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Psalm 80For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.” A testimony of Asaph. A psalm. Listen, Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned on the cherubim, rise up before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Rally Your power and come to save us. Restore us, God; look on us with favor, and we will be saved. Lord God of Hosts, how long will You be angry with Your people’s prayers? You fed them the bread of tears and gave them a full measure of tears to drink. You make us quarrel with our neighbors; our enemies make fun of us. Restore us, God of Hosts; look on us with favor, and we will be saved. You uprooted a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared a place for it; it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered by its shade, and the mighty cedars with its branches. It sent out sprouts toward the Sea and shoots toward the River. Why have You broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its fruit? The boar from the forest tears it and creatures of the field feed on it. Return, God of Hosts. Look down from heaven and see; take care of this vine, the root Your right hand has planted, the shoot that You made strong for Yourself. It was cut down and burned up; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. Let Your hand be with the man at Your right hand, with the son of man You have made strong for Yourself. Then we will not turn away from You; revive us, and we will call on Your name. Restore us, Yahweh, the God of Hosts; look on us with favor, and we will be saved.Psalm 45, 60 and 69 also start with according to “Shoshannim Eduth” or the lilies. Eduth means “testimony.” Because of the content of the Psalm, many see this introduction pointing to the church as a "lily among the thorns of this world." Some historians and theologians also point to a six-stringed instrument which would make it "the hexachord of testimony." Several things are clear from the introduction. These are not David’s days (he is most likely not the author) and the Psalm is dark because the times are dark. Some put the writing of this Psalm either immediately before the Babylonian Captivity or during it. This Asaph (chief musician) is one of the last minstrels who is speaking God’s Word at a time that few are willing to listen. It is a plea for the restoration of Israel - and whether that is the North and South Kingdoms coming together again or Israel being restored after the Captivity - is something we will have to ask God. The Psalm divides itself up naturally at a refrain: "Turn us again, O God." Verses 1-3 is an opening address to God. Verses 4-7 is a lamentation over the national mess. Verses 8-19 is the same complaint repeated through an allegory involving a vine.Another note is that Psalm 80 and 81 complement and complete each other. They both speak of Joseph and the “flock of Israel.” For St. Augustine the use of Joseph is about being rejected by your own people, and accepted by outsiders before bringing about a complete restoration and unity of both. For Augustine Joseph represents Jesus and His ministry. Luther agrees with Augustine but also states the Psalm includes the Second Coming of Jesus and must also be about the church of all time - not just the Israel at the time of the Psalm’s writing.The Psalm consists of five eight-line strophes, of which the first, second, and fifth close with the refrain, “Elohim, restore us, let Thy countenance shine forth, then shall we be helped!” The refrain adds to God’s name each time to show an increase of passion in the prayer.Listen, Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned on the cherubim, rise up Several important terms: Listen. Shepherd. Joseph. Flock. Enthroned. Rise up. The psalmist expresses his broken heart and needs by using very specific names for God - and notice it’s in the present tense. There is no question mark in his request for the “Shepherd” to “listen.” It is God who calls His people by name - out of the wilderness, out of the desert, out of Egypt, out of sin, out of death. His voice is known and His sheep respond.Also - God is both “sitting enthroned with angelic cherubim” but also “leading Joseph like a flock.” God is the Lord of heaven AND earth. The final words, “rise up” have an alternate translation: “shine.” Either the Psalmist is asking God to “get off His throne to help” or he is asking God to “shine in such a way that the world notices.” Either way it is to get the attention of both God’s people and everyone else.before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh rise up. Rally Your power and come to save us.Besides the obvious splitting of a sentence in an awkward place (remember the Bible didn’t come with verses and chapters - they were put in long after the Bible was written) - we note only three of the twelve tribes are mentioned: Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. One is the child of Jacob’s “favorite” wife, Rachel – the other two are her grandchildren (they are the children of Joseph). When the land was given out, Ephraim and Manasseh both received a portion of the land. Benjamin was not part of the brothers’ betrayal of Joseph - and the one who Joseph used to “redeem” his trust in his brothers. Besides supporting the theme of Joseph - there is no clear, distinct known purpose for the three to be named.The Psalmist calls upon God to rally “His power” to save His sheep. Sheep are defenseless. Their only ability is to run away. They are completely reliant on the shepherd - not only to protect them, but since sheep eat the grass all the way to the root - if they are not moved from place to place they can eliminate their food supply. Restore us, God; look on us with favor, and we will be saved.Perhaps the most important note is that the Psalmist is not asking God to “fix the situation” but to “fix the people.” If the people are “right with God” then there is nothing to worry about. Integrity and character are more important than circumstances.This “restoration” is and must be the work of God’s Spirit. This is not a matter of the people trying harder or working harder - but of God sanctifying His people - forgiving their sins, loving them and walking beside them so they are no longer afraid. The second part of the verse, "look upon us with favor” is the high priest's blessing upon Israel. Because God has already placed His name upon His people - even though they have “failed again” - they can confidently come before God and pray for restoration. And their expectation is that “they will be saved.” The word “salvation” is a total package - body, mind and spirit. They may not be rescued from all the perils and dangers of this world - but they will have everything they need to live with confidence and faith.Lord God of Hosts, how long will You be angry with Your people’s prayers?How long did your parents remain angry with you when you did something wrong? What about your best friend? And what could you do to make things right? There was a time, not too long ago, when you could only talk to someone if they were at work or home - or with quarter they could call you from a payphone. Back in the 70’s I was working one night at the gas station and a lady came in with a flat tire. There was a hole in the sidewall which you can’t repair without a tube. I told her she would need a new tire. She wanted me to talk to her husband and I remember being amazed when she pulled her car phone out and called him! Today we expect to be able call and reach someone 24 hours a day. And if they do not answer - we assume they are mad at us - after all with caller ID they know it’s us calling - so if they don’t pick up - or immediately return our call, they must be angry. And that causes us to leave message after message saying, “what’s wrong, what did I do, why won’t you answer, why won’t you call me back?” What is the purpose of God’s silence? And is it really silence if he’s listening? And if God is angry at our prayers - why would that be? You fed them the bread of tears and gave them a full measure of tears to drinkIt’s metaphor time. Meals - which in Biblical times were family oriented, hours long events with wine and food and stories and laughter - are no more. The food is seasoned with tears - and much like a reception after a funeral, for those closest to the deceased the food doesn’t taste right - if they are able to eat at all.And the people recognize it is not their enemy that has taken the joy of their feasts away - it is God. He needs them to repent - and as a result has the taste and the joy of their meals. And they have come to the realization that if God is angry at them - and refuses to listen to their prayers - it is because their hearts are no longer on God. The bread of tears is impossible to swallow because it is filled with pain and failure and grief - compared to the bread of sweat where you know your labor has brought about good for your family and community. And now comes the biggest question - are they repentant enough to seek God first - and let Him restore the joy of their feasts because they are reconciled with God - or will they ignore God and just try to drink more wine? You make us quarrel with our neighbors; our enemies make fun of us. It’s always easy to “kick” someone when they are down - and Edom and Moab are celebrating the fall of the once powerful nation.One of the biggest problems with celebrating someone else’s misfortune is - when you fall, you can’t expect them to have pity on you. Over and over in the New Testament we are told to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.” While not as prevalent, this even occurs in the Old Testament. Remember Joshua and Caleb and the scarlet thread? Or Joseph and his trials? Or even Daniel, Shadrach, Meschack and Abednego? There is a difference between one who is trying to kill you (although the lesson of David and Saul plays out there) and someone who just doesn’t believe the same things you do. When you follow God out of faith and walk in His ways - there is a testimony that is given that few can argue with. We do not expect a perfect life. We do not expect to be rich and powerful. We do expect to face each and every trial knowing that there is good to come from it if we let it. Romans 8 is not just a cheer leading verse - it is a profession of our faith in God to get us through this world and into His arms forever. Let our enemies make fun of us - the day will come when, if we remain faithful, they will be humbled.Restore us, God of Hosts; look on us with favor, and we will be saved.The refrain is repeated. Our only hope is for God to restore us. If we are to be saved, it must come from outside of us. This verse marks a change in the direction of the Psalm.You uprooted a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and planted it.Back to Joseph - and then forward to Moses. God’s people are the “vine” - they wound up in “unfriendly soil” and the people of Egypt trampled them and did not “water them” - and yet the vine did not die.Eventually seven nations would be displaced to make room for God’s vine (Israel). All the old trees and bushes would be plowed under to make room for the new nation. The promise to Abraham of land, people and a blessing came true. You cleared a place for it; it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered by its shade, and the mighty cedars with its branches. It sent out sprouts toward the Sea and shoots toward the River.The weeds, brambles, and huge stones were cleared. Israel, even though it started out as small and had no resources, because God tended to the vine and watered and weeded - the nation became settled and well rooted - and then it began to flourish and to spread on every side.There is a personal application in this verse. If we grow deep roots into God’s Word and Will - we will be able to resist whatever comes our way. To grow - whether it is physically or emotionally or spiritually - requires care and nurture. If we neglect ourselves or the church - we will whither and die. If we allow other things to grow tall - and block the sun - we will whither and die. If we allow our water to be diverted or the soil to be polluted - we will whither and die.Why have You broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its fruit? The boar from the forest tears it and creatures of the field feed on it.This should be a rhetorical question - but we know better. How many times has someone said to you, “I can’t find (you fill in the blank) or I can’t believe my (you will in the blank) is broken - it was the most important and precious thing to me!” Logic dictates that if it was that important and precious they would not have lost it or allowed it to be broken. I remember when iPhones were fairly new and one of our high school kids taped his new phone to his bumper to get some great footage of him driving down H-1. But when he arrived home he discovered the phone was no longer taped to the bumper. How do you explain that to your parents - or to the Apple Insurance person?If God has withdrawn His protection, there is a reason. If the people return (Jeremiah 29) - God will again extend His hand of protection. But the people cannot expect God to protect or prosper them if they are no faithful.Return, God of Hosts. Look down from heaven and see; A shortened refrain this time - and instead of “hear” it’s “see.” There is nothing worse than throwing a pity party and no one noticing. But now comes the important part of the cry for mercy. Is it authentic - or are the people trying to fool God? Have they truly repented - or are they just pretending? For God to look down with His eyes is one thing - but God sees not just the outside but also the inside. He judges us not based upon our actions but upon our heart.God is always more interested in the “why” we do things because something done out of faith brings about a harvest of righteousness. take care of this vine, the root Your right hand has planted, the shoot that You made strong for Yourself.King David often would say, “do you want people to laugh at You because Your nation - Your people failed? Give us another chance so that the people will praise You because You are merciful and gracious!” The vine belongs to God - but the vine has come to realize that it does not wish to “cut off its nose to spite its face.” If God abandons the vine - the people are lost. Thus they have a vested interest in God restoring them. When the words “all the people” or “everyone” are used in the Bible - it is unlikely that it really is “all” or “everyone.” But the leaders are willing to step out in faith - to step forward and trust that many will follow. God made a promise - but just as we saw over and over in the wilderness with Moses - the only thing God needs is just one person of faith. And so the Psalmist is crying out on behalf of the faithful that God will not let the vine die - even though part of the vine is diseased. It was cut down and burned up; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. Right now my sister, and a lot of her friends, are in the midst of the two big fires in Colorado. Already some have lost their homes - and others are still waiting for word. Tonight a snowstorm is supposed to drop 10 - 15 inches of snow. It will not put the fire out, but it will slow it down. In a few weeks when it is fully contained, people will drive into the charred landscape - and I guarantee a few pictures will show one house unscathed, a green tree in the midst of blackened char and an animal walking through searching for something to eat. Within a few weeks vegetation will begin to grow again - and within a few years you will not know anything happened except for the fact that the trees are far shorter and smaller than the forest around them.Let Your hand be with the Man at Your right hand, with the Son of Man You have made strong for Yourself. And here is where Luther would declare he sees Jesus clearly in the verse. But he also knew it was coming. For just like the nation - Jesus was brought out of Egypt. Just like the nation - He was trampled and dishonored - yet did not give up. Just like the nation - even though He was killed - He came back from the dead and is alive. The nation’s hope is in the one God promised. Each cycle of sin, punishment, repentance, restoration is exhausting. It happens over and over and over again all through the history of the nation. There is no end. No matter how hard the people try - they cannot always be what they know they need to be. And that is why they need a Savior - one who gives His righteousness to them - imputing and infusing it because they cannot do it for themselves. The Psalms always point to Jesus.Then we will not turn away from You; revive us, and we will call on Your name. When Messiah comes - we will be in Him. We will able to be faithful because He will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.It is not just good or even excellent leadership a person, a church, a nation requires. We need more than to be encouraged or equipped. Such things help us grow closer - but we can never get close enough on our own. We need One who can carry us into the presence of God and by His love keep us there.We left Seward in the Blue Goose, Concordia’s official tour bus. We were on our way to California on a singing tour. It was snowing - which made it even more sweet because we knew when we got to California it would be sunny and nice. As we headed down I-80 there was a Volkswagen Beetle spun out on the side of the road. Luther, our bus driver, stopped and we pushed them out. They took off down the Interstate and we climbed back aboard the bus. A few miles down the road they were spun out again on the side of the side of the road. We stopped and pushed them out. They took off and we climbed back aboard the Goose. Sure enough - a few more miles down the road they were spun out again - this time we didn’t stop. Luther said, “the only way I’d stop again is if we towed them behind the bus - maybe then they wouldn’t be so stupid!”The only way for us to remain faithful is for Jesus to tow us behind Him all the way to heaven.Restore us, Yahweh, the God of Hosts; look on us with favor, and we will be saved.Jews will not say the name “Yahweh” because it is so sacred. And this is why you have people arguing over how to pronounce God’s name - the one He gave to Moses. Hebrew doesn’t have vowels - only consonants. So Cat, Cut, Cute and Cot all would be CT. People know what the word is because they are expected to memorize God’s Word. But when no one says a word for a thousand years or so - something might fall through the cracks. Years ago someone added vowel markings so those of us who aren’t native speakers knew what the word was. And some people said the word is pronounced “Yahway” - others aid “Jehovah” and still others said, “Adonai” which is the markings that were placed in the Scriptures so people would know not to say God’s Name - but the more generic term for Lord.Nothing is too big or too small for God. No disaster is beyond His ability to save us. And so our prayer is not for the natural or man-made disasters to just go away - but for God to give us whatever gifts and patience and strength we need to bear them. Our purpose is grow deeper in God’s Word and Will - to be in His presence - to know Him in such a way that we do not fear (Psalm 46) - but rather can just “Be still and know that He is God” - so we don’t have to be. ................
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