Another reference to Jacob’s prediction, “‘A fruitful bough” (Genesis 49:22). The point of the Psalmist’s reference to the past consists in this–that God cannot desert, or destroy, any work which He has once begun.Psalms 80:10-11. The hills Those of the southern boundary of Canaan. The cedars represent Lebanon and the extreme north. The sea is the Mediterranean, the river, the Euphrates.
Psalms 80:12. All they … do pluck her Pul; Tiglath-pileser; Sargon and others (2 Kings 15:19; 1 Chronicles 5:26; 2 Kings 18:11).
Psalms 80:15. The branch (lit. “the son,” as Psalms 80:17) is another term for the spiritual vine. In the allusion to the right hand (Psalms 80:15-17), there is surely a reference to the name which Jacob gave to Benjamin, “Son of my right hand” (Genesis 35:18). The name was given by the father under Divine inspiration and was a pledge of Divine love, not only to him, but to the whole nation whom he represented.
Psalms 80:17. The Son of Man Surely our Lord alone perfectly fulfils this description. He is that Son of Man whom God has made strong for Himself. And God’s hand is pledged to maintain Him until the ravages of Satan are made good, and the vine of his church covers the land.
Psalms 80:18. So will we not go back We are redeemed that we should not go back to our old sins, but show forth the praise of our Deliverer.
Psalms 80:8-19
“ Cause Thy Face to Shine” Psalms 80:8-19 The imagery of the vine is taken from Jacob’ s dying words, in which he compared Joseph to a fruitful bough which had grown over the wall, Genesis 49:22. It is therefore a very apt and appropriate figure in this psalm, of which the northern tribes are the special subject. The figure of the vine is wrought out with extreme beauty. The book of Exodus tells of the transplanting, and those of Joshua and Judges of the ground that was cleared to receive it. In the days of Solomon, the boughs of the kingdom reached to the Euphrates on the east, and the Great Sea (the Mediterranean) on the west. But the walls were broken down by invasion, and the vine lay at the mercy of every passer-by or the wild creatures of the forest. We, too, know the havoc which ensues when the Church no longer lives within the ring-fence of God’ s care. Revive us! Restore us! Cause thy face to shine! The man of thy right hand, Psalms 80:17, may be another term for Israel, Genesis 35:18. But our Lord alone can fulfill this description; and God’ s power is pledged to arrest the advance of the enemy, and to cause the true Vine and its branches to cover the earth. We must turn to John 15:1-27 to find the antitype of Israel, in the relation between Christ and His Church.
A vine out of Egypt Under the figure of a vine injured by a wild beast (Psalms 80:8-13) the Psalmist laments the degradation of the ten tribes. The house of Joseph always represents Israel as distinct from Judah (Obadiah 1:18; Amos 6:6). The mention of Benjamin (Psalms 80:2) does not militate against this view. Though the southern part of the tribe clung to the fortunes of Judah, it is probable that the bulk of the northern portion followed those of the ten tribes to whom they were bound by many ties (Genesis 43:29). These three tribes marched together (Numbers 10:22-24). The title of the Psalm reminds us of 45 and 69. “Lilies” are an emblem of what is lovely and hereof the lovely salvation of God.
The division is clearly marked by the recurrence of the refrain (Turn), Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7; Psalms 80:14; Psalms 80:19 (R.V.). The name of God being on an ascending scale: God (Psalms 80:3); God of Hosts (Psalms 80:7; Psalms 80:14); Jehovah, God of Hosts (Psalms 80:19).
Psalms 80:1. Shepherd of Israel In Jacob’s blessing of Joseph, this title is specially given to God (Genesis 49:24). To sit enthroned upon the cherubim (see R.V.) is an emblem of omnipotence for they represent all creatures. Thus the gentleness of a shepherd and the almighty power of God blend in this verse.
Psalms 80:2.Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh, i.e., at their head, as the pillar of cloud and fire led the wilderness march.
Psalms 80:3. Turn us again What a prayer for a backslider! (Jeremiah 31:18). When God restores us He puts us back into the very place which we occupied before we fell.
Psalms 80:4.How long wilt Thou be angry? (smoke, R.V.) Not the fire of God consuming the sacrifice of God, but burning against the backslider (Psalms 74:1).
Psalms 80:5. Bread of tears Bread composed of tears (Psalms 42:3).
Psalms 80:8. A vine out of Egypt Another reference to Jacob’s prediction, “‘A fruitful bough” (Genesis 49:22). The point of the Psalmist’s reference to the past consists in this–that God cannot desert, or destroy, any work which He has once begun.Psalms 80:10-11. The hills Those of the southern boundary of Canaan. The cedars represent Lebanon and the extreme north. The sea is the Mediterranean, the river, the Euphrates.
Psalms 80:12. All they … do pluck her Pul; Tiglath-pileser; Sargon and others (2 Kings 15:19; 1 Chronicles 5:26; 2 Kings 18:11).
Psalms 80:15. The branch (lit. “the son,” as Psalms 80:17) is another term for the spiritual vine. In the allusion to the right hand (Psalms 80:15-17), there is surely a reference to the name which Jacob gave to Benjamin, “Son of my right hand” (Genesis 35:18). The name was given by the father under Divine inspiration and was a pledge of Divine love, not only to him, but to the whole nation whom he represented.
Psalms 80:17. The Son of Man Surely our Lord alone perfectly fulfils this description. He is that Son of Man whom God has made strong for Himself. And God’s hand is pledged to maintain Him until the ravages of Satan are made good, and the vine of his church covers the land.
Psalms 80:18. So will we not go back We are redeemed that we should not go back to our old sins, but show forth the praise of our Deliverer.