Psalm 80:14-19

From the Pastor

Psalm 80:14-19

O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech Thee;

Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,

Even the shoot which Thy right hand has planted,

And on the son whom Thou hast strengthened for Thyself.

It is burned with fire, it is cut down;

They perish at the rebuke of Thy countenance.

Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand,

Upon the son of man whom Thou didst make strong for Thyself.

Then we shall not turn back from Thee;

Revive us, and we will call upon Thy name.

O Lord God of hosts, restore us;

Cause Thy face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.

I have mentioned before the desire of God’s people, and the great blessing that is, to have God’s face shine upon us. This is seen in the priestly blessing given to the people of God in Numbers 6:22-27, which I read over our congregation after each members meeting on the second Sunday evening of the month. The people of God understand that to have God’s face shining upon them is to be living faithfully in His sight, and yet much of life’s hardships can lead us to believe that we are outside of His watch and care because of the difficulties that we so often encounter in this fallen world. This is why the words of the Psalmist are so comforting and important for us to read, understand, and follow.

This section of the Psalm reads like a prayer. It begins with a recognition of who God is, and petitions the Lord to turn, look down from heaven, and see over His people. It furthers the imagery by comparing the people of God to a vine that He has planted, and also interestingly on the Son who assists the father in cultivating and strengthening the vine. This idea must certainly have been in the mind of Christ when he used similar imagery in John 15 where he tells his disciples, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” Of course, looking back at the Psalm the writer mentions the vine being burned, cut down, and even perishing at the rebuke of the one planted it, and this certainly did occur to non-believing and unfaithful Israel, but it is also similar to the language once again ...