The superscription offers directions To the Leader: on Lilies shoshannim) , a Covenant. Of Asaph. Other pastoral imagery, such as here in verse 1, is found in other Asaph psalms, such as 74:1, 78:52, and 79:13. It describes it as A Psalm.
It begins with an invocation and petition. 1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! It affirms You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, in the plural, referring to carved representations of scary winged beings that, in covering the Ark of the Covenant, formed a throne for the glorious presence of the Lord with the people of Israel. It opens wanting the Shepherd of Israel to listen and to shine forth or appear2 before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, with Ephraim and Manasseh the two principal tribes of the north. These are sons of Rachel and the grandsons of Joseph. In Numbers 2:18-24 Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin were under one banner. The difficulty this presents in dating the psalm are these. Benjamin joined Judah when the northern and southern kingdoms divided. Does Benjamin represent the southern kingdom? Does it mean the origin of the psalm is before the division of the two kingdoms? The tribes in trouble have a bond with those not yet exposed because of their common salvation history. It then invites the Shepherd of Israel to stir up might and come to save them. We then have a first and simplest statement of the refrain. (1) 3 Restore (shuv, a hiphil imperative of the verb) us.[1] The basic meaning is to turn or return. It suggests bringing back or refreshing us, even restoring us to what we were before. The focus is a plea for God to restore what they have lost. (2) O God, elohim, focuses upon a call upon God. (3) Let your face (“panim”) shine (smile), show your favor, light up your face, expressing the benevolence of God, a profound metaphor of the presence of God with the people of God. The priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24-26 as well as Psalm 67:1 asks that the face of the Lord shine upon the people and be gracious to them. The desire is that the presence of the Lord will bring light to their darkness. (4) That we may be saved (yasha’). It refers to save, rescue, deliver, or victory. The word has a linguistic relationship to the name "Jesus." In Matthew 1:21, we read: "She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (swzw "save") corresponds to the LXX Greek translation of 80:3, 7 and 19).
In Psalm 80:4-7, we shift to the lament. 4 O Lord God of hosts, How long will the Lord God of hosts be angry with, reject and prevent your people’s prayers from reaching you? Their trouble has become a crisis of faith. The Lord has become their enemy! 5 You have fed them with the bread of tears, so much so that they will drink tears in full measure. Further, 6 You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves. The faithful have lost confidence in the Lord, who has withdrawn from them. We then have a second statement of the refrain, in which the people make their appeal to a God they believe is angry with them. (1) 7 Restore us, for which see above. (2) O God of hosts (tsever’ot, which can translate as Sabaoth), the basic meaning of which is to refer to the heavenly “armies” of angels or other divine beings surrounding the throne of God. It can suggest spiritual warfare, given the context. We see that interpretation in the hymn of Martin Luther, “A Mighty Fortress.” The point here is that only God can restore Israel to what God originally fashioned Israel to be. Only God can restore them, and it will require a fight to do so. (3) Let the face of the God of hosts shine, for which see above. (4) That we may be saved, for which see above.
We turn to Psalm 80:17-19. The lament closes with a request for the restoration of a divinely sanctioned leader. 17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. Even though God has threatened them, God is their only help. If God helps them, the divinely sanctioned leader will help them re-establish both the political entity and the sacred commonwealth of Israel. The imagery suggests the Davidic king, which would suggest a date of around 701 BC for this part of the psalm. 18 Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name. We then have the third and final statement of the refrain. (1) 19 Restore us, for which see above. (2) O Lord (YHWH) God of hosts, expanding the divine name as it calls upon the Lord God for help. The expansion conveys the escalation of the psalm-singer’s inner groaning and heartfelt plea to God, who alone can restore what they have lost. (3) Let the face of the Lord God of hosts shine, for which see above. (4) That we may be saved, for which see above. For us as readers, if we have properly understood the historical context, the end is painful. In the way the psalmist wished, the Lord God of hosts does not restore them. The face of the Lord God of hosts does not shine upon them. They do not have victory.
Will God buy or sell these promises? Note that nowhere in this psalm, as in Psalm 85, is there any remorse, repentance, confession, or regret. Israel’s plight is all God’s fault. Confession, repentance and restitution — in other words, a conversion — must come before reconciliation. Psalm 80 is a communal lament for the ravages Israel has suffered at the hands of its enemies. The psalm is unusual in its use of the extended metaphor of a forsaken vine to articulate the psalmist’s sense of his nation’s abandonment and helplessness. It conveys the sense of Israel’s dependence on the Lord for its creation, preservation, guidance, and nurture.
We may not be able to identify with the fullness of the suffering expressed, although some congregations and some individuals within them might do so. At the same time, all of us have suffered. Do we have a sense that the face of God “shines” upon us? Have we been in prayer and conversation with God lately? Or have we been a bit busy? Do we feel that our lives are sometimes out of control and unmanageable? If we think about life seriously, do we understand why we are here? Do we have a purpose? We may need to be restored to a place where we live in the light of God’s presence, and we are saved from emptiness and meaninglessness.
[1] Many English translations have "restore us" (as NRSV, NET, NIV, Tanakh). But NLT has "turn us again to yourself" (like KJV). New Jerusalem Bible has "Bring us back." Indeed, shuv can often be translated "repent" (in the sense of turning (back) to God), but in the context of Psalm 80, the emphasis is not on a plea to the hearers to repent, but a plea to God to restore Israel to what they had lost. Certainly, in the biblical context as a whole, much of this does involve appropriate human response to God's gracious acts (see v. 18).
[2] (Living the Message: Daily Help for Living the God-Centered Life)
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