PSALMS LESSON 81
We will now begin by giving the 80th Psalm in metre.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 80
Verse 1 "Hear, Isr'el's Shepherd! like a flock Thou that dost Joseph
guide; Shine forth, O thou that dost between The cherubim
abide."
Verse 2 "In Ephraim's, and Benjamin's, And in Manasseh's sight, O
come for out salvation, Lord, Stir up thy strength and
might,"
Verse 3 "Turn us again, O Lord our God, Restore us unto thee; O cause
thy face to shine on us, And saved we then shall be."
Verse 4 "O Lord of hosts, almighty God, How long shall kindled be Thy
wrath against the prayer which Thy people make to thee?"
Verse 5 "Thou tears of sorrow giv'st to them Instead of bread to eat;
Thou givest tears instead of drink To them in measure great."
Verse 6 "Thou makest us to neighbors all a strife on every side, Our
enemies among themselves With laughter us deride."
Verse 7 "Turn us again, O God of hosts, Restore us unto thee. O cause
thy face to shine on us And saved we them shall be."
Verse 8 "A vine from Egypt thou hast brought, By thy almighty hand;
And thou hast cast the heathen out, To plant it in their
land."
Verse 9 "Before it thou a place didst make, And give it room to
stand; Thou causedst it deep root to take, And it did fill
the land."
Verse 10 "Its shadow veiled the highest hills, It covered mountains
o'er; And like the goodly cedars were The branches which it
bore."
Verse 11 "Upon the one hand, to the sea, Her boughs she forth did
send; Upon the other, to the flood, Her branches did extend."
Verse 12 "Why hast thou broken down her hedge, And taken it away, So
that all passers by do pluck And make of her a prey?"
Verse 13 "The boar that from the forest comes Doth waste it at his
will; The wild beast also of the field Devours of it his
fill."
Verse 14 "O God of hosts, we thee beseech, Return now into thine; Look
down from heaven, and behold, and visit thou this vine:"
Verse 15 "Ev'n this thy vineyard planted here, The work of thy right
hand, And that same branch, which for thyself Thou hast made
strong to stand."
Verse 16 "Burnt up it is with flaming fire, It also is cut down: And
perished utterly are they, Because thy face did frown."
Verse 17 "O let thy hand be laid upon The man of thy right hand, The
Son of man, whom for thyself Thou hast made strong to stand."
Verse 18 "So henceforth we will not go back, Nor turn from thee at
all: O do thou quicken us, and we Upon thy name will call."
Verse 19 "Turn us again, Lord God of hosts, Restore us unto thee; O
cause thy face to shine on us, And saved we then shall be."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 80th chapter of
Psalms. Psalms 80:1 "{To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim-Eduth, A
Psalm of Asaph.} Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest
Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest [between] the cherubims, shine
forth."
The Great Shepherd of the Christians, of course, is Jesus. They
are spiritual Israel. From a prophetic point of view, then, this is to
our Lord. We, also, see in this the Presence of Almighty God who was
over the mercy seat in the tabernacle and in the temple. Certainly the
physical house of Israel had been led like a flock. The presence of
God led them out across the wilderness to the promised land. We, also,
know that Jesus is the Light of the world. Wherever there is a
presence of God, there is a Light, or Fire, or Clouds. This above,
then, is a request for the Light of God to shine forth even brighter
than in the past. Some expositors believe this is speaking of the ten
tribes who were headed up by Manasseh being led by the Great Shepherd.
Manasseh was Joseph's son.
Psalms 80:2 "Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy
strength, and come [and] save us."
Ephraim and Manasseh were sons of Joseph. The Psalmist here
realizes that there was a special anointing on Joseph. God had
protected him through all his troubles, and the blessings had passed
to his sons. Benjamin is mentioned, because Joseph and Benjamin were
the only two sons of Rachel whom Jacob loved more than the others.
Even near kinsman sometimes break up and go their separate ways. The
Psalmist is crying out for help from God. The Psalmist felt if,
perhaps, his name meant very little to God, he would use some names
that would get God's attention. Christians are well aware, the way to
get the Father to hear your prayer is to ask in the name of Jesus.
There is something about that name.
Psalms 80:3 "Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine;
and we shall be saved."
The psalmist is very well aware that the only possible hope for
any one is God. I have said this before, but it bears saying again.
Noah was saved in the flood, Daniel was saved in the lions den,
Shadrach Meshach, and Abednego were saved in the fire. None of these
people of God were saved from their problem. They were saved in the
problem. These people the psalmist is begging for here, may be in
captivity, but God can deal with them in captivity, possibly even
better than He could when they were having no problems. It is not so
important the circumstance you find yourself in, as it is how you
handle the circumstance. God is never unaware of our problem. In fact,
He is in it with us, like there was the fourth figure in the fire, one
like unto the Son of God. To learn more about this, read Daniel
chapter 3. We know that God will turn, again, and shine His face upon
anyone who loves and follows God.
Psalms 80:4 "O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry
against the prayer of thy people?"
Sin causes separation from God. This was not just a sin that they
had committed, but a grievous sin. This is still speaking of the
mixing of false gods in with their real God. God's anger had been
kindled hotter, because of what they had done. It seemed their prayers
were getting nowhere. Just keep on praying, God will hear and forgive.
Psalms 80:5 "Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and
givest them tears to drink in great measure."
The Israelites had been an openly rebellious people. God had
forgiven them over and over. There is a limit to how many times He
will forgive them. This seems, it could be that time. They are not
only praying, but they are crying with the prayers. Their tears are in
everything, because they do not cease to pray and cry to God.
Psalms 80:6 "Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our
enemies laugh among themselves."
Can't you just hear the taunts of the ungodly neighbors, saying,
I thought you said you had a God that cared for you, where is He now?
If you are His, why is He not answering your prayer?
Psalms 80:7 "Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to
shine; and we shall be saved."
We see the psalmist actually trying to put the responsibility for
change on the Lord. Isn't that really what happened when Jesus came
and became our substitute on the cross? We were not worthy to be
saved, but He saved us anyway. God of hosts could mean God of your
armies.
Psalms 80:8 "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast
cast out the heathen, and planted it."
We know that God Himself brought Israel {vine} out of Egypt with
the mighty Right Hand of God. Canaan was occupied by heathen people,
and the Lord drove them out and planted Israel instead. Israel is the
vine that God planted in the promised land. In Egypt the vine could
not prosper, because it was denied the necessary things to produce
fruit. The law was given to these Israelites on the way to the
promised land, and they had the opportunity to produce much fruit for
God. They failed. This vine was the same as the natural branch on the
tree. They had the opportunity to produce for God, but they failed.
Jesus is the true vine, as we see in the following verse. John 15:5 "I
am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do
nothing." The trouble with the physical house of Israel is they did
not abide with God.
Psalms 80:9 "Thou preparedst [room] before it, and didst cause it
to take deep root, and it filled the land."
This, also, is speaking of Joshua defeating and removing the
heathen from the land. Soon the inheritance was divided and the
children of Israel began to live in the land.
Psalms 80:10 "The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and
the boughs thereof [were like] the goodly cedars."
This was, indeed, a land of milk and honey. It was fertile land
and grew giant trees. The family of God moved in, and the land
prospered.
Psalms 80:11 "She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her
branches unto the river."
This land is on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, and there were
many boats and shipping. It seemed nature had cooperated with God, and
they now had a warm water port for their shipping.
Psalms 80:12 "Why hast thou [then] broken down her hedges, so
that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?"
When Israel began on this journey from Egypt to the promised
land, God had been the hedge around them and helped them against their
enemies. He had stood between the Red Sea and the Israelites, while
the Israelites crossed unharmed. He had been with them in battle and
the enemy had run away, knowing that Israel was protected by their
God. Now it appears that the protection of God is gone. Their enemy
can have free run on them. Now that Israel's God is not protecting
her, all of the people around her are taking whatever they want from
her.
Psalms 80:13 "The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the
wild beast of the field doth devour it."
This is just saying, the supernatural protection from wild beasts
that they had before is, also, gone. God is angry with them, and has
removed His protection.
Psalms 80:14 "Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down
from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;"
This is just another plea to God to not forget His people. It is
no need to ask God to look, because His eye is always on His people.
Psalms 80:15 "And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted,
and the branch [that] thou madest strong for thyself."
Let us look at this prophetically and see the church which the
Right Hand of God {Jesus} planted. This could even be saying, Father
look down and save the church, because of Your Son's great
establishment of it. Do not see our sin, see your precious Son's
blood. Jesus established the church for us, we did not do it.
Psalms 80:16 "[It is] burned with fire, [it is] cut down: they
perish at the rebuke of thy countenance."
We see the destruction of God's people. They will perish, unless
God intervenes. Unless God looks down from heaven and has mercy, they
are gone.
Psalms 80:17 "Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand,
upon the son of man [whom] thou madest strong for thyself."
This has to be prophetically speaking of the Messiah, the Christ.
The Right Hand is strong, because He is God the Son. We know that man
alone could not save himself, or anyone else. God sent the Saviour,
Jesus Christ to redeem us.
Psalms 80:18 "So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and
we will call upon thy name."
Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved." Romans 8:11 "But if the Spirit of him that raised up
Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the
dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth
in you." Jesus Christ, their Messiah, is the quickening spirit they
and we need to help us. In Him is Life, and the Life is the Light of
men.
Psalms 80:19 "Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face
to shine; and we shall be saved."
This is said, again, to give impact to the statement. Man is his
own worst enemy. We can not save ourselves. God had to send a Saviour
to save us from sin and death, but also, to save us from our own
blundering mistakes. II Corinthians 4:6 "For God, who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give]
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ."
Questions 81
1. What special name is God called in verse 1?
2. How had He led Joseph?
3. Thou that dwellest between the ___________.
4. Who is the Great Shepherd of the Christians?
5. What presence was over the mercy seat?
6. Who really led the children of Israel across the wilderness?
7. What are three things that depict God in our presence?
8. Whose son was Manasseh?
9. Why do you suppose the psalmist mentions Ephraim, Manasseh, and
Joseph in his prayer?
10. How can a Christian get God's attention to his prayer?
11. The only possible hope for anyone is ___.
12. Who were the three men saved in the fire?
13. Who was saved in the flood?
14. Who was saved in the lions' den?
15. What is more important than the circumstance you find yourself in?
16. Where can you find the message about the fourth man in the fire?
17. ___ causes separation from God.
18. What was meant by the bread of tears?
19. In verse 6, who is laughing at their calamity?
20. Verse 7 says he is putting the responsibility for his salvation on
God, relate that to the Christian.
21, Who is the vine in verse 8?
22. Why could the vine not prosper in Egypt?
23. Quote John chapter 15 verse 5.
24. What is verse 9 speaking of?
25. The promised land is on the edge of what great sea?
26. What had been the hedge around Israel?
27. Who planted the vineyard in verse 15?
28. Who is verse 17 speaking of?
29. Quote Romans chapter 10 verse 13.
30. Who is the quickening Spirit?
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